At the beginning of October, D’Avekki Studios released a demo for the PC version of Dark Nights with Poe and Munro. I knew something was up — why would you release a demo for a game that is years old? — but I didn’t know what. The studio’s fourth and latest game, Murderous Muses, was not part of the original trilogy of titles (The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, The Shapeshifting Detective, Dark Nights with Poe and Munro) so releasing a demo from that trilogy gave me an inkling that we may be returning to some familiar faces soon enough.
I didn’t expect a full-blown loop back to the beginning, but that is what we’re getting with The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2! Two games solidified my love of FMV games: Sam Barlow’s Her Story and the original Doctor Dekker. I played it so much. I played it until I couldn’t find any more scenes I had missed. The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is a Lovecraft-inspired title about a psychiatrist covering for a former (murdered) colleague. You never see him: you are him, and the game is from his perspective while looking at patients on a couch across from him. The creepy bits slowly come into play. It’s all surreal, bizarre, and incredibly smart — looking back, it’s near perfect.
A brief history of D’Avekki Studios, which has become a leader in the FMV genre in a short time. It was created by Tim and Lynda Cowles, a husband and wife team that began making murder mystery party games in 2004. (Not only are they couple goals, but they are also incredibly nice and often interact with their fans on social media.) The best-selling party games later shifted into FMV video games with The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker in 2017. It broke the Guinness World Record for Most Full Motion Video in a Video Game at the time. A sequel to Doctor Dekker feels like a love letter to its fans.
Return to the role of a (new) therapist, now trying to solve two murders and curing six patients/suspects. One of his patients is familiar and beloved: Aislinn De’Ath is back as Marianna! The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 plays a bit differently than its predecessor, dropping the need to type questions to fully explore what the game has to offer. Despite being a sequel, no prior knowledge is needed to play.
“We experimented with a TV series and a 3D gallery in our last two games but it’s nothing like the buzz we get returning to Dekker’s couch,” said D’Avekki Studios director, Tim Cowles, in a press release. “We can’t wait to show our new roster of patients and stories to players and hope to increase the sequel’s accessibility with our new choice and link input system.”
Developed and published by D’Avekki Studios, The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 will be released for PC and consoles in 2025.
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