

We don’t have a lot of hope for the future, do we? Things are rarely hunky-dory in the far-off year 3000, where every corporation is crushing the populace for profits and the police budget is somewhere in line with the military budget. I mean, just look at that four-legged tank from the artwork for SyncBuildRun’s V.Next. That is not going to be cheap. There’s no way my local PD could ever work that into their annual budget. Still, in the dark, technologically-focused future, the police enforce the rule of corporations, ensuring you never buy budget soda and stay away from the dreaded Brand-X fabric softener. Sometimes you need a walking tank to do that. Fortunately, alongside our corporate masters, there’s usually hackers with hearts of gold. This is where Vivienne Denue, and you, come in.





Taking place in a Blade Runner-styled future, players join Vivienne, recently released from prison, on her journey to right some wrongs and help folks out. Doing so means using her considerable hacking skills to break into places and hurt the crooked companies that run the world. Probably the sort of behavior that’s going to get her tossed back into jail, especially with the police driving walking tanks, so you’ll need to be ready with some stealth skills as well. Gameplay seems like it will focus on pointing-and-clicking with a little driving thrown in with Vivienne’s bike, but beyond that, the developer is a bit quiet on what the player has to do for the hacking, driving, and hiding.



V.Next will be delivered weekly in eighteen chunks when its release rolls around later this year. For now, we have little more than some (really nice) concept art and a vague trailer (with really nice music) to go on. Those curious about walking police tanks and crooked fast food corporations will have to wait to see more of what’s going on in this futuristic Seattle. At least we know that gas masks will be fashionable, though.



For more information on V.Next and SyncBuildRun, you can head to the game’s site, the developer’s site, or follow them on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Joel Couture http://www.indiegamesplus.com Joel has been covering indie games for various sites including IndieGames.com, Siliconera, Gamasutra, Warp Door, CG Magazine, and more over the past seven years, and has written book-length studies on Undertale and P.T.. Joel is constantly on the lookout for digital experiences that push the boundaries of what games can be, and seeks to delve into the creative process, meanings, and emotion labor that goes into the work of artists worldwide. See author's posts