Dry Drowning

• Title — Dry Drowning • Developer — Studio V • Director — Giacomo Masi • Designer — Giacomo Masi, Samuele Zolfanelli • Programmer — Samuele Zolfanelli • Writer — Giacomo Masi • Composer — Giorgio Maioli, Alessandro Masi • Artist — Giulia Carli, Samuele Zolfanelli • Publisher — VLG Publishing, WhisperGames • Engine — Unity • Platforms — Windows, Nintendo Switch • Released — Windows August 2, 2019 Switch February 22, 2021 • Genre — Visual novel • Modes — Single-player

The player takes control of Mordred Foley and has to read through the story, while making decisions at certain points. Depending on the choices, the player can influence the relationship to other characters as well as the course of the game, discovering more than 150 story branches, and eventually reach one out of three different endings with variations. The game also includes passages where the player has to find clues or items on the screen by clicking on them. These can be used in interrogation scenes with certain characters in order to unmask them and discover their lies. Throughout the game, the player has access to an in-game operating system called AquaOS. With that, they can re-read their conversations, look at their found items, and read biographies of the characters encountered.

The game is set in the fictional and totalitarian city Nova Polemos in Europa in 2066. Mordred Foley and Hera Kairis are private investigators and before the events of the game, they sent two of the most dangerous serial killers ever, Jennifer Kingston and Robert Herrington, to the electric chair. However, after their execution, their agency underwent an investigation for falsifying the evidence presented during the case, which completely destroyed its reputation. Now they want to restart their careers and lives, while dealing with their past traumas. Soon, Mordred is caught up in several cases that all led him to believe that the dreaded serial killer named Pandora has returned. In order to solve these cases, both Mordred and Hera have to face their pasts and fears, all while a racist political party is about to make the lives of refugees in Nova Polemos even worse.

The game was initially conceived by Giacomo Masi and Samuele Zolfanelli, then developed by Studio V and directed and written by Giacomo Masi. It was originally written in Italian and translated into English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and German. The soundtrack was composed, written, and performed by Giorgio Maioli. The ending theme and Hera's pieces, performed on piano, were created by Alessandro Masi. The background and character artworks were made by Giulia Carli, other graphic elements such as the UI were created by Samuele Zolfanelli. The developers cited L.A. Noire, Ace Attorney, Blade Runner and Heavy Rain as some of their inspirations for the game.