Nobody Wants to Die Review — Sherlock Holmes Meets Blade Runner in this Sci-Fi Crime Game

If Blade Runner, Bioshock, and Sherlock Holmes had a baby (somehow), it would be Nobody Wants to Die. This slower-paced but incredibly intriguing game is a neo-noir, sci-fi first-person investigation game that sees you take on the role of a cynical detective in New York in 2329.

Following a near-death experience, Detective James Karra takes an off-the-books case from his chief with only the help of a young police liaison, Sara Kai, to assist him. You essentially navigate your way around gorgeously intricate and well-designed crime scenes, find clues, and speculate what happened. It all leads to you having to hunt down a killer and uncover the dark secrets of the city’s elite, all while protagonist James delivers admittedly awesome metaphors about crime and pontificating about the lack of civility and culture in the world he lives in — classic noir-crime stuff. The whole ‘feeling’ of the tone is very Max Payne-like, but less jumpy-shooty and more crime-solvey.

However, there are two sci-fi elements to the game that mix up the usual ‘whodunnit’ formula. One plays into the story heavily, because in this future, people are able to transfer their consciousness from one body to another, making ‘death’ somewhat of a minor inconvenience rather than an absolute conclusion. Secondly, James has a device that helps him manipulate time in order to ‘rewind’ to witness how a crime may have played out. It makes for an interesting spin on the usual ‘find-evidence and examine’ routine, as you have to tinker around with the chronology of events, although it’s pretty straightforward and cool from a visual perspective more than a gameplay one.

Once you’ve wrapped up a crime-scene, you’ll need to link clues and motives together on a digital clue board. This is where the player’s intuition and lateral thinking come into play, allowing you to pair key findings with a possible outcome, and push the story forward. You can’t really go wrong here, but can discombobulate yourself if you don’t slow down and pay attention, which does make you feel like you’re doing something smart, whether it’s an illusion or not.

Another element that elevates the entire experience of Nobody Wants to Die is the stunning visuals. The game is extremely clever about how it frames environments, and goes for the less-is-more approach, offering densely detailed areas rather than a massive barren open-world.

Each level is littered with tiny amazing details and the environmental storytelling is sublime, with items and objects (sometimes pivotal to the case and sometimes not) that expand on the world of Nobody Wants to Die. For example, finding a horse sculpture that sparks dialogue revealing that horses are extinct in 2329 or that chocolate is no longer a thing. They’re random, and one would miss them easily, but they’re amazing little moments that flesh out the world.

Nobody Wants to Die is an incredibly unique experience that leans on a lot of the staples and beloved elements of more familiar genres, like point-and-click adventures, crime novels, and the like; but delivers them in a brilliantly-rendered visual package. If you’re looking for something that brings a slow-burn, more cerebral payoff while looking stunning in the process, Nobody Wants to Die should be on your must-play list.

Nobody Wants to Die is available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.