Developer: Olivia Gonsher
Publisher: Olivia Gonsher
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
The Tally – Review
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is indeed a low-poly rendition of the face of András István Arató, or as the internet collectively knows him, Hide the Pain Harold. Indie developer Olivia Gonsher decided that his grimace disguised as a grin was the perfect poster for her life simulator, The Tally. And you know what? We can’t even disagree with her. What makes Harold such a suitable lead for a life sim, you ask? Grab a cup of coffee, put on your most forced smile, and read on as we tell you everything you need to know about The Tally.
Story
The protagonist of The Tally may resemble Harold, but it’s probably not intended to actually be the internet’s favourite octogenarian. We’ll refer to him as Harold for the purposes of our review, but he’s intended to be a stand-in for the normal everyman… with the exception that his main means of transportation is a skateboard. In The Tally, it’s up to you to ensure that Harold lives the best life possible. What that entails is entirely up to you, though at the end of your life cycle, your actions are tallied up and you’re judged on how good of a life you lived. We won’t spoil what that judgement entails, but we do recommend living a productive and generous life, rather than a self-centered and selfish one.
Graphics
Visually, The Tally takes inspiration from the PS2 era, with blocky models and low-resolution textures. The aesthetic is probably meant to invoke nostalgia, though the art direction does feel disconnected from the message that the game is trying to get across. Still, the old-school visuals are functional. It’s clear what is supposed to be what, even if The Tally doesn’t impress with its graphics. The upside is that the game runs like a charm, with a 140+ FPS frame rate. It’s worth noting that although Olivia Gonsher used an AI assistant to help her with programming The Tally’s code, all in-game assets were hand-created by people.
Sound
The audio of The Tally also embraces the old-school PS2 mindset, with a set of tunes that feels very authentic. That doesn’t mean that the music is good, mind you. Not only is The Tally’s soundtrack almost ear-gratingly obnoxious, it’s also lacking in variety. It took less than a single run for us to mute the game’s music entirely and listen to something more pleasant. Sound effects are functional, but nothing spectacular, and voice acting is expectedly absent.
Gameplay
The concept of The Tally is as simple as it is brilliant. It’s a life sim where you get to decide what you want to focus on, with the knowledge that after ninety minutes, the Grim Reaper inevitably comes knocking at your door. You start the game with a skateboard to make your way around the city, and an old phone that provides you with a list of odd jobs that you can take on to make money. Of course, if you’d rather beat up people and steal their wallets as your means of income, that’s your prerogative. Just be aware that whatever you decide to do with the time you’re given is recorded, and when your time is up, judgment awaits. It may sound like you’re given an unprecedented amount of freedom here, and in a way, you are, but the game’s shallow design does stand in the way of the overall experience.
The issue is that whatever job or side quest you decide to take on almost always boils down to a simple fetch quest. Sure, you can walk a dog or help an NPC find his lost wallet, but in practice you’re simply moving from point A to point B, and ticking off boxes on a never-ending (well, ninety minutes) checklist. There are goals to work towards, like getting Harold a house, and there is a sense of progress in how you can earn pay raises by sticking to a single job and getting really good at it, but this doesn’t remove the overall feeling of repetitiveness that is present throughout the entirety of a run. The best way to describe it is that The Tally casts a wide net but does so in very shallow water. Now, we’ll admit that there is some kind of poetic beauty in playing a game about life itself where every tedious task you take on ends up feeling like it doesn’t really make a difference, but there probably is a more poignant way to get this message across.
At the time of writing, The Tally has a slated release frame of November 2026, though the game’s Steam page does not list a definitive date or definitive pricing just yet. A little birdie told us that the game will set you back $4.99 when it eventually releases, which seems fair for what is essentially a meme game. In the meantime, there is a free demo available, allowing you to find out first-hand whether or not you happen to belong to the very specific niche that will enjoy this game for longer than a single run. If you happen to be one of those people, then The Tally has as much replay value as there are ways to live a life.
Conclusion
We feel like we understand what The Tally sets out to do, but we’re not entirely convinced by the game’s execution. While there is definitely some merit to the “life is ultimately pointless” message that is embedded in the game, there are other games out there that have more to say than “the funny old meme man is serving drinks”. Still, if that rumoured $4.99 price is on the dot, this one is worth checking out, if only as a ninety-minute novelty that you’ll never touch again afterwards.
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