I’ve always heard this is a super good game and I finally started playing it and I enjoyed the first little bit (heavily eyerolling at the, uh, “evil soviet” aesthetics), but that was ok, not enough to ruin it for me.
And then the day rolled around when you have to use a scanner on people. It’s basically a creepier version of the TSA body scanners, and I must say I’m really not into that. Also, and this could have just been RNG, but all except one of the people I was supposed to scan were women, and I found that a bit off-putting, honestly. But anyway, I finished the day, and was like, well, maybe I’ll get used to this, it’s only a game, these aren’t real people I’m creeping on.
But then, the next day, the second person to come up to my window “looked like a man”, but their passport said their sex was female. Now on an earlier day, I had gotten a violation for mismatched sex marker, which should have been a hint I was going to be in for a bad time later.
Well, the bad time was here, because I decided to flag the sex marker discrepancy, and wouldn’t you know it, the option to scan them came up. So I guess I get to decide on whether someone’s sex marker is correct based on their genitals.
I quit the game right then and there. I’d like to ask all of you whether you’ve played it, and whether it’s worth pushing through this very serious discomfort I feel. I’m a little worried that all the “tough moral choices” are just going to feel contrived and shitty, what with the “evil soviet” aesthetic and the pretty massive oversight on gender. Not to mention we’ve already an as introduction to a plot about a brothel, which I’m kind of also not into, unless it’s done well, but at this point, I don’t trust the game to do it well.
So what do you think? Anyone played it? Is it actually worth playing?
You must log in or # to comment.
There’s a game with similar mechanics called Mind Scanners, where you play as a psychologist in a dystopian future and try to determine whether people actually have a disorder or if they’re just struggling under capitalism.
The point of it is to make you feel bad, because you’re prioritizing yourself and your family and making immoral decisions to keep them alive at the expense of others.
It’s a post-9/11 security simulator with dumb Soviet aesthetics.
So what do you think? Anyone played it? Is it actually worth playing?
I played it around the time it came out (I was a
back then). I think I liked it ok, but based on my limited memory of the game I wouldn’t find it worth playing in 2023.I’d recommend Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope’s other game) or Citizen Sleeper (another “mundane life” kind of game) instead.
