I don’t typically gravitate toward visual novels, but Inhuman Resources: A Literary Machination proved to be a genuinely eye-opening experience. Developed by Finnegan Motors and published by Indie Asylum, this haunting narrative adventure blends psychological horror, satire, and dystopian dread into something far more profound than the sum of its parts.
At its core, Inhuman Resources is an interactive reading experience, but to call it “just a visual novel” would undersell how deftly it plays with your expectations. Set in the pitch-black world of SMYRNACORP, a soulless megacorporation, the story weaves corporate horror and existential despair into a chilling tale about modern work life. Think of Office Space meets Black Mirror if both were written during a fever dream.
You play as a reluctant employee navigating twisted corporate politics, moral dilemmas, and creeping paranoia. The characters are layered and unpredictable—often teetering between friendly and terrifying, depending on your choices. And the choices matter. While the game doesn’t follow a traditional RPG skill tree, it introduces an alternative system where decisions grant traits or points that open or lock future dialogue options. Crucially, even the unselectable choices are shown to you, acting as quiet reminders of what you’ve lost or missed—brilliantly driving home the idea of irreversible consequences.
This mechanic alone adds incredible replay value, especially with the promise of multiple endings. It invites players to explore different moral paths, challenge their instincts, and uncover just how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Each chapter plays out like a day at work—a grim reflection of corporate monotony—yet the story structure works well for pacing. Some chapters are brief, others are emotionally exhausting, but they always give you natural stopping points (or reasons to keep going late into the night). The pacing feels deliberate, echoing the slow erosion of sanity you’d expect from a job you can’t afford to leave.
What really ties the experience together is its aesthetic. The art direction leans into the uncanny, with deliberately off-putting character portraits and shadowed figures lurking just past the comfort zone. Even the occasional audio stingers work harmoniously to heighten the tension. Sudden shifts in color, eerie silences, and the clinical beep of unseen machinery serve as psychological jump scares, and they hit hard when timed right.
The game also isn’t afraid to tackle heavy topics. Themes of mental health, job instability, and corporate dehumanization are front and center—and it does so with a biting, bleak humor. One of the first achievements you unlock? “Clinical Depression.” It’s a gut punch, but also painfully relatable if you’ve ever worked a job you hated just to survive. That emotional connection is what makes the story hit so hard. You are the protagonist, whether you want to be or not.
Inhuman Resources: A Literary Machination is a rare kind of horror game that doesn’t rely on jump scares or gore but on the slow burn of existential fear. It’s a mirror held up to the soul-sucking monotony of modern employment, wrapped in a stylish, deeply unnerving package. Even for those who don’t usually enjoy visual novels, this is a bold and thought-provoking story worth experiencing at least once—though you’ll probably come back for more. Check it out HERE!
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