Neon Case

This game credits no author or artist. According to my browser devtools, the AI chatbot conversation is happening with an actual live LLM (Grok 4.1, from xAI / Elon Musk), but I don't think that was necessary at all for the trivial interactions you have with the bot.

I believe the art is AI generated as well, but, with no credits, I can't prove it.

The game includes one actual choice, but there's no real difference in the three endings. If you crack down on the politician, does he go to jail? Does he make us suffer? It all ends in same scene on the couch in your apartment, which makes the choice feel less important.

Neon Case is a short custom choice-based cyberpunk/murder mystery game. You are Mei Ling, a Hong Kong police officer in the year 2065. A call comes in: a murder at a strip-club/brothel called Neon Lotus. The victim? An android... and therefore a legal shade of grey. Told in first-person P.O.V.

The investigation kicks off when you and fellow officer Kai Wong arrive at the club to interview three persons of interest: the manager, the patron suspected of murder, and the murder victim, Luna. Yes, we hear her side of the story by accessing her memory. Cue the main event: an actual A.I. interaction. According to the game’s description, "the player interrogates the android’s memory through an in-story AI system (a real chatbot interaction)." The player is directed to type questions into a text box to sift through Luna’s memories. I thought this was clever.

Thing is, (Spoiler - click to show)it’s obvious that she was murdered by the patron, making the “investigation” superficial. You also only get to ask a handful of questions before her diagnostics system fizzles out (no matter what, she’ll tell you what you need). This lack of interactivity and depth fails to showcase this chatbot feature in a meaningful way. It does, however, effectively convey Luna’s individualism and how she feared for her life.

You: Who hurt you?

Luna: I-I'm so frightened, (Spoiler - click to show)it was Vincent Bo...

Which leads to a key question: Is this ultimately a matter of murder or destruction of property? I found it difficult to explore this question due to the spareness of backstory on android technology and its legality within the story. NPCs refer to androids as “it,” but not with malice. Just matter-of-fact, “please don’t damage our androids because we paid a lot for them” kind of way. Perhaps they really are programmable property. And yet, the “lethal deactivation” (aka murder) of an android can land a person in prison. Lots of mixed messages going on.

What is clear is that, regardless of mainstream belief, Luna’s death was traumatic. The scraps of memory from her mind show that she was fully aware of the violence inflicted upon her.

Final thoughts
As a work of cyberpunk science fiction, Neon Case is filled with familiar elements. Rainy nighttime setting, androids, nightclubs, neon signs, glowing advertising, economic disparities, synthetic food, you name it. Cliches, sure, but that can be part of the fun. Even the generic sci-fi artwork adds flair (though I suspect it’s A.I.-generated). There’s no denying that the game has atmosphere.

But don’t expect in-depth gameplay or a suspenseful story. Neon Case is best approached as the experimental game that it is. Its goal is to showcase its implementation of A.I. as a means for investigating a murder mystery. I think the chatbot and its text input fits well with the premise of sifting through an android’s memory banks in search of clues. Unfortunately, it currently feels more like a gimmick and less like the investigative tool that the author was hoping for.

I recommend Neon Case if the chatbot feature interests you and/or you are an inherent fan of cyberpunk ambience. Fans of the video game Detroit: Become Human may also enjoy the themes in the story.

(In this review the words in quotes are my own; they indicate that I’m stretching the usual meaning of words.)

The Neon Case is set in the late 21st century, which is a rough time for everyone who lives in Hong Kong, especially androids. The protagonist, Mei Ling, and her partner, Kai Wong, have been called to investigate the “killing” of Luna, an android sex worker, at a club. In the first half of the game, the reader must inspect the crime scene, and because a picture is included, the reader also sees the mutilated android. One might wonder if this eroticizes violence. I’m inclined to say, “No,” because the fact that the victim is an android allows me to distance myself from the violence. But of course, this introduces a tension into a work driven by characters who see androids as the equals of human persons.

The investigation requires the reader to engage Hao, the club owner; Vincent Bo, the “killer”; and finally Luna herself. This last interaction distinguishes itself by allowing the player to talk to Luna, who in her “deceased” state can only communicate via a chat interface, and so a bit of “realism” is introduced to the game. This did not go smoothly the first time I experienced this particular work, but in my most recent play session the wrinkles seemed to have been ironed out.

Though the work initially reminded me of Blade Runner (1982), this work is not sci-fi noir. There are no moral gray areas here. Hao is eager to comply with the law, Vincent Bo is a crooked politician with no redeeming qualities, and the only police officers we see behave honorably, albeit with the possibility of one dishonorable choice before we read the conclusion. After multiple play sessions, it is apparent that when it comes time for the protagonist to decide what the law’s response to the crime will be, there is one alternative that she clearly favors (as does the author, it would seem).

Overall I found the work to be enjoyable. I like the art, especially the palettes used in the first two images. While I found most of the characters to be a little too one-dimensional, Mei is interesting, and I was pleased to get an answer to a question I had been pondering: “Why is Mei concerned about the plight of androids when almost no one else is?” The aforementioned tension is unfortunate, but it was not enough to rob me of an enjoyable experience.

Undoubtedly, one of the reasons I like this work as much as I do is that I love seeing androids in media, and this is my first time seeing an android in interactive fiction. I don’t know if it would appeal as much to other readers, but if you like sci-fi, it’s a good way to spend a lunch break.

I give this work 3.5 stars, which rounds to 4.

Nice story, easy to read. Really enjoyed this!