Everyday Misanthrope challenges you to make people miserable

Very cathartic, text based experience

Misanthropy is a very strange mindset to try and familiarise yourself with from an outside perspective. An intense dislike for humanity, at its extremes it can form the basis for many of the more upsetting personality types to interact with on a daily basis. Allowing for not only an apathy toward the suffering of others, but an increased sense of enjoyment at others expense, misanthropy is the driving force behind a new text based adventure game, Everyday Misanthrope.

Created as part of the “You Are The Monster” Ludum Dare game jam, Everyday Misanthrope puts players in the shoes of someone who derives pleasure from the negative emotions of others. From slowing down in traffic to harassing people online, the aim of the game is to upset as many people as possible, as much as possible.

Where the game gets interesting is that, once you’re done, you’re made to read through the stories of the faceless victims you’ve inconvenienced, upset or left devastated. One by one, faces and names are put to those you took action against. It’s a really emotionally heavy experience to go through.

While I don’t ultimately think the kind of person who needs to be confronted like that is likely to ever play this kind of game, it’s certainly an interesting and valuable little video game to have in the world. The emotions portrayed can be tough to experience, but it’s definitely worth your time to check out. You can get the game for free on PC, Mac and Linux here.