Death and Taxes

Death and Taxes is an award-winning indie game developed by Placeholder Game that brilliantly fuses the existential themes of life and death with the mundane, paper-shuffling environment of a modern office job. Released in 2020, the game is a narrative-driven simulation where the player assumes the role of Death himself—or rather, a newly employed bureaucrat tasked with determining the fates of mortals.

The Office of the Afterlife

The premise of the game is simple yet darkly humorous: Death is no longer a skeletal figure with a scythe but a nervous office worker housed in a small, stylized office. The player’s supervisor is Fate, a delightfully cynical character who hands down the daily assignments.

Each in-game day, the player receives a stack of Mortal Profiles. These profiles contain details about individual humans—their names, professions, eccentric habits, and the major events currently unfolding in the world. The player must then stamp each profile with one of two choices:

1. "Let Live" (Green Stamp): The mortal survives the day.

2. "Mark for Death" (Red Stamp): The mortal perishes.

The Balancing Act

The core conflict of Death and Taxes lies in the dilemma of choice. The player is given a set of daily instructions or quotas from Fate, such as "Ensure 10 bakers die today" or "Spare all those working in healthcare." Following these instructions perfectly would lead to a smooth workday, but there is a catch:

• World Consequences: Every choice the player makes has a direct, visible effect on the state of the living world, represented by a screen and news tickers in the office. Marking too many people for death might lead to plagues, war, or economic collapse. Letting too many people live might lead to overpopulation and resource depletion. The player must navigate the consequences of their divine bureaucracy.

• The Shop of Wonders: After each shift, the player can spend their earnings to buy upgrades for their office, new cosmetic items for Death's desk, or new clothes. More importantly, they can buy permanent trait-unlocks that reveal deeper aspects of the story and Fate's true intentions.

Themes and Morality

The game is a clever exploration of agency, responsibility, and the nature of consequence. As Death, the player is constantly struggling to balance the chaotic freedom of their choices against the strict rules and quotas handed down by Fate.

Death and Taxes offers multiple endings based on the player's choices, forcing them to decide whether to be an obedient bureaucrat, a conscientious objector trying to save the world, or a chaotic force bent on destruction. It wraps a surprisingly deep philosophical experience in a cozy, charming indie package.