| Karoshi | |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | YoYo Games (Mr. Karoshi) Armor Games (Flash) Vetra Games (Macintosh) |
| Designer(s) | Jesse Venbrux |
| Engine | Game Maker, Adobe Flash |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, PSP, Flash |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Karoshi is an independent video game series designed by Jesse Venbrux, and developed in Game Maker. Various iterations of the series have been released over time, with the first game (titled Karoshi) being released in March 2008 for Microsoft Windows, and the latest (titled "Mr Karoshi") being released in February 2011. Players control a character called Karoshi, a balding, blocky Japanese salaryman, as he attempts to commit suicide, in increasingly complicated levels that prevent just that. The gameplay is characterized by its dark humour, puzzles, and criticism of the corporate environment.
Karoshi has been since ported to Mac OS X, Adobe Flash, iOS, Android, and PSP, with the flash version being published by Armor Games, the mobile version (Mr. Karoshi) being published by YoYo Games, and the Macintosh versions being ported and published by Vetra Games.
The series has been acclaimed by critics. Anna Anthropy has said that Karoshi is "one of the most intelligent games I have played in a long time". In 2008, it placed in 5th place in Wired's top PC games of 2008, and EDGE Magazine awarded it an "internet game of the month". TIGsource meanwhile noted it had "Some of the most LOL-worth and mind-bending puzzles I have ever seen". Reviewers generally praised the complexity of the puzzles and some of the game's humour, however some reviewers question the morality of the game's suicide-based gameplay.
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Karoshi is a platform game. Players can control a balding salaryman by the name of Karoshi, who is "sick of it all", and wants to commit suicide. Players control Karoshi and solve puzzles in order to expose hazards that Karoshi can access, thus killing himself. The core gameplay was introduced in the original Karoshi and has been expanded from there. In Karoshi, the player is tasked with jumping, pushing boxes, and activating switches. A notable feature is the gun, which ironically Karoshi can't point towards himself, so the player must use it to push boxes, bounce bullets, and solve more puzzles. Karoshi Factory adds the element of 'cooperating' between various Karoshi characters, with the ultimate aim of killing them all. Super Karoshi introduces the concept of "Super Karoshi", who is an invincible form of Karoshi that can remove obstacles, but that can only be vulnerable once exposed to Kryptonite. Mr. Karoshi revolves around affecting Karoshi's humour, in order to solve more puzzles. The game often features hidden references to various corporate practices, and mentions workplace bullying, overtime, and other workplace occurrences. Additionally, in many puzzles of Mr. Karoshi, the player has to kill his wife or boss in order to influence his own humour and progress to the next level.
In certain Karoshi games, the player may switch between Karoshi, and various of his co-workers. For example, in Mr. Karoshi, the player can control Karoshi, 'The Boss' (who is depicted as the greedy, exploitative owner of 'YoYo Corp', who constantly makes fun of Mr. Karoshi), and Mrs. Karoshi (Mr. Karoshi's wife). In Karoshi Factory, the player can switch between Karoshi and various of his coworkers, and must ensure that all die in the end, in order to progress to the next level.
The first game in the series, it was self-released by Jesse Venbrux in March 2008, and developed in Game Maker. It introduces many of the game's concepts, such as suicide, boxes, guns, and switches. It was not particularly well known outside of the Game Maker community, and has been retroactively criticised by its somewhat crude graphics. It was ported in 2011 to the Macintosh and released on the Mac App Store by Vetra Games.
Karoshi 2 is the second game in the series, and is accepted to be the one that thrust Karoshi to worldwide acclaim. Karoshi 2 did not introduce new concepts from the original (some concepts were even removed, such as the gun), however, it relies on concepts that try to make the player break his own widely accepted gaming conventions, such as restarting a level to progress through the puzzle, inserting audio CDs to blast Karoshi through sheer sonic force, and simply forcing the player to explore a level outside of the game's view area. It is also known for featuring various references to Internet humour. It ported to the Macintosh, and released on the Mac App Store by Vetra Games.
Karoshi Factory is the third game in the series, and returns to the original game's puzzle feeling, this time with the added challenge of having to switch between characters. Every single character must end up dead at the end, as well. It was ported to the Macintosh, and released on the Mac App Store, by Vetra Games. It features music by Jake Almond.
Suicide Salaryman was the first Karoshi game developed in Adobe Flash, as well as the fourth game in the series. The gameplay does not differ much from previous versions of Karoshi, however, it is the most popular game (along with Super Karoshi) as it was published as a web game on Armor Games.
Super Karoshi was the fifth game in the series. It features a 'super karoshi' mode, as well as teleporters. It was published on Armor Games, and features music by Jake Almond.
Mr. Karoshi is the sixth game in the series, and it is also a return of Game Maker as the development tool. It was developed while Venbrux worked at YoYo Games. Mr Karoshi was published by YoYo Games on iOS, Android, Symbian, and PSP. This game features various gameplay concepts from every single other Karoshi game, and also features a 'humour' meter that affects gameplay depending on Mr. Karoshi's humour. It features Openfeint support. It also features music by Jake Almond, and 'Karoshiware', a game mode where the player must kill himself in the span of 5 seconds, in parody of Warioware.
| Mr. Karoshi | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 85.00% (PSP) |
| Metacritic | 86/100 (iOS) |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| GamePro | 4/5 |
The series has been acclaimed by critics. Anna Anthropy has said that Karoshi is "one of the most intelligent games I have played in a long time". In 2008, it placed in 5th place in Wired's top PC games of 2008, and EDGE Magazine awarded it an "internet game of the month". TIGsource meanwhile noted it had "Some of the most LOL-worth and mind-bending puzzles I have ever seen". Reviewers generally praised the complexity of the puzzles and some of the game's humour, however some reviewers question the morality of the game's suicide-based gameplay. For Mr. Karoshi, reviewers praised the game's originality, while criticising the control scheme and the shortness of the game. Touch Arcade said "The ingenious level designs and dark humor of Karoshi is worth occasionally fighting the controls for.", while Pocket Gamer mentioned that "It’s a ruthlessly addictive added bonus to a game that, although brief, is stuffed with smart puzzles and blackly comic appeal. Long live Mr Karoshi.", and TouchGen mentioned "It’s the first truly original iOS game I’ve played in 2011, and is one that shouldn’t be missed!".