Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 Review (PC)

I’m watching a human, using a very poor but funny robot disguise, prepare to answer the classic runaway trolley thought experiment. Would he save the five robots by diverting it to another track, killing one? I note a few keywords but I miss the answer because there’s someone at the door and, in my experience, there might be negative consequences if I ignore it.

It’s the tax man, taking my hard-earned credits without offering much in return. I’m already in my combination kitchen and bedroom, so I take this opportunity to get some extra food. Doing that after I answer the door means I don’t forget to refill the stash. A processed burger might also be a good idea but I hold off on that.

I return to the cages and quickly glance at all sixteen. What I assume are nuclear power towers dominate a landscape. A lizard-looking alien is typing on his computer. A security scanner shows what’s in someone’s luggage. An A.I. and its owner are having an existential conversation. It’s too late for the psychologist to have anyone on his couch. And it’s too early for the graffiti van to show up. I don’t currently have a task to complete, so I’m simply channel surfing, finding more keywords, and running a few searches for more context.

Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 is developed by Fictiorama Studios and published by Joystick Ventures. I played on Steam on the PC. The title offers a grim but funny of the future, with survival and surveillance at its core.

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As the title makes clear, the year is 2099, and players will experience a version of our future where the Primate Observation Club has survived and thrived. It’s also sending out invitations to its app. Players take on the role of a new observer who inherited the contract from an uncle. There are advancement opportunities as long as the protagonist dedicates time and energy to the art of watching others using video screens.

The game’s universe is a dystopian one. Robots, aliens, and humans live alongside each other, spread around the universe. Individuals don’t leave their homes, corporations can build entire planets, food is always delivered and doesn’t look too appealing, and the gig economy has won. Peeping on others seems to be one of the only fun things left to do.

Cages (aka viewing screens) in Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 tell stories. There’s a good mix of comedy, weirdness, and serious themes. Players will piece together stories, gain access to particular keywords, and can even make decisions that affect the lives of others. The writing is of high quality and there’s a lot of it.

Mechanically, the title mixes surveillance and survival. Players will spend most of their time watching video feeds, called cages, and using their money to acquire more and improve their observation capabilities (think recording or night vision). There are streams where nothing changes and some that feature some action but no narrative thread. The important ones are the feeds that feature dialogue and keywords.

Players have to click on the bright yellow words to jot them down. They can then run searcher using them as keywords to find out more about a situation and its protagonists. This, in turn, allows players to answer questions delivered by the Club using e-mail. To make progress, players have to purchase more cages, which increases the complexity of surveillance work.

Cage scenarios are on a loop so it becomes important to switch to a feed when something you’ve never seen before happens. Having a second stream on the secondary screen helps. Learning the timing for various conversations is even better.

Gamers also need to satisfy their hunger, sleep from time to time, and take care of their health. The Club does pay for the right answers but there’s also a job board with gig work available. Try to always answer the door and don’t be afraid to say yes when malfunctioning delivery bots show up with weird packages.

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Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 makes clear that watchers should not interfere in any way. But there are ways to contact some of them or get things linked to their stories. It opens up new narrative paths, although I suggest holding off on feeding the monkeys until you have a clear idea of their situation.

Overall, it’s a little scary how fun watching primates can be, even if one chooses not to intervene in any way. I even like taking a quick peek at the feeds where nothing is happening or the ones I’ve already solved. My biggest issue with the title is that it doesn’t fully exploit its science fiction dystopian setting. Searching leads to some interesting pages but I wanted more weirdness and extra context in longer articles. But this is a small issue that doesn’t affect the general voyeuristic fun.

Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 has style. The game is not aiming for realism but it manages to bring in a ton of influences to create a funny and original vision of the future. All its characters ooze personality and the interface for cage management walks the fine line between easy to use, to keep player frustration low, and maddeningly complex, to fit the overall theme and mechanics. And have video games ever featured weirder delivery-type food?

The sound design is less interesting than the visual but still pretty good. Music comes from the feeds and there’s no voice work. This makes it easier for players to keep their attention on the cages and on having enough money to survive and thrive.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion