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State of Mind (video game)

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State of Mind
Developer(s)Daedalic Entertainment
Publisher(s)Daedalic Entertainment
Director(s)Martin Ganteföhr
Producer(s)Carsten Fichtelmann
Designer(s)Martin Wilkes
Programmer(s)Max Stegan
Artist(s)Stefan Wacker
Writer(s)Martin Ganteföhr
Tilman Schanen
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
ReleaseAugust 15, 2018
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single player

State of Mind is a 2018 graphic adventure game developed and published by Daedalic Entertainment. A cyberpunk story set in the near future, the game explores transhumanist themes.[1] The game was released for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One in August 2018. It received mixed reviews upon release.

Gameplay

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The game is played through a third-person perspective. There is no combat involved in the game, instead gameplay mostly revolves around interacting with other characters, solving puzzles and doing mini games. Many things in the world can be scanned and interacted with, which gives the player information about items in the world. Players can, for example, interact with photos of the main character Richard's family. The game also focuses on exploring a wide variety of locations.[2][3]

Plot

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State of Mind unfolds in Berlin in 2048 and revolves around Richard Nolan, a journalist waking up in a hospital after an explosion, finding out that his family is nowhere to be found. Nolan soon realizes that the world has changed and that technology is taking over. The game focuses on the impact that AI and technology have on humans, as well as coming to terms with in what manner super AI- can adapt to human behavior.[4][5] The main character in the game, Richard Nolan, is voiced by Doug Cockle, most notable for being the voice actor of Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher video game series.[6][3]

Development

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Development of State of Mind was led by Martin Ganteföhr,[1] creator of the 2004 adventure game The Moment of Silence.[7] Production began in 2015.[8] The game was developed with Unreal Engine 4.[9] State of Mind features a low-poly art style inspired in part by the visuals of That Dragon, Cancer.[10] According to Daedalic's Kai Fiebig, the art style was Ganteföhr's idea, as the fragmented look reflected the game's themes in its portrayal of "a shattered person, a shattered society on the edge of change."[9] The game was released on Nintendo Switch on August 15, 2018, in the west and on November 8, 2018, in Japan.[11][12][13]

Reception

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State of Mind received mixed reviews from video game critics on Metacritic.[14][15][16][17]

Writing for Adventure Gamers, Pascal Takaia praised the transhumanist themes and voice acting, while criticizing the game's narrative, puzzles and characters.[20] Conversely, Jeuxvideo.com gave the game a positive review, particularly praising the game's visuals, story and themes.[21] Roy Woodhouse of Gamereactor praised the game for its gripping sci-fi world, and he said the game is "thought-provoking and provides emotional and engaging narrative", though he called the puzzles "a little weak".[2] Writing for GameStar, Robin Rüther praised the graphics but criticised the lack of challenge and the mini games.[22] Paula Sprödefeld of PC Games liked the story and graphics but had complaints regarding the controls.[25]

Conversely, Dom Reseigh-Lincoln of Nintendo Life, said "State of Mind has its moments to shine", including the endgame plot and visuals, but he criticized what he felt were overdone science fiction cliches, poor voice acting, and a "lack of cohesion between its gameplay ideas", which said resulted in "a muddled experience at best".[6] Writing for VideoGamer, Josh Wish praised the story and the art style, while mentioning the puzzles and some story related cliches as negative aspects.[19] Jan Wöbbeking of 4Players commended the story but criticized the mini games and the portrayal of characters.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b Avard, Alex (June 6, 2018). "State of Mind is a small cyberpunk adventure with big ideas about the future of sci-fi". PC Gamer US. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Woodhouse, Roy (August 13, 2018). "State of Mind Review - Gamereactor". Gamereactor. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Nolan, Darragh (August 16, 2018). "Wot I Think: State Of Mind". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  4. ^ "A Tale of Transhumanism: State of Mind set to hit console and PC on August 15th". press.daedalic.com. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  5. ^ "State of Mind". Steam. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Reseigh-Lincoln, Dom (August 13, 2018). "State of Mind Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  7. ^ Futter, Michael (June 15, 2018). "Elon Musk and 'State of Mind's' Transhumanism Philosophy". Variety. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019.
  8. ^ Kreienbrink, Matthias (August 15, 2018). "Unmenschliches Berlin". Der Spiegel (in German). Archived from the original on October 26, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Staff (13 August 2018). "Making it in Unreal: behind the faceted face of State of Mind". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018.
  10. ^ Schwerdtel, Markus (January 21, 2017). "State of Mind - Gespaltener Übermensch". GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on October 26, 2019.
  11. ^ Moore, Logan (July 12, 2018). "State of Mind Releases Next Month on August 15, New Story Trailer Out Now". DualShockers. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "Deadalic Entertainment Announces State of Mind For Nintendo Switch". 15 January 2017. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  13. ^ "State of Mind". Nintendo of Japan. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  14. ^ a b "State of Mind for PC Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  15. ^ a b "State of Mind for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  16. ^ a b "State of Mind for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  17. ^ a b "State of Mind for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  18. ^ Reseigh-Lincoln, Dom (2018-08-13). "State of Mind Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  19. ^ a b Josh Wise. "State of Mind review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  20. ^ a b Tekaia, Pascal (August 15, 2020). "State of Mind review". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Test : State of Mind : Une ode à la science-fiction" (in French). Jeuxvideo.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  22. ^ a b Rüther, Robin (August 13, 2018). "State of Mind im Test - Upload fehlgeschlagen". GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on October 28, 2018.
  23. ^ Sprödefeld, Paula (August 13, 2018). "State of Mind im Test: Ein gelungenes Gesamtkonzept á la Black Mirror und Altered Carbon". PC Games (in German). Archived from the original on August 13, 2018.
  24. ^ a b Wöbbeking, Jan (August 15, 2018). "Test: State of Mind". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on August 21, 2018.
  25. ^ Sprödefeld, Paula (August 13, 2018). "State of Mind im Test: Ein gelungenes Gesamtkonzept á la Black Mirror und Altered Carbon". PC Games. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
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