Free-to-play indie horror
scotty goes to centrelink is a free-to-play simulation that lets you play as Scott Morrison, Australia’s 30th prime minister. In this surreal horror experience, he is unemployed and he has to navigate the very welfare system he helped create. This parody has a hilarious premise that takes on the usual video game quest completion process, plus Easter eggs scattered around its hell-inspired map.
There are no game overs and you don’t lose progress by dying, making scotty goes to centrelink a quick casual game with no replay value. It’s like a satirical, politically-charged postal spinoff, complete with a surprise ending.
In protest of Centrelink
The premise around scotty goes to centrelink revolves around the titular Centrelink, which is an Australian program that caters to a variety of government payment services. It was previously embroiled in an automated debt recovery controversy, where citizens received debt recovery letters from the government, including those without outstanding debts. The developer explains that he or she doesn’t like the automated platform, hence the game.
Here, you play as former PM Scott Morrison who is looking for his welfare payment. However, the receptionist explains that he must be looking for work. As such, you will be tasked with handing out resumes around town. There’s not much else to do, aside from handing out forms and avoiding a giant Scotty head that travels around town and follows you, sending you into a funny ragdoll physics death.
As mentioned, it has no game overs and upon dying, you can just restart the game by pressing R. It has simple and intuitive controls. However, it has a very short playthrough good for less than ten minutes, and has absolutely no replay value. After finding the unexpected ending after your “quest,” you can watch the credits as well as a couple of notes from the developer.
A short political satire
In essence, scotty goes to centrelink is a good indie short that uses humor to express a citizen’s protest against a government program. As a game, it meets the usual expectations for an indie game—basic graphics, intuitive controls, and a short playthrough. It just falls short by being a one-trick pony that doesn’t offer anything beyond what you can find on your first playthrough.
