It’s no secret that the games industry and any topic related to the police have often been a volatile mixture. Whether it’s real-world events dictating the opinions of games industry figures or various game releases depicting police officers in various contexts, there’s always a controversy that pops up one way or another. This appears to be the case with a new game being made by developer Alexandre Spindler for Steam. Many discussing the game on social media appear to be split on how they feel about it.
The game in question is a hyper-realistic first-person shooter called Unrecord. At first glance, anyone would believe that this is either a very elaborate hoax or some kind of virtual reality game that puts you in the shoes of a police officer trying to solve a case. But what Unrecord actually is according to its developer is a realistic FPS being made in Unreal Engine 5. The first footage of the game was shared by Alexandre on his Twitter back in 2022, with a glance at the very detailed graphics and tense gameplay.
I'm working on a body cam style game#unrealengine #gamedev #indiedev pic.twitter.com/AK5kXeAyP2
— Alexandre Spindler (@esankiy) October 12, 2022
Alexandre later shared new footage of the game, prompting many responses from the gaming community. The game’s Steam page gives a solid description of what the game is for curious players. “Unrecord is a single-player FPS that tells the story of a tactical police officer from the perspective of his body camera. As you work to solve a complex case, you’ll need to use your tactical and detective skills to succeed.” The studio publishing the game is DRAMA, a French independent game studio that is made up of three people. Unrecord is their only game listed on Steam. Unrecord also has no announced release date as of yet according to a post shared on Twitter from the studio.
But despite the shocking reception to the game’s visuals, many are very apprehensive about the concept and subject matter of Unrecord. DRAMA describes the game as a mixture of first-person experiences like Firewatch and tactical shooter elements of Read or Not, along with a narrative to follow. For some people online, a game about the police is an instant red flag and has been the cause of heated discussion. One user on Twitter responded to footage of the game with major concern. “This is strictly my opinion, but a cop simulator…really?? All this talent and ingenuity and impressive tech with no creative spark to do something far cooler kinda sucks. Like this hyper-realism would escalate horror to the next level, but instead we get a cop simulator…” Many others on social media and forums echoed similar views about the game.
First early gameplay trailer for “UNRECORD”, the bodycam FPS. Wishlist on steam now!@unrecordgame pic.twitter.com/gVa7q0YOGu
— Alexandre Spindler (@esankiy) April 19, 2023
In response to a lot of the scrutiny about Unrecord, the studio released a statement addressing many of the concerns brought up. The post touched on the validity of Unrecord being an actual game they plan to release, as well as their stance about tackling the subjects related to the police and criminal acts.
“As a French studio addressing a global audience, the game does not engage in any foreign policy and is not inspired by any real-life events… The game will obviously avoid any undesirable topics such as discrimination, racism, violence against women and minorities… The public generally trusts film, series, and novel writers on the intelligence of the point of view when it comes to detective, gangster, or police stories… Why not for a video game? If the game presents political messages, they will be made consciously or in your interpretation. If the game aims to be subversive in certain countries, we will assume the label…”
Additional footage of the game was shared on Twitter by Alexandre and the official Unrecord Twitter account, showcasing more gameplay and even clips of the Unreal application as Alexandre tweaked certain aspects. For some, it’s unbelievable how close to reality video game visuals have gotten over the years. Gamers that were interested in Unrecord continue to debate online whether this is a real game or not, but one thing is for certain. Unrecord definitely has a lot more attention on it now. We’ll know if it can deliver a solid experience or not when DRAMA is finally able to release it for everyone to play.
What do you think of the gameplay footage of Unrecord? Do you think this is a real game or an elaborate hoax by some clever developers? And do you think it’ll tackle the police subject matter with class? Share your thoughts about everything in the comments down below!
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