All in all, The Last Worker is an enjoyable time, despite some flaws with its gameplay. The regular package handling sections are a lot of fun, especially when discovering the crazy contents within each one, but the stealth and hacking sections can get pretty frustrating. Thankfully, the story is compelling enough to overlook the gameplay shortcomings, and the performances are wonderful all around.
The Last Worker
Wolf & Wood Interactive Ltd · Mar 30, 2023
About
The Last Worker is an immersive narrative adventure centered around a lone worker’s last stand in an increasingly automated world, The Last Worker is a unique blend of work simulation and stealth strategic gameplay.
The game is set in a lonely, oppressive but strangely beautiful environment, with characters designed by comics legend Mick McMahon.
Kurt works for the world’s largest retailer and is forced to choose between capitalism or activism. Having dedicated his life to work, Kurt’s loyalty is put to the test when a group of activists ask him to dismantle Jüngle from the inside.
Aboard his corporate issued flying JünglePod and armed with his multi-purpose JüngleGun, Kurt dispatches countless products from a fulfilment centre the size of the sunken city of Manhattan.
Kurt (voiced by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) has dedicated his life to Jüngle, with only his co-bot, Skew (Jason Isaacs) to keep him company. But when S.P.E.A.R., a group of activists, asks Kurt to help dismantle Jüngle from the inside, Kurt is forced to discover his employer’s dark underbelly.
The Last Worker delivers an emotional, thought provoking and inspiring story with rich characters performed by an all-star cast starring, Jason Isaacs, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Clare-Hope Ashitey, David Hewlett, Zelda Williams and Tommie Earl Jenkins.
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- 9.2Flat screen or not, The Last Worker had us hooked from start to finish thanks to excellent writing, a charming art style, and constantly changing gameplay and mechanics that rarely outstay their welcome.
- 8.0The Last Worker could have created some complex problems and interesting situations using its gravity gun and extensive player mobility options. And there are a few game sections that are both immersive and tense. But most of the experience involves following other characters in tight spaces, with more focus on their conversations than on gameplay. The constant attempt to create real-world parallels feels forced.
- 6.0The Last Worker’s principal problem is that it’s a game made for VR that’s better without it. Fulfilling online orders in a capitalism-induced apocalypse is an excellent idea marred by inconsistent execution and confounding restrictions placed on VR movement. It’s short enough not to overstay its simplicity, but it’s not smart enough to make any astute thematic statements.
- 6.8At the risk of spoiling too much, The Last Worker kinda does the Bioshock Infinite thing where the rebels are actually a bunch of greedy assholes and both sides are bad. Your mileage may vary on how much of a bummer that is (I was grumbling), but overall the game's story and characters are fun and a good hang. It's more straightforward than I expected: I clocked the lone twist pretty quickly, and The Last Worker could be a bit too eager to explain its jokes.
- 8.0The gameplay may lack some variety at times, but the story of The Last Worker is truly thought provoking and very captivating. It is heightened by the voice cast, who all do a fantastic job, but Ólafur Darri Ólafsson’s Kurt is the stand out performance here. It is his story after all, but there is a subtle charm and emotion to the way the role is delivered that helps make Kurt feel real.
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