Antioch: Scarlet Bay is an online cooperative narrative adventure. Play as two detectives working together to solve a murder in the shadowy city of Antioch. Wander in a city filled with characters with their own agendas and attitudes, all your decisions change the story and lead to multi endings.
Players take on the roles of two detectives, an experienced veteran and a rookie, working together to solve a murder mystery in the shadowy city of Antioch. The core gameplay revolves around players making joint decisions that impact the direction of the story, leading to a dozen possible endings.
Throughout the investigation, players face numerous choices that have meaningful consequences. For example, they must decide how to approach suspects and witnesses, as well as which leads to pursue. These choices branch the narrative, encouraging players to replay the game to explore different storylines.
The open-world-like structure allows players to freely explore Antioch at their own pace, uncovering new characters, clues, and storylines. Each NPC has their own motivations and behaviors, which players can discover through conversation and investigation.
The cooperative gameplay mechanics create an engaging collaborative process as players navigate the investigation. Players must work together, exchange information, and reconcile differing perspectives to progress. This dynamic encourages players to build a relationship between their detective characters.
The text-driven interaction, combined with the game's noir-inspired visuals and atmospheric soundtrack, immerses players in the narrative experience. While the translation quality can be uneven at times, the strong writing, branching narratives, and cooperative mechanics are widely praised as the highlights of the gameplay.