Anshar Studios may have finally crafted the perfect detective game with their new isometric RPG, Gamedec. Detective games make up a small niche of RPGs not because they aren't popular but because they can be difficult to do right. L.A. Noire was a hit thanks to its crime-scene mechanics and interrogation, as was Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment, but both still had the same problem many these styles of games do -- they're linear. Gamedec removes that barrier to allow players to come up with their own conclusions and take their own paths in true isometric RPG fashion.

In Gamedec, you take on the role of a Game Detective (hence the name) and solve crimes within virtual worlds. It takes place in a future where reality and virtual are entwined, which means crimes in the virtual world may have real-world implications. It's up to you to find your way to the truth, however you see fit. Gamedec puts an emphasis on player decisions.

RELATED: Discworld Is the Perfect Setting For a Story Driven RPG

Examining a dead body in a virtual world.

Like most isometric RPGs, there are plenty of characters and objects to interact with. How you interact with them means getting different information and angles on a case instead of just new quests or missions. Information is key to solving cases, but not all of it is useful and some may even be deceiving. There may be cover-ups or evidence that points in other directions, and the player must decide how to make sense of it all. You can even accidentally destroy or miss evidence if you don't have the right skills to recover, decrypt or access it. This is where those table-top-style skill trees come in handy.

It may not be as in-depth as games such as Pathfinder, but there is enough there to work with and build your own Gamedec. These skills are called professions, and some even have a cyberpunk flair to them, like hacking to bypass locked items or get into cameras to get a better angle of the scene of a crime or use bots as a distraction to get to where you need to be. Others included are things like Medic, which can help you with examining bodies and even saving lives. These don't just apply to gathering evidence but interacting with other characters to gain new information or help them out, which may lead to them helping you down the road. Adding this spin on a detective game makes for a great RP experience and has so many possibilities not just for the stories but how cases are solved.

RELATED: 5 INCREDIBLE Indie RPGs That Deserve a Chance

Making deductions based on evidence

As the player gathers evidence, different deductions open up that they can choose to follow. Based on what was found or undiscovered, you'll get to choose what you think happened. There are branching paths for how things went down and the reason, which can take the case and story in different directions. This is what makes Gamedec stand out as a detective game. There is some room to step outside of a case in other games, but it usually meant taking a penalty or not 'completing' a mission perfectly. In this isometric RPG environment, players are freer and don't need to obtain the perfect answer because it depends on their playstyle and own deductions.

It's all about uncovering secrets, solving cases your way and coming to your own conclusions. Player choices can steer their Gamedec in different directions and influence how NPCs interact with their character. Gamedec is a very promising detective game that may finally upgrade this niche genre and get more players on board with it when it releases on September 16th for PC.

KEEP READING: 5 Games for Fans of the Last of Us