Does not Commute is another game with unique gameplay. It is a top-down driving game in which you control multiple interweaving vehicles in traffic but the interesting aspect is that the game features a temporal paradox in which you have no one to blame but yourself. It is a good mix of strategy, puzzle-solving and simulation gaming with vintage thematic choices.
Does not Commute Gameplay
You start off in a quaint 1970s suburban town in the US. You are given the wheels of a number of vehicles in sequence, and you have to get them to their destinations, which is just another point on a map. In each level, you only navigate about three blocks worth of space. But here is the deal, there are about 13 vehicles that you have to manage in each level, and you start over at the same time for each of them. So the “ghosts” of your previous driving attempts are going all over the place, and you have to navigate through them (a temporal paradox). It is possible to collide with another car that you have only driven. As the “ghosts” of your previous attempts stack up, the game quickly becomes a grand commuter chaos with thirteen frantic drivers, all controlled by you. To do this right, you have to follow the rules to the tee. Now the game requires you to plan ahead, but you cannot plan ahead before driving everything once. To get it right, you have to sketch out the layout of the road, mark the starting points of vehicles, and the extra time count, and figure out the ideal routes using pen and paper. But who is going to do that? The fun is doing all of this stuff mentally, and getting away with it even though it may be less than perfect. That’s where the replayability of this game comes into play, you can just keep playing the first level of the game over and over again in an attempt to get it just right. Each level represents a new part of town and must be completed within a time limit. There is more to the game though, the characters that are commuting are not just anonymous individuals, but fleshed out with rich backstories, hopes and fears. As you go through the levels, you will find out and understand more about these characters, and how their morning commute ended up influencing their lives.
Does not Commute Verdict
The graphics are well rendered with good lighting and a vintage filter that matches its jazz background music. This is a game with a character of its own. You need to purchase the game to save your progress (and get rid of the ads), which we think is a worthwhile investment, but installing the base game is free.
SKOAR – 8/10
MOAR
Publisher: Mediocre
Developer: Mediocre
Platform: Android / iOS
Price: Free
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Aditya Madanapalle
Aditya Madanapalle, has studied journalism, multimedia technologies and ancient runes, used to make the covermount DVDs when they were still a thing, but now focuses on the science stories and features. View Full Profile
