A quick peek at Do Not Feed The Monkeys 2099

Hey folks- we're trying something a bit different today, since I just had the fortune of diving headlong into Fictiorama Studios, Do Not Feed The Monkeys 2099- an aptly titled sequel to their initial title . . . Do Not Feed the Monkeys.

Anyways, if you're familiar with the first game, a lot of what you'll be encountering will feel familiar. That said- if you're new to the series, it's not too difficult to summarize

Voyeur Simulator

Yeah, no- this is an exceptionally accurate representation of what you'll be doing. Essentially, you find yourself recruited into a mysterious organization- 'The Primate Observation Society'. Essentially, they have cameras everywhere, observing a variety of different scenes- colloquially known as Cages.

That said, this perversely intrusive power comes with a single stipulation. 'Do Not Feed The Monkeys'- which is to say, don't interact with the individuals in the cages.

But, without a steady job, the constant intrusions of some debt collecting lizard people -and- your hunger, health and exhaustion levels to manage- you'll need to make money somehow, right?

Surprisingly, there's a -lot- of options here. There's short term jobs you can take on- though doing so cuts in on your precious primate viewing time. There's stocks, though I was mortally terrified of them. That said, you can also make money from the monkeys themselves. Your employers, for instance, will ask you trivia about certain cages, which requires carefully poring over their contents to piece together the clues necessary to answer them.

Clues you can find by clicking on certain objects in the environment, or words spoken by the 'Monkeys' and then piecing them together for clues through the in-universe search engine.

That said, you can also 'Feed The Monkeys' - interacting with the inhabitants of the cages either to profit from their misery, or push them towards success.

Not that any of it is going to come easy. Beyond the fact that each cage is only active at certain timeframes (and sometimes simultaneously with others) - you're also required to -buy- an increasing amount of cages in order to maintain your membership in the order. (Which is a nightmare to bounce between and -absolutely- hectic financially when you factor in the tax lizards, and your grub.

It's a balancing act to be sure- but, there's something distinctly rewarding about it. Cages can be resolved in several different ways, which leads to miniature epilogues which reflect those outcomes, and provide a degree of replayability to the game. Which is only further compounded by the existence of the different rooms you'll encounter, since which ones show up, and their overall order, is far from guaranteed.

All in all, it's neat stuff- and I'm looking forward to getting deeper into it's guts.

(P.S. For those terrified by multi-tasking? There -is- a difficulty setting that makes the resource management -less- nightmarish)