Quantum Suicide is a game in the form of an anime-style visual novel, meaning the player interacts with the characters talking directly to you on-screen. You must choose actions given to you and the choices you make determine how the story plays out. This was one of the games showcased at the PAX Rising section at PAX AUS 2019 and was easily one of the most interesting games I got to try out. Described by developer Cotton Candy Cyanide as a game of “betrayal, deception and romance in the cold depths of space”, this is exactly what got during my short playthrough.
The entirely of the demo takes place on a spaceship called The Everett. The people on board are on a mission to find a planet they can call home and live peacefully. While we do meet several integral characters to the plot, the most interesting is an A.I robot who boards with the humans, simply called AI. However, this turns deadly once AI strangely malfunctions and become a deadly killer robot who now refers to herself as ‘DAI’. DAI explains that everyone on board must participate in a weekly game called ‘The Deletion Game’ and whoever loses, will be eliminated from the ship. Literally.
It’s an incredibly interesting premise that instantly caught my attention and when playing the game, I was really drawn into it. Not only because of the intriguing plot and space setting but also due to the fact that you the player are able to have a romantic relation with someone from up to a variety of 7 different kinds of people to pick from, each with their own sexual preference, which I think is pretty rad. You’re given free choice to romance who you like out of the courtable options regardless of who you are (you can choose to play as a man or woman) or who they are, and I love that. While I wasn’t able to get really in depth with that feature from what I played at PAX, I cannot wait to do so with the final product.
As mentioned earlier, Quantum Suicide is a visual novel-style game and allows you to pick choices that affect the story and later options that may be presented to you with text-based story on screen. For example, at the very start of the game I was given the option to decide if I wanted to eat this piece of food that was left out or to simply leave it. Foolishly, I decided to do so, and my character instantly fell ill, which resulted me in taking a trip to the doctor. It’s little things like this that can change the narrative on how the story will pan out. I could have had a completely different scenario and/or interaction with a character had I not decided to eat the mysterious food. It gives games like this more replay ability and more scenarios to unravel and discover. At least, that’s how I feel with Visual Novels.
Towards the end, Quantum Suicide had definitely piqued my interest in wanting to play the final version of the game due to the ending I received on my playthrough. This involved myself and a character I was paired with romantically resulting in being viciously attacked by their doppelganger who had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. It was unsettling and had my interest at an all-time high (I really, really want to find out what happens next!).
This game was fun but very interesting. Not only did the game look pretty and detailed with its polished anime cut-scenes but its setting and story was just so fascinating. I want to know what made AI turn into DAI. Why is there a doppelganger? Where did they come from? Consider me impressed and keen! I’m so glad I was able to play this.
Quantum Suicide is due for release on PC and Mac in December 2019 with a PlayStation Vita, PS4 and Nintendo Switch release in late 2020.
For more information visit: https://cottoncandycyanide.itch.io/quantum-suicide