The Invisible Hand

A well put together, and politically clever role playing stock broker simulator. This game can provide a few play throughs possibly offering something fresh each time. Well worth a look if this genre interests you.

76%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

graphics, replayability

80% User Score Based on 578 reviews

Critic Score 72%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

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About

The Invisible Hand is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Power Struggle Games and was released on May 7, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"The Invisible Hand: Family Office Update" is a simulation game where you serve as a financial advisor for a wealthy family, aiming to control increasing percentages of the global economy in an improved Endless Mode. With immeasurable options, players strive to achieve impressive results, potentially impacting the developers' future plans and testing the true meaning of 'endless.' This thought-provoking experience offers a unique blend of challenge and amusement for those eager to manipulate the digital market.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+12

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80%

Audience ScoreBased on 578 reviews

story40 positive mentions

graphics12 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and engaging experience, especially for those interested in stock trading and finance.
It features witty humor and satirical commentary on capitalism, making it entertaining and thought-provoking.
The gameplay mechanics allow for manipulation of the market, providing a sense of power and excitement.

The story mode is very short, typically taking only 2-4 hours to complete, leading to a lack of replayability.
The game can become repetitive and lacks depth in its mechanics, making it feel simplistic after a while.
There are performance issues and bugs that can hinder the gameplay experience, especially when dealing with large sums of money.

story
167 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
68%
8%
The game's story is generally perceived as short and lacking depth, with many players noting it can be completed in just a few hours. While it features humor and satirical commentary on capitalism, the narrative is often described as railroaded and not truly responsive to player choices, leading to a sense of disappointment regarding replayability. Overall, the story serves more as a light-hearted backdrop to the gameplay rather than a compelling driving force.
- “Very nice story 9/10”
- “Interesting story, fun and fast-paced gameplay, and something unique for sure.”
- “The story mode is really interesting.”
- “This is a railroaded story with the guise of being responsive to player action on the first playthrough, and I feel cheated.”
- “The overall story is just an absolute mess that never actually says anything other than a bunch of random nonsense.”
- “The story ends on a cliffhanger which goes nowhere.”
gameplay
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
59%
4%
The gameplay in "The Invisible Hand" offers a mix of engaging stock trading mechanics and humorous narrative elements, but it suffers from a lack of depth and balance, leading to exploits that diminish the challenge. While some players appreciate the clever ideas and fast-paced nature, many criticize the short playtime, minimal replayability, and poorly explained mechanics, suggesting that the game feels unfinished. Overall, it provides a fun experience for those interested in stock trading, but may not justify its price for others.
- “Overall though, great gameplay; I would definitely recommend.”
- “Interesting story, fun and fast-paced gameplay, and something unique for sure.”
- “Funny writing that adds to the social commentary aspect with core gameplay mechanics that are both engaging and addictive, with new challenges and twists just when you start to get a feel for the game.”
- “The game is very short and most of the mechanics are pointless. You can hold parties and buy larger properties, but it doesn't really affect anything in the game.”
- “After a few days, the game introduces dividends, a mechanic which just ends the need to try. Just long some stock and sign a dividend agreement, then keep buying that thing to push the price up. At the end of the day, you get a percentage of the profit, which will be huge, and you can finance it by just infinitely shorting some other random stock. No need to even bother playing the game or reading the news feeds or anything.”
- “They charged a fat sum for a game with minimal (and poorly explained) gameplay mechanics, no voice acting, horrendous visuals, little depth, a horribly ham-fisted narrative, a runtime of a little under 2 hours, if you don't leave the game running while doing other things, and an undercooked, desolate and shoddy-looking primary environment, which is the only environment you get to explore in the entire game.”
humor
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its witty and satirical humor, effectively blending comedic elements with a commentary on capitalism and the stock market. Reviewers appreciate the funny writing and engaging gameplay, although some express a desire for a longer story. Overall, it offers a fun and entertaining experience that balances humor with its simulation mechanics.
- “Fun stock market simulator with witty and not cringe sense of humor.”
- “Very funny (and eerily relevant) social commentary on capitalism and the stock market.”
- “Funny writing that adds to the social commentary aspect with core gameplay mechanics that are both engaging and addictive with new challenges and twists just when you start to get a feel for the game.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing them as subpar, especially for a 2021 release, citing issues like long loading times, glitches, and a lack of depth in the visual design. While some users noted that there are pleasant graphical elements, the overall consensus leans towards disappointment, particularly regarding the optimization and quality of the environments. A few players did appreciate the graphics, but they were in the minority compared to the overall negative feedback.
- “The game offers some nice graphics; although there are some ugly glitches here and there, it is pleasant all the same.”
- “Very good graphics.”
- “More of a graphical novel morality tale than a trading simulator.”
- “The graphics are horrible.”
- “It takes an unusually long time to load the game when you hit play for such a simple game with bad graphics and a tiny world.”
- “They charged a fat sum for a game with minimal (and poorly explained) gameplay mechanics, no voice acting, horrendous visuals, little depth, a horribly ham-fisted narrative, a runtime of a little under 2 hours, if you don't leave the game running while doing other things (like I did in order to end up with a 2.4 hour playtime), and an undercooked, desolate and shoddy-looking primary environment, which is the only environment you get to explore in the entire game.”
replayability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
40%
33%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the multiple endings and find enjoyment in the stock trading mechanics, many feel that the short main story limits replay value. Several reviews indicate that after a single playthrough, there isn't much incentive to return, especially for those not deeply invested in the gameplay mechanics.
- “Tonnes of replayability and is... quite relevant in today's climate.”
- “Would recommend as a pick up (especially on sale), feels like it has some replayability but I wouldn't expect to get more than one playthrough unless you really enjoy the mechanics of messing with stocks and destabilizing developing countries.”
- “I have 10 hours of gameplay and there is no replayability factor.”
- “There are multiple endings, so there is some replayability value, but it is true that the main story is itself very short.”
- “If you can afford to spend the price for 2-4 hours of gameplay with no replayability, this is a great game for you.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been frequently criticized for its instability, with users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players find enjoyment in the gameplay, the recurring technical issues have led to a perception of inconsistency and frustration. Overall, stability remains a significant concern for many users.
- “So either the game is buggy or it doesn't follow the rules and boundaries it sets.”
- “A lot of fun, kinda buggy at the moment though.”
- “Very boring and buggy though.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues that cause CPU throttling shortly after gameplay begins. While the 3D graphics are noted as poorly optimized, players spend most of their time in a 2D market simulation, which somewhat mitigates the impact of these issues. Overall, the optimization concerns detract from the gaming experience.
- “I really want to like this game, but for what it is, it is either incredibly poorly optimized or has a miner built in because within a few minutes this game causes my CPU to throttle terribly.”
- “The quite poor optimization of the graphics for the 3D world is annoying, but doesn't really matter since you spend all your time in the market simulation (2D) for the most part.”
- “The game appears to have performance issues.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the lack of options to skip lengthy intros and repetitive content. Many feel that the campaign's brevity leaves the experience feeling incomplete, as they often grind in anticipation of more story progression that never materializes. Improved balancing and the ability to bypass unskippable cutscenes would enhance the overall experience.
- “I didn't even believe it when I got the message that the story was over after an hour or two (I thought the first part of the story was over and I kept grinding in anticipation of something else happening) - the ending feels incomplete.”
- “When you start the game, even if you played before and you want to start a new play-through, there is, as far as I know, no way to skip the tedious 5-minute long intro before you can select your game mode and actually start the game. It would be nice to have an option to skip all that when you want to start playing immediately instead of watching an unskippable cutscene for the fourth time.”
- “Balancing things so that the campaign is longer and successions less tedious would've helped a lot.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game effectively captures a compelling atmosphere that enhances the trading experience, distinguishing it from typical paper trading simulations. While the storyline is not essential, it contributes positively to the overall ambiance, making the game more engaging.
- “But it still captures the atmosphere right, and it's as close as you can get in a trading game, without making yet another paper trading thing, which wouldn't be a fun game.”
- “The game story line is somewhat interesting; I wouldn't say it's necessary to play it, but it adds a bit of atmosphere.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The music in the game is described as a complex blend of background tracks and ambient sounds that complement the dynamic visuals and gameplay elements, such as changing colors and stock updates. However, the overwhelming amount of audio stimuli, including dialogue and text, can create a chaotic experience for players.
- “This song explains everything you need to know about the game.”
- “Green and red arrows, constantly changing colors, up and down, new stocks popping up, too much text going on, then if someone is talking to you that shows up, along with the talking sound they make, with the background music and ambient sounds on top of that.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy in the game has been compared to the excessive ad placements seen in media parodies, suggesting that it may feel overwhelming or intrusive to players. This approach has drawn criticism for prioritizing revenue over user experience.

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72%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews

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5h Median play time

6h Average play time

4-10h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 12 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Invisible Hand is a simulation game.

The Invisible Hand is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing The Invisible Hand.

The Invisible Hand was released on May 7, 2021.

The Invisible Hand was developed by Power Struggle Games.

The Invisible Hand has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its graphics.

The Invisible Hand is a single player game.

Similar games include AdVenture Capitalist, Game Dev Tycoon, Cosmonautica, STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator, Family Man and others.

The Invisible Hand

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