It’s not out yet, so this is still speculative, but from what I’ve played and what I’ve seen, the promise of City 20 is immense. The inspirations from Stalker and Fallout are clear – it’s a post-nuclear apocalypse where you need to scrounge for supplies, ally yourself with warring factions, and complete quests to earn better gear and increase your chances of survival. Beyond that however, this is a uniquely flexible sandbox, an anything-can-happen world where every NPC is an individual and all the systems are dynamic. You really have to experience it for yourself. Fortunately, it’s just returned via an improved and expanded demo.
As an unwilling citizen of the titular City 20, your job is simple: don’t die. Previously, the government conducted experiments here involving volatile nuclear materials. After an inevitable accident, the whole place has been quarantined and nobody is allowed in or out – the remaining denizens are forced to scrabble for water, food, and weapons to stay alive. So far, so average survival game. But City 20 is something much more ambitious.
Every NPC in City 20 has the same needs and desires as you, the player. They need to eat, drink, sleep, form friendships, find shelter, and protect themselves. They also all have unique personalities. Some are violent, some are passive, and some are insular and alone. Likewise, the entire world is governed by emergent and dynamic systems. In the morning, people will awaken and begin their daily tasks. At night, they’ll return home – or wherever they dwell – and try to sleep. But even then, City 20 goes much further.
Let’s say you get into a fistfight over some water. You beat the guy up, take his bottle, and run off back to your shelter. If you come back to that area, the person you attacked is going to remember who you are. Depending on his personality, he might also tell the security guards or maybe his friends, and then they’re going to be hostile toward you as well.
On other occasions, maybe the person you picked on is more meek and daren’t tell anybody else about what you did. In that case, you won’t face any repercussions. Maybe you get caught stealing and the guard or whoever it is decides to attack you outright. Or maybe, because of their unique nature, they give you a verbal warning and tell you to get lost – if you’re smart, you wait until that guard is next on shift before you try to break in again, knowing they’re less likely to shoot at you.
This is the promise of City 20. In a new video, Nicholas Di Valerio, narrative designer with developer Untold Games, shows the complex world in action. While Nicholas attacks several people while searching for a quest item, they’re not detected directly – no-one sees the crimes happen.
Nevertheless, when the bodies are discovered, people gossip and the whole city goes into a state of heightened security, which means more checkpoints and frisk searches. Again, all of this happens off-screen – the simulation continues day and night, and reacts to everything you or other City 20 residents do.
If you want to try City 20 for yourself, the original demo that was launched for Steam Next Fest is now back online with a host of improvements. The UI and HUD have been reworked, the controls are overhauled, NPC behaviors have more depth, and there’s a new ‘social tension’ system, whereby like in the above example, your actions may ripple across City 20 and alter the mood of the world. If you want to try it, just head here.
Otherwise, try some of the best sandbox games available right now, or maybe the best games like Fallout that you can get on PC.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.