Job Simulator

Job Simulator is a comedic simulation in which the player, in a future run by robots, experiences a parody of everyday jobs of the past – working in an office, in fast food, in a store, or in a garage – with the robots performing these professions as a museum-style reconstruction with a thoroughly exaggerated, comedic take on human behavior. Using the Move controllers, the player manipulates objects with complete freedom – they can staple papers, mix coffee, serve burgers, or repair cars, and the game almost always allows for a completely absurd, nonsensical use of objects without blocking progress. It is exactly this freedom and tolerance for experimentation that made the game one of the most frequently demonstrated titles for new VR users, since simple physical interactions like grabbing a cup or throwing a paper ball made immediate sense without any need for instructions.

The game's humor is based on an exaggeratedly grotesque take on office and service environments, with robots commenting on the player's behavior parodying clichés about work life with exaggeration and self-indulgent playfulness. The visual style is colorful, simple, and stylized so that in-game objects are easily recognizable and graspable, which also helped the game run smoothly on the PS4 hardware of the time. Short tasks in each environment can be repeated freely without strict goals, so the game functions more as a playful sandbox for experimentation than as a linear challenge.

Job Simulator was received at launch as one of the most accessible and most entertaining introductions to virtual reality altogether, thanks to which many people tried a VR headset for the first time. Studio Owlchemy Labs built a reputation through the game as a creator of intuitive, humorous VR experiences, and the title was long used as a standard demo game to showcase PSVR's capabilities to newcomers to virtual reality.

Why play: For anyone just discovering virtual reality – an accessible, humorous, and intuitive introduction that was long used as the standard demo for PSVR's capabilities.