iSlack Review

iSlack is the debut iOS game from Kaida Games. The game challenges players to get away with doing as little "work" as possible at a virtual office desk job.

In iSlack gamers play a bored office worker who is stuck at his lame desk job 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The entire game's premise is based around the challenge of slacking off when your co-workers are around and pretending to "work" while your boss is in the room. The gameplay takes place from a fixed perspective, giving gamers a view of their desk and surrounding work area. As they play, co-workers will walk by your desk and occasionally, the boss will swing by. Whenever the boss is within view, players must press the "work" button to pretend to work. However, when the boss is not around, they can slack off by browsing the web and visiting various predetermined websites.

All the while, players must keep an eye on their happiness level – which is represented by a meter bar in the top-right hand corner. When working, players' happiness level drops. When slacking off, though, their happiness level increases. The challenge becomes a balancing act. If the happiness level drops to zero, it's game over, but if gamers are caught slacking off by the boss, it's also game over.

Admittedly, iSlack is an original idea, and we can't help but appreciate its developer's attempt at novelty. Apparently, the game was inspired by its creator's own experiences working in a similar environment. And the concept behind iSlack is certainly not foreign to many. Many workers can relate to trying to get away with doing as little work as possible – everyone has their moment like this. This is what makes the game kind of cool.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of entertainment to be had from iSlack. It's a very simplistic game, and its lasting appeal is minimal. The totality of iSlack's gameplay consists of pressing buttons, such as "work" or visiting random websites, such as Twitter and even Kaida Game's own site. However, when visiting these websites, there's no interaction. The website is pulled up on the character's computer monitor, and then the character sits there and stares at a static screen. Players, meanwhile, just sit and wait for the boss to come by and then have to press the "work" button again. Kind of lame, overall, really.

So, while there's some novelty at the core of iSlack, it's really not enough to recommend this one, even at a dollar.