IndieCade, a gaming festival focused on all kinds of independent games has games that are very unique for a number of reasons. It could be the meshing of different types of gameplay mechanics or a new and inventive art style. Liberated is one of those games that focuses on both. Liberated unfolds across the pages of a comic book where action/adventure gameplay and story transition seamlessly across the pages of a hand-drawn graphic novel.
The game is set in a tangible near future where an always-online society is ripe for the bloom of authoritarianism. As technology takes over and empowers government control, an insurgent group of Liberated men and women rises. The game spans several chapters or comic book issues and it is told through different characters with unique points of view in a clash of ideals. If you are missing the Telltale experience, this might be one to look out for, not only for the comic book art style but for how the game plays. Liberated will have branching dialogues, choices, and consequences mixed with side-scrolling action such as gunplay, stealth, and platforming. All of it transitions seamlessly through the comic book panels which feel like a comic book coming to life. Everything makes for a really engaging experience.
Liberated is set to release sometime in early 2020 for PC and the Nintendo Switch. For more games from IndieCade 2019, check out our impressions of Neo Cab, Lineweight, Negative_Space, Voronoi Voyager, Bloodroots, Skate & Date, and We Should Talk.