Starting with a banger: Model Employee
I picked this one on a whim, I don't even remember how I found it. Probably the striking colors and PC-98-style interface caught my attention. I started it in the evening and couldn't stop playing until it was over. It's incredible that this was made in one month.
The pitch: you're working at Amazon Tethys to pay off medical debt. The job sucks; your coworkers are a mixed bag; and you're still feeling the exhaustion and grief from your hospital stay. But then Penny, the AI facility supervisor, starts taking a special interest in you...
An extra-dry satire of modern worker exploitation, that doesn't pull any punches while managing to be really witty and funny throughout. I guess it calls to mind Sorry to Bother You, but with the absurdity of the situations replaced by genuine moments of dread and terror. It's structured like a horror story, with things going from bad to worse and you unable to avert your eyes from the incoming disaster.
The presentation is great, cleverly used to set up the world and then playing with the interface in neat ways, making little 4th wall breaks but without getting cute about it. The art is beautiful, making a strong use of colors and expressive sprites. The script is firing on all cylinders, throwing jokes and sharp digs at modern labor practices, introducing entertaining characters and a sense of comradery despite the hardships of work, without losing track of the grimness of it all. And then there's Penny.
She's an undeniable monster, channelling the worst ills of labor exploitation and pretend empathy in a chipper and detached façade. And yet, the frank and open conversations you have with her are maybe the best part of the game? She's not just the Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss Supreme; you get to uncover some surprising depths in her... none of which, importantly, make her a better person at all. A brilliant antagonist!
Easily one of my games of the year, I recommend it without hesitation, though check the content warnings and maybe keep it for later if a story of financial distress sounds a little too real right now