Something Really Evil Inc. is a strategy indie casual game for PC that puts players in the role of a hacker disrupting an open plan office. The premise begins with a recruit pulled into a scheme by Piper to sabotage projects at a company run by Yvonne. Each session unfolds as a real time roguelike where the goal is to prevent workers from completing their tasks before the project ships.
Gameplay
The core loop centers on infiltrating a new floor each run with a project already in progress. Workers generate office points through their daily tasks, and exceeding a threshold means failure. Players counter this by targeting office fixtures such as computers, the vending machine, the water cooler, and the conference table. These objects contain slots that accept various hacks to disrupt operations.
Hacks fall into categories with distinct behaviors. Generators produce KeyBits used as currency for other actions. Memes distract workers on timers or through manual triggers. Shrouds reduce the risk of detection during security scans. Sabotage directly reverses progress on tasks. Additional hacks exist with automatic firing, manual cooldown triggers, or the ability to mutate together for combined effects. Between runs, passive trinkets from Fluffypaw provide stacking bonuses that alter future attempts, such as adding slots to fixtures or strengthening specific hacks in certain locations. The crew members contribute unique support: Hank supplies hack options, Gina handles credit and ideas, Piper offers insider access, and Fluffypaw focuses on upgrades.
Two primary failure conditions shape strategy. Security can apprehend the hacker if the footprint grows too large, requiring careful use of shrouds to stay hidden. Alternatively, allowing the project to finish forces a restart on a fresh floor the following week. Success unlocks further content while building toward more demanding setups.
Game Modes
The experience revolves around repeated runs on successive floors rather than separate named modes. Each attempt presents a fresh layout and project nearing completion, with the roguelike structure encouraging adaptation to available hacks and trinkets. After a victory, players access ascensions that introduce unique challenges to increase difficulty and test different approaches to sabotage. These layered challenges form the main progression system, turning standard runs into increasingly complex tests of resource management and timing without altering the fundamental office hacking loop.
Key Mechanics and Progression
Resource flow ties directly to KeyBits earned from generators and spent on triggered hacks. Mutation of hacks adds depth by allowing combinations that create new functionality beyond basic effects. Trinkets accumulate across days within a run, rewarding experimentation since the build that emerges often differs from initial plans. The crew system encourages learning individual strengths to maximize support during infiltrations. Security scans add tension through timing decisions, while the weekly reset mechanic reinforces the roguelike nature of starting over with new variables.
Is It Worth Playing?
Something Really Evil Inc. suits players who enjoy strategic resource management and roguelike repetition in a lighthearted office sabotage setting. The real time elements blend with casual pacing through short daily cycles and incremental upgrades via trinkets. Those drawn to indie strategy titles with crew interactions and hack customization will find consistent depth in planning disruptions across multiple ascensions. The game remains available on PC with its core systems intact, making it a focused choice for sessions built around trial and refinement rather than broad multiplayer features.
