Artificial Nexus fully accessible via Steam and itch.io

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Demo also available for visual novel-styled sci-fi mystery on Windows, Mac and Linux

Some days it can feel like you may never get out of the office, but that is true in more ways than one for the protagonist of Artificial Nexus, the newly released sci-fi mystery from indie Australian developer Too Many Teeth Studios.

A young "green haired amnesiac" awakens inside the office building of COEUS, a hi-tech company, with no memory of who she is or how she got there. All she remembers is her name: Susan. Communicating with over the intercom is Hank, a fellow employee who claims never to have seen Susan before until noticing her on camera from the control room, sleeping inside a "coffin-like" pod. Suspicion runs both ways at first, but they have no choice but to rely on each other because the facility is currently under attack and they seem to be the only ones remaining. While Susan attempts to reach Hank, he is able to provide insight remotely, watching her on camera, warning her of danger and guiding her progress through the building. But even if she's successful in escaping this situation alive, will she be able to "uncover the mysteries of her past?"

As with the developer's debut game, The Many Deaths of Lily Kosen, Artificial Nexus is an anime-inspired, point-and-click slideshow-styled mystery. But while its predecessor was a pure visual novel, the goal this time around was to provide "more than just dialogue trees." There's still a lot of conversational storytelling here, with a script of almost 80,000 words packed in and player choice dictating which ending you receive. However, in between all the excellent (but only partially) voiced dialogue, you can traverse the many rooms and hallways of COEUS with a blueprint-styled map, and use designated on-screen icons to examine hotspots for clues, collect useful items, or ask Hank for additional information. You'll need to crack codes and solve other puzzles to advance, often involving computers running on the AI "Prometheus." There you can activate special functions, check text logs for relevant details (or simply read amusing personal exchanges between office employees), and type in the occasional required input. Oh, and you'll have to achieve all this "while avoiding the enemies who have attacked the building."

The full version of Artificial Nexus is ready and available to download on Steam and itch.io for Windows, Mac and Linux, along with a playable demo if you'd prefer a short free sampler first.