The Red Strings Club

The Red Strings Club bar is located in one of the alleys of this forerunner of classic cyberpunk, right under the feet of those same corporations. But this is not an ordinary place that people come to for the sake of oblivion and small talk: its owner, and concurrently the only employee, Donovan, not only mixes alcohol, but also engages in informational espionage.

Literally in the first scene “The Red Strings Club” demonstrates the end of the upcoming story. Donovan's close friend is reflected in the mirrored skyscraper, the wind flutters his tie and hair, and a dreary melody sounds in the background: in a few moments he will collapse on the rain-irrigated asphalt. Such a straightforward introduction, devoid of any illusions, allows you to fully experience the categoricity here.

The outcome is predetermined from the very beginning — death, which loops all events, is a climax that cannot be influenced, and the game directly points to that. Therefore, the events leading to the denouement are the most valuable in this structure. Like a restless stream, they wind between obstacles on the way — they go around lifeless boulders, take small animals with them and periodically get stuck in rough potholes.

Despite the fact that in some episodes, “The Red Strings Club” pretends to be familiar point-and-click adventure, in fact, the only significant mechanics in it are dialogues. In fact, this turns it into a visual novel, the conversations in which are diluted with curious but slightly influential activities.

So, Donovan needs to keep an eye on the bar and mix cocktails for visitors. This activity is presented in the form of a mini-game that is nothing special — its mechanics are not deep enough and fun. Rather, what is happening resembles a routine, yet it does its job perfectly: it shifts the focus from conversations without letting you get fed up with them.

The main conflict at “The Red Strings Club” stems from the fact that a large corporation Supercontinent Ltd plans to renew implants installed in most of the world's population. Thus, they will launch the “Public Mental Wellbeing” project, which will eradicate negative emotions — anger, depression and fear that have overshadowed the world for thousands of years, will finally sink into oblivion.

The catch is that the program will be launched without people's knowledge; they will simply be faced with the fact. In addition, its effect will also apply to those whose bodies do not have implants. The good goal that should push humanity to a new evolutionary round is actually the imposition of someone else's will. Plus, once it falls into the wrong hands, the world will end.

Donovan sees this venture as an outright attempt to gain control over human will, and therefore decides to prevent its implementation. But his role is not reduced to action, but to collecting important information, because at the beginning of the story, neither the main character nor his comrades know anything about “Public Mental Wellbeing”.

It is precisely because the characters are not aware of key mechanics that conversations are made. Staff visit the bar Supercontinent Ltd of varying importance, Donovan serves cocktails that affect the mood and tone of conversation, and does his main job — fishing for information. Each of the visitors has to find their own approach: it is useful to plunge some into despondency and longing, while others should be reminded of vanity.

Depending on the cocktail they drink, visitors answer the same questions differently, which makes the game not so much non-linear as it is individually tailored to each player. Conversation topics and their interactivity also contribute to this. Donovan talks about the value of free will, the humanity of artificial intelligence, and the acceleration of human evolution.

These topics alone are nothing new; they have been on the surface for a long time. But conversations in “The Red Strings Club” flow slowly and are periodically interrupted by questions to the player. Most of them can't be answered hastily, so you have to take a break, form your own opinion, and only then answer. This structure, which is supported by general slowness, creates the illusion of a real conversation, accompanied by reflections and doubts.

Among other things, “The Red Strings Club” is a very intimate game, but not because it takes place in several locations. The fact is that its only goal is to prevent people from being brainwashed. And this does not happen in several stages, but only once — at the very end. In other words, the characters have one task that they carefully prepare for and bring it to life once.