Overview
Artificial Detective puts players in control of a robodetective navigating a dystopian future city where humanity has disappeared and rogue machines have taken over. Developed and published by VIVIX Inc., the game blends third-person action combat, hacking mechanics, and companion-driven survival into a single narrative experience. The setting draws from "decopunk" aesthetics, a style that fuses art deco visual sensibilities with gritty, technology-gone-wrong dystopian fiction. That combination alone makes Artificial Detective stand out from the crowded field of robot-apocalypse games.
The central mystery, why humans are gone, drives the entire game forward. Players are not dropped into a world with easy answers. Instead, the investigation unfolds through exploration, combat encounters, and presumably the relationships built with the two companions at the core of the experience: a military robodog and a human girl. The official site describes this dynamic as "Pinocchio meets Mowgli," which is a genuinely evocative shorthand for what the game appears to be doing thematically.
What kind of game is Artificial Detective?
Artificial Detective is a third-person action-adventure with RPG elements, built around a companion system where a robodog and a human girl travel alongside the player character. The game spans action combat, hacking enemy machines, and survival mechanics, all set within a single dystopian city environment. VIVIX Inc. positions it as an underdog story: a small team against an overwhelming mechanical threat.
Key mechanics confirmed so far:
- Third-person action combat
- Hacking enemy robots
- Companion-based teamwork
- Survival elements
- Investigation and mystery progression
The companion system looks central to how the game functions, not just to its story. A military robodog brings obvious combat utility, while a human girl in a world without humans raises immediate narrative questions. Getting the balance right between these two characters and the player's robodetective will likely define how the game feels to play.
World and setting: what is decopunk?
The decopunk aesthetic sits at the heart of Artificial Detective's identity. Decopunk takes the geometric elegance and ornamental detail of 1920s and 1930s art deco architecture and design, then grafts it onto a science fiction or dystopian framework. The result tends to produce cities that feel simultaneously opulent and decayed, grand structures left behind by a civilization that no longer exists. For a game about investigating the disappearance of humanity, that visual language fits the subject matter well.
A dystopian city built in that style, now overrun by rogue robots, gives Artificial Detective a distinct visual identity that separates it from the grey, industrial aesthetic that dominates most robot-apocalypse fiction. The screenshots available suggest VIVIX Inc. is committing to this direction seriously.
Platforms and availability
Artificial Detective is planned for release in 2027 on PC via Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. No specific release date has been confirmed beyond the year.
Conclusion
Artificial Detective arrives as one of the more conceptually interesting action-adventure RPGs in development. The decopunk setting gives it a visual identity worth paying attention to, the companion system adds a layer of character-driven stakes to the robot-fighting premise, and the central mystery of humanity's disappearance provides a narrative hook strong enough to carry a full game. VIVIX Inc. has something genuinely distinct on their hands, assuming the execution matches the concept.
