Lamplight City (2018)

Lamplight City plunges players into a richly realized 19th-century metropolis teetering on the edge of progress and despair. As Miles Fordham, a private investigator haunted by a spectral partner, you navigate the grimy underbelly of New Bretagne's shining capital. This point-and-click adventure masterfully blends compelling narrative with player agency, offering five intricate cases filled with suspicious characters, misleading trails, and branching outcomes. Your choices, from the methods you employ to extract information to the laws you uphold or break, directly shape public perception and influence the unfolding story. The game's atmosphere, deeply indebted to the gothic gloom of Poe and the social commentary of Dickens, is brought to life through a vibrant cast of over 50 voiced characters and a haunting original score. Application Systems Heidelberg is renowned for crafting unique and engaging adventure games that push the boundaries of narrative and player interaction, and Lamplight City stands as a prime example of their expertise. The developers have created a believable, explorable world across four distinct boroughs, each reflecting the era's anxieties about class disparity and technological advancement. The innovative single-click interface, devoid of traditional inventories, streamlines the investigative process, allowing players to focus on gathering clues and documents within their casebook and employing a context-sensitive cursor for item interaction. This commitment to a streamlined yet deep gameplay experience, coupled with a story that truly adapts to player decisions and the possibility of moving on from unsolvable cases, solidifies Lamplight City's place among Application Systems Heidelberg's finest works, offering a truly immersive detective experience.