AREA MAN LIVES

About

AREA MAN LIVES is a single player casual puzzle game with drama and comedy themes. It was developed by Numinous Games and was released on May 12, 2022. It received neutral reviews from players.

Area Man Lives. Or does he? A quirky radio drama unfolds around you in VR while you do your best to keep the radio station humming along as its new DJ. You record commercials, interview callers and try your best to piece together how your actions inside the station impact your listening audience.

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43%

Audience ScoreBased on 14 reviews

story4 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

Unique and intriguing concept of being a radio DJ with voice input, offering an immersive and thematic experience.
Strong storytelling with professional and humorous voice acting that adds charm to the game.
Good interaction variety and an engaging setting that captures the feel of managing a small radio station.

Confusing gameplay with vague instructions often leaves players unsure of what to do next.
Clunky and unintuitive controls combined with numerous bugs, including issues with item handling and progression blockers.
Excessive downtime with long waiting periods and repetitive scenes, lacking quality-of-life improvements like scene skipping or better checkpoint navigation.

story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
37%
13%
The story is praised for being engaging, funny, and well-acted, with impressive interactive mechanics that immerse players. However, some users find the VR format less appealing and note technical issues affecting gameplay, which currently hinder the overall experience. If bugs are fixed, the story's quality could make the game recommendable.
- “Voice acting is super professional and the story is very funny.”
- “The 'story mechanics' in this game are amazing.”
- “The amount of things you can interact with is surprising, and you quickly get caught up in the story.”
- “Story wise not sure about all that voice recognition thing, it seems it's used only in a few places and with no difference on what you are actually saying.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Gameplay receives mixed feedback: while the mechanics are praised for their creativity and humor, they can feel clunky and inconsistent, sometimes requiring awkward actions like using a laser pointer to interact with objects. Additionally, the narrative progression and quality-of-life features are criticized for lack of clarity and tedium in navigation.
- “I've played this game a lot; it is very good. The comedy is good, and the mechanics are very cool.”
- “The 'story mechanics' in this game are amazing.”
- “It's a mechanic that is supposed to work like Alyx's gravity gloves, but unlike the gravity gloves, it doesn't 'just work.' Instead, it sometimes works and forces you to use a laser pointer to identify the object (not all objects are handleable) and then pull it towards you.”
- “However, after getting through the first episode, the narrative takes a strange turn and totally leaves you in the dark as to what you're supposed to do next. The mechanics get super clunky, and the quality-of-life updates are non-existent; just navigating between episodes and checkpoints is tedious.”
- “It's a mechanic that is supposed to work like Alyx's gravity gloves, but unlike the gravity gloves, it doesn't 'just work.' Rather, it sometimes works and forces you to use a laser pointer to identify the object (not all objects are handleable) and then pull it towards you.”
- “Most of the gameplay seems to be finding the right object and using it.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect increasingly tedious and frustrating, citing clunky mechanics and poor quality-of-life features that make progressing through episodes and checkpoints cumbersome and unenjoyable.
- “However, after getting through the first episode, the narrative takes a strange turn and totally leaves you in the dark as to what you're supposed to do next. The mechanics get super-clunky, and the quality-of-life updates are non-existent: just navigating between episodes and checkpoints is tedious.”
- “Would love to finish it, but every chapter just feels more tedious than the last.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches, freezes, and flickering between screens during voice use. Additionally, item handling is problematic, and players may experience unwanted teleportation out of the play area.
- “Every time the game wants to use my voice, it glitches, freezes, and my view flickers between the Steam VR holding screen and the game. After about 3 seconds, it comes back and I can use my voice.”
- “Buggy mess, item handling is a mess, sometimes you get teleported out of the playing area.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor is well-executed, supported by professional voice acting and a very funny story that enhances the overall experience.
- “Voice acting is super professional and the story is very funny.”