The Last Worker Review

We’ve been looking forward to The Last Worker for some time now, and after a short delay it’s finally here. We’re a little late to the party (thanks, life), but we’re very glad we finally got around to playing this – it has been well worth the wait, and comes highly recommended for those looking to spend a few evenings with some surprisingly deep narrative layered with some different gameplay.

We play as Kurt, the titular last worker, as he goes about his day collecting and delivering packages in a city sized fulfilment centre. Working for the largest corporation on the planet in Jüngle (pronounced Yungle), he is under pressure each day to deliver the right packages to the right areas, on time, and with no defects. This aspect of the game is the weakest in our eyes, but it also feels like this is intentional, layered as The Last Worker is with quite heavy handed references to its clear real world inspiration Amazon and the tales that come from those that have worked under Bezos’ stringent requirements.

Luckily, The Last Worker has much more to offer than parcel deliveries though, and it’s in these aspects that the game is far more enjoyable. From the overall story, to performances, visuals, music, and other gameplay elements, this relatively short experience constantly had us engaged and entertained.

We’re accompanied for the most part by Skew, a flying droid of sorts that has broken free of Jüngle’s programming and is Kurt’s last remnants of friendship. The writing throughout is excellent, but Skew and Kurt’s interactions had us grinning and laughing along almost constantly – especially once the slow tutorial is over and done with. Other characters get less screen time but are able to make excellent use of it regardless, with one late game character doing a superb job of having our opinion of them 180 within a matter of minutes. There are plenty of gags here too – both of the Dad and Uncle variety – though it’s not afraid to get a touch emotional when needs be.

When we’re off on adventure and not delivering packages, gameplay consists of moving about on our Jünglepod, a sort of hovering chair that let’s us explore the 3D space fully. It also comes equipped with the Jünglegun that does more than just lift boxes. Over the course of the game, we get access to hacking, EMP, and tracking modules, though each are only used in specific circumstances. There’s some light combat and stealth too, and a generous checkpoint system to balance out the often insta-kill nature of getting caught. Hell, there’s even a Flappy Bird-style section later on, though we must admit to not enjoying this part so much – even less so that it repeats three times.

What we enjoyed about The Last Worker‘s approach to gameplay is that it doesn’t stick to one thing for too long though. We might be doing package collection for a few minutes, but then we’re off to sneak through a legion of armed bots to gain access to a secret area, before engaging in an impromptu boss fight, before a little light story telling. There were very few moments (aforementioned Flappy Bird area aside) where we had time to get bored of what we were doing before we we’re onto something new.

It was also interesting to take in the story being told, looking at a future world where capitalism finally dominates at the cost of the planet and people living on it, and how it takes someone to stand up and say something to get the ball rolling on change. Jüngle and it’s Bezos-like owner Joseph fill the workspace with typically sleazy corporate takes on inspiration and encouragement which only helps enforce decisions needing to be made to get all of the different endings. For some it might be a tad heavy handed a times, but we enjoyed it and it definitely has a message worth thinking about.

One thing that did stick out to us though is how this was clearly meant to be played as a VR title first and foremost. Indeed, it released on Meta Quest 2 at the same time, and there were a few aspects where we imagine being inside the headset would have made things slightly easier. Nothing is ever too fiddly on console, but something like the hacking puzzles feels built for the quick reactions of motion controlled hands rather than a pair of sticks. It rings through in the presentation too, with characters always doing their best to remain in front our our vision, and a handful of moments where we can imagine being in the headset might be cause for a few jumps and curses.

Conclusion

Flat screen or not, The Last Worker had us hooked from start to finish thanks to excellent writing, a charming art style, and constantly changing gameplay and mechanics that rarely outstay their welcome.