Sit back and watch; take note of everything they do and remember: don’t intervene. Said like this, it sounds like a spy’s mission, and there is something of that in this pixel art adventure; but as you will see in the analysis of Do Not Feed the Monkeys, this is not going to save the world. It’s a more twisted mission. Spy on strangers without them knowing, and use all that information to enrich yourself. You sign up?
It is enough that they tell you “don’t do this” for you to want to do it; It is something innate of the human being, so part of the charm of Do Not Feed the Monkeys lies precisely in that internal struggle to which this pixel art adventure subjects you , in which your only mission is to observe and take note of everything that some do. test subjects, “the monkeys”, who of course could never imagine that someone is observing them through a hidden camera . It sounds perverse, it is, but without realizing it, you accept this rugged mission with only one condition: no intervention. They pay you to look, to provide information and nothing else. What happens if someone commits a crime? What if a simple phone call could save someone’s life? It is in these moments when the new work of Fictiorama Studios becomes great because it puts you on the ropes. Time is ticking, the action never stops, and you only have a few seconds to act. Will you intervene?
The premise of Do Not Feed the Monkeys is fantastic. At first it seems that nothing is happening, that the ( random ) test subjects you are monitoring are glanders, but then you see something dark: someone harassing others, employees who cruelly criticize their superiors, strange symbols that appear suddenly in farm fields, or even an old man whose past would land him in jail. And you fall, of course you fall into temptation. Like the protagonist of Rear Window , the curiosity to know more about these strangers will make you forget about ethics and morals. What does it matter if it is perverse to observe others in this way. And it becomes a dangerously addictive experience.
Interesting stories pile up in front of your monitor; there are more and more events going on and you, of course, have a life to live . You have to rest and eat if you don’t want to fall ill and to buy food, of course, you need money that you get, yes, spying on others, but also working like any good person. And that takes hours; but what you need are hours to see all the cameras and all the “monkeys” that you have on your screen. And then someone knocks on the door, and you ignore it, but insists; and almost instinctively I found myself screaming to myself: “What do you want, damn it ?!” At that moment I understood the greatness of this video game developed by the authors of the remarkable Dead Synchronicity .
Tick, toc, tick… time is ticking!
This is how Do Not Feed the Monkeys is played, an original reinterpretation of La Ventana Indiscreta
Although the essence of Do Not Feed the Monkeys is to spy on others, take notes, and cross data in an Internet search engine to discover everything about their lives, the main thing here is to manage time . As much as you want to stay hours and hours in front of the PC, as in real life you need to eat, rest and earn money with which to pay the rent, as well as new surveillance equipment. These actions consume precious time that you cannot waste, so you will have to find a way to satisfy your basic needs without losing the opportunity to observe the test subjects for as long as possible, because sporadically, you will receive emails requesting very information. well paid. It’s not the only shady way to increase your income.
There are tons of web pages that you can get key clues to to achieve your goals.
Over time you will have access to a greater number of cameras, to more “monkeys”, but also to options such as video recording . Can you imagine recording the confession of a crime? You can extort money from the victim, or sell the information to others !, but then you would be breaking the main rule of the study: do not intervene . In the end everything revolves around your decisions. You control the time, you decide what you do with it, which will lead you to enjoy multiple outcomes with some of the most fun and interesting stories. You can fail and everything will go to waste at the first change, but Do Not Feed the Monkeys is made up of many little stories, so when you start a new game, you will most likely face different test subjects.
In between you will also have to manage your life, with annoying commercials who will come to your house to sell any nonsense, delivery men who will get confused in their address and will offer you packages that are not yours (will you take them?), Or even a freeloading neighbor who a and again he will ask you for money “that I will give you back” [yes, of course]. Depending on how you act, the story will go in one direction or another, but all through a simple game experience, without major complications, that practically does not vary an iota from beginning to end. This is something that ends up taking its toll on Do Not Feed the Monkeys. Its premise is great but it is an idea that does not quite show all its virtues. The action sometimes feels too simple, even when there are times when it can be overwhelming and frustrating to manage time with multiple simultaneous tasks.
Its premise is great but it is an idea that does not quite show all its virtuesThe good thing about the Fictiorama video game is that the stories it tells are the most interesting, so make you want to know more about the strangers that swarm your screen. Sometimes there are not even people involved, only landscapes, but they also have stories that catch you and motivate you to move on. I have lacked more options to interact with the monitors, that not everything was to cross words in a web search engine and deduce answers, because this in the end causes the action to become repetitive , this being also a not especially long game.
His way of posing the action invites replay value; There are so many stories to discover, and several possible outcomes not only for all of them, but for the life of the protagonist, that there you have the best excuse to play again. However, I have missed a bit more variety in the options at your fingertips. Being able to call on the phone or interact with people from outside gives the story a touch of emotion that feels great, but it is just that, a small portion of something that repeats the same patterns over and over again.
What are their names? Where they live? What do you do? Pay attention to everything they say and use the web search to find that information.
With an interface that integrates into your own workspace, the adaptation to Nintendo Switch meets without great fanfare. You can use the touch screen to interact with the menus and elements of the environment, but it is not precise at all, so in the end you will end up using the sticks. And it’s a shame because a game with these characteristics, born on PC and with point & click essence, is perfect to play in portable mode using a simple finger. On the other hand, sometimes it can be difficult to click on certain elements of the scene, such as the notes on the door where you find job offers, although it is nothing serious and you will quickly move with ease using the button shortcuts.
The commitment to a colorful pixel art style , with a cartoonish air and simple lines, gives the game a casual tone that contributes to making you feel comfortable with it even when you are performing uncomfortable actions. And it strikes me as one of the greatest achievements of Do Not Feed the Monkeys. I have truly immersed myself in their world, obsessing over not letting a single clue escape my “monkeys” life. It is a very original idea with an interesting approach to the game, but in the end it has come to me little because of the simplicity of the challenges it proposes.
“Okay”
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
Its original premise and the way it involves you in its action make Do Not Feed the Monkeys a very special video game and therefore a recommended title on PC and Nintendo Switch. With a sense of humor, there are tons of stories to discover while spying on some “monkeys” who on more than one occasion will surprise you with moments that will drive you to act, to intervene on stage, but … will you? This way of contrasting your mission with what you want will make you enjoy a game that is short and simple in its action. And even so, as I say, you will find in it a more than interesting option.
- An original premise that makes it a unique game
- The stories he tells with humor: most of them get you
- Get you to get into the role and even question the moral of your actions
- The action feels somewhat limited; more game options are missing
- A brief experience, although you can replay to discover all its endings
- Control via the Switch’s touch screen is not entirely comfortable
