The Last Worker

The Last Worker's free-flying hovercraft gameplay is inventive, but its most exciting implications are left boxed up

Set in an Amazon-like fulfilment centre, this satirical adventure has interesting ideas but fails to adequately explore them

The Last Worker's comically exaggerated vision of the future of work is highly relevant. Yet its story focuses on showcasing the talents of its stellar voice cast at the expense of offering meaningful things to do, and its satirical punches rarely leave lasting bruises.

Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.

The Last Worker’s principal problem is that it’s a game made for VR that’s better without it. Fulfilling online orders in a capitalism-induced apocalypse is an excellent idea marred by inconsistent execution and confounding restrictions placed on VR movement. It’s short enough not to overstay its simplicity, but it’s not smart enough to make any astute thematic statements.

The Last Worker is an ambitious project and it sticks the landing when it comes to graphics, performance, and voice acting. However, its central box-shipping game is fiddly and the game's pacing doesn't let you get into the flow. Tricky sections requiring repeated checkpoint loads break the immersion and clash with the long, dawdling sections of exploring the Jüngle facility. It's likeable and well-packaged with plenty of character, but it doesn't always deliver.

The Last Worker is an underdog story that feels incredibly timely, even more so now than it did a year ago when I first played the game at PAX East. Its themes of corporate corruption and commentary on capitalism are quite sharp, and the game manages to convey all of this without coming off as overly depressing or heavy-handed. Despite some iffy movements on controller, The Last Worker is sure to be one of the year’s best narratives.

What could've been a comical, perhaps novel, approach to tackling themes of corporatism, consumerism, activism and comfort in the familiar alike, The Last Worker instead can only muster up a mediocre clutter of half-baked ideas that rarely feel properly fleshed out.

All in all, The Last Worker is a good game for VR. Without being perfect, it has a good lifespan and an interesting story. Sprinkled with humor and challenges, the game will keep you laughing and occupied for a good while. Admittedly, it's aimed more at fans of series like Borderlands, but can also appeal to everyone. I think the experience is more interesting in virtual reality. That said, it's also playable without this technology. However, if you have the opportunity to try it out in VR, it's worth considering! Finally, there were a few technical issues that made me cringe on a few occasions. For all these reasons, The Last Worker is in my TOP 5 on PS VR2. For those interested, here it is:

The Last Worker has a fantastic message regarding Capitalism and how big companies rainbowash or exploit its workers for their own gain. As a kind of adaptation of a VR game to console, the experience suffers a bit due to some mechanics feeling better in the peripheric instead the controller.