Having now played so many titles on this system, keeping in mind that this is still my “hobby”, I’ve come to have some very strong opinions about certain aspects of games and what annoys me most. Even before I was reviewing them once again, and at least since the time I had kids, I think my number one rule above all is that I don’t appreciate it when games waste my time. Sure, there are times when that’s unintentional, where I’m unable to figure out what to do or where to go next, meandering a bit before finding my way. The design could possibly be better, but to some degree that’s on me. But then there are times when the design is so poor, or in this case slight, that the time wasting is pretty well baked in.

The Exit 8 I suppose could be called a sim, as by all accounts it takes place in a representation of a real-world space, a generic set of tile-clad hallways like you’d find around a subway station. Passing by a block of ads and then a singular man, you can keep walking or turn back. Then, within maybe a minute or so, you’ll see the same man again, repeating the pattern. Again, and again, and again. Since I try to never read up on what I’ll be playing, in the name of trying to be surprised by whatever it is bringing to the table, this left me utterly baffled as to what I was supposed to be doing, or most importantly why I should be bothering. Attempting to treat it like a puzzle involving the man, I tried to understand the boundaries of when and how he reset, and even observed him when he stopped in case something would happen. But no, he’ll just stand there sometimes.

Only when I stopped and did some digging on the game did I find what was supposed to pass as an answer. Apparently the objective is to just keep walking around, repeating the pattern over and over, in the hopes to observe some anomaly or change to some detail. Why? I’m not sure. Does it have any meaning? I’m thinking it doesn’t. Could I instead just go on any website and play “Notice the Differences”, saving myself a ton of time and a few bucks? Most definitely. When I returned I noticed a few of them after wasting some more time, like in one case the ads on the wall were now all the same. Thrilling! In another case the man’s face was a little different. Amazing!

So here we are with an experience I refuse on principle to really call a game that feels like it was created purely with ready-made assets, next to no content, and the thinnest of justifications for you to waste time on it. I suppose the anomalies could be considered unnerving in some way after having the same imagery crammed into your head repeatedly, but I was instead simply feeling my personal time ticking away, sacrificed to something that took so little time, planning, creativity, or talent to create. I generally try to be polite in reviews, but for me this completely violated my previously-stated personal first commandment in game design: Thou Shalt Not Waste My Time.