Info about Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099:

Official game description:
Four Cage DLC
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Your Next Puzzle Adventure from Joystick Ventures
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About the Game
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The Primate Observation Club is still active and stronger than ever in the year 2099. The world has become a hilariously absurd, retro-futuristic dystopia where spying is even more amusing! Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 is a digital voyeur simulator that combines narrative, investigation, surveillance, and resource management.
Life is about to get a _little meta…_  
Do you like **power**? How about controlling the lives of others?  
Do you like **breaking rules**? Does it excite you? Maybe “Rebel” is your middle name?  
Do you want to be part of an **exclusive group**? Be someone important?  
Do you want to make some **money** and become rich?  
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you’re in luck! You've been invited to join _**The Primate Observation Club**_. Live out all your heart’s desires as the newest member and if you are already in the Club, it’s time to move up the ladder.  
Observe the monkeys behind cages from the comfort of your home, stash some cash with your side hustle jobs, and maybe even play the role of a divine being by manipulating the lives of your subjects. Don’t hesitate, it’s time to make 2099 your year!  
**A Dystopian Dreamland**  
It’s 2099 and alien knowledge has caused rapid advancements in technology to the point that big corporations now sponsor planets. Stripped of resources, Earth is now a wasteland and humanity has spread across the galaxy. Humans, robots, and aliens now live side by side.  
**Spying Is Encouraged**  
The MonkeyVision app helps you manage hidden cameras and monitor cages. Make observations and search the internet to learn more about each subject. Need more cameras? Pick up side jobs for money, all the while avoiding that wacky conspiracy theorist next door.  
**Definitely Not Feeding the Monkeys**  
Get to know the subjects and you might get the chance to interact with them. Hack security systems, make threatening phone calls or even put your own flavor on an unusual beverage. But then forget all those things, because that's against Club rules!  
**New Game, New Technology**  
For previous Club member alumni, you'll notice we've also added some community-requested features beyond the new game experience.  
*   **An OmniPal:** Gone are the days of surveillance solitude. OmniPals are artificial intelligence represented by holograms that act as promoters of companies. OmniPals are another window into the outside world and may offer some other mysterious functions.  
*   **End Game Content:** Once you've finished the game, new and exciting features such as a Fast Forwarding ability will be available. Who knows what other rewards await you!  
*   **A Peephole:** Peepholes aren't standard equipment, but eventually you’ll be able to get one. Get a sneak peek at who's knocking on your door before deciding to open it.

Release date: 25 May, 2023

Categories: Surveillance Gameplay, Investigative Gameplay, Resource Management, Life Simulation, Choice-based Narrative, Time Management, Multiple Endings, Endgame Content


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Highly enjoyable and fun (weight 0.35): Players consistently find the game highly enjoyable, entertaining, and fun, highlighting its captivating and creative nature. The overall experience is positive, with many hours of fun reported.
- High replayability and varied endings (weight 0.14): The game offers significant replayability due to its diverse 'cages' (scenarios) and multiple branching endings. Players enjoy exploring different outcomes and finding new details across playthroughs, making choices feel impactful.
- Quality DLC content (weight 0.05): The DLC content is well-received, adding much-needed variety with new camera feeds that maintain the quality of the base game. Players enjoy the additional content and find it worth purchasing.
- Effective dark humor (weight 0.04): The game's dark and surreal humor is a standout feature, providing many funny dialogues and interactions. This well-balanced comedic element contributes significantly to the game's entertainment value.
- Well-executed pixel art (weight 0.03): The game's pixel art aesthetic is well-executed and contributes to its unique charm. It evokes a nostalgic feel, reminiscent of 90s point-and-click games.

Common complaints:
- Inferior to original game (weight 0.99): Players consistently feel the sequel is inferior to the original in almost every aspect, including story, humor, innovation, and overall enjoyment. Many describe it as feeling like a mere DLC rather than a full, improved sequel.
- Boring and frustrating gameplay (weight 0.55): Many players found the game to be boring, tedious, and frustrating, leading to a lack of desire to finish or replay it. This is often attributed to repetitive content, slow pacing, and a general lack of engaging elements.
- Increased and unbalanced difficulty (weight 0.54): The game is perceived as significantly harder and more demanding than its predecessor, often due to unclear mechanics, tight time limits, and a lack of helpful clues. This increased difficulty contributes to player frustration.
- Graphical and technical issues (weight 0.5): Players noted a significant graphical downgrade, with visuals feeling cluttered and less polished. Technical issues like freezing and bugs also detract from the overall experience, making the game feel unrefined and rushed.
- Uninteresting and repetitive cages (weight 0.31): The quality and quantity of 'cages' (interactive scenarios) are a major point of criticism. Players found them less interesting, often repetitive, and too numerous in non-interactive forms, reducing engagement and making the experience feel like a grind.
- Poorly implemented futuristic setting (weight 0.23): The new futuristic sci-fi setting is widely disliked. Players feel it lacks immersion, adds nothing meaningful to the gameplay or narrative, and often makes the stories less relatable or impactful compared to the original's contemporary setting.
- Frustrating keyword and clue system (weight 0.22): The keyword and clue system is a significant source of frustration. Players report difficulty finding relevant keywords, illogical search combinations, and a high density of useless information, leading to constant guessing and a lack of clear progression.
- Meaningless investment system (weight 0.06): The newly introduced investment system is criticized for being meaningless and having no real impact on the core gameplay or plot. Players feel it's an unnecessary addition that doesn't enhance the experience.
- Short cage active times (weight 0.04): Many cages have very short active times, requiring quick action and making it easy to miss crucial information. This contributes to the overall feeling of being rushed and stressed during gameplay.
- Grindy, luck-based achievements (weight 0.04): Some achievements are criticized for being overly reliant on luck and requiring excessive grinding, artificially extending playtime without adding genuine enjoyment.

Gameplay feedback:
- Observation-based core gameplay (weight 0.1): The core gameplay revolves around observing various camera feeds, gathering information, and conducting research to uncover mysteries and influence events. Players act as voyeurs, watching others' lives unfold through surveillance.
- Similar mechanics to prequel (weight 0.08): Many players noted that the game's fundamental mechanics and overall structure are largely identical to its predecessor. This suggests a lack of significant innovation in core gameplay systems.
- Diverse minor features (weight 0.07): The game includes various minor features and elements such as an omni pad, playthrough mods, a peephole, a crosshair pointer, time acceleration, motion detection, and regular money collection. It also continues elements from the prequel like the psychologist and irritable employer. The fun is derived from how these diverse elements are implemented.
- Resource and life management (weight 0.07): Players must manage basic needs like hunger, sleep, and housing, while also earning money through odd jobs to pay bills and acquire new camera feeds. This creates a constant resource management challenge.
- New investment mechanic (weight 0.07): While largely retaining the original game's mechanics, the sequel introduces a new investment system. This adds a fresh layer of financial strategy to the gameplay.
- Multitasking and crisis management (weight 0.04): The game requires significant multitasking and management skills to balance various objectives and resources. It also features puzzles with multiple solutions and includes extra modes for easier management.
- Real-time events and time management (weight 0.04): Events on camera feeds occur in real-time and on a set schedule, making punctuality and careful observation crucial. Odd jobs, however, consume time, leading to a high chance of missing important events.
- Choice to 'feed the monkeys' (weight 0.04): A central theme and mechanic is the choice to 'feed the monkeys,' meaning to interact with or influence the lives of the observed subjects. The organization strictly forbids this, adding a moral dilemma.
- Challenging and immersive (weight 0.03): The game presents a genuine challenge, especially for new players unfamiliar with the camera feed structures. It can also create a sense of being part of a creepy, unfolding story.
- Shifted atmosphere and themes (weight 0.02): The game's atmosphere and thematic focus have shifted from the first installment. Some players feel that doing 'good' actions now primarily harms the player, indicating a change in moral consequences.
- Player interaction with subjects (weight 0.02): Players have the ability to interact with the characters they are observing, such as sending packages, posting information online, or making calls, which can directly influence the course of events.
- DLC enhances camera activity (weight 0.01): Purchasing the game with all its DLC can help mitigate issues where camera feeds lack significant action, suggesting that additional content enhances the gameplay experience.

Performance notes:
- Critical bugs resolved in 1.03 (weight 0.02): Several critical issues, including key object highlighting and Chinese font size, were successfully addressed and resolved in the 1.03 patch, significantly improving the player experience.
- Night vision bug workaround (weight 0.01): Players have identified a temporary workaround for the night vision device bug, which involves repeatedly clicking the activation button. This suggests a need for a more permanent fix.

Recommendations:
- Sequel feels like DLC (weight 0.35): Many players feel this sequel is too similar to the first game, often suggesting it should have been DLC. They recommend playing the original first, especially for new players, and advise existing fans to temper expectations for significant changes.
- Generally positive reception (weight 0.1): Despite some criticisms, a significant portion of players still recommend the game, especially to fans of the first installment or those who enjoy its unique spying and puzzle-solving mechanics. Ratings are generally positive, around 7/10.
- Desire for future updates (weight 0.06): Players express a desire for ongoing support, including continuous updates, new content like cages and modes, and potential features like an endless mode or modding support for future installments.
- Buy game on discount (weight 0.04): A recurring recommendation is to purchase the game only when it's on sale or as part of a bundle. This suggests that players perceive its full price as too high for the value offered.
- Suggest UI improvements (weight 0.03): Several quality-of-life improvements were suggested, such as making certain buttons larger (e.g., work cards), increasing the size of the time display bar, and highlighting small windows when keywords are spoken.
- Adjust game settings (weight 0.02): Some players suggest adjusting game settings, specifically recommending 'easy mode' for a more enjoyable experience and playing in 'stable mode' for better performance.
- Adjust bird sound (weight 0.01): A specific audio issue was noted, with one reviewer suggesting that the bird sound in the game needs adjustment.
- Achievement completion interest (weight 0.01): A player expressed interest in replaying the game to complete achievements once guides become available, indicating a desire for completionist support.
- Watch streams instead (weight 0.01): One reviewer suggested that simply watching streams of the game might be sufficient to experience it, implying that purchasing it might not be necessary for some.
- Proverbial critique (weight 0.01): One reviewer used a proverb, 'he who grasps at too much, grasps little,' which could be interpreted as a general critique of the game's scope or execution, though it lacks specific actionable feedback.

Other player notes:
- Player loyalty and future purchases (weight 0.06): Despite some reservations, players express strong loyalty and willingness to purchase future installments from the developer. They are eager for new content and will continue to support the series.
- Desire for more substantial DLC (weight 0.06): Players appreciate new content, especially free DLC, but express a desire for more substantial additions like new achievements or more varied 'monkeys.' There's a preference for content that significantly enhances replayability.
- Responsive and supportive developers (weight 0.03): The development team is highly praised for their continued support, responsiveness to bug fixes, and polishing of the game since the demo phase. This indicates a dedicated and attentive developer.
- Narrative scope and setting underutilized (weight 0.02): Some players feel the game's narrative scope is too broad, suggesting a more focused approach on fewer cases would allow for greater depth. The 2099 setting is also seen as underutilized, with stories that could fit a modern context.
- Unpopular Lunar New Year DLC (weight 0.02): The Lunar New Year DLC's decorations and music were not well-received, with players finding the music grating and the decorations not contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
- Players need game guide (weight 0.02): Many players are struggling to progress without a guide, and one reviewer is willing to create a guide if there is sufficient demand.
- Good sarcasm in writing (weight 0.01): The game's writing contains good sarcasm, particularly in its commentary on future and present societal aspects.
- New stories present (weight 0.01): The game features new stories, indicating fresh narrative content for players to experience.
- Request for soundtrack release (weight 0.01): A player has requested that the game's original soundtracks be released, indicating appreciation for the music.
- Hopes for breakthrough updates (weight 0.01): Players are hopeful for significant updates in the future that will bring new breakthroughs or improvements to the game.
- Pleasing main menu music (weight 0.01): The main menu music is described as very pleasing and similar to another well-known game, suggesting a positive audio experience.
- Discounts for previous owners (weight 0.01): There are additional discounts available for players who own the previous game and purchase the 'Monkey Business Pack,' incentivizing loyal customers.
- Request for Ukrainian localization (weight 0.01): A player has specifically requested Ukrainian localization for the game, indicating a desire for broader language support.
- Game experienced delay (weight 0.01): The game experienced a one-year delay in its release, which is a factual point about its development cycle.
- Non-actionable feedback (weight 0): These clusters contain non-substantive feedback such as requests for help, review bombing, jokes, or comments on Steam's review system, and thus are not summarized as actionable points.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.35): Players expressed significant disappointment primarily due to the game's perceived inferiority to its predecessor. This included a lack of innovation, less engaging content, a weaker story, and a general feeling that the sequel was a downgrade or an unpolished DLC rather than a true successor. Many felt the game failed to meet expectations set by the original's charm, humor, and mechanics.
- Frustration (weight 0.25): Frustration stemmed from various gameplay mechanics and technical issues. Players were annoyed by cluttered visuals, clunky UI, tight time constraints, illogical puzzle clues, and repetitive or unengaging content. Game-breaking bugs, high difficulty spikes, and frustrating achievement designs also contributed to a negative experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.14): Satisfaction was derived from the game's core concept, engaging stories, and replayability. Players appreciated quality-of-life improvements like the fast-forward feature and found enjoyment in the puzzles, characters, and overall immersive atmosphere, despite some criticisms.
- Boredom (weight 0.04): Boredom was a common sentiment due to repetitive and uninteresting gameplay, particularly the tedious waiting for events and the lack of engaging content within the 'cages'. Players felt the game became sluggish and dry over time, offering little novelty.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Excitement was generated by the anticipation of the sequel's launch and the game's engaging nature. Players were thrilled by new content, features, and the overall concept, expressing a desire for more content and future games in the series.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Enjoyment was a general positive feeling derived from the game's fun gameplay, engaging stories, and overall experience. Players found the game enjoyable despite some flaws, appreciating its graphics, worldview, and puzzle-solving elements.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Anger was specifically triggered by frustrating game design choices, such as extremely low item probability for achievements, idiotic achievement design, and crucial keywords appearing only once, leading to unavoidable bad endings. A perceived lack of connection to the original game also caused anger.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy was primarily caused by the game's humor and engaging gameplay. Players found the game fun to play and appreciated its comedic elements.
- Regret (weight 0.01): Regret was expressed both for not having played the game sooner and, conversely, for purchasing it due to a lack of engaging content or the feeling that it was an overpriced DLC rather than a full sequel.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia was evoked by the game's familiar feel, often leading players to desire replaying the first game. This suggests the sequel successfully captured some essence of the original, even if it didn't fully live up to expectations.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arose from unclear game mechanics, such as food and item functions, and illogical puzzle solutions or clue connections, leading players to feel lost or bewildered during gameplay.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Hope was directed towards future improvements, updates, and developer responsiveness. Players expressed a desire for the game to address its issues and for the genre to evolve positively.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration was felt for the game's impressive creation, unique aesthetic, and narrative depth. Players appreciated the artistic and storytelling aspects of the game.
- Amusement (weight 0.01): Amusement stemmed from the game's unique concept of observing humans, with some players finding humor in the 'peeping tom' aspect of the gameplay.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement was driven by the game's theme and its increased difficulty compared to the first installment. Players found themselves drawn into the game's world and challenges.
- Intrigue (weight 0.01): Intrigue was sparked by the game's story and atmosphere, as well as its ability to make players reflect on their own morality. The narrative depth and thought-provoking elements captured players' interest.
- Relief (weight 0.01): Relief was experienced due to helpful quality-of-life features, specifically the fast-forward option and an easier mode for money management, which alleviated stress during gameplay.
- Dislike (weight 0.01): Dislike was specifically directed at the game's futuristic universe and graphical style, with some players finding the setting to feel 'off' or unappealing.
- Mixed feelings (weight 0): Mixed feelings arose from the game being harder and less fun than its predecessor. This indicates a conflict between some positive aspects and significant drawbacks.
- Relaxation (weight 0): Relaxation was attributed to the stress-relieving background music, suggesting that the audio design contributed positively to the player's experience.}