Flat Eye is an innovative mix between a resource management sim and a visual novel. While it’s not officially categorized as the latter of the two, its emphasis on story and character dialogues makes it a great candidate for the genre for reasons that will be explained later on.

First off, most of the game is spent managing a shop. It’s situated in a gas station in Iceland, and your objective is to make it profitable. This entails completing tasks to manage the shop, installing new modules, making sales and speaking to customers. As the game progresses, you unlock new and more interesting modules, starting with a soda machine and ending up selling virtual reality trips!
Despite being the main part of Flat Eye, it’s not my favourite – I’d say it’s serviceable at best. There’s no real problem with the shop sim, but it’s very basic and linear, with the best feature being the customisation. It’s where the game’s art, being all tech-y and smooth, shines the most as it makes for a presentation that goes very well with its narrative side. Despite that, there are moments where managing the shop feels monotone because you have to wait a long time between story beats.

Interestingly enough, Flat Eye shares a striking number of similarities to the visual novel genre. It’s not exactly one, as the meat of the game lies in the shop sim, but it’s developed enough that even its developers specify there is an “emphasis on story and narrative choices”. Several characters called Premium Customers can visit the shop if you have installed specific modules. These customers all have interesting character arcs, complete with an introduction, development and a conclusion that ask the player to make choices while thinking about big society questions. This is why Flat Eye is more of a narrative game that a management sim game in my opinion, and it’s perfectly fine that way – just don’t expect too much depth from the shop sim part.

All in all, Flat Eye is an easy recommendation. It’s not expensive, feels very refreshing thanks to its themes and setting coupled with an accessible shop sim gameplay that, while being too simple and repetitive, leaves space for the core of the game that is its narrative to shine. Its themes can be a bit heavy, but trigger warnings are provided and the subjects are treated well enough that meeting new characters and helping shape their life always feels rewarding. If you’re looking for a story-driven game in a dystopian setting, I absolutely recommend giving Flat Eye a try!

[b]Flat Eye[/b] is an innovative mix between a resource management sim and a visual novel. While it’s not officially categorized as the latter of the two, its emphasis on story and character dialogues makes it a great candidate for the genre for reasons that will be explained later on. First off, most of the game is spent managing a shop. It’s situated in a gas station in Iceland, and your objective is to make it profitable. This entails completing tasks to manage the shop, installing new modules, making sales and speaking to customers. As the game progresses, you unlock new and more interesting modules, starting with a soda machine and ending up selling virtual reality trips! Despite being the main part of [b]Flat Eye[/b], it’s not my favourite – I’d say it’s serviceable at best. There’s no real problem with the shop sim, but it’s very basic and linear, with the best feature being the customisation. It’s where the game’s art, being all tech-y and smooth, shines the most as it makes for a presentation that goes very well with its narrative side. Despite that, there are moments where managing the shop feels monotone because you have to wait a long time between story beats. Interestingly enough, [b]Flat Eye[/b] shares a striking number of similarities to the visual novel genre. It’s not exactly one, as the meat of the game lies in the shop sim, but it’s developed enough that even its developers specify there is an “emphasis on story and narrative choices”. Several characters called Premium Customers can visit the shop if you have installed specific modules. These customers all have interesting character arcs, complete with an introduction, development and a conclusion that ask the player to make choices while thinking about big society questions. This is why [b]Flat Eye[/b] is more of a narrative game that a management sim game in my opinion, and it’s perfectly fine that way – just don’t expect too much depth from the shop sim part. All in all, [b]Flat Eye[/b] is an easy recommendation. It’s not expensive, feels very refreshing thanks to its themes and setting coupled with an accessible shop sim gameplay that, while being too simple and repetitive, leaves space for the core of the game that is its narrative to shine. Its themes can be a bit heavy, but trigger warnings are provided and the subjects are treated well enough that meeting new characters and helping shape their life always feels rewarding. If you’re looking for a story-driven game in a dystopian setting, I absolutely recommend giving [b]Flat Eye[/b] a try! [code]Find more reviews of small and overlooked indie games that deserve more recognition at our [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40624114-Hidden-Indie-Gems]Hidden Indie Games[/url] curator page![/code]