Personally, I’m not a fan of ‘the promising technology had a hidden drawback’ trope in sci-fi. It lets in loopholes in world-building, let alone a big backtrack from the previous statement that the said technology is well established and understood. Perhaps I’m too old to remember when the cellphone popularized and how it unfolded; aviation industries and regulators flew to investigate whether a cheap consumer electronics can be a probable cause of failures of multimillion dollar technological marble that is an airplane. That is where Nobody Wants to Die kicks off. You are a detective, investigating a possible homicide, only the world is now free of death — permanently.

Nobody Wants to Die is one linear experience. There is no gameplay element to aside from uncovering the unknown in its own unique style. It is, by definition, a walking simulator. The game does offer more than “walking” to explore the world. The game’s signature tool, Reconstructor, is used to quite literally “reconstruct” a crime scene. Being able to see a crime unfold with characters building their own conjectures over radio in art deco styled sci-fi world has its own unique flavor.

But serving a unique flavor in a main course is not enough to call it a three course meal. We need an appetizer and a dessert. The world-building exercise in Nobody Wants to Die is certainly an impressive one with dreadful outlook with sci-fi noir mixed in, but it does little to describe why or how it’s taking place. Take, for example, a drive-in theater showing black and white movies from 1900s. It’s certainly impressive to see a fleet of flying cars watching movies in the middle of city, but it also begs the question why is a classical movie, even by our own standards, is being shown at a commercial theater. There are others too, but this time it does make sense, only for the game to let go the chance to explain why in-game. It is an odd choice not to finish developing small arcs in hopes the players would simply notice the connection.

Conclusions: A Beautiful Walking Sim

Nobody Wants to Die has a world to sell, its art style, the dialogues, the characters, the whole nine yards. But it doesn’t have a game to sell in a debatable sense. It is a detective story with detective gameplay, but with so many guidances provided by in-game characters and tutorials, players are treated as more or less an audience to the world, not an explorer or an adventurer. And it’s weak, Telltale Games style, ‘your choice will matter’ doesn’t elevate the core issue of it being a walking simulator. If a walking sim is right up your alley, it is a well done experience. But much like other walking sims, it is a required taste.