Work Work Work coming soon to play play play

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Time-looping corporate mystery adventure unveiled by the creators of A Space for the Unbound

A game calling itself Work Work Work wouldn't seem to be offering a whole lot of FUN, but we're willing to bet there's much more than meets the eye in the surreal upcoming thriller from Mojiken, the Indonesian developer behind 2023's acclaimed A Space for the Unbound.

They're not lying about the "work" part, though. In fact, that seems all you're destined to do as a young man who is just one of many employees at Triquetra, a "tech company that proudly claims to be the most productive organization in the world." You are here for only one reason: to follow instructions and do your job, over and over and over again, and in doing so "fulfill your potential and meet the company’s expectations." While that may sound like any tedious office mandate, here it's far more sinister than most, as you're limited to 15-minute work cycles, after which you... die? And then be reborn to continue the cycle repeatedly, forever resigned to submitting yourself and devoting your life (such as it is) to "the will of the Three Directors."

What that means, exactly, is still largely unknown, but the developers liken the central premise to that of the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow – only here instead of the mantra being "Live. Die. Repeat." it is "WORK. DIE. REPEAT." as players become trapped in a time loop that causes everything to reset every fifteen minutes. As with Mojiken's previous game, Work Work Work is a retro-styled pixel art adventure, but just about everything else is different. Gone is the picturesque Indonesian countryside, most notably, replaced here with gloomy corporate environs.

You'll start out in your assigned cubicle, with explicit instructions not to leave it during work hours (which, in this game, appears to be EVERY hour). Dare to venture out, however, and you can "navigate corridors and explore interconnected rooms, all carefully designed to inspire maximum productivity." If you're to break out of the company's "surreal cycle of work, life, and death," you will need to "find clues, gather information," and overcome a variety of "tasks and puzzles designed to sharpen your mind ... to be more effective. To be more efficient. To be a better human."

It's too soon for a target release date just yet, but Work Work Work is already available for wishlisting on Steam, where it will launch for Windows PC upon completion.