Shouldermen

About

Shouldermen is a single player action game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Outdoor Devs and was released on March 7, 2026. It received positive reviews from players.

Shouldermen You know the devil on your shoulder? The Shouldermen are those tiny angel and devil doppelgangers that stand on your shoulder giving advice when you are making tough decisions. An evil genius has sparked global chaos by trapping everyone's Shouldermen in secure VR prisons leaving humanity to make decisions at random. Your job? Hack into the VR prisons and help the Shouldermen to…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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89%Audience ScoreBased on 18 reviews

humor3 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

Unique and inventive concept using AI and voice for conversational puzzle gameplay.
Characters, especially the devil, are funny and engaging with clever dialogue.
Encourages experimentation and strategic thinking through language-based challenges.

Technical issues including frequent voice recognition bugs, unpredictable AI responses, and occasional crashes.
Poor optimization causing high system resource usage despite low-quality graphics and assets.
Aggressive in-game monetization with expensive microtransactions and limited free play.

graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Users criticize the game’s graphics for lacking variety, personality, and polish, with uninspired assets and minimal background changes. Despite low-quality visuals, the game is poorly optimized, causing excessive GPU usage. Improved visuals and more character variety could significantly enhance the experience.
- “Overall, I like the game, and with improved visuals and more characters, I could see myself putting a lot more hours into it.”
- “It's not so much a puzzle game as it is a conversation with an LLM, thinly veiled with bought-asset aesthetics.”
- “That's not even to mention the surprisingly hefty performance toll the game has due to its Unreal Engine basis, the uninspired asset usage, and the general lack of personality in the aesthetics of Shouldermen.”
- “The game is very badly optimized; despite having extremely low-quality assets and visuals, poor production values, and no real reason for a high workload on anyone's system, the game runs the GPU up to 100% immediately.”
- “It could definitely benefit from better graphics and more background variety, maybe changing the environment after every few questions.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is highly praised for its funny and playful characters, especially the devil who adds a comedic challenge by teasing players with clever antics. Overall, the humor enhances the fun and lighthearted experience.
- “But then you're left with the 'hard' mode character: the devil, who dances around the password with glee (admittedly, it's quite funny!).”
- “The bad guy is hilarious, it gets harder when he tries not to answer with the right word haha fun game!”
- “Funny as heck.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The gameplay innovatively integrates language as a core mechanic and leverages AI-driven character interactions, promising fresh, character-driven experiences. However, some players feel that success in puzzles may rely more on trial than genuine problem-solving or unique gameplay depth.
- “I love how the game turns language into a gameplay system.”
- “I managed to "trick" the devil character twice into saying the password, but both times I got there, I didn't feel like it happened from the encouragement of a unique gameplay system, or from my own ingenuity.”
- “The promise of an AI-powered game intrigued me, largely because this is the promised-land frontier of new, character-driven gameplay that may offer the next big innovation to our beloved medium.”
- “I managed to 'trick' the devil character twice into saying the password, but both times I got there, I didn't feel like it happened from the encouragement of a unique gameplay system, or from my own ingenuity.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players consistently highlight the game's soundtrack as a standout feature, often bringing it up spontaneously in conversations. The music clearly makes a strong and memorable impression throughout the gameplay.
- “My first conversation in the game was about the game's soundtrack and almost without fail, the soundtrack will work its way into the conversation, even when I don't mention it.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from heavy performance demands caused by its Unreal Engine foundation, compounded by uninspired asset usage and a lack of distinctive visual design, resulting in suboptimal optimization.
- “The game suffers from a surprisingly hefty performance toll due to its Unreal Engine foundation, uninspired asset usage, and a general lack of personality in the aesthetics of the Shouldermen.”
story
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is criticized for being overly simple and one-dimensional, making player interactions feel shallow and undermining the sense of skill and investment typically expected.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users view the game's monetization as an arrogant and blatant cash grab, which significantly detracts from its overall appeal and leads to immediate dismissal.