The upcoming indie game Beholder will be great practice for those hoping to find employment at a totalitarian state in the near future. The game has you playing a State-installed landlord in a totalitarian state, and your primary purpose is to ensure none of your tenants is planning any kind of subversion or posing any kind of threat to the State you so willingly serve. You get to bug their apartments when they are away, go through their belongings for anything interesting, and, of course, report anyone who seems like a current or future threat.
Yet, there’s a flicker of humanity still inside you; you can choose to resist and not report that tenant who obviously’s got his mind set on mischief. That way, he might change his vile ways. Or you could be a bit more selfish and use that information to blackmail him and get more money for your impoverished family. There are many quests to complete and many characters to meet, and your decisions will lead to different endings.
As Papers, Please has shown us, there’s plenty of room for games that deal with the role of the individual in an oppressive, totalitarian state, and Beholder seems like an intriguing take on that whole theme. Plus, the art is lovely. The game should be coming to the App Store and Google Play Store in May.
