City of Broken Dreamers: Book One

In a city that never sleeps, you are bound to find pockets of the bustling city that are bound to be hotbeds for illegal activity. Drugs, underground gambling, you name it. Plus, you can bet your bottom dollar that the members of the corporate elite will be in attendance. Well, in the original game, you play as a Ghost. A secret operative and bounty hunter that hunt down these people and see them atone for their crimes one way or another. However, can you remain professional while dealing with your own demons? This is the central premise of City of Broken Dreamers: Book One.

This game plays out like other visual novels of this ilk such as Lust Theory, Being A DIK, House Party. Yet also plays like mainstream games such as Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human, Heavy Rain and Life is Strange. However, does this game hold a candle to any of these quality narrative features? We find out in our review of City of Broken Dreamers: Book One.

A Broken Dream Come True

Let’s begin with the art style of City Of Broken Dreamers. This title takes on a sci-fi meets cyberpunk sort of style which really works with the context of the narrative. This is a gritty and photo-realistic art direction which really pops on screen allowing players to fully immerse themselves in the rich environment where this game plays out. Plus, when the lewd scenes jump out of the blue, they are handled in a very solid and tasteful way and most importantly, they look great.

Then moving onto where this game lives and dies, the story. The game truly has one of the most comprehensive and mature storylines that you will find in a game of this nature. It is compelling, beautifully paced, offers constant call backs and back story for pretty much every character. Plus, every character is fully fleshed out and serves a genuine purpose which is always good to see.

In truth, the only things that we found within this feature that we could mark this title down for were the very sporadic typos within the text, the fact that there is no voice acting offered despite the high production value and the fact that the music will often cut off, leaving a long, silent pause before the loop starts again which can take you right out of the intense action. These are small gripes but relevant nonetheless.

The Verdict

Overall, we have to say that the first book of this fantastic series is a hit. The story is compelling from start to finish, the animations and art style are absolutely breath-taking, the music is also up to standard and the abundance of choices and alternative endings make every action worthwhile. It’s by no means perfect and perhaps the second iteration will iron out the small kinks.

Pros:

• Great, dark storyline
• Visually stunning
• Choices that truly matter

Cons:

• Could have benefitted from voice acting
• Some typos here and there