Off the AppStore: Trust the System… Or Maybe Not

You've just landed the job of a lifetime — congratulations! From this moment on, you work for the System, and your one duty is simple: keep stamping those documents.

Stamp, earn, upgrade, and maybe — just maybe — you'll notice some progress along the way. Or maybe you won't.

There's more hiding beneath the System's surface than what's visible at your desk, so keep earning and start digging.

Welcome to Off The AppStore, our weekly look at games with a difference. Like everything we cover here, these are titles you can play on your phone — but they live outside the two big marketplaces, the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

That sometimes means downloading an alternative store or an APK, though plenty of these games run straight in your mobile browser. We'll spell out exactly how to get each one running, so read on for your next off-the-beaten-path experience.

A nightmare dressed up as employment

We all dream of passive income — making money without working a single day, freeing up our time and resources for whatever we please. Sounds lovely. Sadly, the rest of us are stuck in reality, scraping by with whatever coping mechanisms help us survive situations we'd rather not be in. Some people cope by staring those horrors dead-on and turning them into an experience the rest of us can learn from. At least, that's what developer Tabouret appears to be doing with Trust to System — though, as you'll see, things aren't quite what they seem.

Congratulations (déjà vu, anyone?), you've just become a Mr Milgram, and it's the greatest day of your life: you've been granted LIFETIME employment in the Transfer Department. Your new employer is a vague, faceless entity known as the System, and your job is to do exactly as you're told. Collect your paperwork, flex those arm muscles, and start stamping. The more documents you process, the better your performance rating and your pay — enough, eventually, to afford a few steps away from your desk.

Something is off in the office

It all sounds straightforward, but surely there's more to this life — and this job — than that? There are other people in the office, and it's obvious some of them don't want to be there. They're hoping you feel the same way. You can spend your hard-earned coins upgrading your stamping speed and efficiency, or you can start poking around and working out what's really going on.

Just remember: you only get a limited number of steps before you're forced back to your desk, so spend them carefully — or buy more if you must. The System does not tolerate inefficiency.

Trust it — or don't

Trust the System is a 2D nightmare simulator about being trapped in a cramped space, performing meaningless repetitive labour until you either escape or die trying. Leaving is tempting, but freedom stays just out of reach unless you're willing to put in the time and effort to earn your way toward it. The System can give you everything you need to uncover the truth and get out — but only if you trust it.

Trust the System is free to download and play from its itch.io page — no app store required. Whether you choose to obey or investigate is entirely up to you, and that choice is exactly where the game gets interesting.

Source: Pocket Gamer