There are many games that claim to be the spiritual successor to Papers, Please. Plenty have already tried incorporating Lovecraft, or cosmic horror creeping into otherwise sane jobs. Do No Harm is a Lovecraftian doctor simulator. I’ve played apothecary simulators and surgeon simulators, but a doctor simulator in eldritch horror is one I hadn’t tried.
Tagged Simulation Game
Faceminer Spiel
AI was the talk of the town during Christmas dinner, so I thought to give Faceminer a chance. Even before AI was such a hit, we — everyone who has seen the crypto ads on social media — have seen the whole mining rig as a business opportunity to ‘work from home’. It has been always been a brief talking point during light hearted dinners. What if we had bought ourselves a powerful workstation fit for crypto mining or local AI training to switch jobs?
The Operator Spiel
As a fan of Orwell series, a similar game released in 2016, The Operator immediately had my fullest attention with its retro take on agent-handler system. The retro futurism from the 90s was wild, and the game does not shy away from it. The media thought ancient computer systems hooked up to a CRT monitor could handle nation-wide surveillance and advanced softwares to zoom in beyond the tinest pixels.
Dyson Sphere Program Spiel
As Dyson Sphere Program is a simulation game still in Early Access without a story mode, I wasn’t sure when I could safely say I finished it. I prefer not to talk about sims that go on forever, as they tend to be more “simulation” than a “simulation game”. Fortunately, the game does have an ending, or something akin to an ending in the tech tree, where the narrator congratulates the player on finishing the monolithic task.
Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator Spiel
I’m not a fan of mini games and QTEs. I think we are at a period where if the developer is willing, they can easily concoct a method to incorporate convincing-enough side system, even if it’s only few moments compared to the overarching main system. Heck, we even have a zen genre dedicated to simple unpacking, in the game Unpacking, gameplay mechanics that focuses on what otherwise would have been hidden away from the players’ eyes. Now, imagine a simulator game that has its focus divided into potion crafting and serving as an alchemist to the community — that’s Potion…
No Umbrellas Allowed Spiel
I found out No Umbrellas Allowed after I had short, yet fun, experience with Good Pizza, Great Pizza. I was ready to see more difficult customers in different context, and this being the pawn shop, —or secondhand shop— I was expecting to see some real actions. Not the gun blazing kind, of course.