More often than not, judges are an obstacle in detective narratives. Since traditionally, fictional protagonists must heroically overcome bad odds, most detective stories put the judge (should there be a court room scene) in control of whatever special interest it is against which the detective is working. The detective is then in charge of winning over a court that's biased against them from the start. Femida is an upcoming game that flips this trope on its head and puts players in control of a judge who must solve a crime the old fashioned way: with the evidence presented to them in court.
The setting of Femida is the simply-named State, a dystopia created in the wake of recent upheavals in mass ideology and legislation. The player-controlled character, Judge Daemon Mardoch, has been chosen to work as a judge in a process called the Labor Lottery, a position he accepts in part for the job opportunity, and in part to find out more about the disappearance of his father in the revolution preceding the current condition of the State.
Developers Art Interactive began crafting the game as the first to put players directly into the shoes of a judge. Its writers built the narrative with inspiration from true all-time classic writing like Plato's Republic and Dante's The Divine Comedy.
As a judge, the player will collect evidence and testimonies from participants in court cases. The player can also interact with the judge's family, co-workers, and other people of interest. It's then up to the player to come to the right conclusions about the evidence and information provided to them. Player decisions have an impact on the narrative, which can result in multiple endings to its cases, even including scenarios where the judge is killed for his sentencing. In total, players will be able to work on seven distinct cases, and the result of one can effect another down the line.
Femida was funded on Kickstarter by 160 backers back in 2016. Now Femida is entering open beta in advance of its release on January 7th, 2020. It's playable on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Source: Evolve