And there is a robot doggie who worships
A robot cop launched into a muscular investigation in the middle of a cyberpunk city suddenly devoid of its population, such is the pitch of this Artificial Detective. Aptly named AD 2846, our hero will have to discover how and why humanity disappeared. He is not alone since a little girl named Mowgli seems to accompany him, as does a particularly valiant robot dog: DAWG (Dedicated Artificial Weaponized Guard).
As a third-person action-adventure game, Artificial Detective will have combat phases facing hostile robots. If AD 2846 can count on his pistol and some melee, stealth and hacking techniques, the doggie will serve as support in combat by hindering enemies or finishing them off, and often brutally.
If these phases seem a little heavy, what we must remember for the moment is a very pretty visual appearance displayed by the game, inspired by neo-noir, retrofuturist cinema or even works like Cowboy Bebop or Blade Runner, and which adopts a half-art deco, half-cyberpunk aesthetic for its city called Conglomerate North.
With a very polished overall look and a framerate reminiscent of animated films, we feel all the artistic flair and experience of the Vivix studio. Building on the work carried out particularly on the side of Control, Dead Space or the Netflix series Love, Death & Robotsthe box holds a CV which sits there.
For the rest, the game team was able to talk a little about the game on the Xbox Wire side, and particularly about the investigation dimension and the dynamics between AD 2846, Mowgli and DAWG. There will be investigative gameplay that will push us to observe our environment and connect clues between them. As for partners, they can be improved and broadened their range of actions as relationships develop.
Brief, Artificial Detective promises to be a fairly ambitious title on a studio scale, and it is expected for 2027 on PC (via Steam and Microsoft Store), Xbox Series and PS5.