The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker

Last updated

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker
The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker cover art.jpg
Developer(s) D'Avekki Studios
Publisher(s) D'Avekki Studios [lower-alpha 1]
Director(s) Tim Cowles
Writer(s) Tim Cowles, Lynda Cowles
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows, macOS
19 May 2017
Switch, PS4, Xbox One
5 June 2018
Genre(s) Adventure, interactive film
Mode(s) Single-player

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is an FMV murder mystery adventure video game developed by D'avekki Studios, written by Tim Cowles and Lynda Cowles, and released in 2017. You play as a psychiatrist, trying to solve a murder whilst treating the patients of the recently deceased Doctor Dekker. The game was initially released for Microsoft Windows and macOS via Steam before being published on consoles by British game publishing studio, Wales Interactive. [1] [2]

Contents

Another game by the same studio titled The Shapeshifting Detective was released the following year.

Gameplay

The player sees full-motion videos of characters who were patients of Doctor Dekker. The goal is to find out the details surrounding the death of Doctor Dekker. You play as a replacement psychiatrist and must ask the patients questions. You are free to switch between characters to find out more about them. In sessions with each patient, you interact by typing questions or comments into a text box. The game interprets your input and responds by spitting out a full-motion video reply from the subject. You have a list of responses in the log that will sometimes have asterisks beside them. One asterisk means there's still a question to ask, but two means you should follow up with this character. Questions can take plenty of forms, but you are generally free to type what you please. Hints are available, but have a cooldown before you can use them again. [3] [4]

Story

The full identity of the playable character is not known except for the fact they are a replacement psychiatrist. They have been brought in to find out why the previous Doctor Dekker was murdered and they're tasked with interviewing Doctor Dekker's many previous patients. One patient is a woman who blacks out and finds herself at the beach when she wakes up and another patient seems to relive the same day over and over again. One patient also believes that he gains an extra hour at the end of the day, during that hour time freezes and he is free to do whatever he likes without anyone knowing. The player's questions influence the events of the game and can lead to a variety of different responses ultimately resulting in different endings. [5] [6]

Reception

On Metacritic, the PC and Nintendo Switch versions received positive reviews, and the PS4 version received mixed reviews. [7] [8] [9]

Adventure Gamers and Rock Paper Shotgun both compared the game to Her Story . Adventure Gamers said it adds a few new twists and includes more dialogue, [10] and Rock Paper Shotgun wrote that it does not always elegantly succeed as meeting its goals. For example, reviewer John Walker said that the game's parser misunderstands some obvious questions, though he felt that game remains "often very interesting" despite its limitations. [11] Adventure Gamers concluded, "The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is engrossing, disturbing and erudite, and though it's a little lacking in plot it's full of welcome ideas." [10] Digitally Downloaded's reviewer said she was inspired to read H. P. Lovecraft's fiction because of the game's references to them; she considered these references to be its "shining point". [12] Nintendo Life criticized the game's continuity errors. [13]

The game was nominated for TIGA awards for diversity and heritage. [14]

Notes

  1. ↑ Wales Interactive published the console versions.

Related Research Articles

<i>To the Moon</i> 2011 video game

To the Moon is a 2011 adventure game developed and published by Freebird Games. It was originally released for Windows and was later ported to Linux, OS X, Android, iOS, and the Nintendo Switch. The story follows two doctors who offer to fulfill a dying man's last wish using artificial memories. The game features relatively few gameplay mechanics, with the player controlling the two doctors, exploring the narrative, and solving puzzles as they try to reconstruct the dying man's memories in order to fulfill his wish.

<i>Lego Worlds</i> 2017 Lego-themed sandbox game

Lego Worlds is a Lego-themed sandbox game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game allows players to build constructions in a 3D procedurally generated world. A beta version of the game was released on 1 June 2015 on Steam Early Access. It was released on 7 March 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A version for Nintendo Switch was released on 5 September 2017 in North America and 8 September 2017 in Europe.

<i>Project Highrise</i> 2016 video game

Project Highrise is a 2D tower-building simulation game, developed by SomaSim and published by Kasedo Games. It is considered by many to be the spiritual successor to SimTower. In the game, players take on the role of a high-rise manager who is responsible for building and maintaining a tower block, filling it with offices, apartments, shops and restaurants, which they support with utilities, while providing specialized services and fulfilling certain conditions in order to keep the residents and tenants of the building satisfied.

<i>Sea of Solitude</i> 2019 video game

Sea of Solitude is an adventure video game developed by Jo-Mei Games and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in July 2019. A director's cut version of the game was announced at The Game Awards 2020, unlike the original version, the game is published by Quantic Dream and was released exclusively for Nintendo Switch in March 2021.

<i>Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders</i> (2016 video game) 2016 video game

Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders is a point-and-click adventure mystery video game developed by Artefacts Studio and published by Anuman under their Microïds brand for Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in February 2016. It was later released for Nintendo Switch in October 2020.

<i>Minit</i> 2018 adventure video game

Minit is an action-adventure video game developed by Jan Willem Nijman, Kitty Calis, Jukio Kallio, and Dominik Johann. The game is published by Devolver Digital and was released on April 3, 2018, for Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. On May 11, 2018, a Nintendo Switch version was announced on the first episode of Indie World, a web series from Nintendo of Japan that showcases indie games coming to the Japanese Nintendo eShop. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on August 9, 2018. It also came out for mobile devices in June 2019.

<i>OneShot</i> 2016 video game

OneShot is a puzzle-adventure game developed by the indie studio Future Cat and published by Degica. Based on a free version made in 2014, it was released for Windows on December 8, 2016. A console adaptation, OneShot: World Machine Edition, was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on September 22, 2022.

<i>Wheels of Aurelia</i> 2016 visual novel by Santa Regione

Wheels of Aurelia is a 2016 visual novel and adventure video game that was developed and published by Italian studio Santa Ragione. It was released worldwide in September 2016 for Linux, Microsoft Windows, and OS X; in October 2016 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One; October 2017 on iOS and Android; and November 2017 for the Nintendo Switch. Its story is set in 1978 Italy and tells the story of Lella who drives along the Italian motorway Via Aurelia alongside one or many companions; commenting on issues such as single parenthood, fascism, and the Mafia.

<i>The Swords of Ditto</i> 2018 video game

The Swords of Ditto is an action role-playing video game developed by Onebitbeyond and published by Devolver Digital.

<i>Late Shift</i> 2017 video game

Late Shift is an interactive FMV video game written and directed by Tobias Weber. The participation film technology behind the title was developed by CtrlMovie. The title was screened at many international film festivals, including the New York Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, and the Festival du nouveau cinéma.

<i>Emergency Room</i> (series) Video game series

Emergency Room is a simulation video game series in which the player assumes the role of a medical person who treats hospital patients. The first game, Emergency Room, was released for MS-DOS in 1995. It was developed and published by Legacy Software, which created additional games in the series as Legacy Interactive Inc. beginning in 1999. The subsequent games were released for Macintosh and Microsoft Windows up until 2001, and a Nintendo DS game was released in 2009. The eighth and final game in the series, Emergency Room: Heroic Measures, was released in 2010.

<i>Ittle Dew 2</i> 2016 video game

Ittle Dew 2 is an action-adventure game developed by Swedish indie studio Ludosity and originally published by Nicalis, and the sequel to the 2013 title Ittle Dew. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 15, 2016. An updated version of the game titled Ittle Dew 2+ was released for the Nintendo Switch on November 14, 2017; the updated content was eventually released on the Windows version on May 26, 2019. The Switch is the only platform that received a physical release of the game.

<i>Bad North</i> 2018 strategy video game

Bad North is a real-time strategy video game developed by Plausible Concept and published by Raw Fury. The game was released on August 20, 2018, for the Nintendo Switch, then for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 28. A Microsoft Windows version was released on October 16, 2018. Versions for Android and iOS followed on October 16, 2019.

<i>State of Mind</i> (video game) 2018 graphic adventure game

State of Mind is a 2018 graphic adventure game developed and published by Daedalic Entertainment. A cyberpunk story set in the near future, the game explores transhumanist themes. The game was released for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One in August 2018. It received mixed reviews upon release.

<i>The Tiny Bang Story</i> Puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Colibri Games

The Tiny Bang Story is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Colibri Games. It was released on 22 April 2011 for Microsoft Windows and macOS on Steam. It was ported and published to iOS in Q2`2012 by Colibri Games. It was ported to Android and published on Google Play by HeroCraft in Q3`2012. A port for Linux was made available in June 2015, for AppleTV on 2 February 2016, and a Nintendo Switch version was released on 4 October 2019 in collaboration with Ellada Games. A ports to Windows phone exists as well.

<i>Astrologaster</i> 2019 video game

Astrologaster is a comedy narrative adventure video game developed and published by Nyamyam. It was released for iOS on 2 May 2019, for Microsoft Windows and macOS on 9 May 2019, and for Nintendo Switch on 18 February 2021. The game centres around the historical 16th-century physician and astrologer Simon Forman and the characters he encounters, who demand diagnoses, treatments, and sometimes to be read fortunes written in the stars.

<i>Bayonetta</i> Video game series

Bayonetta is an urban fantasy action-adventure video game series created by Hideki Kamiya. It is developed by PlatinumGames, owned by Sega, and currently published by Nintendo. The franchise was introduced in 2009 with Bayonetta, which was followed by two sequels, Bayonetta 2 (2014) and Bayonetta 3 (2022), as well as a spinoff, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (2023). The games follow the titular character, a witch who wields dual pistols, shooters in her high heels, and long, magically transforming hair which becomes a deadly weapon.

<i>In Other Waters</i> 2020 video game

In Other Waters is a 2020 adventure game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Players take on the role of an AI that assists a xenobiologist in exploring an alien world.

<i>Dark Nights with Poe and Munro</i> 2020 video game

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is an adventure game developed by D'Avekki Studios. Players control two radio hosts as they become embroiled in various short adventures involving the supernatural. The game uses full-motion video.

References

  1. ↑ "The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker Launch Date Revealed". wales-interactive. 15 May 2018. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. ↑ McFerran, Damien (30 November 2017). "The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker Will, Erm, Infect Switch Next Spring". Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Deogracias, Elisha (5 June 2018). "In the mouth of madness – The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker review". gamingtrend.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  4. ↑ Van Allen, Eric (27 May 2017). "FMV Mystery Doctor Dekker Is Messy, But Campy Fun". kotaku.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  5. ↑ Cowles, Lynda (5 June 2018). "Putting the Madness in The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, Available Now on Xbox One". news.xbox.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  6. ↑ Lemne, Bengt (13 July 2018). "The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker". gamereactor.eu.
  7. ↑ "The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  10. 1 2 Mattsson, Peter (23 August 2017). "Review for The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker". Adventure Gamers . Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Walker, John (29 June 2017). "Wot I Think: The Infectious Madness Of Doctor Dekker". Rock Paper Shotgun . Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  12. ↑ M., Lindsay (5 June 2018). "Review: The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker (Sony PlayStation 4)". DigitallyDownloaded.net. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Lane, Gavin (5 June 2017). "The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker Review". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  14. ↑ "Awards – 2018 Winners". Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.