Mobygames explains "In Synnergist the player takes the role of Tim Machin, an ambitious young journalist forced by cruel circumstances to work for a trashy tabloid newspaper. Set in the year 2010, the game puts the player on the streets of New Arhus—a city of extremes, crammed with both cutting edge technology and the decaying remnants of a once proud past. Very soon, Tim finds himself on the trail of a sinister force that appears to be connected to the crime and killing". The storyline to Synnergist is much deeper than what it first appears - some hidden Easter Eggs in the game reveal secret to the game's plot, including what "Synnergist" actually means. They included new video sequences, rooms, and puzzles. When the game was released, Vicarious Visions offered a prize to the first five people to discover these hidden Easter Eggs.
Gameplay
Csoon explained the gameplay:
Critical reception
Coming Soon Magazine gave the game 81 out of 100, Tap-Repeatedly/Four Fat Chicks gave 4 Stars, PC Player gave 73 out of 100, PC Games gave 68 out of 100, High Score gave 2 out of 5, Power Play gave 40 out of 100, and PC Player gave 2 Stars. Csoon wrote "Synnergist maintains a good story line throughout the game, keeping the player's interest high in wanting to solve the mystery... Some of the puzzles can be a little difficult to figure out, and once you are stuck, the game can be slow." The site gave the game a rating of 81%. In another positive review, Four Fat Chicks wrote "Here is a game that has an interesting plot with many twists and turns, nice graphics, unobtrusive sound and music, easy interface, and a good number of varied locations to explore. Synnergist has a similar mood and style to Noctropolis, with a little Gabriel Knight–type understated tension thrown in... It's a shame that Vicarious Visions didn't follow up Synnergist with any other adventure games." In a contemporary review, Petra Tsimberov of Hardcore Gaming 101 found the game interesting for being a notable example of outsider art, drawing attention to how much of its development cycle was spent while Vicarious Visions founders Karthik and Guha Bala were still in high school. She noted "Wherever it fails, it’s a shame, but almost to-be expected. But where it gets things right, it’s all the more enthralling." The review went on to criticize the game's technical shortcomings but praised the game's ability to immerse and captivate the player through its painted backgrounds and atmosphere - "Objectively the whole game is really rather forgettable, but if you approach it with the same dream-oriented excitement the Bala brothers had back in 1991, it may just stick around for longer."
