Developer: Peripheral Playbox
Publisher: Peripheral Playbox
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Drywall Eating Simulator – Review
Yes, you read that right. That really is the title of the game we’re looking at today. Admittedly, there is more to Drywall Eating Simulator than just, you know, eating drywall, but the title does at least indicate that this isn’t your standard simulator game. So, what does indie developer Peripheral Playbox’s debut title bring to the table? We’ll tell you all about it in our latest backlog review. Hope you brought an appetite!
Story
Despite the word simulator being a prominent part of its title, Drywall Eating Simulator is, for all intents and purposes, not a simulator game in the strictest sense. It’s far more akin to a narrative-driven adventure game, although the narrative intentionally keeps things vague and unclear. The adventure begins in a dark room, where a phone explains that you are in a simulation of life on Earth. It’s never clearly answered who is running this simulation or why they’re doing this. You’re expected to simply roll with it. From there, you move through a series of disconnected scenarios, which function more as satirical vignettes than parts of a cohesive narrative. These take place in different locations, like your apartment, an office, a hardware store and even a gala. We’re keeping things vague here, not just because we don’t want to spoil anything, but because the game itself also keeps things vague. We never really were sure of what was going on, or what was even real within the context of the game itself.
Some hints of an overarching premise can be found as you make your way through each outlandish premise, including references to repeated iterations of the player character in the simulation, but these ideas are not deeply explored. Instead, the story takes a backseat to social satire. There’s little continuity between characters or events, and no strong overarching plot. Ultimately, Drywall Eating Simulator’s narrative raises far more questions than it answers, but given just how well the humour lands, we’re happy to overlook any plot holes or any other inconsistencies. The satirical take on mundane life was the main driving force to keep playing until the credits rolled.
Graphics
In more ways than one, Drywall Eating Simulator is a rough game to look at. The game uses flat, static 2D character sprites, placed inside simple 3D environments. In and of itself, this would be fine, as the drab colour scheme and lack of animation add to the overall awkward and uncanny atmosphere that the game actively wants to create. However, Drywall Eating Simulator also insists on applying a VHS-style filter to its visuals, which becomes headache-inducing after a while of playing. This isn’t something that can be turned off entirely, as it is part of the game’s “stress” mechanic, with the filter effect becoming more prominent as your character becomes more frustrated, although you can adjust the intensity of the effect in settings. On the visual performance side, Drywall Eating Simulator’s visuals are simple enough that there are no issues here, although nobody’s going to look at the game and be impressed by its graphics.
Sound
That aforementioned stress mechanic also ties into the game’s audio. As your stress levels rise, a buzzing noise increasingly moves to the foreground in the game’s soundscape, gradually drowning out music and other noises. Now, Drywall Eating Simulator’s audio is fairly minimal and uneven in the first place, with music fading into the background and no voice acting present.
Gameplay
The core gameplay of Drywall Eating Simulator revolves around a simple loop of exploration, conversation and stress management. You move through different, mundane scenarios, where you’re tasked with completing basic tasks or objectives and talking to NPCs. These interactions are frustrating and will gradually build up your stress levels. Once your stress gets high enough, you can then smash your head into walls and eat drywall, which both reduces your stress level and opens up new paths needed for progression. Drywall Eating Simulator isn’t the most mechanically advanced or challenging game, and progress often boils down to talking to everyone and clicking on everything until the next objective triggers. The experience is intentionally repetitive and mundane to support the game’s satirical elements. Despite this, there is something oddly satisfying about breaking and eating drywall after your frustrations reach their peak.
At roughly two hours in length, Drywall Eating Simulator definitely doesn’t overstay its welcome. This is reflected by the game’s relatively low price point of €9.75. While that may sound slightly high for such a short game, we’d argue that the short length works in the game’s favour, as it keeps the experience sharp and prevents its main joke from playing out. In this regard, Drywall Eating Simulator firmly sits in the same niche as Say No! More. While the core mechanics are different, both of these games are similar in length, themes and lacking in replay value. However, for as long as they last, they provide some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. If you enjoyed Say No! More, then Drywall Eating Simulator will be right up your alley.
Conclusion
As much as we enjoyed our time with Drywall Eating Simulator, this is a niche title with very limited appeal, and it doesn’t help that the game is inconsistent in more ways than one. There are moments where Drywall Eating Simulator veers into brilliance, but these are far and few between. The majority of the (short) time you’ll spend in this simulation is deliberately mundane and repetitive, but that is part of the joke, as are the game’s uneven visuals and the sheer pointlessness of it all. Then again, what did we expect from a game that calls itself Drywall Eating Simulator?
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