Hypnospace Outlaw

If you are looking for a simulation game that is developed by experts No More Robots, you might want to check out Hypnospace Outlaw. This adorable title from 2019 and 2020 takes you back to 1999, inside a joke equivalent of the internet. With a whacky plotline and an intriguing gameplay loop that seen it nominated for numerous awards, the game itself was met with pretty positive reviews. What, though, is the game all about?

Enforcing the law via awesome puzzling

One thing to note about Hypnospace Outlaw is that this is a game that comes with a very interesting gameplay style. You spend most of your time solving puzzles and acting like a detective.

Given you work for Merchantsoft, the developer of the Hypnospace, you are expected to take on all manner of content. From getting rid of illegal content to fighting copyright infringements through to cyberbullying claims and fighting viruses, you spend most of your time fighting through the games various plotlines and puzzles.

The games detective style instantly harkens back to various games like Thimbleweed Park, though the fact you are playing a software package within a game also makes it similar to other games like Justice.exe.

A shining light within gaming comedy

The game itself is easy to play because you are basically tackling puzzles. You work your way through various comical puzzle moments and you need to deal with all manner of whacky commentary and insight. However, where the game absolutely shines is not so much in the gameplay, but within the writing itself. It is a wonderful satire of the culture we have all consumed for the last 20+ years, and is loaded with some amazing insight and commentary on the world that the internet has since helped us to create.

While it also has similarities to games with a strong message such as Papers, Please, there is so much to enjoy about this particular title. You are basically deciding if people are breaking the rules of Merchantsoft or not, deleting stuff, banning them, or worse. It is, though, littered with amazing little moments and insights that package themselves into outstanding commentary allied to challenging, unique puzzles.

Pros:

• Tremendous satire and writing that can really strike a nerve
• Intriguing puzzles which will force you to really think closely

Cons:

• Some might find the puzzling too obtuse, at least to begin with
• 90s inspired art style can be hard to look at for prolonged periods