The idea of a utopia is built on the flawed belief that a perfect, unchanging society is possible, or even something people want. People’s desires are naturally varied and often conflict with one another, so what feels like paradise to one might feel like a cage to someone else. Trying to enforce universal perfection and avoid conflict usually means stripping away freedom, individuality, and the ability to grow, turning the dream into an oppressive nightmare. What could be one man’s utopia can easily be another man’s dystopia. The problem with utopia is that it depends on the fallibility of human nature. The way the real world is moving towards AI managing every aspect of life raises the question: Can humanity trust an AI to build a perfect society? Find out in Cubed3’s D-topia review!
Away from Earth, an AI has built a utopia for humans. Not just anybody can get into this paradise, and even though the AI is fully autonomous, it still requires a human touch to make the residents of D-topia happy. The only human workers are the scant few custodians known as “Facilitators”, and the player assumes the role of Shiro, the newest addition to the system. As a Facilitator, Shiro is expected to fix things and help other residents feel more comfortable while living in D-topia. The problem with this perfect society is that humans are complicated creatures, and the AI overlord is hopeless at dealing with the eccentricities and contradictions of trying to make everyone happy. Sometimes, making someone happy will come at the expense of others or will require Shiro to break the rules he is expected to enforce.
D-topia is an interesting sci-fi story that effectively depicts a utopia as a powerful metaphor for human stagnation, showing how automated luxury can rob humanity of its core purpose. D-topia’s residents live in a state of perpetual comfort. They are completely dependent on robots for all their physical and social needs. Consequently, some even lose their drive, connection to nature, and sense of identity. Their lives are comfortable but entirely devoid of meaning. Apart from a very few select characters, hardly anybody works, and the few who do are a prescient expression of the modern-day wage-slave who wakes up, grinds for cash and repeats. Shiro is close to being a machine himself.
The rapid rise of smart home ecosystems, autonomous delivery systems, and generative AI is eroding humanity’s connection to its surroundings. As technology increasingly handles routine tasks, society risks becoming overly reliant on automation. This convenience can undermine critical thinking, basic problem-solving skills, and physical health. Additionally, the hyper-connected environment created by AI foreshadows the isolating effects of modern social media and algorithmic screen addiction, as Shiro mostly communicates with his next-door neighbour via a messenger.
D-topia takes inspiration from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, highlighting the dangers of sacrificing human freedom for societal stability and the stark suppression by corporate and mechanical forces seen in THX 1138. Shiro and the residents are stripped of their names and assigned alphanumeric designations to eliminate unique identities. Everyone wears very similar-looking outfits, reducing humans to interchangeable, non-descript parts in a massive social machine.
As one of the few Facilitators, Shiro can see beyond the artificial veil and see D-topia for what it really is. Yes, it’s true. D-topia’s minimalistic and sleek futurism is an illusory facade created by the system to make the environment more palatable to the residents. One of the main jobs assigned to Shiro is to uphold the facade and look out for any bug fixes. Unfortunately, D-topia is prone to breakdown and is even infested with hyper-intelligent, evolved mice. Jumping back and forth between Block-side and D-topia could have been smoother. Switching requires Shiro to access a terminal to jump between the realities, which isn’t as fun as flipping it on the fly like in something like Soul Reaver.
Shiro moves very slowly, even after an energy drink, making it a hassle to run between Block-side terminals and whatever needs fixing. The entire game is very languid and glacial, and while this is pitched as a selling point, the pace of how the game flows can feel like taking a couple of Dramamine capsules while the intro to M*A*S*H plays. It doesn’t help that the music is deliberately soothing, almost too soothing… to the point of being sleep-inducing. Some tracks sound as if the composer dozed off on their synthesiser, leaving behind long, sustained synth hums.
Anybody who manages to stay awake through the relaxing ambience will find that a Facilitator’s job is a surprisingly addictive gauntlet of puzzles. Whether at Shiro’s office or assisting other residents, his “work” involves a range of challenging brain-teasers, from drawing lines on grid-based panels and solving mazes to flipping panels and tackling math puzzles. Some tasks require creating a path from a circular node to a rounded endpoint without crossing any lines. While each puzzle starts with this basic idea, added rules and symbols make them increasingly complex. Anybody who’s played The Witness will feel right at home, as these puzzles overlap heavily with that title’s offerings, rewarding patient observation, logical deduction, and creative spatial thinking rather than raw computation.
Finishing these puzzles rewards Shiro with pay, an item, or even something he can use to decorate his apartment. The life-sim elements are fairly superficial and only exist to make D-topia feel more convincing, while also feeding into the theme of blind consumerism. Not feeding Shiro doesn’t significantly affect the game. However, giving gifts to the side characters can improve relationship status, which is important for players who want to learn more about them. Since D-topia is a story-focused game with strong writing, building these relationships enhances the overall experience. The writing feels naturalistic and believable. Dialogue is surprisingly to the point and rarely drags, and everyone is likeable.
D-topia‘s visual design is striking and perfectly captures the artifice of an AI’s vivarium for humans. Everything appears clean, smooth, and free of dust; sleek and easy on the eyes. The Block-side has a distinctly industrial flair, with machines that appear harsher and built purely for utility over aesthetics. The effect is marvellous, and it truly feels like Shiro is caught between two mindsets as he balances his duty to the residents’ happiness and his role as a worker for a misguided AI system.
At worst, D-topia can be a tad boring, but the dullness seems like it was a deliberate attempt at world building and putting the player in the mindset of being in a sterile and artificial habitat. The reality is that everyone would be bored in D-topia because a utopian society is at odds with human nature. Despite this premise being ripe for the potential for a boring game, this is still one of the better titles put out by Annapurna since it has actual gameplay in it and some genuinely fun puzzles within, and characters that gamers will care about.
Welp, you convinced me. I’ll give it a shot now that my schedule is freeing up.