The Salaryman Demo

People used to work in a different way back in the day, given the fact that most of them were working their own land in order to get the food they needed to sustain their families. Naturally, there were specific jobs back then as well, such as blacksmiths and merchants, but nowadays everyone must find a job in order to survive. Hence, it’s no longer an option to live off the land.

The Salaryman is an interesting interactive story in which you play the role of a young man as he tries to go through life the only way he knows how: by doing his job. The game allows you to take control of his fate and decide whether he should work harder or relax for a while in order to reconsider his options. Hence, at least it’s the kind of story that’s not very common in visual novels.

The whole thing starts when the main in question gets in trouble at work for doing something wrong, and you can decide whether he skips work that day and goes somewhere else to meet new people. Whatever you choose, on the other hand, the man has to live with the consequences, because there are both upsides and downsides regardless of your decisions.

Even if you have plenty of choices to make, the story is still fairly predictable and slow-moving, which means that it probably won’t blow you out of the water. Even so, there are some nice moments you might remember later on, especially if you identify with the main character. The whole thing feels very relatable for the modern youth.

In terms of graphics, the game is not ugly at all, but it could use a bit of work when it comes to how the characters blend with the backgrounds, because more often than not they don’t. Hence, they really look like cardboard cutouts most of the time, which can hurt the overall atmosphere. Other than that, the artwork is actually very engaging, and the colors are very nice as well.

The Salaryman gets a few things right when it comes to the life most people subject themselves to nowadays, and it can be pretty eye-opening. Even so, more work is needed in the story department, and the character artwork could use a touchup as well.