Lobotomy Corporation

''Lobotomy Corporation'' is a 2018 indie horror rogue-like strategy management simulation video game developed and published by South Korean studio Project Moon for Microsoft Windows. Set in a futuristic dystopia, the game follows the management and operations of the titular energy company that harvests energy from strange and dangerous entities known as "Abnormalities". The premise of ''Lobotomy Corporation'' is cited to be inspired by the SCP Foundation, ''Warehouse 13'', and ''The Cabin in the Woods''.

Initially a standalone game, ''Lobotomy Corporation'' has become the basis for a connected series of video games, webcomics and web novels, including the direct sequel deck-building game ''Library of Ruina'', and a connected installment, ''Limbus Company''.

Development

In an interview for ''GameSpark'' in 2018, Project Moon CEO Kim Jihoon explained how development of ''Lobotomy Corporation'' began:

Kim also wrote in the interview that the development team initially consisted of four people, but grew to ten prior to release.

Setting

Lobotomy Corporation is set in the City, a dystopia where 26 mega-corporations known as "the Wings of the World" control the planet. Each corporation begins with a unique letter of the alphabet, from A Corp to Z Corp. Lobotomy Corporation, also called L Corp, is able to produce large amounts of sustainable energy by harvesting it from entities known as Abnormalities.

Lobotomy Corporation is split into multiple branches and facilities, each one being made up of various departments. The game takes place in Facility X-394, where each department is headed by a Sephirah, an artificial being placed into a managerial role for their department.

Abnormalities are creatures that are manifested from the human consciousness, many of them embodying deep psychological aspects of humanity, such as fears and desires, and others are based on fairy tales and other old stories, such as The Little Red Riding Hood or Snow White. The corporation’s task is to extract energy from them by managing them safely, though this often requires cruel and morally questionable practices.

Gameplay

X, a newly appointed manager for Facility X-394, is given the role of ordering employees to perform work with Abnormalities every day to meet a daily energy quota. Each Abnormality has specific handling conditions and special effects, often being harmful when handled incorrectly or beneficial depending on usage. A frequent threat while playing is Abnormalities escaping their containment or otherwise activating their abilities to cause harm to employees. Most Abnormalities have what is known as a Qliphoth Counter, which can fluctuate based on actions taken and events that occur. When this Counter reaches zero, the Abnormality can breach if it is able to or activate its ability if it has one.

Upon reaching the energy quota, the player may end the day to receive a work report and LOB points, used in the recruitment and enhancement of new employees.

For every work done on an Abnormality, a counter called the Qliphoth Meltdown Gauge increases by one. When the Gauge fills, the Qliphoth Meltdown Level increases and the facility undergoes a Qliphoth Meltdown, which are regular events that complicate the workday. There are two types of events that can occur for each Meltdown Level.

The first possibility is that a certain number of Qliphoth Meltdowns can be applied to any applicable Abnormalities. This starts a timer on every affected Abnormality, which will immediately cause the Abnormality's Qliphoth Counter to fall to zero if its timer fully runs out, in addition to applying a penalty that deducts some of the energy gathered in the day. Meltdowns of this nature can be resolved by directing employees to perform work with affected Abnormalities.
The second possibility is the emergence of Ordeals throughout the facility, hostile entities that can be suppressed by employees, providing a percentage of the day's energy quota if fully resolved. Ordeals aim to disrupt the day either by threatening to free Abnormalities or by killing employees.

Upon the completion of a day, the facility is expanded and one or two new Abnormalities can be chosen, each out of a choice of three.

The game's story is shown before the start of every day, being presented in a visual novel style format.

When a department is expanded into, we meet the Sephirah of that department and they will later give the player a mission to complete in a day. These objectives have a range of possible conditions for completion, usually being related to the department the Sephirah is in charge of. Upon completing a mission, the player is made to choose from a set of research proposals by the Sephirah, which function as upgrades that make managing the facility easier. Completing missions also lets the player see more of that Sephirah's story, with every mission needing to be completed in order to reach the game's ending.

From Abnormalities, E.G.O. Equipment can be extracted, which can be equipped by employees to enhance their offensive and defensive capabilities.

The game places a large emphasis on the ability to retry and go back in time, being able to retry individual days when they go wrong, the ability to go back to certain checkpoint days through the Memory Repository system, and all Sephirah research, Abnormality equipment, and information being kept when resetting to the first day or when using the Memory Repository.

Reception

The game was released in April 2018. In January 2023, nearly five years after launch, Project Moon reported the game had sold over 1 million copies.

In a review for ''Rock Paper Shotgun'', Alec Meer praised the ambience and design of the game, but highlighted an excessive amount of dialogue, compounded by a poor English translation described as "awful", and concluded “Lobotomy Corporation is unnecessarily complicated and too small and repetitive, all at the same time." The English version has since been entirely retranslated.

A sequel, deck-building game ''Library of Ruina'', was released for Windows and Xbox One in August 2021. A third installment, dungeon role-playing game ''Limbus Company'', was released in February 2023. A companion manhwa, ''Wonderlab'', was serialized from March 2020 to April 2021, though it has been taken down by the artist and is no longer canon to the Project Moon universe.

References

External links

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{{SCP Foundation

2018 video games
Construction and management simulation games
Indie games
Video games developed in South Korea
Windows games
Project Moon games
Horror video games
Science fantasy video games
Roguelike video games
Strategy video games
Video games about time loops