When we got a chance to check out Raw Fury and developer Monkey Moon's then-upcoming narrative sim game Flat Eye earlier this year, one thing that immediately leapt out alongside the presentation, themes and interesting gameplay was the AI recommending the 1985 Clue film, a true cult classic. As such, I commented then that this alone made the game a GOTY contender. And now that the full game is finally here, we can confirm that yes, the Clue recommendation is still in the game. And having officially acknowledged the brilliance of Clue, that's all you need to know in order for us to recommend it. ...Okay, I am now being informed by my editor that I still need to go into more detail about the game, so I'll play ball. Flat Eye is a simulation game set in a dystopian version of 2022 (or a more dystopian version of it, anyway), where the Earth has been rocked by various disasters and massive tech companies have control of everything. One such company, EyeLife, has now put you in charge of one of its many Flat Eye fuel stations/convenience stores as a manager, handling one in Iceland and being teamed up with an AI that wants to use what you can learn from these stations in order to determine pathways that would lead to the actual improvement of the world again.

If you're wondering exactly how information gained from a convenience store can change the world, it should be noted that titular Flat Eye isn't your typical store. While you start out with a couple of shelves filled with various goods, what Flat Eye actually deals in is various state-of-the-art technologies, designed to help improve the lives of its users. As such, you'll be filling the store with the likes of virtual reality chambers, booths that can perform instant surgeries, mirrors that use algorithms to determine a customer's best choices for the day, and more radical stuff as the game advances. Of course, you also have some stuff that helps the company as well, like MicroDesks that allow customers to actually perform small tasks for EyeLife in exchange for loyalty points.

The theme of technology's potential and the impact on our lives, for good and for bad, is the central theme of Flat Eye. As such, Monkey Moon clearly had a blast designing all of the various modules you can build in your store, coming up with unique designs and making sure to showcase all the best and worst ways they can be used. The modules actually determine just what kind of customers your store attracts (although a ton of them tend to be interested in whatever your latest development is, with certain ones bringing in Premium customers. These people are the ones who help determine what the AI learns,and where the central stories in the game come from.

Among the colorful cast of characters are those seeking to use a memory machine to learn what having another's mind is actually like, potentially brainwashed employees from a rival corporation, anarchist hackers, those looking to use tech to fix unique diseases that also speak in riddles...and we haven't even covered the character that kicks off the plot. Speaking through your clerk (or letting them pick their own dialogue choices at times), you engage in conversations with these characters in Animus-style areas, as if to make things private, where players are treated to terrifically-sharp dialogue, covering all sorts of bases from the comedic to the thought-provoking, or even both. As expected when dealing with the likes of machines that can store and alter memory, ethics play a big part here, and sometimes even your AI (whose lone voice acting is easily a major highlight, with amazing comedic timing) gets surprised by developments.

As for the other customers, though, they're merely depicted as random, featureless figures. EyeLife couldn't care about them, since nothing can apparently be learned from them. In their eyes, they only exist to consume their tech. It creates eerie yet beautfiul visuals, blending in with the slick, clean aesthetics of the stations and the various modules you install. In contrast, the Premium customers are depicted with more detail, and even a static-like layer on them to stand out. The visuals nail the corporate satire, down to the style of the desktop you manage things from, complete with corporate art styles for mascots and AI art-esque avatars. Complimenting all of this is a perfectly-chill electronic soundtrack that perfectly fits the Icelandic landscape and the futuristic tech, working perfectly with the more laid-back gameplay.

Speaking of the gameplay, you may have gathered by now that Flat Eye has a heavier focus on its narrative, as opposed to the simulation parts. But we still have a terrific sim here, just one where the goal is less about amassing money and more about getting the tech points needs through levelling up in management in order to unlock new modules that progress the story. Of course, the money helps, especially since whether or not you turn a profit each day affects the star rating you earn afterwards, as does the condition of each module and if customers can access them. So it's up to you to manage your lone clerk, having them build new modules, maintain them, and manage the register (well, at least until you unlock the self-serve checkout machines).

Needless to say, as your station grows bigger and you install more modules, things can quickly get chaotic. Your clerk has more machines to maintain, and if they go out, not only do you get unhappy customers, but your clerk can now risk injury or even death in trying to fix them, thus instantly ending a day. Plus, certain modules generate certain resources, which can create a chain, like having geothermal machines generate electricity for smart toilets that generate biomatter for microwave lunches, etc. So one slip-up could be a disaster. Flat Eye's simulation aspects may not be the main focus, but they're still fun, and keep you on your toes.

The only part of the sim gameplay that doesn't work as well is the mandatory tarot card selection each day that provides your with a set of challenges. Meet them all, and you gain half a star at the end of the day; Fail even one and you lose half a star. They get more annoying as they pile on unnecessary tasks (why would I need to build five new modules all of a sudden?), and while that's likely part of the satire as the company makes things more impossible for you, it does feel awkward. Also awkward is the pacing at times, especially as you grind multiple days to get the tech points needed to unlock the module needed for a Premium Customer.

While I could overlook that when it comes to calling Flat Eye one of the year's best sims (and thus fulfilling the Clue-based prophecy), there were more than a few bugs that sadly harmed things as well. Sometimes indicators that a modules needs repairs wouldn't appear, one particular module later on that requires disposing of certain waste seemed to have poor clerk AI associated with it, leading to said waste suddenly being dropped or appearing after conversations, and in one odd moment, a Premium customer came in, but our conversation was presented entirely in French, and it was one they already had with the clerk. Despite those annoyances, though, Flat Eye still remains a captivating simulation game with an even more captivating story. It might be a dirty job -- seriously, as seen by the content warnings, it heads into rather bold subject matter -- but somebody's got to do it, or at least manage it, so you may as well have fun at the same time.

Closing Comments:

An incredible look into the advancements in technology and the various perils the future can hold, Flat Eye is a narrative sim with terrific dialogue and individual stories that provide sharp satire and even terrific comedy courtesy of your AI, all while providing a fun challenge as you try and manage this Black Mirror-style showcase of a tech-filled convenience store. It's a sweet and savvy twist on simulation games that's worth checking out, especially if it gets more people to watch Clue.