When developer Alexandre Spindler Revealed footage from a “body cam style game” which he was working on last fall, blew up the internet as people marveled at its spooky vibe and photorealistic look. “This is amazing,” he wrote. District 9 Director Neill Blomkamp. Now the game has been heralded for real, and it’s drawing controversy over its concept and skepticism over its strikingly realistic graphics.

Spindler’s game is officially called do not registerand its graphics look even more amazing than six months ago on a new trailer Released this week on Steam. DRAMA, the French studio behind it, describes it as a mix of narrative walking simulation. fire watch and SWAT tactical shooter Ready or Not. You play as a police officer using tactical skills and detective instincts to solve a confusing case, and while existing gameplay footage points to a conventional shooter with “die and try again” combat, in do not registerIn the description on the Steam page, the developers say that the game will feature various characters and various plot twists.

Even more than last year, do not registerThe latest trailer for immediately blew up at how alarmingly real it looks. At first glance it looks like a virtual reality game along the lines of Half Life: Alyx or a full motion video (FMV) recording, but DRAMA says the game is being made on the Unreal Engine and the footage in question was taken directly from the game rather than scripted cutscenes. “These images are from the game in real time, not pre-rendered.” Spindler tweeted. Later he followed up, post additional images of the game showing its editor in action, including movements in real time.

Is the body cam footage fake?

What’s so striking do not register It’s not necessarily that the graphics are “better” than other visual powerhouses like cyberpunk 2077 and Forbidden Horizon West. It looks less like a painstaking virtual recreation of a realistic environment than a recording of one, which makes sense since the goal is to mimic the look of body camera footage.

We’ve seen this before with the “scarily real” look ride 4 images and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IIamsterdam level. When lighting, blur, and other visual effects are calibrated to perfection, in-game scenes can take on a greater sense of reality, at least when viewed briefly in passing on your phone. Later do not register‘s trailer, things start to look much more recognizable game.

However, not everyone is buying it. some developers have questioned how exactly the game will be controlled, as the character, camera, and weapon seem to move separately in the announcement trailer. There have also been suggestions that it could be more of a glorified tech demo than actual gameplay. Questions have also been raised about how much better the new trailer looks than the footage that was shown just six months ago. At the very least, it seems prudent to wait and see how the finished product turns out, especially considering how little is known about the relatively new studio working on its first game.

But even if DRAMA isn’t playing fast and loose with the project’s presentation, the found-footage aesthetic combined with the police simulator premise instantly turned stomachs, especially in the US where high-profile police killings take place. are a regularly recurring news event. While some violent shooter sims try to distance themselves with stylized art direction or sci-fi flourishes, do not registerThe creators seem intent on making the game as close to a real world hate crime simulator as possible.

The police simulator is an instant turnoff for some

The study attempted to address both doubt and controversy. in an update in do not registerSteam page. “As a French studio targeting a global audience, the game does not get involved in any foreign policy and is not inspired by any real life events,” he wrote. “Obviously, the game will avoid any undesirable themes such as discrimination, racism, violence against women and minorities.”

The study added that do not register will not take a black or white approach to criminal acts and police violence, and understands if people are “disturbed” by the look and content of the game. “Art cannot fight interpretation,” she wrote. DRAMA also says that trying to defend the game’s concept on its own terms would require spoiling the narrative.

“The general public trusts the cinema, [TV] writers of series and novels about the intelligence of the point of view when it comes to detective, gangster or police stories, ”he writes. “Why not for a video game? If the game contains political messages, they will be made knowingly or under your interpretation. If the game is intended to be subversive in certain countries, we will assume the label.”

It is not at all clear if the study means do not register it could end up being “subversive in certain countries” because it questions police and state violence, or because it tacitly endorses it. The title certainly alludes to a corrupt cover-up, with many recent real world analogues to play out of. By now it sounds like a version of Very far Frequent claims from publisher Ubisoft that their games are not political, combined with “trust us”. However, since games rarely end up tackling serious topics with nuance and sensitivity, the trust hardly feels due.

Regarding whether or not the in-game footage is real, DRAMA is adamant that it is legit. “Considering the high production costs of a video game and our global reputation at stake, if do not register were it a scam, it would be a blockbuster scam,” the study wrote. “Therefore, logically it is not one.”

the buzz around do not register it has apparently led developers to try to speed up production, even while the team remains small and self-funded, though perhaps not for long. The game is still in pre-production, not to mention even a vague release window.