Welcome to Paradise! – T&Cs Apply
What happens when paradise is defined by the majority? D-topia is a 3D-animated game that explores the downsides of utopian society and the people that fall through the cracks. Set in a distant future, D-topia is a slow-paced and combines logic puzzles, relationship-building, and decision making into the charming tale of humanity and AI. This game was developed by indie Japanese studio Marumittu Games and published by Annapurna Interactive, known for other popular publications such as Stray and Silent Hill: Townfall. In D-topia we play as Shiro, the new Facility Mechanic (‘Facilitator) in D-topia, transferred from the otherwise unmentioned ‘Mother Plant’.
Playing as the aforementioned Shiro, we awake in D-topia. Formally known as Residential District Facility Type D, D-topia is one of many residential communities within the Utopia Project. D-topia is the closest community to paradise within the Utopia Project, making it a high-value community for higher ranking members of society. Shiro does not quite seem to fit in, but a Facilitator was needed to assist the AI. Like all other ‘topias’, the environment and residents are governed by hyper-intelligent AI known as ‘troids’. There’s a troid for every purpose, Reception Troid, Courier Troid, Cleaning Troid – a perfect utopia as defined by the AI. The ultimate goal of the Utopia Project is contained within the opening quote of the game:
“The Greatest Happiness for the Greatest Number of People“
The role of the Facilitator is a slight contradiction to the AI-defined utopia, human influence in a calculated paradise is counterintuitive to the project. However, despite their superior processing power, AI cannot predict human irrationality or emotion – they can only cater for the majority. Welcome Shiro, the hands, legs, and humanity needed where AI cannot reach. As part of his role, Shiro can access the ‘block side’ of the environment. The block side is the true environment of D-topia, hidden to residents by the Visual Optimisation system. Where residents see the futuristic minimalist design of high society, the reality is a mechanical factory-like architecture where the mask of beauty has slipped off. There’s also a species of hyper-intelligent mice living in the block side – bonus points for cute and cool!
Stylistically, D-topia is very clean and aesthetic. There are no heavy outlines or bold colours, making the characters and environment one cohesive unit. The NPCs nearly blend into the environment itself as obstacles, showing how they have been assimilated into D-topia. Those that stand out, through colour or design are our core cast of characters, such as Amane and Eebie. Amane is a teen girl who sees rejection as the norm and is a ‘blight’ to the utopian society, Eebie an overzealous creator often focused on himself and his creations. Like the rest of our core cast, these characters do not fall under the spell of utopia and consequently their actions have a ripple effect that cannot be pre-determined by the AI. These are the characters who we build relationships with, not the complicit inhabitants of D-topia, signalling early on that the Utopia Project may not be perfect.
There are limited dialogue options available for character interactions, making the correct choice earns you a heart with the character representing the strength of your relationship. A portfolio of these residents is available in the pause menu, listing information learned about each resident as well as hearts earned. There is no indication that a specific interaction could be rewarded with a heart, so you cannot predict or plan your choices. You cannot lose hearts or damage a relationship, but interactions will lead to important decisions that affect the story outcome as multiple endings are available. These decisions are picked through “Brain Meetings” – fun little decision trees that highlight each key point of your decision until you come to a final choice.
Logic puzzles are a core element of gameplay, using interesting mechanics I’ve not encountered before. Each weekday you must clock in for a shift at The Factory, where you solve a series of logic puzzles (timed for performance bonus only, no pressure to rush). A new puzzle mechanic is introduced each day until they eventually combine to create more complex puzzle sequences where you cannot settle into patterns. This is likely the only time I will ever enjoy shift work, and even opt into overtime for more puzzles. Each shift is rewarded with pay which can be used to buy on-the-go meals and snacks, great for when you’re invested in the day’s tasks and don’t want to go home for lunch. There is no hunger bar or fatigue, but Shiro will let you know when he needs food and will prevent you from engaging in certain tasks.
Puzzles are also used in general Facilitator duties, primarily for fixing troids and mechanics on the block side.This is where work at The Factory comes to life, as you apply the same mechanics to maintain paradise for the majority and only occasionally interfering with business as usual to help a friend. If you’re at the right place at the right time, you might even encounter the four mice of the apocalypse for a challenge.
D-topia recommends you play with a controller, so that was my choice for this review. Controls are minimal, limited to movement via joystick and X to interact and continue through dialogue. With the first few puzzles changing directions was a bit fiddly, especially when diagonals were involved, but it was a short adjustment period until smooth sailing. Navigating through the world is also fairly easy; perspective tends to shift with each scene change but the change was smooth enough you barely have to adjust the joystick to maintain your direction.
The game can be saved at any point without affecting progress. The pacing is also fairly slow, especially toward the beginning where you are gradually introduced to the concept and puzzle mechanics. Despite this, by day three in D-topia, I found myself fully engaged and entranced with the game. The characters can be a bit trope-ish but still unique and charming – Tot in particular stole my heart, with his endearingly childlike demeanour at times. I also really enjoyed the subplot of Marie and her sister, which touches on a surprisingly complex and moral dilemma.
I highly recommend D-topia to any gamers who like casual games with a strong plot that works in harmony with the game mechanics. D-topia is aesthetically pleasing and makes great use of colour pallets to distinguish between the resident utopia and block side reality. The plot is revealed gradually through interactions and you build relationships with characters that define your purpose as a Facilitator in an AI-defined utopia. D-topia has a surprisingly complex and moral dilemma it tackles with its narrative that is increasingly relevant to modern society as AI grows in popularity. I achieved the Normal Ending in my play through and I’m eager to return and discover the other possible outcomes
The code for this review was provided by Annapurna Interactive. This review has been cross-posted to OpenCritic.
