No matter how much you make, what you do for a living, or where you live in the world, there is something we all have in common. No, it’s not that whole “being part of the human race” thing; it’s something much simpler: hating our jobs. Maybe it’s not a daily thought that passes through your mind, but we’ve all been there. Silently lying in bed, wishing for some act of God to swoop in and save us from having to get up, get dressed, and act like we are a functioning cog in the wheels of society. This is where Doug comes in, because as the title states, Doug Hates His Job, and if you decide to take the game for a whirl, you’ll get to relive a comical take on everyday life…. sort of.

This is a mashup of various genres that presents itself in a choose your own adventure style game that blends just about any genre you can name into a not so neat little package. You’ll guide Doug through just another day in Hell as he navigates the ins and outs of his job. I am not too sure what exactly his job is, but he works in an office building that is packed to the brim with all of the personalities we love and love to hate working with on a day to day basis. It’s a mash-up of The Office and Fight Club that honestly made me laugh more than it rightfully should have, and is probably one of the most relatable stories in the history of gaming. The title goes as far as offering the option to just stay in bed and ignore going to work, resulting in a game over screen and comically nullifying the need to complete the game at all. Throughout the game, you’re given A or B style choices that impact how and where the story takes you, opening up secondary paths that change up the gameplay entirely for better or worse, but generally worse.

Whether you’re duking it out in the bathroom, trying to settle the age-old rivalry between DC and Marvel Comics, busting heads on the streets, or shooting it out with extras on the set of a Spaghetti Western film, the gameplay is broken at every turn. Combat is clunky, unbalanced, and really only works when you find the specific cheap paths through waves of enemies. The final boss battle between you and your manager is a prime example of this as he deals staggering amounts of health with every hit. Often times he’s already halfway through his next combo as you struggle to stand back up, only to be knocked down again in a battle that is the video game equivalent to listening to Chumbawumba’s Tubthumping on loop until you discover that spamming your jump kick on the dude is a surefire way to a flawless victory. This issue, among a few others, is found in every combat encounter within the short experience.

Even the non-brawling gameplay elements are broken at best – from the lame driving mini-game in which you guide a slow-moving car through even slower-moving traffic at a turtle’s pace, to the Metal Gear Solid inspired stealth segments that feature AI that can’t see 2 feet in front of their face, the mechanics are boring or downright tedious. As of this writing, I have completed the entire game once and then jumped back in to see if maybe the alternate paths were superior in some way, which was a complete mistake on my part. Around the midpoint of my second campaign, I was tasked with surviving endless waves of possessed copy machines as they bounce about a small area attacking me, often ignoring my combos, leaving Doug open to unfair counter attacks. This was the final straw that resulted in me calling my 1.75 playthroughs sufficient for this review and promptly uninstalled the game.

Doug Hates His Job is a game that is often hilarious but rarely fun. The story, characters, and choose your own adventure style backdrop is a great jumping off point for something that could truly touch greatness, but is bogged down by some of the worst gameplay I have seen this side of freebie community created content.

2 out of 10

Pros

• Hilarious Take On Office Life

Cons

• Broken Gameplay Mechanics
• Literally Everything is Broken. And On Fire. While Covered in Fire Ants.
• Repetitive Gameplay Despite Various Genres Being Represented

Doug Hates His Job was developed and published by Super Villain Games. It is available on X1, and the game was provided to us for review. If you’d like to see more of Doug Hates His Job, check out the developer’s official site.

 

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