Traditional management games often ask you to build a city, a hospital or a hotel chain. This week, Epic Games Store takes the complete opposite with Definitely Not Fried Chicken. Until February 5 at 5 p.m.this game with a deliberately misleading title is offered free and permanently, provided you add it to your library in time.
But behind its cartoon style and economical gameplay lies a biting satire of the entrepreneurial dream. The player plays a boss ready to do anything to succeed, even if it means running his legal business – a fast food restaurant – as a showcase for much more dubious activities.
The legacy of a cult series as a starting point
The nod to breaking Bad is obvious, even in the iconography: an establishment with Los Pollos Hermanosa criminal double life and a rise to power as dazzling as it is risky. But the game doesn’t end there.
The objective is to build a real empire, mixing cooking recipes and illicit chemistry. You have to recruit staff, design optimized production lines, avoid the suspicions of law enforcement, and above all grow your income without getting caught. An unstable balance between profit, cover-up and expansion.
The gameplay works like a dynamic puzzle: each decision can lead to a domino effect in your organization, from front of house service to clandestine delivery. This gives each game a constant tension and a feeling of progression that is quite addictive.
A free game, but not necessarily general public
If the concept is original, it will not suit all audiences. The tone is satirical, sometimes cynical, and the game mechanics may confuse fans of more “classic” management. The interface is minimalist, the graphic appearance deliberately retro, and certain mechanics may seem vague during the first hours.
Despite everything, it is precisely these rough edges that give it its charm. Where other games guide the player step by step, Definitely Not Fried Chicken throws him into the bath, without an indigestible tutorial. It’s up to you to discover how to optimize your channels, avoid police raids and keep your employees motivated despite the nature of your activities.
Why you should (still) try it
Even imperfect, Definitely Not Fried Chicken has the merit of standing out from the crowd. Its dark humor, its indirect approach to organized crime and its hybrid management logic make it an atypical experience. And above all, it costs you nothing. Once claimed from the Epic Games Store before February 5, it will stay in your library forever.
In a video game landscape saturated with remakes and risk-free games, this type of offbeat proposition deserves to be welcomed. Whether you are a management enthusiast, a fan of breaking Bador simply curious to try something else, this is an opportunity not to be missed.