The Company Man | Switch Review

It’s always the dream to climb the company ladder and be the boss. Well, here’s your chance with The Company Man from the developers over at Forust Studio. It’s a zany little indie game that has the potential to take the corporate world by storm. This wild little ride will take you across a retro-inspired side-scrolling platformer that, at its core, has a lot of heart. So polish those wingtips and get ready to dive in to see if The Company Man is a game for you.

It’s A Long Way to The Top

The story of the company man is a fun, albeit strange ride. Your job is to take control of the main character named Jim. Jim just got an entry level job at a large company. As your first day unfolds, you begin to notice a wide variety of strange things going on around the company. The main problem you notice is a lot of lazy and rude co-workers all being led by what can only be described as an evil manager. Jim then makes it his mission to root out all the evil managers that are plaguing the company and crown himself the new CEO.

Not Your Typical Day at The Office

I absolutely love the flow of The Company Man. Each level is crafted to what seems to be the perfect length and never overstays its welcome. As you progress, each level/area is designed after a different branch of a company. From accounting to data entry, no cubicle is left out. A lot of thought was put into each area with a ton of hidden little office humor jokes. Most hit you like a well-timed dad joke. My personal favorite is in accounting where the enemies throw frozen assets as weapons. 

I also appreciate any game that makes health items something other than generic health packs. Here it’s coffee breaks, in case you were wondering. You can also collect special coffee beans hidden throughout the level to give Jim permanent ability upgrades. These can only be done at the specialty coffee shop in the main lobby after you complete each rung of the company ladder.

Work is Hell

The combat is fairly simple but effective. Jim’s primary weapon is none other than a keyboard. Granted, it does seem to hit a little harder than most. As you progress through the game, you acquire new talents from a company education officer. Some of these new attacks revolve around office lingo like “Mass E-mail” or “Strongly Worded E-mail.” Although they may be dumb puns, they do occasionally cause a little chuckle. I also appreciate the fact that you aren’t killing co-workers in the game, but instead firing them. I also think the boss fights are quite a fun experience. Each of them are crafted after the stereotypes of different managers of their respective divisions.

The Trappings of Business

The Company Man overall is a riot, but it does come with a few issues. While I appreciated the absolute variety of enemies in the game, there doesn’t seem to be enough of them. I know it’s a weird complaint to have, but there seems to be strange lulls in the action. Where a player would think there would be an enemy, nothing shows up. Also, in a few areas of the game you run into a “where do I go next?” conundrum. With so much of the game being such a straightforward design, hitting something like that throws off your rhythm. 

Final Pitch

I think The Company Man is a wonderful little experience that most players will enjoy. If you breeze right through it, feel free to crank up the difficulty and give it another go round. I played through multiple times and enjoyed it each time. There are quite a few little Easter eggs and jokes that you probably missed. So do you have what it takes to work your way to the top and take control of the company? If so, grab your keyboard and prepare to take your rightful place as The Company Man.

 

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of The Company Man provided by Evolve PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on PC via Steam.