The Complex cover art
Light / CasualFMV thriller

The Complex

Navigating a branching film whose decision tree is the only system.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION0 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION3 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    0/10

    Choosing dialogue options requires nothing physical

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    Characters follow a branching script, not a mind

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    3/10

    Branch consequences are hidden on a first viewing

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    3/10

    Mapping the decision tree to reach desired endings

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
2020
Developer
Wales Interactive
Platforms
PS4, PC, PS5, Mac, XONE, Switch
Modes
Single player
IGDB critics
72/100
IGDB users
66/100
AdventureScience fictionThriller