Lobotomy Corporation

Lobotomy Corporation is an indie horror strategy management simulation game produced and published by South Korean studio Project Moon in 2018.

Lobotomy Corporation
Developer(s)Project Moon
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseApril 9, 2018
Genre(s)Management simulation
Mode(s)Single-player 

Premise

The player is the administrator of an underground power company that harvests energy from strange beings known as "Abnormalities", and is tasked with overseeing this process. The player must command their employees to "work" on these Abnormalities in order to fill the daily "quota" of energy, but must also return them to their containment if they happen to escape.[1][2]

Gameplay

The meta of the game is divided between two different phases: preparation and management (the latter of which is the "meat" of the game). The preparation determines the management phase: in it the player can hire new employees, boost existing employees' stats, assign them to different departments, and equip them with weapons and armor. The management phase consists of sending these employees to extract energy from Abnormalities. The success of this process can vary wildly depending on the circumstances of the work, as each Abnormality has its unique set of traits that determine how it will behave and what dangers it poses. What makes things challenging is that information about these traits isn't available from the get-go, and the player must discover them through trial and error by earning information points, which are gained through the aforementioned work process, and can be used to learn specific traits of the Abnormality, such as work preferences, breach behavior and (only if the player has collected enough information) weapons and armor.

Once enough energy is collected, the player can end the day and have their performance rated from A (the best) to F (the worst). This rating is influenced by how many employees survived the day, and is directly proportional to the reward the player will receive, which are "LOB" points, which the player can use to promote existing employees or hire new ones. A penalty is applied to the amount of "LOB" points received at the end of the day based on the danger levels of the Abnormalities that escape during the day. Should the player decide to continue, they will (usually) be forced to choose one new Abnormality out of a selection of three. The only information given about the selectable Abnormalities is their classification numbers and a small text meant to describe them in an intriguing yet mystifying way. Once an Abnormality is chosen, it is added with the rest and the preparation phase begins again.

Characters

The player of the game is first guided through the game by their assistant, Angela, who is an advanced AI. The player is eventually also guided by characters called Sefirot, who lead various departments of the facility. The facility is based on an upside-down Kabbalah, with each Sefirot's names corresponding to where their department is located. There are several different abnormalities ranging in danger levels. The danger levels are based on letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

  • Zayin: The least dangerous abnormalities are categorized here. These abnormalities can produce positive effects for the player.
  • Teth: The second least dangerous abnormalities, and the first danger level that can breach containment. These are usually not dangerous but may catch players off-guard.
  • He: Here, abnormalities may become difficult for players to overcome if unprepared. They are of average danger.
  • Waw: At this level, abnormalities are more gimmick-based, which must be followed to keep them contained. These are capable of wiping out employees fairly easily.
  • Aleph: The highest danger level, but also the most rewarding to work on. Abnormalities featured here in this category are capable of single-handedly destroying facilities.

The player will always start out with a Zayin-class abnormality named One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds, who is based on both Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. His name refers to Judas' "one sin" of betraying Jesus, and his "hundreds of good deeds" he must do as payment for committing the sin. One Sin appears as a skull embedded in an iron cross, wearing a crown of thorns. After this, the abnormalities a player gets will be random.

References
  1. Wood, Austin (13 April 2018). "Manage monsters and inevitably get eaten in Lobotomy Corporation". PC Gamer. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  2. LoProto, Mark (18 May 2019). "15 BEST PC HORROR GAMES TO PLAY (IF YOU DARE)". Cultured Vultures. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
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