Holonoptic

I never review games but I feel like I need to for this game because its really neat. It is essentially a worker placement game where you run a corporation with paused real time. The writing has a similar feel to it as Disco Elysium and has interesting cyberpunk-esque story. I haven't finished it yet but I was very engrossed and definitely got drawn into it. The game does not hold your hand and you have to figure out how a lot of game systems by yourself which could be a turn off for some people but I love it. The UI is not the greatest but it is serviceable. If you like weird little gems you shouldn't pass this one up. I tried the demo out and I was hooked right away.

An absolutely insane economic sim. Disco Spreadsheet Psychosis.

"economic simulation and party-based RPG into a story-rich corporate alpine cyberpunk" is a very good description and certainly does not promise too much. The game is somewhat cynic - appropriate for cyberpunk -, quite Alpine in its flavor and thoroughly well written. It incorporates, like the best of speculative fiction (of the "5 mins in the future" variant), a very dense blend of technological and sociological concepts - for me it was food for thought in the best possible way, very entertaining.

Excellent game. Knows what it wants to do, and gets it done. Story keeps you hooked and is an entertaining ride through corporate intrigue. The characters are memorable and unique (and quite funny, especially their voice lines). If you've worked in the corporate world some of the characters and situations will feel eerily familiar, though make no mistake, in this game you are one of the decision makers, not an office pawn (even though, like in real life, CEOs tend to be pushed around by the REAL decision makers). The game mechanics are easy to understand but have a good amount of depth. And it really makes you feel the progress you are making, both in terms of the skills of your characters, as well as your mastery of the game systems. I really liked the emotion/drug system, a unique twist on the Disco Elysium trait system. I played during the beta and received my copy for free, but I will be purchasing another copy to support the developer and play through again. Would highly recommend!

Chief Non-linearity Officer EfficientParadox, reporting for duty! As one of the beta testers, I managed to rack-up roughly 90 hours in the beta-test, and reported quite a few bugs. I am saying this, because while I received the game for free, I am not paid for a review or anything! Onto the proper review! I love this game, as seen by the hours I put into a beta-test (within a 2-3 weeks of being in the test). The story is insanely enjoyable, I love the characters, the gameplay is simple, albeit complex. I have played on 4 of the 6 difficulties. Including the hardest difficulty (Singularity). I say this to show that the game is enjoyable even on higher difficulties. Singularity is a great challenge for someone who wants to see how far they can min-maxx the game. If you are able to complete the first deadline in Singularity, hats off to you, as I never was able to. (Although I did not min-maxx fully enough I believe.) Enough about that, a proper review needs a description of the game. Holonoptic is a cyberpunk near-future corporate intrigue business management game. It includes elements like that of Disco Elysium's emotion system, with each part of you contributing to the full you. You are CEO of the company following a previous CEO's disappearance, and appear to have been selected by Glazial's AI, Geist. Various factions will compete for the dying carcass that was/is Glazial. Will you lead the company into a profitable future with maxximizing shareholder value? Will you lead the office drones of the world to unite? Will you steal from the rich, to enrich yourself? It is up to you. This is a message from CNO EfficientParadox. You have been chosen as the new CEO of Glazial. I wish you the best of luck, should you choose to accept this new role. I recommend you try, as it is a euphoric and dadastic experience. - Signed, CNO EfficientParadox.

Crusader Kings 3, but about CEO, corporate intrigue and AI.

Holonoptic is a futuristic sci-fi corporate simulation/rpg strategy that scratches the right itch to keep you coming back. The characters and the story are genuinely compelling, offering a surprising amount of freedom to play the game, and interact with the world and the characters in almost whatever way you choose. Want to be a heartless corporate overlord? Go for it. A union leader trying to build a worker's utopia? Also possible. Some weird mixture of all of the above, or just someone looking out for numero uno? Also good. The game doesn't hold your hand, and the often confusing UI doesn't make it any easier to wrap your head around the deep game mechanics that allow you to fully engage. I'm hopeful that continued development irons some of this out because, once you do get a feeling for the expansive options Holonoptic offers, it is genuinely impressive. Well done. This is one I'll keep coming back to for awhile.

I never make reviews. I think this might actually be my first one. This game is worth it. If you're into that strange magic that things like EU4, CK2, those mix of story and strategy games can invoke, then grab this one. I won't pretend it has the replay ability of those, the central loop is shorter and more straightforward, but this one is absolutely worth the 30-ish hour playtime.

Corporate Fever Dream: The Game Tynan Sylvester of "Rimworld" fame, once wrote that the game is defined by experiences arising from emergent narrative formed by the interaction of different game systems. "Holonoptic" has a lot of moving parts under the hood and they collectively work to bring you Certified CEO Grindset Experience. This is the game where you actively choose midlife crisis and can't drop caffeine addiction because stuff is so good. This is the game where you hit fat blunts (looted after evicting squatters from your HQ basement) for three days to reach the required level of dissociation before monthly board report. This is the game where you are pushed to manipulate your stock to reach at least a token of control over your own company without the board stepping in to pull your leash. This is the game where you can choose to develop AI to run your corporation under the explicit reasoning of "what's the worst that's gonna happen?". Your "party members" - lower executives - are, without exception, trying to push their own agendas and won't hesitate to push them at your expense. A lot of times you'll have to choose between them and sacrifice someone. Choices matter, multiple endings are well-telegraphed and fairly different - adding overall replayability. UI still feels clunky at times, but the patches are coming at reasonable pace since the beta stage and the overall experience is much smoother now. Definitely a hidden gem.

Brilliant game and awesome developers who made great use of community input and testing.