7th Sector puzzles across cyberpunk networks today
The ghost of electricity howls
There's not many games where you can play as a haunted robot, but 7th Sector, quietly launched today, appears to let you play the role of a literal ghost in the shell. It's the latest from Носков Сергей, the folks who previously freaked Alec out with the deeply Russian 35MM. It reminds me a little of Inside, only instead of hacking the meat-brains of everything that crosses your path, your little spark of life hops between robot bodies (from toys to military hardware), exposed wiring and computer systems across its cyberpunk world. Take a peek at the launch trailer for yourself.
I've not had a chance to play 7th Sector, but YouTuber "wolftooth" went and recorded the first 14 minutes of the game, thankfully bereft of commentary. It's enough to give a solid idea of how the early game works, with the player hopping between mundane pieces of electrical hardware and manipulating devices to solve puzzles. There's fuse-boards to rewire and even a digital gramophone to haunt. There's clearly something going awry in this city, and I'm curious to find out whether the player's little electric ghost is the cause, cure or merely a bystander to whatever is going down.
So far there's only one concern I have about 7th Sector - the English translation looks a little wonky. While most of the game's storytelling seems to be environmental and incidental, there are panels labelled "HIGHT VOLTAGE" and the occasional data terminal that makes less sense than I think it should. Even the game's store page has some mysterious lines, including the bullet point "4 variants of final" (four endings, perhaps?), though it's not enough to dull my interest in the game. It doesn't look to be too systemically complex, but four variants of final seems worth a look.
7th Sector is out now on Steam for £8.74/€9.17/$11.04 Thanks to Graham for spotting this at (just short of) the 11th hour.