Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landside,
No escape from reality
Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,
I'm a PRODUCER I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to
Me, to me.

This deserves to be mentioned alongside other narrative anticapitalist hits this year like Norco and citizen sleeper. It's not as graceful as either, but what it trades for grace is bitter, spitting anger. And that's a totally valid emotion that I want to see in the stuff I play. World is looking bleak y'know.

The game's sky is red. An enemies name "last rat" gives you a sinking fucking feeling, through name alone. Strong characterization, especially the biomechanist who just wants to be high, but is also delighted by her own work.

Everyone is selfish and out for themselves. Obviously there's no winning but can a better future be made right at the collapse of the old world? Probably not because we all know how hard that work is, but it's a possibility space for hope.

This goddamn music. The initial driving song is so strong and gets you fucking hype, your enthusiasm going up in tandem with Toto's. I think this is the most vaporware of Thor's music which fits the theme and tone of the game. Their can be dissonance, jazzy moments, and other stylings and it's all held together by what I think is a really strong aesthetic choice of presets and soundbanks Thor chooses.

The graphics are absolutely perfect. Beautiful and crude.

PRODUCER 2021 is definitely an interesting visual novel. A playthrough is roughly 2 hours, which is short and sweet. I ended up doing three just to explore all the options! Despite this though, I’m not sure I can wholeheartedly recommend this as it feels VERY experimental. I’m not a person who has played a lot of visual novels but it still doesn’t feel like your typical visual novel experience I think. I nonetheless recommend it if you’re looking for something refreshing story-wise. If nothing else, play it for the sick beats!!!

(full review https://doorplays.substack.com/p/door-reviews-producer-2021-2022)

The entire presentation of this game is absolutely incredible and really shows what the text adventure format is capable of! And while I found the themes of this game to be quite resonant with me, some of the vibes were sadly lost on me and I think that might've been because the game gets this really intense forward momentum in the end that resulted in me getting a lil' overwhelmed with it all. And while I do think that there is a lot of value in a story being more on the violent and agressive side, it's something that for me personally makes it just less emotionally and thematically resonant. Which isn't really a big ol' objective criticism, not even a criticism, really. Very much recommend checking this game out, it's short, it packs a punch and it has an (artistic) edge to it that makes it impossible to put down!

"It's only in the deliberate destruction of potential that the thing you make reveals itself"

Producer 2021 goes HARD!
Finding meaning in this post apocalyptic hellscape while vibing to the immaculate Jazz tunes in the car, composed by none other than ThorHighHeels themselves, is all I ever asked for.

The visuals are brilliant and transitions from scene to scene often happen seemless, which makes the world feel so much more real and grim altogehter. The interface too is snappy and responsive, wasting none of your precious time.
Lots of characters and scenarios from Producer 2021 will stay in my mind as the writing is really really good. I deffo want to play it again and discover all of the things I missed out on in my first playthrough. The attention to detail in every scene is really really cool throughout.

This game features a menu button for trigger warnings and although this shouldn't be as special and outstanding as it is, the way it has been implemented is phenomenal and I wish for more games to have it.
Easily one of my favourite games of the year