Lobotomy Corporation

Last updated
Lobotomy Corporation
Lobotomy Corporation.jpg
Developer(s) Project Moon
Engine
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
ReleaseApril 9, 2018
Genre(s) Management simulation

Lobotomy Corporation is a 2018 indie horror rogue-lite strategy management simulation video game developed and published by South Korean studio Project Moon for Microsoft Windows. Set in a futuristic dystopia, the game follows the management and operations of the titular energy company that harvests energy from strange and dangerous entities known as "Abnormalities". The premise of Lobotomy Corporation is cited to be inspired by the SCP Foundation, Warehouse 13 , and The Cabin in the Woods . [1] [2]

Contents

Initially a standalone game, Lobotomy Corporation has become the basis for a connected series of video games, webcomics and web novels, including the direct sequel deck-building game Library of Ruina , and a connected installment, Limbus Company .

Development

In an interview for GameSpark in 2018, Project Moon CEO Kim Jihoon explained how development of Lobotomy Corporation began:

Development of [Lobotomy Corporation] began in January 2015. When I was in a club in college, I formed a development team with my friends. When I was obsessed with the SCP Foundation, I wanted to play a game where the SCP Foundation contained monsters. But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find a monster management game that I wanted to play. I thought that many other people would want to play it, so I started developing such a game myself.

Kim also writes in the interview that the development team initially consisted of four people, but grew to ten prior to release. [3]

Gameplay

The game goes day by day, with the player making decisions on which employees would perform what work on an abnormality in order to produce energy, taking into account the risks and dangers that might arise such as ordeals which represent hallucinations of the main character. The goal of each day is to reach a certain quota of energy (referred to as enkephalin), in order to progress. In between each day is dialogue between the main character and their employees in order to slowly reveal the backstory of the company and it's employees.

Reception

The game was released in April 2018. In January 2023, nearly five years after launch, Project Moon reported the game had sold over 1 million copies. [4]

In a review for Rock Paper Shotgun , Alec Meer praised the ambience and design of the game, but highlighted an excessive amount of dialogue, compounded by a poor English translation described as "awful", and concluded "[Lobotomy Corporation is] unnecessarily complicated and too small and repetitive, all at the same time." [5] The English version has since been entirely retranslated. [6]

A sequel, deck-building game Library of Ruina , was released for Windows and Xbox One in August 2021. A third installment, dungeon role-playing game Limbus Company , was released in February 2023. A companion manhwa, Wonderlab, was serialized from March 2020 to April 2021, though it has been taken down by the artist and is no longer canon to the Project Moon universe.

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References

  1. ↑ ProjectMoon. "Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation". Steam . Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  2. ↑ Wood, Austin (13 April 2018). "Manage monsters and inevitably get eaten in Lobotomy Corporation". PC Gamer. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  3. ↑ "モンスター管理シム『Lobotomy Corporation』「SCP財団の影響を受けつつも独創性を」【注目インディーミニ問答】". GameSpark (in Japanese). 2018-04-15. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  4. ↑ "「Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation」の販売本数が100万本を突破。モンスター収容所の管理シミュレーション". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  5. ↑ Meer, Alec (17 April 2018). "Wot I Think: Lobotomy Corporation". Rock Paper Shotgun . Gamer Network Limited. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  6. ↑ "Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation - Patch Note ver 1.0.2.13e English version re-translation update - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
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