Jamie C
Technology is ruining our lives!
REVIEWED ON PC,
AVAILABLE ON PC, Switch
Reviewed by Jamie C
Review Code Provided by publisher
Video Review
Written Review
It’s hard not to see our own world in this game and it worries me if this well written visual novel is any indication to where we are going. As soon you will notice keeping your humanity in a futuristic dystopia is more difficult than it sounds.
Set in the near future, Neo Cab follows the story Lina as she struggles to keep her job as a taxi driver. This is down to a faceless corporation known as Capra who is slowing monopolising many business sectors including the Taxi business.
Neo Cab reflects real life struggles of our society today, as everyday people trying to make a living, despite the uprising of computers and robotic automation. Neo Cab isn’t just a story of corporate oppression, but the people who blindly follow brands over real people and ignoring those their struggles to stay afloat.
With taxis now being nearly completely automated, it’s hard for the last human taxi drivers to gain the confidence of those who blindly follow machines over humans.
Our story takes Lina, one of the last remaining human taxi drivers as she comes to the fictional American city, Los Ojos, to see one of her closest friends. Early on in the game something happens to Lina’s friend and she must set out to find what may have happened to them.
Throughout the game, you will pick up many different passengers and as you progress, you will learn more and more about the city and the cooperation who monopolises the world. You will also gather clues to the disappearance of your friend and the humanity that still lives inside all of us in a world where technology is affecting people for better and for worse.
As you progress, you acquire the Feelgrid bracelet. As your mood changes the colour will indicate the which emotions our main character is feeling. It serves as a way to help you steer conversations in a direction you want. But it will also give you the ability to select responses unique to your current mood. As Lina without thinking about it, you as in the player, will get a sense that despite how hard Lina may try, there is no hiding from Capra as even jewellery is monitored by them.
The star of the show however is not our main character or even the main story, but the world itself. If you have ever played games like Papers Please, you will feel right at home here. The characters you encounter are what made me want to keep playing. You are encouraged to pick up these characters multiple times to get their full story and as you do, Lina’s bond with them grows so you can help them through their life.
You will meet people who worship an Evil worm, a date that has gone wrong that you can help the rejected pick themselves up and a bouncer whose life you will unknowingly save. Your conversations will help them become better people and you feel pride knowing you have done something a robotic car couldn’t do. Feel sympathy.
But what I loved most, was the sense of progression with these characters or what I personally interpreted is a lack there of. Is what you are saying to your passengers really going to help them? The Feelgrid is only there to serve a specific purpose, to give you a false sense of progression. Most of the time, the dialog gives you a sense of “fake smiles” and over the top attitude. If I do answer in a happy manner because my Mood Bracelet unlocks that option in the dialog tree, would I make a difference to this person’s life?
When you get in a taxi you could be literally anyone you want to be and the driver would not know any difference. The choices I made in my dialog options sometimes didn’t matter and made me question if this person’s life would be any different if I didn’t intervene. There are definitely characters that are affected by your actions, but the brilliant writing gives you this unease to trust no one.
The game also makes you balance out every day life. You will need to decide; how much are you willing to pay to recharge your car? Which hotel are you going to sleep in the night? And, how many passengers will you pick up in a single night?
Passengers will always pay for their ride, but their ratings (similar to Uber’s) may put you out of a job. You will need to choose your rides carefully as some rides use more battery and some may be picking up a difficult customer. As long as your star rating is above 4 out of 5 stars you can keep your job. And as long as you have some money, you can sleep in a hotel without the risk of police getting on your case for sleeping out in your car.
The gorgeous Cyber Punk visuals really helps this game stand out from the rest and makes the world feel alive. Each character you encounter is unique in terms of appearance and their background and will all give a lasting impression.
Neo Cab is a game that challenges your perception of corporate monopolies and make you look beyond a person’s smile and listen to humanity and the pain inside of a person. Even though they may be lies, you will never stop wondering if everyone you encounter is doing okay after you drop them off.
