After 9 years, this underrated Lovecraftian FMV detective game is getting a sequel, and its free Steam Next Fest demo makes a strong first impression

Marianna is cloaked in white in The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 — (Image credit: D'Avekki Studios)

For fellow FMV heads out there, The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 may need no introduction. But to those looking to delve into the rabbit hole of live action gaming, this, like the first game, throws you into the therapist's chair to half-analyze, half-interrogate former patients of your Lovecraftian predecessor, the titular Doctor Dekker. This Steam Next Fest demo allows you to get stuck in with your first patient session, and already has me swimming in possible theories about what happened to your dearly departed (...or are they?) colleagues.

Developed by D'Avekki Studios, their latest FMV mystery is well worth checking out for yourself (nose through our Steam Next Fest guide for more about the event). I've long had a soft spot for this developer's take on FMV games. Remaining with a hand in tabletop board games, rather than trying to craft overly ambitious narrative games, these mysteries are more bite-size affairs that use live action performances to sell you on a series of possible clues than simply story hooks. The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 – just like predecessors The Shapeshifting Detective or Murderous Muses – is closer to something like Immortality than it is The Bunker. I'm pleased to see this rare sequel from the studio maintaining that style.

On the couch

You are asked to investigate the infectious madness in The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 — (Image credit: D'Avekki Studios)

It's been almost a decade since the first game, but The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 picks up threads from that adventure. Once again, you're trying to uncover the truth behind Doctor Dekker's disappearance, alongside the murder of Doctor Alderby. With random elements, the murderer you need to accuse is chosen at random so you'll need to pay attention as you speak with each patient as no two playthroughs are the same. There's even multiple takes from actors for certain scenes to reflect that (which seems to be togglable if you'd rather stick to pure facts and logic).

Each patient has their own supernatural problems.

My demo session has me chatting with Ophelia, far from getting into the weeds of making murder accusations (although, in fact, I actually can – though she simply calls it a poor taste joke). Bounced between Doctor Dekker and Alderby, I have to ask her about the death of her mother, the claim she can hear ghostly voices within her deceased parent's house, and try to figure out if she observed anything suspicious between the two doctors. Each patient has their own supernatural problems you'll have to help them tackle. While most are new, fan favorite Marianna does return as well as the iconic green couch and stark lightning.

For once in a sequel, I'm a little thankful a feature has gotten simpler. While the first game's ability to type in every question you wanted to ask a patient was novel at the time, it could quickly become obtuse. Now, you're simply presented with a list of topics, which you can then combine into pairs to attempt more complex enquiries.

Ophelia sits length-wise on the couch in The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 — (Image credit: D'Avekki Studios)

A notepad tracker that you can turn and off helps you guide your main points of inquiry, but there's a lot of optional chats you can have with your patient as you try to tease out more topics to discuss. Even in this small slice of the game, my demo has me making lots of small decisions that it tells me will help shape the ultimate fate of Ophelia (you read that right, Swifties). No discussion goes more than a few sentences without interaction, so picking through statements really does feel interactive.

I'm too early to have a suspect in mind yet, and I'm on the fence about whether I'll be clever enough to pin down my randomly assigned suspect – but I'm certainly looking forward to meeting all my patients and trying to crack what just has been going on in the late Doctor Dekker's practice. The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 comes to PC with exact console TBC later in 2026.

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