Technobabylon

Technobabylon
82
Metacritic
95
Steam
87.815
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$14.99
Release date
1 May 2015
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
95 (966 votes)

A cyberpunk adventure game from the studio that brought you Gemini Rue and Blackwell! The year is 2087. Genetic engineering is the norm, and an omnipresent AI powers the city. Take control of three citizens of this world as they struggle to understand a deadly conspiracy.

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Technobabylon system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows ME or higher
  • Processor: Pentium or higher
  • Memory: 64 MB RAM
  • Graphics: 640x400, 32-bit colour: 700 Mhz system minimum
  • DirectX: Version 5.2
  • Storage: 3 GB available space
  • Sound Card: All DirectX-compatible sound cards
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Baking Bandit
Baking Bandit

Overall, I really enjoyed this game. The voice acting is pretty good, the music was great, the visuals were really nice for pixel style art, and the overall plot was interesting.

lareslenya
lareslenya

A great game!
I started and finished this over a weekend, as I found myself pausing (for the sake of real-world living) - but then restarting the story over and over until I reached an end.
Though this pixel-game is (severely) pixelated and most of the time you'll listen to text while you read it, it felt immersive, due to the plot and the characters.
This game does have some recognisable cyberpunk genre elements, like darkness and shabbiness, ethical question marks, and hightech, but also feels rather retro in "tone", and this not only due to the pixels or the game's age.
There was only one thing I didn't like, which is, when you start the game, you can chose "start" or "restore", and because I expected a "load" button (instead of "restore"), I "started" the game by mistake too often. Conventional naming of buttons for users before they start a game? I'm in favour.
Other than that, the complex story was nice, and I although I know these games, I occasionally did need a walkthrough guide to solve a few things that I really didn't see on screen.
Support games like this one and buy it if you like pixelated point-and-click explorations with interesting plot.

ExultantAbyss
ExultantAbyss

Technobabylon is a cyberpunk point & click adventure set in the 2080s in a fictional city somewhere in Africa. The city is dingy and has problems, but I've certainly seen darker dystopias than this one. I found the game world to be more wonderous than horrific. The characters are interesting, voice acting superb, artwork gorgeous, music fitting of the genre, and the puzzles are appropriately logical & difficult for the most part. The story flows at a good pace and nothing particularly feels out of place. The game has some wacky mouse acceleration that I had to find a workaround for, but that is my only complaint. I enjoyed this one a lot.

[MoX]Arken
[MoX]Arken

The devs seems to be falling into the woke hellhole, but it hasn't gotten so bad that they stop making fun games in favour of hitting you around the head with the ideology, though it was eye rollin'ly bad in places. There are a few places where I head scratched at the obscurity of the puzzle, but the actual story is kind interesting.

Mon-Tee
Mon-Tee

This is an amazingly well written story. The thing that really puts this far above average are the characters. Many point and click games suffer from having characters who don't always reflect the world around them and are not always consistent, bending the rules of their own character. This games characters are absolutely spot on all the way through. That paired with a mystery story that doesn't give itself away too fast, it had me immersed the whole time. Definitely try this game out, it is one of the most complete point and click experiences you will have.

king_bob
king_bob

Great Sierra style game with an excellent story.

birdboygou7
birdboygou7

Grade: S+ (93/100)

I found the game to have a gripping and emotional story that kept me engaged from start to finish, along with voice acting and well-drawn environments to keep the immersion value high. Also enjoyed the Trance mechanic, although it would have been nice to have used it more.

Overall, highly recommended, as with other games from this publisher.

Full Review: https://ravencrowgames.blogspot.com/2021/05/review-technobabylon.html

Clockwerker
Clockwerker

DEEPLY recommend this game for puzzle-loving players. Not only is the story really compelling, it plays out just like a noir detective story, and has very inclusive characters. I love this game!

superfluidbcsbec
superfluidbcsbec

Best point and click game I have played since "Beneath a Steel Sky".

crabel
crabel

I really enjoyed playing that game.
+ Riddles
I really like it when the riddles are logical, when don't have to connect weird things and do weird things to solve it. In some of these games you just have to try everything with everything, but I did not have that feeling here. Sure, some things were unprobable, like the laser thing, but it was still within the limits.

+ Story
The story was just amazing. Really, really amazing. A bit dark, a bit gritty, but well thought out. And it was also touching several interesting topics, like artificial intelligence and morality.

+ Art & music/sound
I really like pixel art, what's more to say? The music/sound fits to the theme and some sounds (like squishy noise the elevator makes when he hits the body on the floor again) are pretty amazing.

+ Speed setting
Being able to set the speed of the game is pretty nice. Awesome idea.

- Usability/Controls
That's the only thing I didn't like that much. I really like it when I have keyboard shortcuts to save/load, use items, move with cursor keys, ... Well, it isn't bad, but I think, they could do better here.

Overall: Pretty amazing game.

Caput Mortuum
Caput Mortuum

Technobabylon is an amazing game. I recommend it very much. 10h game (I did try to get most of the achievement so I redid some scenes), very nice pixelised artwork, interesting story. All good.
I will not play it again to get the achievement Talking Heads (played through the game with the commentary on). I really hate this type of achievement that need to redo this type of game or forced you to play with comment for steam achievement. But in any way, that doesn't change my opinion of the game which is very good!

MOTU
MOTU

I really appreciate what they did here : the story, characters, art design and the voice acting are all great. Puzzles were fun to play, not too hard, not too easy either. Again, great job on all parts.

xyproto
xyproto

It's a classic style adventure game with clever puzzles.

McPeanuts
McPeanuts

you can learn about the cyber future

Squashbuckler
Squashbuckler

Admittedly, these graphics are just not good enough for me to enjoy the game. I hate to review the game down based on these standards, but my post can be taken in context. I should have known better before I purchased the game.

Sanquinaire
Sanquinaire

Very good. Great voice acting in some parts.

Uncle Fester
Uncle Fester

Great game, nice puzzles wich have more than one way to resolve them, Wadjet Eye did it again.

Kiyo Wable
Kiyo Wable

I have mixed feelings about this game, but for the most part they are mostly positive. The pixel art is well done. The artists really focused on the small details, especially in the animation. The color palette and background images were beautiful. The music wasn't too annoying either surprisingly. The story kept my interest during the first half, though later some inconsistencies made me lose interest for a while. I like that it was fully voice acted, but some dialogue points were too long. The puzzles were overall easy to figure out and the mechanics used to carry out solving them weren't too complicated. Later sections of the game had illogical ways to solve the puzzles or the way to solve them weren't easy to figure out. An example involves a puzzle with suspects and evidence where the final piece of evidence wasn't easy to obtain because the puzzle required the player to do something specific which is easy to overlook. In the end, I feel the game was a fun experience and I will look for other games from this company in the future. However, it doesn't have much reason for me to replay it though.

Lupus
Lupus

Great point-n-click game! Writing, voice-acting, pixel-art, story are all top-notch. Some of the puzzles can be a bit frustrating and pixel-hunting-y, but nothing too obscene.

If you are looking for a point and click with gritty cyberpunk tone, this is a great game for you!

Hio
Hio

A few hours in and it's a very fair point-and-click (fair being "doesn't make you do totally illogical stuff). A lot of the choices feel impactful, the puzzles are really varied and can push the genre a little (there was a real-time stealth puzzle in the section I just cleared, and that's pretty novel for point-and-click); I've really enjoyed that.

Sound and graphics are great, the pixel art is really well done and the designers put it to really interesting use. Within the game there's a VR internet thing called "the Trance" and sprites/characters within the Trance are done in a lower res, more cartoony style than in the real world--it works really well given the pixel medium.

Soundwise nothing has taken my breath away, but all the bleeps and bloops are where they should be. Actually, shoutout to the voice-acting, everything is well-executed and strikes a nice balance of humor and drama.

I've enjoyed the world, story, and characters. It's got a lot of detail and original content to immerse oneself in, but not so much that it feels tiring to do so. The mystery is still unfolding for me, but I really enjoy it so far. The game is very tasteful and diverse in its cast without ever feeling like it's tokenizing its characters--this is a huge deal, actually. I just feel like everyone's human, and I've never reached a point in the story where I've been bored or turned off. The main characters are even people I feel like I could care for.

Overall, I'm looking forward to finishing this game! It's been a blast.

Kegluneq
Kegluneq

An enjoyable cyberpunk romp that explores the ethics and potential of genetic engineering in a retro dystopic setting.

allergictolife
allergictolife

Fantastic!
* Positive queer representation
*dialogue changes based on choices from several chapters ago
*riveting story

...eh
*dialogue options for finding out someone is trans have not aged well
*don't like either of the options for the Big Choice
*somethings have different functions depending on where you click

Overall I really loved this game. There were some instances of 'I know what I need to do, but I can't find an object that does that' which was frustrating. Even when I was stuck on a puzzle the captivating plot was more than enough motivation to keep at it. If you are at all interested in point and click or cyberpunk give this a try!

TripleLSupreme
TripleLSupreme

Am excellent point and click adventure game. The voice acting combined with the change of expressions on the portraits during dialog portray the characters perfectly. The story is easy to follow and creates and interesting cyberpunk world. I highly recommend this to any point and click adventure fan.

TimeWaster
TimeWaster

Excellent cyberpunk point-and-click in the style of classic Lucasarts games!

Pr0t0Zer0
Pr0t0Zer0

This is probably a great game but ive come to realize point and click adventures arent for me.

Just the Passenger
Just the Passenger

I think this is a science fiction adventure game that fans of the genre have been looking for. its not post apocalyptic and the dystopia and cyberpunk elements are subtle. It really does feel like this could be something that happens in the future. The voice acting was passionate. The story was good and its nice to see subtle changes in some cases for decision you made earlier on.

If your looking for a chill stream that doesn't stick to one game check me out at https://www.twitch.tv/justthepassenger !

o_O
o_O

A point and click game mainly comes down to 3 factors:
1) Puzzles - Good, but nothing mind blowing
2) Story - Forgettable
3) Voice acting - Mixed (some characters are deadpan, most are done well)

Overall it's a decent point and click game. This is another "overwhelmingly positive" game that would get more mixed votes than thumbs up if steam allowed it. For a wadjeteye game, check out Unavowed if you haven't yet, it is much better.

Mitsos
Mitsos

A classic point and click adventure game with an amazing atmosphere and reasonable puzzles. I have played through it twice already and was just considering playing it again. If you like this kind of setting just get it!

Nexu
Nexu

Atmospheric cyberpunk future. Has that 90s futuristic vibe that doesn't feel that far from our timeline. Great story and fascinating gameplay with the different persona and perspectives.

(5/5)

gordonshumway
gordonshumway

A Sci-Fi adventure/story that manages to cover some genuinely interesting ideas without getting too heady. Some good humor, reasonably well developed world-building. It's great.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the pacing isn't always satisfying - when a chapter ended, I found myself wanting to close the game instead of being at the edge of my seat. And ultimately the 'reveal' of the motivations of the antagonist(s) comes way too late in the game. And it's not convincing that the antagonists did what they did for the reasons/motivations given.

Nevertheless - very competent point and click adventure in a creative SCI-FI setting.

Schattenjager X
Schattenjager X

Excellent. One of the best 2D pixel art point and clicks I've played. It honestly feels a bit empty and foreign when you start since it doesn't exactly conform to the control set one might be used to. There are only two interactions, left click: use and right click: inspect. As you get into it you'll find it's surprisingly rich however.
There are also many environments and one can tell that a lot of love and hard work went into it.

Most importantly, as always, is the story. It takes you on a very immersive and beautiful ride through its futuristic setting. Every character is well thought out and believable and you find yourself empathising with each one's situation. The voice acting is also impeccable. The twists in the plot are also surprising and keeps the player engaged as they wonder what will happen next.

In terms of the puzzles, they are all pretty intuitive. Of course, you're in the future though, so sometimes you might have to think a bit out of the box to solve that puzzle that might not always be in your every day frame of reference.

The game is also very good value for money. If, like me, you inspect everything and try listen to every dialogue sequence you'll find the content is well worth the price.

If there's one thing that could have been better it's the programming of the dialogue tree. There are some instances where you might feel like characters are just saying the same thing they said before but in a different way or where dialogue options that you've already covered will remain until you run through them again. That's a minor issue though.

I'd give Technobabylon an 8/10

A Hopeless Semantic
A Hopeless Semantic

If you're a fan of cyberpunk literature and adventure games, you will almost certainly enjoy Technobabylon.
The writing is fantastic, but I won't get into too much detail to avoid spoiling anything.
As for the gameplay, it's a point and click adventure game, exactly what it says on the tin. It avoids the more frustrating trappings of some adventure games (e.g. nonsense puzzles, pixel hunting, letting the player soft-lock themselves).
Overall, it's great. Definitely worth the $15 if you're into adventure games and/or cyberpunk lit.

khamjaninja
khamjaninja

Story was good, characters were fine - but the real star is the setting. The writers built a detailed and realistic future world. And while a lot of games are made by science fans - this game was clearly made by people who actually know science. The concepts that are brought up aren't just speculative fantasy - they're grounded in hard science which, impressively, gets implemented in the game mechanics - like reprogramming robotic personalities or decoding messages hidden inside the DNA of bioengineered plants. It's a detailed look at a potential future for technology - and the societal consequences. It's cyberpunk - but updated to match what technology might actually be capable of a hundred years from now.

In terms of the game mechanics, I liked them - well-implemented. The puzzles weren't easy, but they also didn't follow any sort of weird dream logic that you sometimes see in point-and-click games. Dialogue options between characters is well-written and plentiful. And despite the seriousness of the story and setting, there's plenty of humor in there as well.

If you really, really have no head for science - you might feel a bit overwhelmed, because the game doesn't hold back on its science and tech. But I don't think it leaves people behind, either. And if you're really into science - then this really just is like diving into a sweet, sweet pool of science and seeing a vision of the future at the bottom of it.

Good boi Isaac
Good boi Isaac

Wadjet Eye is quickly becoming one of my favorite studios, all of their games I have played with so far have been really good (Gemini Rue, Primordia) but with Technobabylon they sealed the deal for me.

If you love old-school Lucasarts type point and click adventure games, murder-mysteries and cyberpunk settings, then do yourself a favor and buy Technobabylon. It's amazing!

And now excuse me, I have to go and buy my next Wadjet Eye game.

Giaddon
Giaddon

One of the best AGS games. Fantastic near future setting, great characters, minimal puzzle BS.

Tuatelinranteli
Tuatelinranteli

A fun game with fantastic worldbuilding and a thought-provoking plot, as well as great art, voice-acting, an atmospheric soundtrack and engaging writing. Granted, I don't have a ton of experience with point-and-click adventure games, but I thought this was great

Tim Ellis
Tim Ellis

Really fantastic adventure game with unusually good writing and story!
I enjoyed all the old classic P&C's as a kid, and recently got back into them with 'Beyond a Steel Sky' (also excellent). Anyway, this is a perfect follow up - some pretty similar concepts but quite a bit darker and the ideas are pushed further and deeper. Keen to try the other Wadjet Eye games now.

Rjinswand
Rjinswand

Great game all round - excellent story, puzzles, characters - there's really nothing not to like! Best point & click game iIve played for a long, long time.

Soup
Soup

Excellent cyberpunk adventure game. Puzzles are clever without being opaque.
Definitely recommend for anyone who is fond of adventure games.

bitchspray
bitchspray

LOVE IT! The Steam page doesn't do the game any justice. The game is everything I want from a cyberpunk adventure and more.

dnorms
dnorms

Wonderfully built cyberpunk universe and fun escape. Story and dialog very cliche, but skippable.

Ruprecht
Ruprecht

Great cyberpunk point-and-click.

ChinaSea
ChinaSea

Manages to offer something fresh to the cyberpunk genre, thanks to the well-written universe integrated into its puzzles and multiple characters. Definitely one of point-and-click's best.

eddie
eddie

Great story. a futurist old school adventure

Kroy
Kroy

Minor plotholes and occasionally lackluster voice acting aside, this is a pleasantly challenging point and click adventure with an engaging story and noteworthy spins on the cyberpunk genre, out of which the focus on genetic engineering is the most refreshing.

Mathe - ValiantKnight
Mathe - Valian…

It has been ages since I last played a point and click adventure. This game holds to the high standards of the massive games of yesterday in the genre, and then some.

The game is set in a future, cyberpunk setting. The story is mindnumbingly good!

Must have game for everyone who like to jog their minds and solve difficult puzzles.

Eleutheen
Eleutheen

Simply a very good game on all aspects.

Artaius
Artaius

Fun game, worth the price.
Sensible puzzles, good story and perfect length

Tallowhand
Tallowhand

Okay, first things first: This game is the most 2021 game I've ever played...despite being made in 2015. The sci-fi dystopian setting often feels like the fever-dream of Progressive activists from present day NYC, with one of the MCs being a hard-done-by orphan refugee immigrant and another being a trans individual who has transitioned PERFECTLY and SEAMLESSLY; one case focuses on the murder of an interracial gay couple, and another on an attempted terrorist from theocratic Texas (blonde? check! white? check! imaginary villainous version of Christianity? check!) where apparently life begins at conception (the HORROR! the horror...) but children are modified in the womb to become living bombs...for...some reason? It's flat-out ludicrous. You can just feel the frothing ignorance-born hatred the game-makers have for America's "fly-over" country, as well as the flagrant condescension towards those they see as "disadvantaged" (women, non-whites, homosexuals, trans folks, etc.). Despite this game NOT being set in the USA, everywhere outside the USA is painted in broad strokes if at all -- and the portrait is rarely ever flattering, though apparently in this game's setting racial harmony has finally taken root in South Africa! It'd be hilarious if you couldn't feel the genuine HATE this team had for the people they depicted thusly.

That said, the game itself is the usual excellence we expect from Wadjet Eye. The mechanics are solid, the puzzles are usually challenging but intuitive (with one or two exceptions that required insane leaps of logic), the characters are generally interesting, the voicework is great, the mysteries are engaging (and in two cases legitimately surprised me -- a hard thing to do nowadays!), and if not for those weird "Current Year-isms" I mentioned previously, this would be an easy recommendation. Unfortunately, I just played "Whispers of a Machine" and that one did a lot of the same things, only with more subtlety, less bombast, and none of the hate. So this one's a cautious "Yes," as long as you can see past the hysteria that clearly blinded the creators.

alhexx
alhexx

This is one of the best point & click adventures that I have played in a very long time. The story is very well written and there is a bit of nonlinearity in the gameplay, but (thankfully) it's mostly linear and understandable. The puzzles and riddles are mostly quite logical and simple, so I only had to look up in a walkthrough three or four times.

To put it shortly: if you like point & click adventures in a cyberpunk setting, then playing this game is a must have.

Tenth
Tenth

Great game i loved the characters and the story kept me playing art style is enjoyable made the game world more enjoyable the puzzles were okay at times will play again oneday.

10/10

DaSkruff
DaSkruff

A great little piece of science fiction writing- interesting setting and storyline, interesting and unique characters, and some really unique and interesting puzzles- and honestly the character portraits deserve a shoutout too for their diverse cast and great presentation of emotions. Unfortunately, it also comes with the standard issues of the genre and engine- poor conveyance on what are interactable objects and a few moon logic puzzles along the way.

All the same, well worth playing and enjoying for the story and character interactions- just don't feel hesitant to go pop up a walkthrough if you get stuck on a puzzle, most of the halted momementum comes down to poor conveyance more than a lack of logic.

Ole Maskin
Ole Maskin

A very competent point and click with an original take on the genere. This is not a frustratingly difficult game, but I think this is a plus in a lovingly crafted game like this. I really liked how they tied the puzzles to the story progression, locations, genere and the techology. This gives the game a really good flow, that kept me engaged in the story and what was going on. There was very little running around in an area that is too large, and losing track of what is going on. The only thing I wished for, was to follow each character for a bit longer at the time.

As someone who loves both cyberpunk and has played point and click adventures for 30+ years, this is an easy recommandation. I would like to say that the sum is greater than the parts, but that would be a bit harsh. Because this is a really good package, made by people who obviously have put a lot of tought and effort into all aspects of the game. They have taken some of the best aspects of the genere, and even made some of the worst aspects of the genere work in this game (I'm looking at you Sierra) without them being too punishing or feel like padding.

An easy recommandation, except if you want really difficult puzzles. This is an instant classic, and a must play for anyone who likes the genere.

Mad Alligator
Mad Alligator

Been looking for this game for 10 years. god damn have i missed it. i remember when it was on gamejolt, if anyone knows where i can find the version where you have to stop i chinese woman from killing herself on the roof of a tower let me know, seriously i cant be the only one who remembers it right?

Sulcus
Sulcus

Do I recommend this game? Oh my, yes!

WOPR
WOPR

Wow, such a great game. Rich story, characters, soundtrack, voice acting, etc.

Quitch
Quitch

A perfectly decent, if somewhat unremarkable experience that doesn't overstay its welcome.

choobs
choobs

Almost 7 years after Technobabylon's release, its vision of the future feels even more prescient than it did before. James Dearden's story of AI, VR and conspiracy was another major win for Wadjet Eye as a publisher and is up there with their other best works like Primordia and Unavowed.

Ben Chandler's art is fantastic as always, the dialogue and interactions are extremely funny but also well written and interesting. The voice acting set a new high watermark for Wadjet Eye and the characters, even minor ones, were always interesting and fun, with one notable exception.

I find the Mandala character to be underdevoloped, not particularly intesting and unfortunately probably the least well acted of all the characters in the game. Not that she was really that bad (character or actor) but just compared to Regis and Lao (and their actors) she fell flat for me.

That and some major unanswered questions from the plot hold this one back ever so sligtly, though I am excited to find out if/how these get dealt with in the sequel. It may make me go back and appreciate this game even more.

pillowhead
pillowhead

I really wanted to love this game, as I love Wadjet Eye Games. BUT sadly I lost interest in this game, and am not sure I will finish it.
Like some of the others have already said, a lot of the puzzles make no logical sense, and it seems like there is a requirement of prior knowledge to how this world works. I honestly have no idea how people would get through this game without a walkthrough, or just a massive amount of patience pixel-hunting. But at that point, it sort of ruins the fun.

I also found there was too much dialogue. I am not even sure how to expand on that, but..it just felt unnecessary. I don't have the patience to click through all the dialogue options when I barely know what they're talking about anyway.

The game is BEAUTIFUL though. The pixel art, elements of the story, some of the puzzles, the characters...all very good.

I think if you're a sci-fi nerd with a lot of patience, you will probably enjoy this more. The game doesn't deserve a thumbs down, but since there isn't a neutral option I am sorry, it's getting the thumbs down.

thesparkthatbled
thesparkthatbled

Absolutely superb. Such a joy to play. Short - savor it.

paweldaruk
paweldaruk

Technobabylon is an absolute gem. Superb writing, amazing voice work, mature worldbuilding and puzzles that actually make sense. The extra puzzle layer granted by cyberpunk tech works wonders for the point & click formula.

Rating: five out of five Cheffie kisses.

lime
lime

An excellent title from Wadjet (did not like their other games as much). The writing i worthy of a FMV remake or even a movie. The only negative is the vintage pixelated graphic which somehow reduced the suspension of disbelief otherwise close to a perfect adventure game we say

JarlFrank
JarlFrank

(Follow my curator for more reviews like this)

My favorite Wadjet-Eye published adventure game. The artwork is gorgeous, the writing is good and the story well-constructed.

In Technobabylon, you get to control three characters whose stories are intertwined: the police officers Regis and Lao, and trance-addicted bum Latha. The game's plot it kicked off when Regis is blackmailed into bombing Latha's apartment building. He only went along with the blackmailer because he thought the building was empty. Latha thinks the police wants her dead. And so you control Regis, his partner Lao, and the fugitive Latha in alternating chapters, trying to find out what's going on.

It's a well-told story with many plot threads that slowly unravel as you uncover more and more info with each chapter. There are plenty of interesting and beautifully illustrated locations in the game, both real and virtual: the Trance is the futuristic cyberpunk replacement of the internet, which you can enter through a wetware interface implanted in your brain. It's like descending into a shared dreamworld, and a lot of people are addicted to it, letting their bodies wither away while their minds roam the Trance. Very cool concept.

Puzzles are decently challenging but not too hard. Most of them are logical, and several allow for alternate solutions. An early puzzle that requires you to unlock a door has three different solutions, for example. It's very cool to see this in an adventure game because it adds a bit of replayability and makes you less likely to get stuck.

All in all, the mix of amazing visuals, interesting cyberpunk story, compelling characters and decent puzzles makes this my favorite of the Wadjet Eye adventure games. Highly recommended to any point & click fan.

fictionette
fictionette

Maybe Wadjet Eye games just aren't for me. Illogical puzzles and a convoluted storyline make this a frustrating and tedious experience. The art style makes it hard to see what you're supposed to do or read the (copious amounts of) text. And the game repeatedly refers to embryos as children and uses this to legitimate characters' actions, which is just bizarre. If you enjoyed the Blackwell games maybe you'll have a better time than me. (Play time is way off, I left the game running.)

polarski
polarski

its decent if you like this genre

cassandra_strand
cassandra_strand

Technobabylon is a modern retro-styled Point & Click adventure game. To me it seems to have a lot of inspiration or similar elements from things like 'The Matrix', 'Ready Player One', 'Minority Report' and VR/AR in general. It's a Cyberpunk dystopian future setting which isn't a genre I really like, but it has a good enough story that's well written and I found it interesting enough to keep playing through. The gameplay and even parts of the story remind me a lot of their other game 'Gemini Rue'. They have a very similar vibe at times. The alternating main character and eventual switching between characters is also a very similar design.

This game was longer and more complex than I had expected and it does have some of the pitfalls that some people hate in a point & click. First off there is a fair share of pixel hunting. While many modern point and click games utilize a hotspot option (usually one you can turn on and off or access by pressing something like spacebar), but this one unfortunately does not. This leads to quite a bit of pixel hunting in the game to try and find all interactive spots. Another one that many people may dislike is that some of the puzzles do not have enough clues to figure out or aren't intuitive to solve. There's a lot of utilizing a communication device (traveler or wetware) in the game in addition to utilizing inventory items and dialogue to progress. I don't know if I'd say the puzzles involved the dreaded "Moon Logic" of some 90's games, but there are definitely some parts that will either require a walkthrough or at least patience with exhausting every dialogue option as well trying everything in your inventory on every other item and hotspot. This can be frustrating, but it can be worked through with a little patience.

This game does have Trans and Homosexual (possibly Bi-sexual) characters in it. If you don't like that in your games I would say the amount of representation in the game is minimal and for those who do want and enjoy it, it's small but probably meaningful for them. While in someways this game has a lot positive representations showing several Black and Asian characters as high powered and successful, or for example by actually making the setting of the game someplace in the Horn of Africa and showing Texas, USA as a warlord driven backwards place. However, for every positive representation there are also some that feel a little offensive. For example, the Chinese character Ran Shou Man who embodies many negative stereotypes about Asians. The character Jinsil is someones avatar but they choose to use a covered woman who uses Arabic words and belongs to a group called Jahiliyah (the term used for the pre-Islamic era in Arabic meaning ignorance). Her character appears to be for all intents and purposes another portrayal of a Muslim Terrorist of sorts. The character is a cover for someone who isn't Arab or Muslim but the representation still comes across as portraying that stereotype. I'm a little torn since I really enjoyed hearing and seeing some Arabic/Arab/Muslim representation at all, but I didn't like the implications and stereotypes it played on.

There are 40 achievements in this game which is a decent amount. The achievements also cover a nice array of story unlocked to specific action unlocked. This game often gives you choices how to handle a situation and there can be 2-3 choices. 16 of the achievements are choice based from 7 different scenarios so the maximum you can collect of those on a single playthrough without using strategic saving methods would be 7 but you will unlock one of the option no matter what as they are part of the story progression. 10 of these are story progression unlocked by completing a chapter so 17 total are guaranteed if you finish the game. I unlocked 26 through natural gameplay without a walkthrough. Most are easy to pick up, but I did need to refer to a guide for 2 of them. A single playthrough probably averages 10-12 hours. My first time was around 12 my second time I was trying to pick up missed achievements. I used strategic saves and still explored thoroughly and depleted all dialogue options. That came close to 8 hours. If you skip through all the dialogues you could probably complete it much quicker. Though there are different approaches to problems and different dialogue choices available nothing really changes in the story other than a few minor details in the characters dialogues. It's really more the illusion of choice but some choices will have a slightly different cut scene afterwards like how you deal with the bomber at the train. Everything else proceeds the same.

Overall, if you like Point & Clicks you'll probably enjoy this game. If you are easily frustrated by pixel hunting or puzzles... probably best to avoid. If you enjoyed other Wadjet Eye games like Gemini Rue, you'll probably enjoy this as well.

'doNRob'
'doNRob'

I'm so happy i bought this game,
It's very well made fun and good game.

10/10, if you like point and click games this is as good as they get.

MLBlue
MLBlue

Pretty fun point and click, a lot of tech talk and futuristic concepts. I liked the characters and the plot was interesting. Lots of diversity, which should piss off reactionary anti-sjw types which I enjoy. Not SJWy enough I say! I look forward to any sequels and future projects.

Internet Samurai
Internet Samurai

Amazing world, amazing point and click adventure game. Amazing cyberpunk. This is the cyberpunk game I compare all other cyberpunk adventure games to. 10/10 Can not recommend enough despite the questionable morality of some shoehorned in elements.

Chrogion
Chrogion

An absolute masterpiece. Very thought-provoking. Most puzzles are well-designed. Interesting story.

Zorglub
Zorglub

Marvelously pixelated and classic game mechanics / story line

Saethum
Saethum

At first, I was a bit shocked with the pixel-art-y graphics, but fortunately this is not the main thing I look for in an adventure game. I'm glad I didn't give up at that point, since the game turned out to be really awesome! The story is amazing and it's worth every second of game-time. There are also multiple endings, I've seen two and they were both great, so make sure you save the game before making any major choices on the last level.

Warrick
Warrick

I just didn't connect with this game like I've had others from the same publisher. Spoilers ahead:

The initial character is quaint, but you're in this scenario that screams "tutorial puzzle". The goal is to unlock a door. I don't know what narrative tricks Blackwell games or Primordia use for immersion, but they're not present here. Maybe it would help if I could remember this character's name.

Then the action changes to other two people. The puzzle in this screen is the elevator door is locked. You unlock it and enter an office where -surprise- you have to unlock a door. *sigh* Your game doesn't need the same puzzle in every screen.

Then you get an anonymous call threatening your frozen embryos you made with your dead wife, whom you've learned everything about just a second before because your partner popped up and asked you about her. This is so clumsy. Again all you can think of is "right, the game is telling me this man had a wife who died and they made embryos, which are now being used for blackmail". There's no involvement at all. When is this 50-odd years old widower planning to have those children anyway?

I advanced a couple more screens (and another locked door), till I had to fish a gun out of a jacuzzi using the convenient fishing rod I found on a shelf in the bedroom. Because of course there's a fishing rod in the bedroom. At this point I said "yeah ok, I'm not feeling it".

Anonymous
Anonymous

Love it. Wanted to play it for years. Wadjet-Eye is one of my favorite creators, so I had to play this game.

turkishblend
turkishblend

Great artstyle, fun puzzles and a nice story. Really felt the cyber-punk vibes. A solid 8/10 point and click in my opinion.

Bigears33
Bigears33

Brilliant! I read all the dialogue, not because I had to, but because it was so darn captivating. All the characters were exceptionally voiced. The pixel art was gorgeous. This had just tied "Kathy Rain" for my favorite modern point-n-click adventure game. (Very different genres of subject matter, same levels of awesomeness though.) 10/10 A must play for any pnc fan, in my opinion.

tr00per
tr00per

Another must-play from Wadjet Eye Games.

karjoh07
karjoh07

Good puzzles, great story. The worldbuilding is done really well, too. Good experience overall. Definitely recommend!

ジェイ・シー
ジェイ・シー

Another marvellously immersive point and click by Wadjet Eye Games. Technobabylon's writing is amazing but it isn't for everyone, the game comes with a staggering amount of gore and it's not just because you're playing as a detective. Playing Technobabylon for the first time is incredibly confusing. I myself got stuck in the very first room and gave up on the whole game, before coming back later to be amazed by what I had nearly missed out on. Technobabylon will test your patience, but it will be worth it.

Pateta51
Pateta51

Great story! Should be made into a movie!

doncato
doncato

10/10 Would recommend

Great Story
Great Voice Acting
Great Gameplay

Worekjarzyn
Worekjarzyn

A point and click game with very clever puzzles and a compelling story.

Highrise
Highrise

The only thing that bugs me about this game is the trailer. It makes it sounds as if the voice acting was bad, when in reality is absolutely incredible and makes the entire experience super immersive. Great game!

Proletheus
Proletheus

I enjoyed this one. Classic pixel art point-and-click, but the puzzles aren't so ridiculous that you end up just randomly using everything on everything to get ahead. Instead, you can usually come up with a logical path of what to do next. Still, I wouldn't say this is an "easy" game. For me, it felt just right, but I had to look up the spoiler-free tips in the "guides" section of steam a handful of times.

The story is intriguing and it tackles interesting aspects of a cyberpunk future without feeling stale. Voice acting was also done well, although I didn't like the male protagonist very much. He does grow on you over time, but even in the end, I was not really rooting for him. He tries to pull of the grumpy-but-likeable routine but often falls flat into self-absorbed-stick-in-the-mud territory. The other two main protagonists were fine, though.

One other thing that struck me is that different elements have different pixel resolutions. In the old games, everything was the same resolution, but in this, if the figures are standing further away, they are just scaled down and have finer pixels. Might be nitpicking, but it constantly reminded me of the artificial pixelation that is happening throughout the game. It makes some elements stick out so that the whole scene doesn't gel as one, but sometimes feels like a collage of random images collected from different sources.

And there is a scene where Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is very prominently featured, and you can't turn it down even if you set the music volume to 0. I like this piece of music, but having it start over every time you change rooms becomes annoying. There is another scene at a biolab where you have a relatively relaxed conversation with a scientist, but the music in the background is quite hectic and loud.

Overall, these are minor gripes with a game that I whole-heartedly recommend to any fan of Sci-Fi and talking cooking appliances that evolve into... more capable appliances.

Elective Amnesia
Elective Amnesia

Very good when you get tired of combat games. Interesting narrative and well designed often clever puzzles. A lot of adventure games have arbitrary and random puzzles I just can't handle. Here the puzzles are well integrated into the story and the environment and are mostly logical, in that you can solve them by asking yourself relevant questions, like "what do I need to do here for this to happen?" Also often there are subtle hints, either in dialogue or item interactions. (sometimes you need to right click an inventory item)

Anonymous
Anonymous

Unlike a lot of modern "point and clicks" this ACTUALLY has puzzles! Good ones at that, to go with the interesting story. Highly recommended.

kasia
kasia

Right now it is one of my favourite games (and it was the only one that wasn't on my wishlist when I bough a bundle with other games). The puzzles were challenging, but not frustrating. The plot was very consistent in my opinion and playing different characters made the whole story even more interesting. And the music was awesome, it wonderfully complemented the whole experience!

OutofTownJasper
OutofTownJasper

Positive aspects: setting is fantastic, dark utopia science fiction as the name suggests, well written characters and world building

Negative: puzzles are very confusing at times, beginning level is very difficult by not explaining concepts such as the AI interaction with wetware, story runs then stumbles into an ending

Overall, a great story that is hampered by an ending that appears to have been changed last minute based off concluding events and character arcs. I would recommend the experience as it does have some anxiety moments that should have been further explored including the threat of death, there are no consequences for failing a puzzle other than a momentary lapse.

LetzterAufruf
LetzterAufruf

Very good point&click adventure. The graphics and music provide great atmosphere. The story is good with interesting characters and puzzles. The Trance episodes (in cyberspace) are fun and interesting in this well balanced cyberpunk adventure. I'd love to see more of Latha's adventures in the Trance ;D

Tim
Tim

The characters and story were actually a little bland. The city didn't even get nuked, it was a mini simulation in a game that didn't have anything to do with the storyline. Most puzzles mainly comprise of scanning your screen for a hidden poorly drawn object that doesn't even look like an interactable item
I don't know how this game is rated as overwhelmingly positive. It definitely isn't a space quest or quest for glory.

Squeeves
Squeeves

Bought Technobabylon during a steam sale because I was a fan of the Sierra/LucasArts games back in the early 1990's. Technobabylon feels a lot like what these games did back in that time.

The game took me about 10 hours to beat and I didn't get stuck very often on any of the puzzles. I did not have to check a walkthrough to get past any part. Usually within 20 minutes you can move on to the next part.

The dialogue was a little lengthy towards the end of the game. I did end up clicking through some of it to speed up and because I get a little bored if there is too much dialogue.

Overall, this is a good game to get on sale. It's one of the better point-and-click games that I've played in ages.

wibby1
wibby1

Great story with great puzzles. Just an all-around good time.