Remute Announces Visual Novel for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive

Last Updated on February 6, 2023

One of my favourite things to ever happen in gaming is when music plays a major role in its experience, as someone who has a strong passion for both. It’s even more interesting when retro consoles become the highlight of an artist’s work. Electronic composer Remute has recently announced a new music-based visual novel for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.

That’s right! DECODER will be releasing as a cartridge to be playable on its respective console. The album (as well as a game!) is a video-game adaptation of the German cyberpunk movie from 1984. Being a long-term “dream project” for Remute, this cartridge can be played using the console’s very own soundchip. It tells a compelling story whilst Remute’s new electro tracks play in the background.

An email received by Indie Retro News describes some of the movie’s context: “Decoder, released in 1984 and conceived by german filmmaker Klaus Maeck, is roughly based on writings of William S. Burroughs and tells us about a dystopian society ruled by the ‘WORLD’ corporation who controls the population with hypnotic sounds called ‘Muzak’. But there’s FM, a clever dissident, who discovers that by decoding the Muzak, riots and revolution against the looming power of WORLD can be incited”. 

The cartridge is only made to work on a handful of official Sega Genesis and Mega Drive consoles but will not take well to console clones due to emulation issues. It’s highly recommended to listen via the Model 1 consoles, but can also be played on Model 2, 3, Sega Nomad and even Analogue’s Mega SG. This project was made possible alongside coder Kabuto and graphic artist Alien who also worked on Remute’s other cartridge albums Technoptimistic and Living Electronics.

DECODER is now available for pre-order for 34.99 € over on Remute’s Bandcamp page, where it will then be shipped on March 29th 2023. A limited “Plus Edition” can also be ordered for 44.99 € containing an extra 7″ vinyl a new vinyl exclusive Decoder Theme ‘Jaeger Mix’ along with the original version. This is only available in the “Plus Edition”. Can’t wait to see what other exciting music-gaming projects creators have in store for us!

Bhav Soor

I am a media and pop culture enthusiast and love Nintendo and indie games, particularly Zelda and Stardew Valley. When I’m not gaming you’ll find me writing, creating fanart, and playing music covers of my favourite games!