Redshirt (2013)

For all its charm and ambition, Redshirt can't even come close to realising that goal, and inevitably ends up as a fairly flat and repetitive exercise in meaningless random text and mindless icon clicking. In that sense, it's arguably a perfect simulation of real-life social media, but it unfortunately doesn't make for an edifying game experience.

I couldn't pull myself away from the addictive nature of Spacebook.

Redshirt isn't going to appeal to everyone, but those who like the balancing act and resource management that go with management sims will find this is a solid game. There will be feelings of repetitiveness during the all too brief periods when you've managed to juggle everything into going well, and you'll find yourself just going through the motions to advance time until your next social or career crisis. Whilst you'll need to be a sci-fi fan to get a lot of the humour, this will actually be less important to your enjoyment of the game than a jaded view of the inanity appearing on your Facebook wall on a daily basis. To fans of turn-based management sims this is an entertaining insight into a future in which social networking rules every aspect of our lives rather than being a place just to quote song lyrics. Although, in Redshirt's vision of the future, people are still spending a lot of their time doing just that as well.

The less-than-riveting selection helps to remind us that the important people you see on your favorite Sci-Fi series had to pass through a lot of terrible jobs to get where they are.

Even if you really invest in the digital people you're interacting with, there just isn't enough variety in the gameplay to have a truly enjoyable experience. This is an interesting experimental game, and also an acute demonstration of human manipulation. If nothing else, Redshirt will make you appreciate the power of your online actions.