Drink Human Beans, solo dev Last Dissent, dystopian horror survival about a corportation forcing humans through a deadly job hunting trial, coffee machine is the boss AI,

Drink Human Beans – A Whole New and Disturbed Defination of Job Hunting

ByMusu Murray

We’ve all had bad jobs, but developer Last Dissent has taken that existential Monday morning dread and turned it into an entire video game called Drink Human Beans. If you’ve ever filled out an online application that asked you to upload your resume and then immediately asked you to type out your entire work history again, you already know the horror this game is tapping into. This is a bit more murderous.

Drink Human Beans: I Hope You’re Ready for Your Interview

Drink Human Beans, solo dev Last Dissent, dystopian horror survival about a corportation forcing humans through a deadly job hunting trial, coffee machine is the boss AI, smartphone survival tool
Screenshot of Drink Human Beans, Courtesy of Last Dissent via Steam

The premise of Drink Human Beans is delightfully unhinged. You are an unnamed applicant stuck in a dystopian apartment owned by the “Y.AI Corp,” and your goal is to get a job. You don’t job hunt by endlessly applying online or by scouting your local businesses. Oh, no. You have to go through a simulated job application process that uses blackmail, murder, and psychological torture to measure your performance.

You’ll be navigating a reactive world where breaking the rules is the only way to find the truth. It’s that classic video game trope: do you do what the scary voice says, or do you try to break the game? You can’t imagine what will happen if you break a rule and get caught. I guess that you’re more of a light foam, extra shot kind of person?

A Hand-held Lifeline and Workplace Violence (In A Therapeutic Way)

Drink Human Beans, solo dev Last Dissent, dystopian horror survival about a corportation forcing humans through a deadly job hunting trial, coffee machine is the boss AI, weapons
Screenshot of Drink Human Beans, Courtesy of Last Dissent via Steam

The developer cites inspirations ranging from Philip K. Dick to “The Matrix,” with a distinct “lo-fi corporate horror” vibe. You’re fighting the realization that your value as a human being is being calculated by a smart coffee machine. We don’t know everything about the mechanics yet, but the Steam page teases a “relatable phone-based interaction system.” Meaning that your phone is your lifeline and survival tool.

Last Dissent made a promise of “violence-based stress relief.” In Drink Human Beans, it seems violence is a coping mechanism for the bureaucratic nightmare you’re trapped in. That’s a dark, satirical twist that elevates the concept above standard horror fare. I’m very sure we’ve all wanted to flip a desk or burn a hole in your boss’s head with a laser pointer, right? I see the stress relief part very clearly. Clever.

AI Used to Make AI (AI-ception!)

Drink Human Beans, solo dev Last Dissent, dystopian horror survival about a corportation forcing humans through a deadly job hunting trial, coffee machine is the boss AI, creatures, entities
Screenshot of Drink Human Beans, Courtesy of Last Dissent via Steam

Now, the developer openly admits to using AI-generated assets for specific textures and voiceovers (like the security robots) for Drink Human Beans. And I find that it fits the narrative very well. They’re using an “uncanny-valley, soulless style” to depict a future where the “soul of the world has been killed by AI.” Using AI tools to critique a world destroyed by AI is a level of meta-commentary that I (and Deadpool) respect. It’s ugly on purpose. It’s supposed to make you feel gross. Its artistic direction through method acting.

The Quarantine Feelings In the Coffee Machine

Drink Human Beans, solo dev Last Dissent, dystopian horror survival about a corportation forcing humans through a deadly job hunting trial, coffee machine is the boss AI, robot adversaries
Screenshot of Drink Human Beans, Courtesy of Last Dissent via Steam

Drink Human Beans feels like it captures the specific brain-rot of the 2020s due to the COVID shutdown and quarantine procedures. The feeling that we are all just content grist for the algorithm mill. The fear that our jobs are pointless. The suspicion that our smart appliances are judging us.

Drink Human Beans contains multiple endings, which begs the question: Is there a “good” ending? Can you escape the simulation? Or is the best-case scenario actually becoming the titular beverage—a succulent drink for the corporate overlords? It plays on that anxiety we were all stewing in, separated from other people. It pulls out the human aspect we all experienced during those years and throws it back at us.

Final Thoughts: A Nice Cup of Dystopian Brew

Drink Human Beans is launching on Steam on December 17. This solo-developed project is giving us a look into a surreal, dystopian nightmare that feels like The Stanley Parable had a baby with a corporate orientation video from hell. Will you become a cog in the machine, be crushed by a Keurg, or attempt to salvage what little humanity you have left? Why don’t you tidy up your resumes and CVs, and apply to this game to find out for yourselves?

Musu Murray is a graduate of Winthrop University with a B.S. in Multidisciplinary Chemistry & B.A. in Illustration Visual Communication. She can understand the technical jargon but prefers writing easy-to-digest reports that get straight to the point. She is a massive horror fan and loves the arts. When she's not writing, you can find her either at her easel desk painting, or bundled up in the dark watching cult classics. From gaming to gardening, she will get her hands on whatever topic she finds.

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