Femida is a recent addition to the Steam library of games. Femida is an indie, non-linear game, by developer Art Interactive and publisher Roman Loznevoy, featuring dialogue trees and court cases in a post-totalitarian (or still totalitarian?) world, a year after a revolution that flipped society upside down.
You play a man who was just appointed judge back in the main city, after having moved away to a rural town. You left your wife, your kid, and are now in charge of many high-profile cases that will set huge precedents in this new government.
With a rustic/noir art style, Femida leads you through a case in a courtroom. The gameplay consists of going through evidence and witnesses prior to slamming down on your gavel to officially initiate the trial. You cross-examine, question, dig, prod, and try to uncover the truth, even when it is messy. Perhaps the pressure of the State is on you to deliver a certain verdict. But will you listen?
And that is mostly the extent of the gameplay. A cut scene happens every now and then, where a secondary character or scenario is introduced, and the sequence of choices dramatically impacts the outcome of Femida. (in total, as the game tells you, there are 4-7 endings, “depending on how you count”).
Femida is a world of intrigue, conspiracy, convoluted mess, and confusion. Figuring out what is real and not is a complicated task. The risk of an unreliable narrator is brought up every now and again, especially with the constant reminder of mysterious “pills” you take for your headaches… and memory? Like I said, it is unclear, but will more playthroughs of Femida, it might make more sense the picture could be more coherent.
When picking out sentences, I did wish the game would explain what certain verdicts really meant – sometimes, I had to look up the legal jargon. Furthermore, a “back” button would be nice, as I sometimes selected guilty vs innocent when I meant the other.
There are also numerous grammatical and spelling errors throughout the game which is off-putting, as well as distracting. Overall, the game is simple, is very quick to finish (<3 hours, for one play through), and has the promise of a deep, layered story. However, the monotony of trials and the lack of a polish diminishes the game’s potential. If you can get past that, the darkness of the story and the twists and turns the plot takes may grab you.
Verdict: 6/10
Side note: The dog in Femida is rather adorable. Look at that fella.
Check Out the Femida Trailer:
Femida is available for $9.99 for Windows PC, Linux, and Mac via Steam.
Steam Review
I'm Zepora, a junior at UC Berkeley studying Economics. I grew up attached to my Game Boy playing the Pokémon games, but now I turn to my consoles as break from school work when I'm not busy with lacrosse. I prefer RPG's with a some action, such as Elder Scrolls and Assassin's Creed (which is my favorite franchise) but am also known to play Super Smash Bros until 3am with my friends.
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