Game review: Salary Man Escape

Screenshot from Salary Man Escape, a new virtual reality game from Playstation.

Work wouldn't really be work if it didn't get boring from time to time.

Salary Man Escape makes light of that very notion by poking fun at the utterly depressing nature of being stuck in a soul-crushing 9-5 office job.

Utilising PlayStation VR, the aim is to get your little worker through a rotatable puzzle by pulling and pushing various red Jenga-style blocks.

Unlike other puzzle games like The Witness, where you have an eternity to scratch your head, Salary Man Escape gives you a finite amount of time to solve each level.

It also doesn't take long for things to get tricky: the physics-dependent problems get harder as your move up the company ladder. Luckily you can restart from the beginning of the puzzle or a coffee checkpoint if you get stuck, or simply redo it if the timer runs out.

Accompanying your quest is an annoyingly upbeat soundtrack, which can add to the frustration as you trip up on the repetitive unintuitive puzzle style.

However, the hilarious quips about cake in the kitchen, sardonic notes about enforced office fun from management and ridiculous reminders on company values from HR, help make the game enjoyable. What's more, each level ends with a nonsensical motivational quote, just to keep you working harder.

Salary Man Escape is both satirical and challenging and despite its odd grayscale art style and bizarre game premise, it offers hours of gameplay for those willing to master it.

But for those already office-bound, some this might just cut a little too close to the bone.

Game: Salary Man Escape
Platform: PlayStation VR
Rating: G
Verdict: Complex puzzles for those trapped in office life.