Whispers of a Machine

I usually steer away from Sci-fi games, the reason why I haven't played this gem until this year, and my god, I have missed a lot. You play as Vera, a special agent who uses a new kind of cyber technology that was implanted into her. She can scan evidence, run analyses, and cross-match across cases. She was called to investigate a murder in a rural city and discovered there was a serial murderer. With the help of her fellow agents and her journal, you start questioning the people. Vera, with her technology, can detect shifts in people's attitudes and nervousness, which will give her a hint that she is going in the right direction.
Like any Point & Click game, your inventory is full of items you can use during your investigations, and depending on your personality, you can shape Vera's personality through how she interacts with people; she could become more empathetic, analytical, or assertive. You'll unlock a new tool that'd help you through your case. If you are more empathetic, you can erase people's memories; if you are more analytical, you gain an enhanced vision. This helped me a lot to discover things. The game has 4 days, and in the first two days, you'll get two different enhancements.
I loved the voice acting. I appreciated that they made the game fully voiced, even with any response you choose for Vera, and you can hear the change in her personality. The soundtracks are nice and fitting. And of course, the pixelled cyberpunk-themed artwork is outstanding, the character's avatar was done nicely too. The puzzles were not bad; you can solve them in multiple ways. What I disliked was the lack of a map; you'll have to walk back and forth through the city to reach a specific destination.
Pros:
+Interesting story with twists.
+Likable characters.
+Good soundtracks.
+Well done voice over.
+Good animation and character design.
+Shaping the main character's personality (3 different personalities)
+Good game length.
+Multiple endings.
+Manual + Automatic save files.
+Steam achievements.
Cons:
-No hinting system.
-You can't skip puzzles.
-No fast-travel map.
This is the first time I played a Nordic Noir game, and I fell in love. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy detective, Point&Click games, and of course, Sci-fi.
Other Reviews:
Kathy Rain Review
Kathy Rain: Director's Cut Review
Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer Review
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒
Follow IndieGems for more reviews like this one.

Short and simple but brought me back to the days of Beneath a Steel Sky. Would like to see something similar with a bit more content, maybe even a seqelt with the same protagonist.

Enjoyable PnC adventure. Just a shame that it uses an autosave feature and basically locks you out of a choice and forces you to replay the entire game to see what happens. It also seems like the choices by itself don't really amount to a lot, just a few alternative ways to solve some puzzles.

I can get that you want to avoid save-scumming, but honestly.... I really am not going to replay an entire game just to witness the alternative ending. Odd choice really.

Overall, I enjoyed it. The story is good, not something extraordinary, but interesting enough to keep you engaged. The game is around six hours long, and most of the puzzles are not too complicated, which makes it pretty easy to play through without getting stuck too often.
It could have been a bit longer. The choices didn’t feel very impactful. To be honest, I only felt like one of my choices actually influenced the game in a noticeable way.
Still, it was a nice adventure. I’d say it’s worth playing.

interesting point&click / dare i say it scratched a bigger itch than kathy rain / blackwell

Very cool game. It captures the feel of the old school Point n Click games. The music and artwork do very well to create an atmosphere reminiscent of the good ol' days of PC gaming. I enjoyed it very much. The puzzles were tougher than other games I've played, but not so tough that you end your game play in frustration (though I will say sometimes I had to go back and forth more times than I would've liked before the game caught up with what I'd already figured out). I liked the main character, she wasn't too much and was a character that I enjoyed helping solve the case. I'd play a sequel for sure.

Whispers of a Machine is a crime solving graphical adventure that takes you to a small town in the middle of nowhere. The protagonist is an special agent from "The Bureau" that is assigned to a murder case that will soon expand the plot from an isolated crime to a more complex story, involving more murders and secret societies.
The gameplay is quiet interesting, adding the concept of augmentations that give special skills to the protagonists and it also adds replay value by using a personality system that assigns a trait between assertive, empathical or analytical that will shift what skills you get and how you can solve puzzles.
Puzzles complexity is just right, they aren't super easy that makes them boring or uninteresting or super mega complex that would keep you scratching/smashing your head in frustration.

If you are into point&click adventure games, give this game a try. It is short and well packed, maybe a little rushed in the end, but it is still a worth play for any fan of the genre.