Soul Tolerance: Prologue Review

What is in a soul? It is a question that science fiction writers have tried to solve for decades. From Isaac Asimov to Philip K. Dick, the question is a tricky one when it comes to AI. This is the same question that developer Chaosmonger Studio wants to delve into with its latest game, Soul Tolerance: Prologue. 

Soul Tolerance: Prologue is a puzzle adventure game with a very strange plot. The year is 2214 and humans have wiped themselves out. Robots have taken over the world and have based their existence and purpose on the same jobs humans used to do. This is all controlled by a massively powerful AI that has recreated the world. There are robotic store-keepers, police, and even *ahem* ladies of negotiable affection. This is where you find yourself, you are Unit-12, a detective robot tasked with hunting down any robot that has become too sentient.

The AI in control of the world does not want any of the robots to become too aware, or at least to question their existence. When there is a danger of that happening, it sends in its agents to take care of the problem. The AI’s limitations are instantly apparent, it can give you no information other than a vague area and you have to find out all the clues you can to catch the suspected bot.  

The story and lore are fascinating, but they take a while to get there and the characters you meet can be interesting. The idea that this wealth of personality types is all just following a set program is more mind-bending than I like to admit. For instance, the snarky cop-bot who doesn’t want to arrest anyone because it would be too much work is just… following a program to a degree. It’s wild and it raises some interesting questions about AI in our current time. Meanwhile, the world around you and the bits and pieces of lore given by characters all help to build the picture of this AI-controlled world.

There is certainly a wealth of secrets to discover in the city of Sapporo, and a bunch of questions that need answering. Players will find themselves up against more than just a single intelligent bot; there’s corruption, lies and even some danger. This again fits with the concept of questioning how aware these robots really are. It is just a shame that the other parts of the game don't offer quite as much. 

The game is visually distinct with its use of voxel art, which is basically a form of computer-generated cube art. Although the lack of colour in the city makes the whole thing a bit bland initially, which fits with the robot theme at least. There is also no real voice acting, everyone speaks using a weird grunting noise that gets grating very quickly. The visuals do what they need to do and for the most part, it fits with the world, but I do wish there was just a bit more at the start to really draw players in.

Gameplay is where this gets tricky because there isn’t a whole lot. You have your task, and you must talk to people to find clues to solve puzzles and then repeat. The people can have big dialogue trees that are based on what you have and haven’t done and it does feel unique at least. The puzzles are mostly interesting but can sometimes be a bit frustrating. It is one of those games where you will spend 20 minutes running around for one piece of the puzzle, then instantly move through the next several clues with no issue. It’s strange to play but there is at least a sense of flow and progression.

There are no clear reference points to know what to do or where to go. Now, I am not one of those people who believe the inclusion of navpoints ruins a game, and Soul Tolerance: Prologue does have a map that marks the location of all the robots you’ve met. The issue is that there is no way to tell which robot is which or if they are involved in a certain quest. If every robot is represented by an exclamation point, which is the one to talk to? I will say that, in the early game, it is usually clear, but the menu is not fantastic and the scanning tool quickly becomes more of a hindrance than anything else. 

Soul Tolerance: Prologue builds an interesting mystery with a world that begs to be explored, but its lack of any real gameplay will turn some people away. If you want to play a robot in a noir detective puzzler then this is one to try, but if you want more, then Soul Tolerance: Prologue won't scratch that itch. Once you have done the initial exploration of the world, there really isn’t much to come back to.