Dead Synchronicity

Did You Know?

• Players control Michael, an amnesiac who awakens in the apocalyptic New World.
• Many humans, known as 'the Dissolved', suffer from a terminal disease.
• The game features space-time distortions, a dystopian atmosphere, and a dark, bloodstained plot.

Development

The game was created by Fictiorama Studios, a team of three brothers—Mario, Luis, and Alberto Oliván—alongside artist Martín Martínez. Alberto Oliván pitched the story, and the art, plot, and music were designed to match his vision. Influences included The Secret of Monkey Island, 12 Monkeys, and The Road. The art style draws from expressionism and tribal art. A major production challenge was the non-linear narrative and complex branching dialogue, which was managed using the software articy:draft.

Reception

Carsten Fichtelmann of Daedalic Entertainment stated in 2016 that Dead Synchronicity was a commercial flop, selling only a few thousand units, which prevented funding for a second game. PC World called the game brave and surprisingly disturbing but noted it lacked catharsis due to an abrupt ending and narrative cohesion issues. John Walker of Rock, Paper, Shotgun, initially enthusiastic during the Kickstarter campaign, was disappointed by the first chapter's abrupt ending. The PlayStation 4 port received positive reviews: Crash Landed gave it 4 stars, praising the control method for making the game feel at home on console. Kai Powell of wccftech scored it 7.7, praising its macabre setting, while Jose A. Rodríguez of IGN scored it 7.8.