Human Resource Machine Reviews
A technically excellent educational game, but dry for all but maths enthusiasts.
Human Resource Machine is one of the most difficult puzzle games we've played in quite some time. It's not difficult for difficulty's sake though, it's difficult because it's different. It requires you to think less like a gamer and more like a developer. One of Human Resource Machine's only major fault is that there are far too few puzzles; its 38 puzzles go very quickly once you have the hang of how to program, leaving a game that could be completed in under an hour depending on your skill level. For those with no programming background, these same puzzles could take hours of your time. It's an excellent game, it'd just be better if there was more of it; that's not a bad problem to have.By their nature, the puzzles in this game are going to limit its potential audience, and the explanations the game provides don't do the best job of conveying how to order commands and do little to advise on how to optimize your code to achieve secondary objectives. That's appealing for some, but is worth acknowledging as a potential drawback for others.Human Resource Machine is a good game, bordering on great. It's just missing a few little tweaks.
Human Resource Machine is a grim reminder of what life can be if you allow yourself to waste away and become part of the corporate machine. Beyond that, it's also a decent puzzle game if you're interested in simple coding and assembly language. This Switch version doesn't bring any significant changes along with it to make it stand out from previous platform releases, but it still manages to deliver a unique puzzler experience that will leave you scratching your head if you don't throw your Switch against a wall first. If nothing else, Human Resource Machine is reassurance that even if there is no escaping the soul-crushing banality of reality, at least we have videogames!
I came out of Human Resource Machine unsure who it was really designed for. It's at times too simple for experienced programmers, and often made leaps too large for beginners to overcome without obtuse outside research. While I had a sense of accomplishment every time I made progress, said progress at times felt like I was an infant thrown into water and expected to swim straight away. I might manage it, but it's not the ideal teaching method to leave me feeling comfortable going forward.
Puzzle games rely on the difficulty of their challenges and Human Resource Machine certainly excels at that. A puzzle game that carves its own territory within the puzzle game genre, this is a work that features a very steep difficulty curve, very demanding challenges, a very peculiar sense of humour and a presence of mathematical elements throughout the whole game. Thanks to its perfect control system, Human Resource Machine is a delight to interact with, the Nintendo Switch is getting the definite version of this unique game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
As clever as it is charming, Human Resource Machine is a must-have for anyone interested in puzzles and programming.
It's very well designed and it can help those without programming skills with their first steps in this world. It also does its job with very well implemented touch controls, but it will not be a significant challenge to players who already have programming skills and its 38 levels might feel too short.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Human Resource Machine is great. The gameplay is superb, finding the perfect middle ground between complex riddles/simple solutions wrapped in an stellar set of gameplay systems. The visuals are expectedly gorgeous, clever, and unique. The music is stellar, and the story, world, and characters are engaging. There's even some well done humor thrown in. The puzzles may get too complex at times, but Human Resource Machine is a game anyone with an interest in challenging puzzlers should play.
Human Resource Machine may be light on story elements, but the programming gameplay is where the game shines. While I came into the game with no programming skills, I felt the game’s difficulty took a wrong turn quite early on in the game. After learning more about the commands and thinking through the puzzles, it greatly helped me complete even more challenging tasks later on in the game.
Often too complex and obtuse in its teachings to cater to newcomer coders, Human Resource Machine is bound to push away some of its audience with unnecessary difficulty spikes. On the other hand, successfully wrapping my mind around a difficult problem and coming out victorious is an exhilarating feeling.
Tomorrow Corporation has presented a clever satire with deep messages incorporated into both the story and gameplay, delivering a unique experience. The imitation of real CPUs is going to be a feature that will make programming enthusiasts crazy and puzzle veterans shake with excitement thanks to the challenge involved. However, due to some almost ridiculous difficulty spikes, Human Resource Machine will most likely not be played through to the end by anyone other than those in said groups, leaving more casual puzzle gamers behind. A smoother difficulty curve would have helped a lot to make this title shine brighter. Other than the steep difficulty, though, this is a memorable experience and a good starting point in learning how to program, starting with the basic code lines, allowing for deep gameplay.
Human Resource Machine on Wii U, while cute and humorous, is a real head scratcher — one that's better suited for players with programming experience.
Human Resource Machine is very clever little puzzle game. Coding enthusiasts may find the odd challenge but more likely to breeze through the games 38 puzzles in quick succession. Beginners on the other hand may find themselves bamboozled and frustrated by a lot of the tasks asked of them but it will certainly be an eye opener for some to the complex world of programming.
Human Resource Machine is certainly a fun Nintendo Switch puzzle game with several hours of content. If you're really into programming, then your mileage might vary, and you might be able to complete the game faster. But in the end, for someone like me with zero programming skills, creating a script I then needed to test and debug as needed was a very entertaining experience.
Similar to the actual programming idea from whence this takes inspiration from, Human Resource Machine is "easy" to learn but, at the same time, quite hard to correctly apply the acquired knowledge. While this basically means that it can lead to some frequent hair-pulling, and although this is not an experience that will last for long, most puzzle fans are strongly advised to try out Tomorrow Corporation's latest release now it's on Nintendo Switch.
A heavily stylised game based on programming is hardly destined for universal appeal, but those who do fall into its niche will find plenty to love about Human Resource Machine. Whether you are unfamiliar entirely with computing, or a professional in the field, the charm on the game's surface is such that it's impossible not to fall in love with the cute characters and hilarious dialogue, even if it's all over a little too soon.
The biggest issue of this game remains what it is as a game. There isn't a ton of variety, but the puzzles themselves are quite clever and keep you entertained for quite while. If you ever wanted to be a programmer in a strange abstract world, your craziest wish has been granted.
It's difficult for me to widely recommend Human Resource Machine.
Human Resource Machine is a really smart game and one that makes you feel like both a mastermind at times and, well, quite the opposite too. It throws a unique spin on the puzzle genre which many fans will love but also at times grow frustrated at due to the difficulty spike.
Human Resource Machine's attempts at accessibility are lost as its aggressive cynicism refuses to offer any support.