The Devil's Men

It's difficult to preview adventure games given how key the narrative is to the experience. The readers don't want to know too much of the story, and the developers seldom let on very much either so it often ends up being a text about how we hope things will turn out, perhaps going on a little about the premise and the main character. It's a little different with The Devil's Men. Sure the narrative is key to the experience, and we don't want to spoil that, but there is also a very neat see-saw mechanic between the two main characters that we can dissect without spoiling things.

But let's start with the premise. Set in a Victorian steampunk England in 1871, a small sea-side town plays host to the story of The Devil's Men. Compared to other steampunk settings, this one only has a minute alternative history tweak as part of the world expo hosted by London in 1851 was held in this town thus changing the course of history as we know it.

What's really interesting about The Devil's Men is the relationship between the two main characters you take turns controlling, Adelaide and Emily. Adelaide, daughter of a "Sherlock Holmes-y" like character who went missing investigating a group of influential scientists who are now getting knocked off. Adelaide begins to think there may be a connection with the disappearance of her father and launches into an investigation. This investigation sees her cross paths with Emily whose a member of a criminal gang.

We've actually had the privilege of seeing the game twice (at E3 and Gamescom) and also had a chance to talk to its creator Kevin Mentz (Memoria), and while the scenes we've experienced in the game

"These decisions are always designed so that whenever you do something good for Adelaide something bad will happen for Emily," says Mentz. "The further the story advances the more you have to decide which one of those characters you want to favour and how you're playing them out is a bit of a role-playing game."

"The further the story advances the more radically different the storylines are. In the beginning it's all very similar so if you restart the game it's still very similar. I can solve puzzles differently, but the way I solve them will affect events later in the story. So it's very important to me that the player always has the feeling and he knows that what he does will affect the storyline and that he is actually experiencing the consequences of what he does."

In one scene early in the game we watched Emily team up with a male accomplish, and they certainly seem to be at odds with eachother. We were presented with a couple of ways to complete a puzzle (elevator and ladder in this case), whatever Emily would lean towards her partner would suggests the opposite - what you then pick in the end will influence their relationship moving forward. And the end of the scene something happens where you're given a quick option (use a lockpick, a limited resource in the game) or one that will eventually lead to this character getting hurt (we won't go into detail), but these sort of longterm effects that sets up events later on is what The Devil's Men is all about. And this is only really involves a side character, still there certainly seems to be ample opportunity to alter and see several different scenarios play out.

There is a scene later in the game where the two girls have gotten to know eachother where Adelaide is faced with a decision whether to reveal a piece of evidence to a detective that implicates Emily in a crime or keep her mouth shut about it. If she says nothing it won't help the investigation, but it will make Emily's life easier. This sort of thing will not only influence the story, but it in this case Emily needs to break into the basement of the detective to recover the evidence and solve an entire puzzle she otherwise wouldn't have to.

The Devil's Men features a distinct and well drawn mixture of 3D environments and 2D characters. At first it comes across as a little odd, but ultimately it sets it apart from a lot of other games. And it allows for some stunning visuals, even if it feels like there is a divide between how the characters move and the environments they move in.

There is a lot of things that appeal to us in The Devil's Men - the setting, the characters, visuals and perhaps most importantly the dynamic way in which the story will unfold. Set for release during the second quarter of 2015 The Devil's Men is certainly an adventure game to keep your eyes on.