Tech Support: Error Unknown

Get ready for an interesting take on the adventure game genre with Tech Support: Error Unknown by Dragon Slumber. In this exciting new game you can engage in customer support and assist colleagues in interesting new procedurally generated mechanics. You spend your days making things right with the world until you are contacted an anonymous hacktivist group that leaves you with an important choice to make.

Gameplay

So the primary function of the gameplay is to hack and to act as a tech support agent. The gameplay is easy to follow, and mouse only, but there is a strong element of problem solving and logical thinking that, at times, can really challenge you.

There are a lot of ways to solve issues, throughout and the game rewards creativity, you can hack your rig to use GPS to find lost phones, and you can scan profiles to blackmail customers or just suggest they turn their system off and on again.

One of the interesting mechanics in the game is the Warranty system which acts a bit like a difficulty system. When a customers warranty is out of date, you can try to help but you can also tell them to do one if they are rude or you can’t make any progress. The Standard and Extended is where it gets tough, it is up to the player to discern what the problem is and decide how they are going to help the customer. Alongside the engaging hacker parts, there is a lot of gameplay on offer to the player.

I can’t help but draw an odd comparison to a game like Papers Please; there is certainly a bureaucratic element to it that that is surprisingly engaging yet purposefully boring mixed up with the fun stuff you can do.

Story

You play a tech support specialist in a new company called Quasar Telecommunications, its a little cult-y but you get used to it. You start off by solving simple tech issues while upgrading and hacking your rig to make yourself more efficient. After a while, an anonymous rogue hacktivist group gets into contact with you and asks you to get up to no good with them and this is where the game really begins. As this group is clearly based on real life hacker group Anonymous, I am not going to make a joke about them as I don’t want hard drive filled with clown snuff porn and then be doxed. There are over 20 major and minor endings that can all be discovered through its sandbox computer environment.

Art Style

Art style might be an odd way of naming this section as it is more of a faux user interface. That being said, it is a surprisingly convincing one as it has pop-up windows and chat boxes for you to talk with clients, send emails and view profile page looking things for each of your clients. You could easily convince your parents you had an actual job if they saw you playing this.

The “Art Style” truly engages you into believing that you are doing the job it suggests, be it when you’re hacking or replying to emails, there is an interesting verisimilitude that engrosses you and I found it to be a joy.

Pros

• Interesting user interface
• Great plot
• Fun puzzles

Cons

• Occasional glitches
• Requires strong focus to play