FMV games have made quite the comeback in the last few years, and The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker adds to the growing library of great titles in the genre. Of course, it's not a perfect game (what game is?), but the quality of the writing, acting and production all place this murder mystery amid the cream of the FMV crop here on Steam.

Doctor Dekker has been violently murdered by one of his patients. As his replacement at the psychiatric clinic, you are now tasked with investigating his death while helping his patients navigate their various maladies. Toss in a little Cthulhu mythos, and you have a recipe for madness that's altogether delightful to behold.

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Gameplay consists of free typing questions and key words to engage each patient in therapeutic conversation. While the wording required to trigger responses can sometimes be finicky, once you have a handle on the game's logic, figuring out which phrases to focus on becomes second nature. In the times that you find yourself completely stuck, typing in "hint" will give you suggestions on what to ask next, thus you should never be scratching your head for too long. Hints are unlimited, so I suggest using them liberally unless you're working towards specific achievements, in which case you'll want to wait until a second or third playthrough to target them. And there's plenty of room for replayability as the killer changes with each new game.

My one and only complaint with the system is that sometimes your question will trigger a response that doesn't line up at all with what you asked. This doesn't happen often, but can be a bit confusing when you're trying to follow a train of thought and end up derailed by a completely unrelated answer. Still, it's only a mild annoyance compared to the entertainment the characters and story provide.

As an FMV title, it all ultimately comes down to the acting, which is excellent and the highlight of the entire game. Not only does each actor totally sell their respective madness to the player, but you'll find that even the most wicked of the patients will grow on you as you delve into their stories and more intimate thoughts. Toss in a cameo by John Guilor of Contradiction fame, and you've got quite the awesome cast.

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker may not be for everyone, but if you're an ardent FMV junkie, do not miss out on this gem. For those wanting to dabble their toes in the genre, or are just intrigued enough to take a look, it's definitely worth your while IF you take your time to savor the experience.

If you are a fan of FMV games like Contradiction or Her Story this is the game for you - but even if you just like to explore new gaming concepts and mechanics it's worth a try. You get an incredible amount of content for your money (my first playthrough took me around 15 hours) and the acting is really good.

What's the premise? You are a new doctor in a mental facility and your predecessor has been murdered (probably by one of his patients...) So while you are talking to them, listening to their problems and trying to cure them you are looking for clues who could have done it...

And how do you play? It's probably the game where you come closest to having a real conversation. If you know the game "Facade" you already know the concept. You are not clicking on multiple answering options but entering your keywords/sentences by keyboard - leading to another new video and part of the conversation or one of the many "no-answers" (which can be turned off in the options menu if you've seen them too often). If you get stuck you can actively ask for hints and there is a passive help system via stars next to the patients' reponses that point you in the direction where you should dig a bit deeper...

Conclusion: This is a very solid game, great acting, atmospheric soundtrack and a functioning mechanic and hint system with a ton of content. I would recommend the game to anyone who likes the before-mentioned games or just wants to try out a game of this kind. It costs less than a ticket at a cinema and here you're not only a spectator but you get to decide how the story progresses.

I thought you knew what you were doing, Doctor.

Once you find the genres you love, you absolutely can not get enough of them. Looking through pre existing games to see which ones you will most likely like and seeing if more are going to be released. Craving more and more as you become more aware of what makes a good game and a bad game in that specific genre. FMV games are one of those genres I adore but also look into them as it can frequently not work out.

In The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, you come in right after the events of a dramatic event. A psychiatrist by the name of Doctor Dekker was violently murdered in his office by one of his patients. But who? No one knows except the one that did the act. This is where you come in, not as some cop asking them questions but taking Dekker’s spot as a psychiatrist for the same patients he had. The same patients that hides the mysterious killer.

The way they decided to do this game is very interesting. You have six patients, one of which is your assistant going for grief counseling, to talk to. Their names being Nathan, Marianna, Elin, Claire, Bryce, and Jaya. But you don’t get overwhelmed or anything. It’s used as just talking to them by themselves as you are the Doctor here. Not so much as an interview thing but a one and one appointment. This makes it extremely easy to get caught up with them and being interested in their lives and condition. They are all so different that they leave an impression on you early on just by the way they talk. There are also optional patients you can talk to that does make an impression with their short stay. Showing you that Doctor Dekker had more patients that was probably also affected but they do not have enough significance to be part of the investigation.

They almost seem to suck you in with how their questions are answered and how open ended they are, especially when you are meant to ask questions about their responses. They are also separate entities from each other, not really meeting another patient unless they see them in the waiting room. But they are connected by the one and only Doctor Dekker. You sympathize with them and feel for them. Making you want to get them to feel better because you get so involved and may have seen them in yourself. It is also interesting hearing their different opinions on Doctor Dekker, as you will never know him personally. This will also give yourself a character in the game, you enter in your own opinions that the patients remember and they all will have different opinions about you. Even going as far as applying that you are sitting down like you probably are right as you are playing the game.

It is very important with FMV games to have good acting and the atmosphere to coincide with what is going on. And it is not disappointing in these sections. The acting is great as they do keep up with their character consistently. With the atmosphere goes with the mystery and how a Cthulhu monster is somewhat real and influencing this world.

Your interactions consists of asking questions to your patients and hearing them out. Using a text bar so you can input those questions so that certain patient can see if it lines up with what they will say. This mostly focuses on certain keywords it will look for, whether it only be one or a combination of two or more. Some even not available unless a certain question has been asked or information has been. You also get two logs, one of all the questions you asked and the other with the questions that you got responses for. So if you want or need to watch a response again you easily can.

As you continue talking, the color by the patient’s name will turn orange to signal that you can continue on or be curious about their life and ask more questions. With green being the indicator of nothing left for you to get out of them in this session. If you have no idea of what to ask, a hint system has been incorporated. No hidden strings, if you need help just ask the game.

However, learning about your patients does have strings attached. You and your patients have Insanity Points. These are based on your interactions and decreases or increases at different levels. One of the common increases for you is bringing every patient to a green status and for patients it is to encourage their use of their powers. How many insanity points you and the patients will have by the end will determine how you guys will end up.

I would also want to bring up another game that somewhat uses the same interface and amount of characters but failed. How to Shoot a Criminal [saveorquit.com] uses a similar interface where keywords brings up newspapers or cds that correspond with what is said in them. Along with this the amount of characters is overwhelming as they all call for attention when only one needs it. But with The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, it solves this by putting attention on all the characters with the excuse of your job description. The intimacy of asking them yourself and them being in front of you right at that moment helps you remember them and their story easily, with their simple connection to Doctor Dekker making them significant as a cast. They both have problems with the interface but at least Infectious Madness does show that the response has been achieved already and shows which one it is rather than bringing it up again and not showing what you are missing.

The only bad thing is that it is janky the interface is at some points. Sometimes it will think you asked a different question than you actually did and reveal information you do not know about. Having you scramble to find what they are talking about and figuring out the keyword needed to unlock the response you were originally going for. Luckily this usually happens once or twice but it is annoying when it happens. Some questions also lead to just the same information you get from another question you asked. This can be a problem as it seems like nothing needs to be done with that since hey Marianna told you that the club she goes to sells Vodka shots, why would I need to ask about the club to get the same information except that they do great black lighting.

+ Easily pulls you in
+ Acting and atmosphere
+ The killer is different with each playthrough

- Interface can be annoying as you try to find the right question to ask

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is a memorable FMV game as it provides us a murder mystery for us to solve as we talk to our patients. Bringing it Even with the user interface being an obstacle to continue, the want of finding out more about your patients brings enough motivation to keep playing. If the developers decide to make more games, I can not wait for what else they have up their sleeve.

The concept is interesting but a lot of the time it feels like banging your head against the wall trying to find the right combination of words to advance the plot. It's unclear why some phrases work but others don't most of the time. The hint system helps to alleviate this but I found I had to rely on it more often than not. I had to spend a lot of time waiting for the hint cooldown to expire while I just threw words against the wall and saw what stuck. This probably would have been better as an independent film.

I'd like to start off this review by saying I played this game for 28.4 hours. I know it says that on this review already BUT I NEED TO ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ STRESS I. PLAYED. THIS. GAME. FOR. 28.4 HOURS. This isn't hyperbole. This isn't some "minimIze the game and cheese it" ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. I played this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game. I PLAYED IT. Why for that long you ask? Am I a monogloid? Well...yes. But that is besides the point. I decided to do a "no hint" run. What would posess me to do such a thing? What sane fat streamer would ever undertake such a stressful situation onto his already failing heart? Me. I would. I'm an idiot.

As I sat there watching the putrid credits roll...it hit me. This game accomplished exactly what it set out to accomplish. To make the player feel as though they've wasted their time. I feel nothing. As I recall the scantily clad Marianna and her useless conversations...my pants don't even move. Flaccid as a limp noodle I sit here. My sexual drive is gone. I'm an A-sexual now. All the color has left my face. I guessed every single ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ person before I figured out who did it. I'm a failure as a detective and as a doctor. Bryce's ♥♥♥♥ of an accent is all I hear in my ear. "I'm a gravedigger and I'm coming for you next."

Sleep is something of the past. I've been awake for the last 72 hours. The weird ass shadow girl that randomly shows up in this dumpsterfire of a narrative caught me looking at questionable hentai on my computer yesterday. I think she is gonna tell my mom. I'm unhinged. A shell of a man. A piece of pathetic meat waiting for my demise. This game has broken me. I will give one warning to whoever sets out to complete this game using no hints.

DON'T.

P.S. WHY THE ♥♥♥♥ ARE THERE MORE ACHIEVEMENTS FOR USING HINTS IN THIS GAME THAN FOR NOT USING HINTS IS THIS REAL LIFE?

P.S.S.S. Check out my live stream at twitch.tv/mrfrost231

P.S.S.S.S. I was Global Elite in CSGO until the rank shift and now I'm silver II and it's so toxic it's impossible to climb.

I discovered The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker purely by accident. I was researching D'Avekki Studios' latest game, The Shapeshifting Detective, and learned that the developer released TIMODD about year earlier. TIMODD looked interesting and promising enough for me to give it a go.

Unless you've read the synopsis on the product page or website, TIMODD provides virtually no background information as to your ultimate objectives of the game at the start. The beginning tutorial is brief and barely utilitarian. You'd need to read the Help section for more details on how to navigate the game more successfully.

The user interface is austere so to not clutter the beautifully shot video snippets of patients you're interviewing. There is a textbox where you are asked to type in the question you wish to ask your patient. It can therefore be confusing that you use the same textbox to make requests of your patients (simulating having a real conversation with your patient), or to request for in-game hints.

Although you can type in your questions and requests in full, there is really no need. TIMODD appears to look for keywords in your input to guess what you're asking or requesting. The game misinterpreted my input completely a few times, leading me down unwanted paths with a couple of patients. To be fair, the game's interpretation of the keywords worked over 90% of the time for me. Sometimes, any misinterpretation actually opened up new conversation topics that I had not anticipated.

Despite my criticism of these rough edges, TIMODD actually exceeded my expectations. The truth is, once you've read or review the game synopsis, browse through the Help section, and come to understand how the game parser really works, TIMODD is an absorbing, suspenseful adventure game. The mystery of Doctor Dekker's death is full of Lovecraftian twists and turns. I could not help but delve deeper into the patients' intriguing and mesmerizing stories despite knowing that I may get sucked into their questionable mindsets. All of this only helps to thicken the plot of the game, and make solving the murder of Doctor Dekker more challenging, and ultimately rewarding.

To add to the challenge, the game selects the murderer randomly for each playthrough. It also features 6 player endings, as well as 2 endings for each of the main patients you see. This comes out to 384 possible outcomes, making TIMODD highly replayable, especially if you want to explore different approaches to helping your patients and see if you can identify the killer correctly each time.

The highlight of TIMODD is the wonderful acting. The game has a stellar cast of actors playing unique characters with fascinating psychoses. Aislinn De'Ath and Millin Thomas, who played Marianna and Bryce respectively, are particular standouts. The way that Tim Cowles, the director, shot the videos with such vivid colours and slightly askew angles in high definition adds to the discomforting atmosphere. The result is a disquieting experience that will make you question the veracity of what you're hearing and seeing in the game.

In spite of its few flaws, TIMODD is a well-made adventure game that will intrigue, excite and even scare. With its high production value, convincing acting, and carefully crafted story, TIMODD may be a hidden gem in the wide landscape of video games, but it is certainly one of the best examples of how great FMV games can be in the recent resurgence of the genre.

Bought the game,
Saw Marianna,
Fell in love,
Became crazy
Couldn't distinguish reality from fiction
Lost my mind
Finished the game
Still have no clue what's going on but I want to do it all over again.

10/10
By far the best mindbending experience I had in... forever.


PS: Marianna, I'm sorry what I did to you, Forgive me. :(

The trailer and description "sizzle" around this game is great, and on paper it sounds amazing, but I quickly became irritated by how narrow the route to progression is!

The awkward way in which it's put together leaves a lot to be desired, and, given the format of "write a question, get an answer" gaming is hardly new, the addition of video interaction in no way makes up for its lack of attention to smooth, intelligent, pre-emptive gameplay.

For example, it's awkward and buggy, leading to multiple responses of "I don't know anything about that" and "No! I can't help you" if you don't use a KEY word. The game isn't designed to pick up on subtle nuances in language, with patients sometimes answering questions you've not asked, ignoring one version of a phrase whilst answering a slightly different version, and you being able to ask questions in a random order without them having much impact on the reaction from the cast. If I had a whole conversation then someone asked me "who are you?" right at the end, I'd be pretty surprised.

Before you make a decision to buy this based on my opinion, please filter it through my frame of reference: I played it for 90 minutes, found myself quickly swing from optimistic excitement to frustrated disappointment, and decided to recoup my £6.99 before it was too late. You may have far more success with this game than I did, and I'd recommend downloading it to at least TRY it, but don't be surprised if you're quickly turned off.

For the record, I have no doubt this is a challenging game to produce, and I really, REALLY wanted it to work. All that said and done, I am appreciative that the price tag is £6.99 and not £29.99, but it really didn't live up to my expectations either way. Awkward, clunky, difficult to navigate, frustrating to play. You can give it a try, but I'd personally save your time and money.,

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is a Her Story-like FMV game that puts you in the shoes of a psychatrist having sessoins with a bunch of patients. Your predecessor, Dr. Dekker, has been mysteriously murdered, and it's up to you to figure out your patients' issues — and who the murderer is. You do so by typing questions and keywords that the patients reply to if you've guessed the correct theme and wording (with hints available).

The patients' initial complaints are so intriguing, their momentum carried me through the whole game. It's creepy magic realism at its best: one of them claims he has an additional 25th hour in a day; another is an elderly care nurse who can shapeshift into her patients' loved ones to help them die peacefully; then there is a guy who's living the same day over and over on repeat after his girlfriend's death; and so on. Each of their conditions can be explained by psychological issues: the 25th hour guy was stressed due to being overworked and is also a creep who fantasizes about doing all kinds of questionable things to people when they're helpess (manifesting as them being frozen during his 25th hour); the nurse seems a bit too eager to ensure her patients' final peace; the groundhog-day guy is clearly deeply depressed. But perhaps there's also something sinister and otherworldly at play?

This game is too long and too stuffed with red herrings. It's broken into several days, each adding a new layer to the main mystery and further exploring each patient. Except... it adds way too much. On day two we learn that Dekker was stabbed, and on three, that he had alcohol/sleeping pills in his blood. Is that supposed to make us wonder if he commited suicide? The alcohol angle never really plays into anything.

It piles on, and on, and on. Each creepy suggestion is then overshadowed by a creepier one. Did Dekker worship Cthulhu? Was he resurrected? Is he dead at all? Are you Dekker? Are you dead? Does Grim Reaper exist? Did you do all those things to Marianna? What was Dekker intending to do with the girl, Iris?

I think the game would have worked much better if it was shorter and focussed on the single question of whether the supernatural exists. Instead, it throws every thriller/horror trope at you and hopes something sticks. Choosing between the options stops being fun because there are too many. I stopped forming theories because I knew any of them will be disproved on the next layer.

I'm also curious about the non-linearity. It is there — patients ask you for advice and react to your answers, there are some cosmetic consequences. I wonder what stopped the developer from giving them different endings depending on the player's advice and whether they believed in the supernatural or their insanity.

As it stands, the game ends in a bit of a whiff. The ending surprised me by how mudnane it was: the killer is indeed one of the patients — not the person the game makes out to be the killer, but the second most suspicious one. There's no paradox, no mindplay, and all the confusion about whether you're Dekker turns out to be another red herring.

UPDATE: Disgerard that, my understanding of how the game works was completely off the mark. The murderer is chosen randomly at the start, and then all answers are adjusted for that. That's why there are so many red herrings: they're there for the sake of different versions of events.

All characters also have different endings — it's just very unclear how they relate to your choices.

This makes the game more intriguing, but also highlights its issues. Over the course of one playthrough, the story is a mess with way too many loose ends. It is, perhaps, much more interesting to replay... but the game is too long for that. With this kind of non-linearity, it would have been much more fascinating as s 2-3 hour experience.

Also, does every horror have to be directly Lovecraftian?

The music is inobtrusive and nice; the acting, terrible (as befits an FMV); and the logic... well. It's hit or miss. You sometimes have to guess the correct wording rather precisely for a question to register, and the leaps of logic are far from obvious (for example, when one of the patients describes a picture of a spider, you can guess that an option is available to ask about the fly — but not about the web). At least there are hints.

Still, while the game did lose its momentum by the end, in general, I liked it, if only because the basic stories were so intriguing. Not a clear recommend, but perhaps it can be of interest if you like FMVs and creepy stories with lots of twists.

Marmite?

The use of Full Motion Video in games is a lot like Marmite; you either love it or hate it.
If you hate it, then move along, this is not the game you’re looking for, however if like me, you’re a fan of FMV’s then you should stick around for this review because The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is a feast of full motion video goodness.


Psychiatric Sleuth’em’up.

The premise behind TIMODD (I can’t keep typing the whole title, I swear the names of games are getting longer) is that you are a psychiatrist called in to replace the recently murdered Doctor Dekker.
In addition to filling the dead doctors’ shoes by treating his colourful array of patients you’ll also need to investigate his murder, one of those oddball patients almost certainly did away with Dekker.

The game starts with a short montage video and a rather abrupt conversation with Jaya, the dead doctors (and now your) assistant. You’ll then find yourself sitting in the big chair, ready for the first of the previously mentioned “odd balls” to take their place on the couch in front of you.

The core of this game is all about the conversations you’ll have with these patients, and they really are an eclectic bunch.
What you say to them, how you treat them and what you find out about Dekkers murder are all up to you. The more you ask, the more you’ll learn and you’ll want to uncover as much as you can because these are some of the most interestingly bizarre characters I’ve ever met.


Patients Please

Each patient has their own distinct personality with their own unique problems, the depths to which their problems extend are slowly revealed throughout your sessions (and maybe the occasional dream sequence).
I’m not going to talk about the patients’ individual conditions, I recommend going into TIMODD as spoiler free as you can to get the most enjoyment out of it, but you can expect some dark twists and turns as you uncover the extent of their madness...

... or maybe it’s the truth?

The dialogue is so well written and the interlinking story so well thought out that no matter how bizarre the events patients describe to you become (and they get pretty weird), they always seem just on the fringe of being plausible. It’s a tricky thing to pull off and it’s done here with style.


Play Crazy

Of course the best writing in the world will fall flat with a bad delivery, but TIMODD pulls another ace out of its sleeve here with the quality of the actors involved.

Every performance strikes the perfect balance between realistic portrayal and the over the top hamminess we all expect from titles like this and whilst every actor involved did a good job there were a couple of standouts.
Millin Thomas does amazing work in bringing the character Bryce to life, balancing the more sinister aspects of the character against a kind of hopeful naivety and of course Aislinn De’ath for her hauntingly seductive role as Marianna which was as disturbing as it was endearing.


Interactive Madness

So we know that TIMODD tells an interestingly dark tale through a cast of believably bonkers characters but what about the game part of the game?
It’s time to explore the interactive part of this movie and that is done through a dauntingly empty text box sitting at the top of the screen.

That’s right, this game takes the free form text approach to interaction, you type what you want to say and the patient sitting in front of you will reply, revealing a little more about themselves, their condition, relationships and their feelings towards Dekker.
So keeping in mind that they’re all crazy, one of them is probably a murderer and you’re supposed to be the sane one...
It’s time to start typing...


Do you feel misunderstood?

... and that’s where you’ll come across the most frustrating part of what is otherwise a hugely entertaining experience, the text parsing interface.
Now remember that text parsing isn’t new thing; it’s been around for ages, if you’ve ever played a game using this type of interface you’ll already be aware of its limitations.

There is no denying that the ability to type what you want to say directly into a game can create a really immersive experience, type “Hello” and get a “Hi” back, type a question and get a coherent answer, it all adds to the experience.
At least that’s the theory and it can be an amazing way to interact with a game.... when it works; the problem is that as a gaming interface it doesn’t work well consistently.

The reality is that you can’t just type what you want and expect the program to understand you.
The software will look for key words or phrases in your text to help it identify which reply it thinks will be appropriate.


Are you frustrated?

You need to learn how to talk to this type of interface to get the most out of it, and even when you have gotten used to the invisible phrasing the system expects, you will still find yourself bombarded with endless “I’m sorry I didn’t understand that” responses as you struggle to make yourself understood.
What should and could be an immersive interface can quickly become a huge frustration as you type countless variations of the same sentence desperately trying to make the software understand.

The impatience this causes will inevitably lead you to abandon the full articulate sentences you input at the start of the game for a kind of keyword short hand hoping to hit on a combination that will prompt a response and move the story forward.

You’re also going to need to take your time typing these key words, spell something wrong and the software isn’t going to understand that either.
It was a brave decision for D’avekki Studios Ltd to go with this form of interaction for thier psychiatric sleuth’em’up.


Interactive Intervention

So does the problematic interface sap all of the enjoyment out of the game?
Thankfully no, it’s an obstacle that can’t be ignored but there is a hint system to ease your typing troubles.
If (When) you get stuck and can’t bear to watch another of the several “ask me something else” video clips, all you need to do is type the word “hint” and the game will suggest a question you should ask which will push the narrative forward (you are going to use this hint system a lot, I guarantee it!).

There are also additional clues to help guide you as you play.
You have the option to watch replays of the patients responses, the important ones will be marked indicating that you should press the patient further on something they’ve said.

You also have the option to turn on subtitles which highlight any key words in italics, using these words in your questioning will likely uncover new secrets.
This extra help means that the text parsing interface is by no means a game breaker, but there is no denying that it is cumbersome and definitely a detriment to the experience as a whole...


Diagnosis

...but the experience as a whole is still a positive one.

The fascinating characters and the tale they tell it worth the price of admission alone, the interactive elements are just a bonus.

If you enjoyed “Her Story” or “Contradiction: Spot the Liar” then you’re almost certainly going to enjoy TIMODD.
Yes the interface is clunky but persevere and you’ll uncover an amazing, intertwining and subtly dark tale revolving around control, the supernatural and of course, madness.

At the start of this review I asked if you were an FMV fan and if you’re still here with me now I’m guessing you are.
So as an FMV fan (and assuming you can see past the text interface) you’d be crazy not to pick up a copy of the Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker.


For the full review and others head over to http://www.review-well.com