It’s funny, video games are often seen as the antithesis to work—an escape from it—but so many games still feel like a job. This can be a big point against a game, as evidenced by those swollen AAA endeavors that encourage endless, repetitive activities, or live-service titles that take advantage of your FOMO, prompting you to log on even when you don’t really want to.
But on the other side of the equation are games that are literally about working a job, which can actually be surprisingly great. Something like Death Stranding 2 couches gameplay within a fantastical profession, and even Dead Space is a high-octane, gone-wrong version of a sci-fi engineering gig. But what about those games that focus primarily on the granular, often trivial details of real work? It might come as a surprise, but these more grounded experiences can often be just as compelling as bombastic AAA adventures. Indeed, such games serve as a prime example of what’s possible in the interactive medium, beyond tried-and-true combat or power fantasy antics.
As good as they are, games like Hardspace Shipbreaker and Moonlighter didn’t quite make the cut, as they are far more explicitly fantastical than the following recommendations.
Perhaps the most well-known game of the bunch, Papers, Please is a sobering look into authoritarianism through the eyes of a boots-on-the-ground employee. Players assume the role of a customs officer/immigration inspector, sitting in a cubicle, deciding the fates of those looking to enter the fictional state of Arstotzka. Gameplay consists of analyzing documents for discrepancies before ultimately deciding who gets in and who is rejected, whatever the consequences may be. It’s a wonderfully executed, brilliantly written game.
9/10
August 8, 2013
M For Mature 17+ Due To Violence, Blood, Sexual Themes, Nudity, Drug Reference, Strong Language
3909 LLC
3909 LLC
unity, lime
House Flipper takes advantage of the human desire for growth and improvement in a spectacularly addictive manner: players have to repair, clean, and renovate various properties, eventually working their way up to luxury abodes. It’s definitely got a touch of the jank that characterizes “simulator” games, but it’s also mechanically sound, with a lot of quality-of-life features that keep it from feeling obtuse or overwhelming. House Flipper understands that most players need an intuitive interface and controls, and it provides these basics without watering down its depth or complexity.
Although it eventually deviates into point-and-click adventure and puzzle mechanics, much of The Red Strings Club centers on one character’s job as a bartender in a cyberpunk city. You’ll sling drinks in accordance with a given customer’s mood and personality, in a process that feels like a more fleshed-out version of Coffee Talk‘s coffee-brewing mechanics. These interactions queue up a dark and thought-provoking narrative that’s hard to pull away from, much like the best stories told under the dim lights of a nearly empty bar.
January 22, 2018
m
Deconstructeam
GameMaker
I can’t say enough good things about Home Safety Hotline: if you like fantasy creatures, inexplicable phenomena, and analog horror, you simply cannot miss this game. You’ll fill the role of an employee at the titular Home Safety Hotline, fielding calls from concerned homeowners seeking instructions on how to handle various hazards. The catch is that, while some of these hazards are as trivial as mice and bees, most of them are far more haunting, disturbing, and even Lovecraftian in nature. In essence, Home Safety Hotline‘s gameplay boils down to a process of simple memorization and recall, but the well-written and uniquely unnerving selection of fantasy critters makes this far more enjoyable than one might first expect.
January 16, 2024
nr
Unity
Playable
