Interrogation: You will be deceived Review for Steam

Now, unlike ever before, you can dive in the psyche of a detective. Now, you can become the center of an investigation that could either cost or save lives. Now, you have the power to decide who lives, and who dies. Who falls prey to the system, and who is allowed to stand up for what they believe.

In Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived, developed by Critique Gaming and published by Mixtvision, an organization known as the “Liberation Front” is on the rise, and on the move. You’re thrown into the mess of a case, tasked with stopping the movement, by whatever method you deem necessary.

You certainly have the choice to make the investigation whatever you want it to be. Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived employs a very free-flowing dialogue tree in many scenarios, be it interacting with your task force, digging for information from an informant, or questioning a suspect in the holding cell.

Options are available to you, with two fundamental choices: make the subject relaxed enough where they eventually open up to you, or intimidate them into confessing. Those detained might react to different lines of questioning dissimilarly…. Sometimes, off the record persuasion might be required.

Be warned that every action has a reaction. As the lead investigator, you need to juggle the press, news reporters, your higher ups, Internal Affairs, public opinion, and your own squad’s morale to bring the Liberation Front to justice. Finding the right words, best actions, and true intentions is difficult. But that is the point of Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived – it’s not meant to be easy. It’s meant to replicate real life, and all the consequences that come with that.

In terms of gameplay, the idea is straight forward. Self-described as a “conversation system,” you simply go through dialogue until you reach a confession. Sometimes, the clock ticks: to a bomb exploding, or hostages dying. Other times, you need to play the waiting game, let the suspect simmer in their guilt. It is key to understand the backgrounds of all the unique, diverse characters to coax out the confession you want. It’s all a puzzle that you must solve, but has many different results.

In interrogations, to help progress, the game offers hints, or what I view more as “nudges,” since they are not very explicit notes. However, if you reached points where several hints came up at once, Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived ran into a little difficultly and the hints ended up stacking on one another, with the pop up covering your hint. This was easily resolvable by just clicking ‘x’ and reopening the hint, but over time it did get annoying.

You don’t leave the precinct most of the time, only in cut scenes depicting the results of your questioning, or in mini games like putting back together a shredded image. The lack of diverse backgrounds, combined with the bleak black and white artwork caught up with me a few times during my run through. I felt stuck, isolated, and disconnected with the outside world. However, the main theme was poignant, and greatly outweighed any negative feelings I took from this experience.  

Even on the “right” side of the law, Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived makes you think: about the greater role you play in society, and how everywhere you look, there is a gray area. Normal people, radicals, powerful leaders: we are all the same, and anyone can be anything. Anyone can make an impact.

If that is not a beautiful concept, I’m not sure what is. And if Critique Gaming achieving that feeling from a simple but breathtaking noir style is not impressive, again I am not sure what is. Combined with the commentary on socio-political issues, police brutality, power, and control, Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived brings a fresh game with provocative ideas delivered in a thrilling way. For those interested in conflict, moral questioning, and self-revelation with a complex and intriguing storyline, I highly recommend Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived.

So, are you ready to cut the head off the snake?

End Score: 9/10

Check Out the Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived Trailer:

Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived releases today for Windows PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam.