Before I delve into the dirty bowels of this review, I would like to remind you of my recent Monday Mourning, and encourage you to keep it in mind as I discuss this truly exceptional piece of entertainment. I would also like to remind you this game's name makes writing a communicative title an almost IMPOSSIBLE feat.
Despite previously releasing Juniper’s Knot, Dysfunctional Systems: Episode 1: Learning to Manage Chaos is the first truly interactive visual novel from the team at Dishcan Media. Set in an instantly enthralling Earth, steeped in futuristic utopia. Other worlds and planes of existence have been discovered and it is the duty of the "mediators" to keep the chaos of foreign systems in check. As Winter Harrison, players take control of the young mediator-in-training on her second mission to a world where a small and impoverished country suffers at the hands of its wealthy neighbor. A troubling matter for sure, but alongside her mentor Cyrus, it’s a supposedly routine operation.
Merely possessing all the usual sci-fi workings isn’t enough to captivate an audience, a truth which Dishcan thankfully understands. While not a multiverse per se, the potential for a wide variety of settings is in place. Imagine any world you’ve read, seen, or heard about in fiction — that’s the potential we have here. Sci-fi should know no bounds. It should be one of the most creative vehicles for fiction, and all of my geeky desires were properly tantalized.
On the flipside, this isn’t Star Wars, or any other big name sci-fi universe which glosses over the depth of their characters. Thought-provoking concepts aren’t just toyed around with; they’re introduced with all the care of an explosives expert. Winter and the rest of the cast are bathed in a ocean of moral quandaries that will change them, for better or for worse.
It’s this sort of complex writing which makes Winter an incredibly sympathetic character. Having the fate of an entire country in your hands is bad enough at any age, but at fourteen it’s simply too much to comprehend. Still, it’s a "routine operation" by mediator standards, which only seems to worry Winter more. All possible routes of handling the situation, no matter how minor, have numerous permutations and potential consequences. One could easily feel overwhelmed. She does.
The only guidance she receives come from her moral compass, a meager amount of training, and the experience of a mentor she doesn’t fully trust. She's still a kid, which is made laughably obvious in relatable moments — such as her first beer. They’re subtle and seemingly inconsequential but at the same time serve to detail the inexperienced protagonist and the abrasive Cyrus. Of course, Winter’s somewhat naive and idealistic attitude directly clashes with her mentor, creating an awkward relationship between the two from the get go.
Gameplay? Well that’s a funny thing to critique. The majority of the roughly two hour experience is spent reading and clicking to advance the scenes. You do make several choices, however, and their significance is made abundantly clear by the end. What’s spectacular is how they’re handled.
Choice-heavy and divergent path games have been popularized this generation by Mass Effect andThe Walking Dead. While they were great advances, I’m much more inclined to favor the style presented in DS:LtMC. In real life, we’re never certain of the consequences of our actions, and this is conveyed incredibly well. As a result, my decision-making was panicked at best.
You aren't thrown in completely blind; a mediator-in-training Winter collects information through conversation and posses a handy-dandy codex. Some of the information is relevant, some not so much. If the impact which was left upon me after completion is any indication of the future weight of my choices and their consequences, this series is going to be a joyride filled with regret and reverie.
Without verging into nasty spoiler territory, the climax is memorable, profound, and left me stunned. As the highest marks were hit, I did nothing more than melt into my chair in complete awe. The story then comes back down to Earth, leaving you to stew in the wake of your actions. Things do drag on abit longer than necessary in the post-climax, — the epilogue feels fairly insignificant in comparison — but that didn’t stop me from being anything less than electrified with emotion.
Visually there are few apt and equally stunning comparisons. While grounded in anime, Dysfunctional Systems is a clear divergence from anything I’ve seen before. Gritty and highly detailed, DS:LtMC is much more of a painting than your typical sterilized anime. Uniqueness cannot be tied to one singular aspect; it permeates the entire experience, which is made doubly apparent by the soil-your-pants-good soundtrack. A soundtrack that melds so many styles and themes into one beautiful anti-cacophony. It’s as if the composer employed a witch's cauldron and combined Mass Effect, jazz, electronica, contemporary JRPG melodies, and a plethora of other genres into one ecstasy-inducing auditory potion. It’s just a shame there are prolonged periods without any sort of music.
Much like in The Wolf Among Us’ case, the only reason you won’t be seeing this on my top 10 is that we won't be reaching the conclusion in 2013. Dishcan Media may be relative beginners to the genre, but it’s obvious the incredible experiences won’t stop here. Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos is arguably the most enjoyable title from 2013. I’m left sitting here, debit card in hand, ready to shuriken it at my monitor in preparation for the remaining four episodes. I so desperately want to jump back into Winter’s shoes and continue the near-perfect tale.
Alas, it looks like I’ll have to hold out a while longer.
SCORE: 9.5/10
This was originally posted on Plus10damage.com.
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