VICE NDRCVR
Developer Ancient Machine Studios Publisher Skybound Games Format PC Release TBA
Ignore the obnoxious vowel-swallowing title – this blend of Hypnospace Outlaw and Narcos might be the most unusual demo on the Play Days showfloor. Set in an alt-history 1980s where the Internet is a public commodity, you play an undercover police officer who has gained entry to the offices of a Miami drug cartel’s ‘legitimate business’ operation. Most of the action plays out on an ‘Amigo OS’ computer, which pings with tasks from both your police handler and cartel bosses. To appease both, you need to multitask, sifting through databases, answering emails and keeping an eye on CCTV footage, while making sure you don’t max out the machine’s meagre processing power. This might be vintage hardware, but there’s a modern stress to the way the open windows and constant demands tug your attention in multiple directions at once.