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Model Employee's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Story | #2 | 4.964 | 4.964 |
| User Interface Design | #4 | 4.857 | 4.857 |
| Game Graphic & Logo Design | #5 | 4.893 | 4.893 |
| Game Page Design | #9 | 4.750 | 4.750 |
| Overall | #10 | 4.750 | 4.750 |
| Sound Effects | #11 | 4.429 | 4.429 |
| Log Line | #13 | 4.571 | 4.571 |
| Character Designs | #14 | 4.893 | 4.893 |
| Music | #14 | 4.607 | 4.607 |
| Voice Acting | #46 | 2.893 | 2.893 |
| Accessibility | #67 | 4.107 | 4.107 |
| Halloween Themed | #81 | 3.857 | 3.857 |
Ranked from 28 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
As someone who's played what there is of Nth Circle's "Of The Devil" I was already excited and expected this to be great, but Model Employee went even beyond those expectations! The polish of this game is stunning for something that was made in the time it was. The bleak neon-bathed corporate wet dream that is this game's universe is such a dreadful delight. The writing does such an excellent harmonious job of balancing its horrific turbo-late-stage-capitalist world with a sardonic sense of humor that only adds more life (and dread) to the setting. The visuals are absolutely wonderful, the character sprites are incredibly expressive and energetic, and also the particular use of UI to convey story in the way that it did? SO cool. I also really dug the music, I've just sat in the post-work lounge just to listen to the particular track that plays there.
I could probably do an even bigger yammer on it all at some point (And I Will) when I've had some more time to let it all simmer, but you guys are making some really exciting stuff. This game rules. This game really, really rules. Make banking queer!
Such a fun experience, I couldn't put it down once I started!!! The character designs and dialogue are amazing, and I love how the UI is incorporated into the storytelling. Penny is such a charming character and immediately likable from the get-go, which serves the overall game very well. Also, as someone who is veryyy bad at playing most types of horror games, I also personally loved that the fear in the game stemmed more from a successfully executed building sense of unease rather than jumpscares or the like. Very cool dread, would recommend
I had to check this one out after reading the page cos the story summary kinda reminded me of a film I watched earlier this year called Lapsis (which I recommend giving a watch if you enjoyed playing this game!) Having just reached an ending, I'd say it has very similar vibes to Lapsis, but also kinda like crossed with the Black Mirror episode titled Fifteen Million Merits (both of which I love ^-^) and then, of course, its own original spin on that sort of story in the vein of corporate greed and taking advantage of those most in need.
Presenting it in such a colourful and funky style of art only served to make the bleak exploitation even grimmer in a great way, haha.
Definitely hope I never find myself in this scenario in reality xD I have already heard the horror stories that poor Amazon workers live through >.<
Great game! It really hits the creepy factor of the future of technology we could face. I liked the use of UI and how Penny affected it as the story went on. The first couple screens going black threw me off a bit, but otherwise the story flowed really well!
what an excellent experience model employee was. as a fan of visual novels, i was stunned by this game. honestly? i can't believe it was free. this level of quality is something i would pay for.
the visual style and characters were great. the plot was interesting, short, sweet, and honestly hit home for myself and my audience a lot more than i thought it would! this satirically captures the horror of capitalism. the future in this game is, in my opinion, a realistic one.
i played the game on my twitch channel. if you'd like to catch my play through and live reactions to the game, please watch this video!
( gameplay starts at 30:40)
This game is incredible!
The UI is amazing.
The style and the colors are cool as hell.
The characters look great.
The music slaps!
Optimizing certain choice prompts by reducing the amount of text in them could enhance their presentation.
Hope you have a good rest because you all deserved it.
Have a good one.
Honestly stunning. Never heard of the team before and I feel like they can really go places with this.
Copying the rest from my game page review:
Went into this blind and was thoroughly impressed by the quality of the game. Writing, characters, style, all is top notch. Played with a friend and we both genuinely laughed out loud/gasped to each other at some moments. Eerie in a way that is completely unexpected and fun. Would pay actual $ to support this game or more games of this style honestly.
gosh, this really effectively weaves between terrifying, funny, and Too Real
the writing balances dread, shock, and humor super well! the aesthetic feels really unified with the themes of the game. very impressive!
such a conflicting mix of really humorous writing and true-to-life themes that make you want to jump in a lake :') real life cognitive dissonance is horror for sure
i am so impressed with what this team managed to create in one month, definitely recommend!
this game is so incredible! the way the UI is used and the writing is perfect, especially for a game jam game!
I hated playing game. I've worked in a warehouse, and been in dire financial situations, and this game captured the emotional experience of working in one perfectly with the oppressive horrifying nature of a capitalist cyber punk future.
I hated how oppressively claustrophobic the Hud was. I hated how Penny was contently just there at all times, watching, judging, and the unconsented (or at times barely consented) access she had to every part of me. I hated how I could see my bank account looming in the corners at all times like a weight around my neck. I hated how real the sense of bleek hopelessness was over being forced into a situation I felt like I had no control over, and how it felt designed to never let me go. I hated how everything came down to money or time, and how much control Penny had over allowing me both.
This was a nightmare, and hated every moment of it. It may be one the best horror games I have played in memory.
However, as incredible as the game is it is still in a slightly unpolished and buggy state. I was able to play maybe 30 minutes before I had to take a break from the anxiety, but when I came back to resume my save, the game refused to launch properly. I got the "made by unity splash" screen, and then a dead screen. I also had difficulty with the aspect ratio. I have a sizeable monitor, but when I launched the game it came out in a window and the bottom tenth of the screen was cut off. I was able to drag it up into my second monitor and set the game to full screen but was unable to change the resolution. I suspect that this may have something to do with why the game wouldn't launch a second time, but I don't know. Or maybe Penny didn't like the way I was playing and said no.
I desperately hope the game can be fixed and a resolution option added, because I both need to and dread playing more. Evil AI is a played out trope, but there is something so genuine and terrifying about Penny. I need to know how this game resolves and what her actual goal is for the player, and if she truly is malevolent or just simply simulated interest over cold indifference. So many questions and I need answers.
I want to highly recommend this game, I just hope it will be updated after the jam is over so I can complete it.
Thanks so much for writing about your experience and giving us your bug report. Sorry about the screen resolution bug- due to the time constraints of the jam, we weren't able to test on as wide a variety of PC setups as we'd have liked. We'll be patching the game throughout the month as we find and fix bugs like this.
In the meantime, you can try resetting your install's settings so that the game will launch and run in the same state it initially did- from there we'd recommend you play Fullscreen on a 1920x1080 monitor or in Windowed mode on any larger screen.
You can find Model Employee's local Settings File in:
C:\Users\YOURPCUSERNAME\AppData\LocalLow\Nth Circle\Model Employee\NaninovelData\Saves
If you delete Settings.json, the game should reset all resolution, text, volume and screen size settings upon launch, and you should be able to play normally from there.
Thanks again for taking the time to write about this issue and how our work affected you. Have fun playing!
There's SO much I want to say about Model Employee but I really want you all to go in blind with this title. This is a VERY STRONG recommendation from me.
The writing in this game is incredibly witty and incisive. The visual presentation and art is gorgeous and constantly evolving. And of course, Penny is a fantastic antagonist!
Please give this work a try, especially if you want a VN with bite.