Do you hate your job? If so, you’re not alone. Job satisfaction in the US is decidedly low.
According to one study, 71 percent of American workers said they are looking to change jobs. The reason for job dissatisfaction is likely a mix of many factors: poor pay, poor management, and/or overall lack of fulfillment.
So what does this have to do with Krillbite Studio’s new adventure game, Mosaic? Quite a bit, actually. It’s a game about the monotony of office life in corporate America, along with the sense of loneliness, depression, and dissatisfaction that often accompanies it.
Across the roughly four or five hours that you play Mosaic, your day always starts the same: wake up to the sound of your alarm after having a night of weird dreams. You wear the same suit and tie and repeat the same routine: brush your teeth, straighten your tie, and brush your hair.
You leave your apartment and ride the same elevator with the same people who are constantly staring mindlessly at their phones, ignoring the existence of everyone else around them. Often, you join them to check your BlipBlop app, a mini-game on your phone where you just push a button. This is the life of someone just drudging along, barely existing.
It’s time for a change
There are moments in the game when the dull world gets colorful. Music often accompanies these trippy sections of the game. I think of these as moments where the main character experiences joy or inspiration in an otherwise drab existence.
As far as gameplay goes, aside from walking around the environments, interacting with objects, and talking to goldfish (don’t ask), you also have to go to work every day. This part of the game involves a series of similar, increasingly difficult tasks.
At one point in Mosaic, you’re at work, completing a milestone. Just as you’re about to complete it, the milestone shifts. The program demands “MORE!” even though extracting more resources becomes less and less possible.
That’s basically the premise of the game. It’s a social commentary on modern life where workers continuously increase output for the company, only to get less and less in return. It touches on the social isolation that comes with a culture revolving around technology and lacking human compassion.
Unfortunately, Mosaic has frequent performance issues, even though I am running it on a PS4 Pro. The game stutters frequently, which really takes you out of the experience. These aren’t game-breaking issues, but they are annoying.
Conclusion
To be perfectly honest, I appreciate what the developers are attempting. However, Mosaic is pretty basic in its core gameplay mechanics. That’s kind of the point, illustrating the mundanity of the character’s life. But it also doesn’t make for the most enthralling experience.
Mosaic kept my attention long enough to beat it, but it’s a one-off experience. You won’t come back and play it again. Because of its short length, simple gameplay, and performance issues, I can only recommend picking this up during a sale. As for the score, it would be slightly higher if not for the stuttery gameplay.
Game Freaks 365 received a free review code.
