Flat Eye

While it doesn't fulfil its potential, Flat Eye is an intriguing management sim that's more than the sum of its parts.

A thoughtful, wry and vivid exploration of future tech and its impact on humanity, Flat Eye is a gripping narrative management hybrid game from the makers of Night Call.

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-esque funhouse 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.

Flat Eye is a simulator whose greatest strength lies in its serious social discussion, quite current and not at all subtle. This element permeates both gameplay and narrative efficiently, creating an experience that is worth more than the sum of its small parts.

I think that the concept of Flat Eye is good, but it has been presented poorly. I think the political agenda has taken over and the overall execution is poor. It’s like they drew the plans for a great sculpture and then tried to make it with a sledgehammer.

Flat Eye is not without its ideas or charms, but in trying so hard to be provocative, the devs may have overplayed their hand.

With a subtle art style and in-depth narrative, Flat Eye manages to tell a dystopian story without feeling preachy. While it is a management sim, you won't find this game as mechanically full or complicated as others in the genre.

Holding up a fun house mirror to the worrying trends in real world technological, labour and societal practices, Flat Eye is a game with a message. By combining a resource management game with Black Mirror-esque storylines, it manages to stay both entertaining and stimulating through its 10 hour length. While it’s in need of a bit of TLC right now due to some bugs, Flat Eye is a patch away from being one of the most unique gaming curios of 2022.

I found Flat Eye to be an unsettling game, leaving me with plenty of thoughts on the subjects in the narrative during my nine hours or so with it. In addition, I like the game’s overall premise, and it plays well. However, if the developer intended to leave the player with thoughts about how the future with technology can pan out, they have succeeded.