Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
With The Last Worker, Oiffy and Wolf & Wood are giving us a glimpse at the future we may very well be heading towards. Following the story of the last human worker at a warehouse for a massive retailer, The Last Worker examines the struggles faced in a fully automated world. I got to learn more about it myself when I played a demo of the game at PAX East.
As the last remaining human worker at a warehouse for Jungle, a massive worldwide retailer, players navigate a pretty ominous workspace. However, they’re not alone, as players are accompanied by a drone companion that’s voiced by Jason Isaacs. Your day-to-day responsibilities include sorting and handling shipments, which I got to do some of during my demo. Where the story really kicks off, however, is when the player is asked to help sabotage Jungle from the inside.
As players work to betray the company, The Last Worker’s stealth elements come into play. You’ll sneak around the warehouse, attempting to access restricted areas without being detected by the countless drones and AI that are always watching. I had to strategically hide behind shipment crates, and zoom past enemies as they weren’t looking. The game puts you in a technologically-advanced chair that can soar in any direction, giving a true sense of freedom of movement.
Speaking of movement, it was very clear in my demo that The Last Worker will probably play best on VR platforms. I played with a controller, but the movement design and the array of gadgets available felt like they’d be a great fit on a VR headset.
Although the world of The Last Worker is quite bleak, it’s packing humor in all the right ways. There are plenty of not-so-subtle references to the real-world companies and the grip they have on society, and there’s a good bit of jokes to be made at the expense of those corporations.
With a star-studded voice cast that features the likes of Jason Isaacs, Zelda Williams, and Clare-Hope Ashitey, the developers are clearly looking to deliver an impactful narrative with The Last Worker. It left me genuinely curious to learn more, and I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds when it launches later this year.
These impressions are based on an in-person demo played at PAX East 2022. The Last Worker will be released later this year for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Meta Quest 2. The game will also come to PS VR 2 at a later date.