Dum-Dum Reviews

This is an extremely fun retro game. You are given control of a mid-80s OS and need to learn how to operate it in order to solve puzzles. However, half of the fun is playing around with the files and finding out all of the features. If you like digging into every little nook and cranny, then this is your game.

A neat lil simulation of clunky, old-school operating systems mixed with a mostly fun puzzle game. A few puzzles felt weirdly directionless and vague, and some others went on for way way too long, but there's a built-in hint system so I can't knock it too hard. Story was good enough to keep me engaged, but most of my fun came from poking around the OS and trying the (surprisingly fun!) minigames. Honestly the worst part about the game is that it's too easy to compare it to Hypnospace Outlaw, which tells a story with so much more heart and empathy that it's not even funny. But this is still worth a shot if you enjoyed that game, or if you just want to try out something kooky and interesting for a little while!

"C-" Nice adventure style fake-OS game, but bare minimum of what such a game should entail. The game has a unique angle on puzzle solving which is abandoned almost immediately for your standard fair of puzzles and clue hunting. Unfortunately what keeps the game down is how solving a puzzle may not progress the story. Sometimes it enables a cut scene that is only triggered at an undisclosed location. Due to this on my second attempt at the game I actually couldn't get as far as my first despite knowing the puzzles. I do feel with a walkthrough at hand the story could carry it enough to be entertaining.

I haven't been playing this game for long and I already love it! every puzzle is so cool and unique and theres also a crap ton of extra content along with the fact that 'hogo CEO science #1' was really fun to read when you have an interest in divine machinery (which if you dont know is the personification of machinery/computers)

The novelty of a fake browser game is that you're using a computer to use a computer (imagine that!) which helps offers a deep level of immersion... now that I'm thinking about it, maybe the deepest level of immersion a game can offer. Other games use the computer as proxy for an experience you cannot actually have but in a browser game, there are no character models or mechanics between you and the experience. Your mouse is the player's mouse, your actions are their actions, your body BECOMES their body. And in Dum-Dum, you become an idiot. That's really the root of the fun of the game, stepping into the role of this hapless "dum-dum" who's wandered into a game between geniuses and has to stumble their way through it with pluck and a bit of creativity. It's a really charming setup that they have a lot of fun with, and it adds some nice flavor to the standard "hacker" game play. The puzzles revolve around creative usage of the programs that are available to you and in my opinion they were all pretty intuitive- there is a built in hint system but I only had to reference it a few times, mostly just to get pointed in the right direction of an objective I'd already figured out. The game asked me to think like an idiot, but never made me feel like one. In fact, I wish that they had taken the gimmick of using "dumb" solutions to problems further. Like the opening gag of it is really funny but halfway through the game it starts to feel like you're being gaslit when the game keeps telling you how wAcKy you are for basically just using the programs as they are intended, and since everything is pre-scripted there isn't a ton of room for the player to really feel like they're expressing their creativity in the problem solving. Fortunately, the straightforwardness of the gameplay puzzles is balanced out by the incredible depth of the fake OS system as a whole, which is jam packed with content and does a great job of rewarding exploration and careful observation. I found all sorts of side quests and hidden pages and programs by digging around and I ended the game with a bunch of achievements still locked so there's probably more out there to find if I feel like spending a bit more time on the game. This attention to detail extended to the story as well, a quirky cyber-espionage narrative about unraveling the secrets of a mYsTeRiOuS tech company that was way more fleshed out than I expected. I can't say I was ever too surprised by the game, but that didn't mean I wasn't invested, and I actually kinda devoured the whole thing over the course of a few days because I was having such a good time with it. There are some frustrating quirks that I think could have been ironed out (only being allowed three windows at once is pretty frustrating when the file launcher counts as one) but overall it handled very smoothly and I never ran into any bugs. If anything, my biggest complaint is that apparently there was a limited Halloween episode that doesn't seem to be accessible anymore? I guess the devs have moved on but it seems weird that they would make that and not leave it up. But yeah! To quote the game: 👍❤️😀⭐

Had a lot of fun with this... you don't need to be into the retro aesthetic to enjoy it. There's plenty of hints and tips in the text books to keep things moving, and having a whole host of 80s-style games there "just because" is a nice touch, and gives value long after the story is complete.

Epic game. Wonderful storyline with powerful story telling. Good puzzles, good looking OS and such an interesting approach to AI that I haven't come across before. I'm not gonna give any spoilers. You should give it a chance. It could be boring at the beggining (it wasn't boring at all for me), but believe me there are too many things to explore in it.

This OS simulator is going in an interesting direction. It is very different from Hypno Space Outlaw in many ways, such as being less distopian from the get go and having more local features. Im still trying to piece the story together, but the ammount of 1980's and early 90s ideas is pleasing and engaging. There is even a BASIC box, music and animation programs. Full games from the era and a Store mode that allows for expansions. I hope one day the HOGO Company will add some sort of Steam Workshop Integration. For its price I recommend it a lot, im intrigued where this will go. Have fun Dum Dums!

I'd like to start off saying that yes, hesitantly I recommend this game for anyone who's interested in these OS/internet/tech simulation/mystery/puzzle games. It's an extremely niche genre, and I think this game did a good enough job to deserve a recommendation (albeit with some caveats) to anyone looking at the genre. That said, there is a serious asterisk at the end of that recommendation, as this game could be absolutely infuriating and opaque as all hell at times. This is despite the fact that when this game is good, it's really good. At best, I think calling it a 7 outta 10 is fair, but those rough patches will really try your patience. So, what is Dum-Dum: The Story of Hogo OS 1985 Edition? This is a game that tries to replicate an old Apple computer, something like an Apple II-GS. You have your AppleLink early proto-internet (HogoNet in this game) where you can browse some forums, go on a click adventure, browse a store catalog, etc. You have some desktop games, some text files with hints hidden within, a few bizarre applications, an early messaging service, email, BASIC programming (this was pretty impressive to see, to be honest, even if I don't really have the skill to take full advantage of it), and a bunch of customization options. All in all, I'd say this is the meat of the game, just messing around and having fun. Kinda the same vibes I get from playing something like Sim City or Mario Paint, where you just aimlessly entertain yourself with the options given to you. It's quaint, to be sure, but I'd say there is a value there and an appeal to be had. The main story of the game, as you'll discover, is a conspiracy within the company that manufactured the OS and accompanying computer that you need to figure out as you maintain contact with and help the employees at the company. Your reward for doing this, each step of the way, is more lore and more functionality of the OS, in the form of games, connectivity, and applications. Overall, I think this is a really cool system! For the most part this held my interest, and I was able to alternate between the casual exploration of the OS and the main story each time one was getting a bit stale. Now... for the bad part (and for the record, I want to absolutely love this game and give it a solid recommendation, so I hope the dev changes some things before the official release): 1. The main quest giver can be more than a little grating. The main concept of the game is that everyone at the company is a genius and you are not, so you're able to think outside the box to come up with unorthodox solutions. The main quest giver, as a result, is very condescending and nagging at times, which was fine later on, and funny at first, but I think the dialog could have been [u] seriously [/u] trimmed down, and I think the character's arc could have been a little faster (i.e., she should think more highly of you after helping her the first few times, and not only after half the game is over) 2. Some of the mandatory puzzle segments can overstay their welcome. The stairway segment immediately comes to mind here, as this feeds into the problem with the quest giver. This segment is pretty dry, and goes on for 8 levels, when it really should be like, 5. Every step of the way you have your ear talked off, and the whole thing starts with her giving you a step by step tutorial that goes on for what feels like hours. 3. Some sections of the game are as opaque and cryptic as you could possibly get. Now, this gripe is weird, because a lot of the game outright tells you what you need to do, although other points feel like you need to try every possibility blind, until you happen to land on the solution. Talking to the older OS (was it really necessary for me to go through the 5x Dum-Dum app everytime I had to try a different solution?) and messing with the AI egg (using the project app based off an off-hand comment by the antagonist? Really) come to mind here. It's a fine line, to be sure, between spelling out the solution and being too cryptic, I get that, but some of the puzzles needed some stronger pointers. When you start the game, you can hold the delete-key to enter the in-game BIOS interface and find some hints right there, which is appreciated, but towards the end I started using that non-stop out of frustration. There just needs to be a better solution to this problem. So, there you go. Those are my gripes. I still like this game, but I don't love it. I think it is decent and has some very strong aspects to it. I don't point out the problems to bash the game at all, but just because I hope these problems get ironed out before the game comes out of early access. I look at the games number of reviews and wonder why it's not more popular, but at the same time I see these issues and wonder what the review score would be it it [b] was [/b] more popular, as I feel the percentage would be closer to 70 as it stands now. (hence why I've edited this review. 100% is just... Not realistic, not an honest assessment of this game.) Once again, really underrated game, I do recommend it to people who are VERY enthusiastic about the genre, just go into it with a grain of salt. Hopefully the issues get fixed.

Found out about this game through Vinny from Vinesauce. As he was playing it on stream I had to stop watching and just go buy it myself and play it. This game is really good. Thoroughly enjoyed the story and some of the included HOGO OS games are genuinely fun.