I fell into a dark hole of the internet and found possibly the most depressing, frustrating and addictive mobile game about working life. You have been warned.
Whether you’re at work looking for the perfect Friday afternoon distraction or you’re a student looking for a virtual taste of the joys of the working world, this might be the perfect thing.
Then again, it might not.
Korean mobile game, Don’t Get Fired! expertly shows the futility of working from the very bottom of a corporate ladder in sarcastic, albeit incredibly grim, fashion.
With very little control over what happens, you begin as a jobseeker, going for interviews (and failing them) with no actual player control. I got a job after my fourth try… as an intern.
I then proceeded to actually play the game which simply involves taking work from other people’s desks without letting your own stack pile too high.
When the player reaches promotion level, once again, it’s out of their control. You might have done everything right, but they might just decide to pass you over for a promotion.
Does it sound a little too close to home yet?
The goal is to work your way through promotions and up the corporate ladder, from an intern to a contract position, then onto a full-time position. From there, you could get promoted up the managerial ranks and beyond.
However, having been already ‘fired’ more than 20 times and still not any higher than a contract position, the outlook isn’t good.
A real kicker is when you do get fired, which could be for any number of random, uncontrollable reasons, you’ll be bumped down two positions. And when you do get those coveted promotions, you still keep your workload from before.
Oh, and your health goes down every time you attempt to work twice as hard, much like real life.
Are there any positives to this game, aside from killing a huge amount of time? While it is incredibly bleak (not to mention the most frustrating game I’ve played since Flappy Bird), it might give you some perspective.
After all, the chances of you having a harder time at work than this poor little guy are pretty slim.
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