With the likes of Life is Strange and Telltale’s The Walking Dead, dialogue tree driven gameplay has seen somewhat of a resurgence in recent years, at best offering deep character driven stories that motivate players into making poor gameplay decisions, or are conversely rather monotonous. Offering a visual-novel experience set in a believable futuristic city, albeit with mixed results, Neo Cab puts you in the role of a taxi driver – though it is notably lacking in Danny DeVito quotes and there are no excuses for not having an assigned “you talkin’ to me?” button prompt. But is this cab worth its millage fee, or will you fare better waiting for an AI driven Capra?
If the idea of being an Uber driver in the world of Blade Runner ever appealed to you, Neo Cab is the game for you! In the futuristic city of Los Ojos, Lina is the last human cab driver in a future where drivers-for-hire have more or less been replaced with autonomous AI – meaning no more Travis Bickle (De Niro, Taxi Driver) or Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis, Fifth Element). The main narrative follows Lina who has moved to Los Ojos to live with her estranged friend, Savy. However her mysterious disappearance in a city riddled with its own dark secrets and conspiracies leaves Lina struggling to juggle her mental health and the mystery surrounding her (not so) savvy friend with the high demand of her job as a taxi driver. That and the gossip and ramblings of customers in the city at night…
Like Blade Runner, Neo Cab has a neo-noir edge about it set against a cyberpunk backdrop. Each night will introduce new passengers to chat to while driving them to their destinations, with different dialogue options to pursue revealing an interesting array of colourful characters, set in a dystopian future that doesn’t seem too far off. In fact, the way technology plays into the everyday lives of your customers and its involvement in the story seems fairly reflective; everyone you meet is either using or affected negatively or positively by technology in some way, which occasionally plays into the primary narrative as new technology has started to threaten the need for a human workforce. This happens to be an aspect that pops up in the narrative that feels more interesting, as it happens, than the main story.
For the most part the gameplay is engaging thanks to its unique characters and appealing visual direction, while the dialogue options perhaps shine the most. You’ll come across comical and charming characters who contrast against rude entitled customers, who are just as likely to make your cheeks flush with anger as much as Lina’s “Feelgrid” – an item obtained early on, essentially acting as an obnoxious mood ring. This “mood ring” exposes Lina’s true feelings during conversations with customers, which can dictate how interactions with riders play out – from dialogue options, to how customers react to your mood. Trying to keep calm and civil in situations like these is vital, however, as your interactions with customers each night will decide whether you earn tips and will effect your overall star rating. And just to add that extra ounce of pressure to your already stressful job, you have a lot more riding on your shoulders than needy passengers as you are required to maintain a minimum of four stars, as anything below puts you at risk of shutting down. Though I suppose in this situation you can find solace in the words of Taxi’s Alex Reiger: “One thing about being a cabbie is that you don’t have to worry about being fired from a good job.”
In this regard, the game drives home (so to speak) a feeling of genuine devastation when your score falls below perfect, a mechanic implemented by Chance Agency inspired by the rating real-life Uber drivers must maintain. However, actually failing in Neo Cab is decidedly difficult, making the high risk tension of this system somewhat less impactful. In addition, while the characters and dialogue choices are engaging enough, the mystery behind Savy’s disappearance seems less intriguing in comparison. Perhaps this is because of the way her story seems overshadowed by conversations with more interesting characters: at times I certainly felt more invested in their stories than Savy’s. It also doesn’t help that, shortly after meeting Lina as she starts her new life at Los Ojos, she ditches her for a party. Just a reminder, she’s Lina’s “best friend”… supposedly.
Aside from its cast, the original soundtrack from Obfusc stands out as one of the stronger aspects of Neo Cab – especially for fans of nostalgic ‘80s/ ‘90s synthwave. “Euclidean Waves,” “LCD Daydream” and “Factory Future” stand out from the OST in particular, giving off chill late-night-drive vibes that perfectly compliment the atmosphere and visual style.
Visually, Neo Cab’s futuristic cityscape fits with the accompanying synthwave soundtrack with a distinct use of colder colour schemes which contrast against more colourful characters who step into your cab, highlighting the creative character designs in a way that heightens their memorability. Neo Cab is certainly stylish and sleek, making good use of a somewhat cel shaded style. However, there are a few notable – if minor – performance hiccups, occurring (at least in my experience) after closing the “Uber” app, where a very brief screen glitch flashes up, lasting only a second or two. It’s nothing game breaking and certainly doesn’t hinder the experience, but it is worth noting and is hopefully something than can be fixed in the future with a patch.
Neo Cab is quite literally a character driven experience. As an Uber Driver Simulator, its strengths lie in its cast of characters, world building, and simulator experience, offering an engaging gameplay style as Lina interacts with the various colourful denizens of Los Ojos. It’s just a shame, then, that the actual main story revolving around Savy just doesn’t grip in the same way as the characters you interact with on the side, who are vastly more interesting than the actual story itself, and even more so in comparison to Savy. If there had been a longer period to develop her character to draw you in and make you feel more invested in her disappearance, perhaps there would be a heightened sense of urgency to pursue the mystery, however as it stands it is easily the weakest part of the experience.
If you don’t like people talking behind your back or telling you where to go, perhaps give this one a miss. This, and a future as a cabbie. But if the promise of a synthwave soundtrack, moody comic book visual style and engaging character interactions sounds like enough to balance the so-so story, then get in and follow that cab!
