Take As Needed

[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote] [quote]Follow my Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41363546-Fruit-N-Doggie-Reviews/]Fruit N Doggie Reviews,[/url] so you can be updated whenever I post a new review.[/quote] [h1]Overall Rating - Unplayable Trash ☆☆☆☆☆[/h1] [h1]First Impressions[/h1] I don't have much interest in visual novels (VN), but because of my background in mental health, Take As Needed (TAN) was more compelling to me than most. The thought of juggling issues of morality, patient care, and coworker relationships was intriguing. With the game including so many factors, I thought it might be too complicated and convoluted for its own good. Only one way to find out. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] As the game started, I was confused as to why I was lingering in the guy's residence. However, since I could, I engaged in basic self-care: shaving, making the bed, and getting ready for work. After heading out the door the game started more as I expected, working in an office setting, though each day it'd allow me to tidy up first. This leads into my main issue with TAN, and it's that the developers don't clearly convey information to the pla…

Set in a dystopian world, "Take As Needed" has a "Papers, Please" vibe. You are a chemical engineer developing new pharmaceuticals at Mazer. At the end of the day, you're graded by how well you perform in combining compounds to design formulas that meet three criteria: Reach the minimum/maximum price, use a certain amount of a particular compound, all without going over the maximum volatility. Different color strands, open or closed, play a part in raising and lowering the volatility for each formula. The price of the compounds go up each time they are used. There's a narrative story, where you make choices at home and in the office. The artwork is hauntingly beautiful and fits the mood perfectly. The heart of the game is an innovative puzzle that changes each time you play. It procedurally-generates new requirements which are your goals to create formulas. It takes a lot of thought and balance to achieve the correct result. Though you are given the freedom to solve it any way you like. "Take As Needed" is very original and challenging to play.

The molecule building mechanics and the procedural generation of molecule goals is awesome and makes for a really challenging and fun puzzle solving game.

I was a beta-tester for this game and it's incredible! The mechanics are simple to learn but hard to master, the story turns out to be super interesting, and the dialog / tiny details about the world are really funny and satirical.