Panelki (2022)
[game]
As Keanu Reeves once said about Russians: "If I lived in an arthouse movie, I'd probably smile less too." And imagine not just living there but working as a janitor...
Panelki tosses you a shovel and tells you you're now a janitor in some godforsaken snow-covered city. The blizzard's raging outside, and you’ve got just one dream: scrape together enough cash to buy a ticket and get the hell out. The price of freedom? A cool 50k rubles. So, buckle up—clear the snow, pick up cigarette butts and dogshit, shovel cars out, and get paid.
As someone who's lived out this exact scenario IRL—escaping from a gloomy, doom-ridden small town—I was hooked by the concept and gave it a shot. To boost immersion, I cranked up a Russian Doomer playlist, shoveled virtual snow and scooped dogshit for about 4 hours straight, and you know what? It was oddly satisfying.
I expected a janky, broken indie mess, but instead got a decently polished game with solid progression and simple-yet-effective gameplay systems. Hell, this thing should be prescribed instead of a kick in the butt for anyone who's forgotten how good of a life they live. That’d probably be more humane, too.