I've yet to play a game that so thoroughly allows for such compelling moral decision making, weaving narrative and mechanics perfectly. While you yourself are a victim of the totalitarian regime you work for, you wield a large amount of power with that stamp. Of course you have to think of your family, but what benefits your family often time comes at the expense of other innocent people. It's not about whether you are complicit or not but about how complicit you are willing to be. Making these decisions are not easy and are made even more difficult due to your limited time and need for enough money to survive. I felt a ton of pressure to just send people one way or another as quickly as possible and put them out of mind so I could focus on the next person; the constant stream of monotonous work is numbing and yet there are real consequences to your actions whether you know it or not.
But sometimes there aren't. Sometimes you send someone away who desperately needs to get in and nothing happens, you just have to live with what you've done. Games focused around morality are difficult to make because they require confidence that your audience with fully engage with the game and unfortunately I don't think Lucas Pope had that confidence because the inclusion of an endless mode gets rid of everything that makes this game amazing and is not something I'd ever want to play. Yes, being good at the job is very satisfying, but that is a source of horror for me not one of pride or accomplishment.
At the end of each day you get a report on your earnings, expenses, and the well being of your family. It is incredibly distressing to have to decide if your family will go without food or heat for the day, or having to pick which sick family member gets medicine and which does not. Choosing who to trust, who to help, who to ignore, who to throw under the bus, all while keeping your family safe, is virtually impossible and creates an incredibly stressful and sometimes disorienting experience. One moment that really stuck with me out of all the little story threads is when your son gives you a drawing of yourself, calling you a hero. Of course, if you make it to that point in the game you most certainly are not. I'm amazed at how well made this game is it's so fucked up.
But sometimes there aren't. Sometimes you send someone away who desperately needs to get in and nothing happens, you just have to live with what you've done. Games focused around morality are difficult to make because they require confidence that your audience with fully engage with the game and unfortunately I don't think Lucas Pope had that confidence because the inclusion of an endless mode gets rid of everything that makes this game amazing and is not something I'd ever want to play. Yes, being good at the job is very satisfying, but that is a source of horror for me not one of pride or accomplishment.
At the end of each day you get a report on your earnings, expenses, and the well being of your family. It is incredibly distressing to have to decide if your family will go without food or heat for the day, or having to pick which sick family member gets medicine and which does not. Choosing who to trust, who to help, who to ignore, who to throw under the bus, all while keeping your family safe, is virtually impossible and creates an incredibly stressful and sometimes disorienting experience. One moment that really stuck with me out of all the little story threads is when your son gives you a drawing of yourself, calling you a hero. Of course, if you make it to that point in the game you most certainly are not. I'm amazed at how well made this game is it's so fucked up.