Have you ever looked at it the other way? You start at a company at the bottom getting trampled by everyone who you think you can trust. You grind and slowly climb all the way to the top. Working at a company at the end of the day is nothing but fighting through a dungeon filled with challenges and dangers. Well, we might have exaggerated that a little. Still, The Company Man is a fast-paced platforming-based hack and slash game, allowing you to explore a water packaging company and discover a filthy secret.
Developed by Forust Studios, The Company Man has already been released on January 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. But on 26th August it arrived on PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox Series X|S. And hence, we decided to check out this Indie Platformer.
Welcome Onboard!
Your first day comes with an invitation for the overrated ‘Orientation’ that every HR loves schedules. Williams joins you on this adventure as he gives you a tour of the happening in the company when he suddenly decides it’s time you receive your first task.
You are tasked with pulling a lever that incinerates every email the company receives, but something happens and the machine breaks down. Enraged with anger the floor manager shows up and gives you a hearing on your first day itself. You know you are manipulated by Williams, but the more considerable trouble is that you’ve been demoted to the bottom of the company operations – Customer Service.
Armed with a keyboard that works as a sword, you have to fire every employee that comes your way. Yes, we wonder who gave you the authority, but we’ll look the other way. Smartly placed platforming that provides a brilliant parkour experience as you jump and dash throughout the arena as fast as you can possibly go. But your real task is to convince the floor manager to give you a promotion.
You play as Jim. And yes some of the characters are coincidently named after the infamous franchise ‘The Office’ you will get to fight against numerous enemy types. Fighting against them won’t be easy and convincing each floor manager to give you a promotion will be harder than you imagine. But your dream of becoming a CEO is stronger than anything/anyone you face during your adventure.
But will you stay true to your morals, or prioritise the company over everything? The company is making profits, but is not sharing dividends, what is the company hiding? There is truth to uncover and decisions to make. Its your journey, stay strong through it.
There is no going Back. Ever.
The Company Man is very fluid, and smooth in terms of movements and gameplay. Fast-paced 2D platformers allow the players to play the game at their pace which they enjoy the most. The Company Man has a level design which strategically will enable you to manoeuvre over enemies and hit them where it hurts the most.
But as you progress over 7 levels jumping around the platforms becomes monotonous and boring. To battle that, The Company Man offers a level of exclusive platforming mechanics. This includes balancing weights by destroying ice blocks, using portals, switching on hovering platforms and much more.
But where the company man takes a beating is the enemy design. While the gameplay suggests a face-paced movement. Even barely touching an enemy gives you damage. This hinders your ability to dash through them. On the other hand, some enemies will launch and attack as soon as the first frame renders, leaving you almost no chance to dodge it.
Many enemy types are more annoying than hard to deal with it. Since these enemies can attack you, while already taking attacks from you. This forces you to hold back, and wait for them to complete their pattern. Which once again breaks the fast flow of the game.
The game takes a beating in terms of the storyline as well. While the story buildup of the game is unique and very interesting, it slowly shatters away as the end comes closer.
Verdict
The Company Man is truly an interesting take on an Action Platformer game. It provides brilliant mechanics to traverse around the entire game design, which is complemented by a mind-blowing art style which truly sets the plot at any level. However, certain enemy type breaks the flow of the games, which forces you to spend more time with a level. And the storyline which starts well slowly breaks apart as it develops towards the climax.
We at Gameffine would rate the Company Man 7/10. While the storytelling could’ve been better, a platforming experience like this should not be missed.
Final Rating: RECOMMENDED
