Become a haunted detective set in an alternate future on a case that may very well be his last! Find out more in our Nobody Wants To Die Review!

The future has always been a mysterious place in pop culture where anything is within the realms of possibility. Several things have become synonymous with this idea, including flying cars, laser guns, robots, and AI. Critical Hit Games, in their first outing, have grabbed some of what we know and placed it in a noir detective story with a 1940s aesthetic.

This is an actual gameplay shot!

Utilising the power of Unreal Engine 5 and armed with a gripping tale of corruption and secrets, does Nobody Wants To Die find its place in time or does it fall to the depths of the city? Find out in our Nobody Wants To Die Review!

Nobody Wants To Die Review – Story

The year is 2329, a time where immortality is now a subscription service. Amid flying cars, future tech and cigars, people can now transfer their consciousness to another body, as long as you can afford it of course. You step into the penny loafers of a 120 year old Detective by the name of James Karra. Sitting in his flying 40s style car, he has visions and is struggling to cope with his new body after an accident two weeks prior where he lost his body and partner.

A short animated movie explaining body transferring.

James pleads with his boss to get back on the job but must be supervised with a liaison officer by the name of Sara. She communicates to him through his earpiece as the duo head to the scene of a murder which isn’t it as all is as it seems. As the police chief orders John to cover up a murder, they must begrudgingly team up to uncover a plot that will shake the city to its very core. With political ties to this case and a psychopath on the loose, its only a matter of time before he kills again.

I hope this victim hasn’t been hung out to dry…

As James progresses the investigation in a blimp crash, the killer contacts him and goads him into making rash decisions. Tortured by his dead wife, lost partner and now a lunatic, James must do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this city wide conspiracy, even if it costs him everything. Throughout the game there are a few decisions you can make, especially in the last chapter, that either leads to the good or bad ending. Each one has a different cutscene but to understand the whole story and shocking twist at the end its best to play through twice to truly find out why Nobody Wants To Die.

How to solve global warming: Fake trees!

Nobody Wants To Die Review – Gameplay

It can’t be 300 years into the future without some fancy tech to easily unearth clues. Armed with a device that can locally reconstruct an area in time, called a Reconstructor, James uses this to wind back the clock at several different locations to get a new lead. Even though the bulk of the game is in the intriguing tale of deceit and corruption, this choice-driven detective narrative has a few other gameplay elements while investigating too.

I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it.

You also have an hand held x-ray and UV light to trace electrical cords and blood trails respectively. Although these work really well and are quite interesting to delve into, there’s only around 4 scenes in the whole game that let’s you use your equipment. There is a whole assortment of other items you can pick up and look at in each chapter, giving you more information on James and the other characters.

You damned dirty…humans?

After collecting all the evidence at a scene, the next chapter generally has you lay out a investigation board for James and Sara to draw conclusions. Using what you have found out and some assumptions, this acts as a little puzzle whilst making sure you know what’s going on. Unfortunately these are pretty easy and like much of the game, holds your hand for the whole time.

This part was basically recapping the last mission, thankfully you only did it 3 times.

Nobody Wants To Die Review – Graphics

Critical Hit Games have outdone themselves with their use of the Unreal Engine 5, showing eye-popping visuals of a futuristic New York city. Whilst some effects like fire aren’t super impressive, every static location is almost unbelievable. From large city expanses to a small detailed room, nothing is left unturned. The only negative here is the facial designs and animations as they look a tad undercooked if not a bit washed out.

From the glorious futuristic city to this was very jarring.

The attention to detail in the smaller aspects of the game was even more impressive. At each location there are items to pick up necessary to the story but also other items that enhance the world building of this futuristic metropolis. Everything you pick up can be turned around and examined, with some of the objects revealing hidden information that wouldn’t have been found otherwise.

Return to sender?

Nobody Wants To Die Review – Audio

The mix of future synth tracks and classic noir sounds go together surprisingly well. Each type has their place in the story and never misses a beat. The detective noir cliché is even picked up by the main character, James, as he will often discuss the case to the viewer similar to that of those black and white movies. On top of that every voice line delivered by the cast is well performed and aids to the immersive story.

Nobody Wants To Die Review – What Else

If you are looking for a game with several branching storylines thinking all decisions will impact your playthrough then this isn’t it. Whilst this narrative based game does enough to give you some choices, not a lot of them changes the outcomes of different situations. As stated previously, there are two endings that are based upon a few options you pick and as this is only around 5 – 6 hours, its worth seeing how both play out. Apart from a few miscellaneous trophies/achievements there is no additional content here, which is a shame since detective side quests would have been a marvellous addition.

The three Ns, Noir, Neon and New York!

Nobody Wants To Die Review – Conclusion

To close the case, this is a perfect example of “less is more” as Nobody Wants To Die provides an enthralling story that you can’t tear yourself away from. Like almost every good thriller or murder mystery, you need a good twist or ending to make sure it imprints on the viewer/player. Whilst the set up, audio and graphics is incredible, the slightly confusing ending might go over some people’s heads, especially if you weren’t paying attention. It also wrapped up everything very quickly and had me wondering if that was all there was.

Come on in…if you dare.

If you’re looking for a reasonably good but short story with next gen graphics then this is for you. However if you need deeper gameplay then Nobody Wants To Die may miss its mark. If this still sounds good then the price tag might also grab your attention as it is half price of a normal game, which is well worth it. All in all this still makes me hope the case hasn’t closed forever on this new and interesting franchise.

So, why should you play Nobody Wants To Die?

• A thrilling and immersive crime story
• Amazing use of Unreal Engine 5
• Fantastic soundtrack with great performances

But why shouldn’t you play Nobody Wants To Die?

• Only 5-6 hours of play time
• A lot of hand holding
• Not much replayability

A review code was kindly provided by Critical Hit Games and Plaion for the purpose of our Nobody Wants To Die review.  You can check out our other reviews here and if you haven’t already, be sure to join the Qualbert Discord to find out about the latest game and review updates!