The Only Free Cheese: Dead Take by Surgent Studios

“The only free cheese is in the mousetrap.”

 Hollywood: the place where dreams are made real, hopes are dashed, and fame often comes at a cost (one you must pay whether you are willing or not). Enter Chase Lowry, actor, who has been looking for a breakout role with director Duke Cain’s newest film, whose friend Vinny has been invited to Cain’s mansion. Your role is to explore the mansion to discover what is happening and where your friend has disappeared. But nothing is as it seems, and as you find various thumb drives with interviews, outtakes, and auditions, you begin to piece together a bigger mystery.

Welcome to Surgent Studio’s Dead Take. 

Don’t be fooled - this game is more than just a puzzle game. Embedded in it is social commentary about the inner workings of Hollywood and how it can be just as destructive as it can be uplifting for the people who work within it. It blends video game animation with live action footage, with puzzles that vary in their difficulty. The game relies on its eerie atmospheres and the bits of lore you collect through random letters, bits of papers, text messages, and actor headshots scattered throughout the mansion. 

As the story unfolds, you unlock more and more of the mansion by “splicing” and watching footage in the personal theater in the basement. There is lore about the actors that you can find by collecting different pieces of evidence (tracked by text message verifications and a cork board with connections tracked with red thread, conspiracy-style). While most of the game is done in an animated style, the scenes you watch on screen are all live action. Voice actors like Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3) and Ben Starr (Final Fantasy 16) really drive the narrative, bringing their acting chops alongside a chunk of the Critical Role original cast members (Matt Mercer, Laura Bailey, and Travis Willingham). 

Taken from Scott Baird’s review, located here.

The game touches on themes of loss and drug use briefly, more as a note on how Hollywood handles deeper issues (which is to say, not well at all). Duke Cain expresses that he uses the loss of his son for his work, but his wife’s pain seems to be entirely disregarded along with her own long history with the film industry. Dead Talk also shows how the film industry uses people and how notoriety can twist you. 

This game is rather short, taking me about 5 hours to get through a first run. I did a second run to try and pick up all the lore I could (and I still missed some!), but is well worth it. There were a few issues that left me feeling a little unsatisfied, though. First, there really aren’t enough of those live action clips. Listening to Neil Newbon use an American accent really made me want to hear more of him, especially given he plays the main character. Second, some of the stories that they hint at aren’t fully fleshed out. For example, we know something happened with Duke Cain when his son dies, but we aren’t told what it is. It’s hinted that Ben Starr’s character, Vinny, might have participated in the porn industry, but it isn’t really clear. I know that I was left with a lot of questions at the end - was this supernatural or was this a mental break? What really happened in Duke Cain’s mansion? Who is Film Man (Matt Mercer’s VERY brief appearance, with an excellent speech that you should listen the whole way through)?

Altogether, this game definitely served up some food for thought. If you enjoy puzzle games with an unsettling atmosphere, mysteries, and Neil Newborn, I would give this game a try. Dead Take is a game by Surgent Studios, published by Pocketpair Publishing. It is available on Steam.

Remember, when the lights turn down and the film begins to play, I shall be here with a new suggestion should you need it.