Video version of this review here: https://youtu.be/Pt0VbxSrv0M

Jay Tholen is an independent musician and game developer, from his own website, his goal as a creator is to create games that are uplifting or edifying in some way. He’s not opposed to violent games, but for his own peace, there must be something in what he creates that can possibly help the people who enjoy it.

Having read this, and having played his first game Dropsy, I realized that indeed there was something in his game that helped me. The game, in which you play as an affable (yet creepy-looking) clown, had a positive and uplifting message that was about not conforming to a cynical world. About being true to your own enthusiasm to spread love, and to stay strong to that enthusiasm in the face of misunderstanding.

Considering this, I wanted to provide an unconventional lens when reviewing Jay’s latest title Hypnospace Outlaw since he’s proved himself before. Testing yet again his claim that his games are trying to help us understand life a little better.
Taking place in an alternate reality of 1999, where the internet is accessed while you sleep. Hypnospace Outlaw is similar to games such as Nina Freeman’s Cibele or Sam Barlow’s Her Story, in which the gameplay centers around exploring a relic of computer simulation. What differentiates Jay’s efforts in this regard, is that there’s an ambition to recreate facets of the infantile internet that were commonly found in the late 90’s.

You play as a member of the Hypnospace Patrol Department and are tasked with moderating a new and bustling global digital community space. You are awarded with HypnoCoin (the in-game currency) to report various infractions to guidelines that are within the platform. Whether that be tracking down content infringement, graphic violence, or even malicious software; there’s a lot of freedom that the player has while playing internet detective in this nostalgic representation of the net, and the feeling of power that you get from being a moderator is liberating.

There’s also a level of involvement Hypnospace Outlaw aks of the player which makes the gameplay feel continuously fresh and engaging. In order to find various offenders of the content guidelines, you sometimes have to actively download programs in order for pop-ups to occur that you can then report, or even gain the trust of individuals by spending your own money to utilize their services which aren’t in line with ground rules. This added depth keeps the game from becoming boring past its gimmicks and is challenging enough to keep someone interested in a full 6-10 hour playthrough.

The game also seems designed to distract you (in a good way) from the tasks at hand, making you fall into comprehensively constructed webpages and communities such as those that are surrounding conspiracies or even religion. I say seems, because this is just echoing my own experience while being on the internet, so it may or may not be fully intended by the developers.
Aesthetically, the game is very much attempting to ape on the era that it’s representing. With tacky colors, crude animations, and low-quality video all contributing to an effective realism towards an experience that’s long impossible to preserve. Every single web-page has a level of detail that is representing this generation of digital communications with affection, and if you want to see the team’s methods they provided some overviews on Jay’s channel which are comprehensive (https://youtu.be/vwihfOY2fCU).
As well, another great deal of realism also comes from the efforts made towards characterization. With every outcast behind a niche fansite on horror films, teenager expressing their aggression with violent comics, or even Bikers having fleshed out backstories that make them feel as if they’re based on real people. This also extends to being one of the more unique statements that the game has, highlighting how helpful expression can sometimes be on the internet.

Another strong part of Hypnospace Outlaw is the humor. With games like this, it’s easy to fall into simply adding memes and various references as an excuse for well-constructed jokes. Surprisingly, Hypnospace Outlaw doesn’t do that despite having a platform to easily fall back on and make that a passable facet. With hilariously campy music that is meticulously produced, representations on the ridiculousness of the internet demographic in the 90’s, and (without any spoilers) the whimsically bleak satirical factors of those behind hypnospace; there’s the realization of a smarter palette of jokes than you’d expect.

So that brings us to the following. Apart from the aesthetic, humor, and gameplay; what's Jay and his team do with his latest game to help people? Obviously, the potential for what it’s trying to say is broad as there isn’t a specific definition as to how the internet affects our lives and more importantly how it conditions us. Yet, there’s pay-off to this potential most effective in how the game showcases the singular person behind interactions on the internet. Obviously, I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving away the game’s biggest surprises but hopefully I can speak to thematics. It’s evident after finishing this game that it was made by people who are accepting of the flaws we all have as human beings that are then accentuated on a digital landscape. Even the nastiest people online are a victim of a bigger problem that isn’t their own fault. Despite inherently having a lot to say about how we could’ve been better in the 90’s and even today in regards to the internet, Hypnospace Outlaw also celebrates each individual of the internet in a way that I wasn’t prepared for thanks to my own cynicism. Providing optimistic and powerful messages about our interconnected computerized commonwealth called the internet.