PatriotMemoirs 4K

PatriotMemoirs 4K is a narrative spy game set in the dark years of the War of Resistance. The player takes the role of Zhu Shiming, a graduate of an army officer academy who studied calligraphy. Instead of going to the battlefield, he goes undercover in an organisation known as No. 86. By day he works as a low-ranking office worker regarded as a traitor, and by night he operates as a hidden agent. The game takes place on Shangchuan, an isolated fictional island. According to the developer, many of the dates, places, characters and events have historical prototypes drawn from extensive research.

The game is structured around free exploration rather than a linear plot. Players spend the day at work and explore freely at night, with different stories unfolding in different places each day. Time spent elsewhere can also generate new stories. Spy tasks include picking locks, handling microfilm, holding one’s breath against a lie detector, playing with a butterfly knife, pouring latte art and gambling at a casino. The story puts the player in moral dilemmas, such as being ordered to execute a comrade, taking part in a werewolf-style game of elimination, and deciding how to act as a sword-bearer.

Choices made each day affect the story over the long term, and minor encounters can have consequences years later. The game has more than 30 characters, 256 decision points, 609 branching plots and 16 different endings. It features around 600 minutes of cinematic, dynamic visuals. The developer notes that the game cannot convey the full truth of the history it depicts, and invites players to accept imperfections in its content and storytelling.