Karoshi: Suicide Salaryman
Karoshi has finally made its way into your internet browser! Karoshi: Suicide Salaryman is the first official Flash installment in this popular series by Jesse Venbrux, existential Game Maker auteur extraordinaire. In case you skipped the first three installments, Karoshi is a platform/puzzle game where your goal is the exact opposite of most such entertainments: you have to die.
Throw yourself onto spikes, zap yourself with electricity, smash yourself with a falling safe. It's like an extended version of the cathartic moment when you get finally get sick of Mario's empty-headed cheerleading and just hurl him off a cliff.
Control your blocky businessman with the [arrow] keys. If you find a gun, fire it with the [spacebar]. I know, it sounds like finding a gun should make a game about suicide reeeeally simple; but due to a lack of courage and elbows, your man can only shoot away from himself. You have to find other uses for the gun, if you want to work it into your demise.
Analysis: Karoshi could have been a pretty grim experience, but Venbrux has tackled the topic of self-destruction with humor. The main character's design is simple but perfect. He is a square in every sense of the word, born and bred to inhabit a cubicle. His fixed, wide-set gaze suggests that hope and ambition are distant memories, and his only remaining emotion is brittle determination. You'd want to give him a hug, if he weren't all sharp edges.
Suicide Salaryman is much less ostentatiously goofy than Karoshi 1 or 2, but the puzzles are a little more intricate, with a greater emphasis on exploding blocks and chain reactions.
The mind games are lighter for the Flash crowd, with strange, out-of-place emoticons offering hints, and way fewer levels that require you to think outside of the box. On the other hand, more solutions require split-second timing, and everything seems to be faster anyway. It feels like the twitchiest Karoshi.
I don't think I like the new blood effects. Just because Flash makes it easy to work with vectors, everything doesn't have to look like an exploding ball of crimson yarn. But the classic blocky Karoshi graphics are as charming as ever, and the background music is still the perfect combination of up-beat and off-beat.
This game is mostly about inverting expectations about video games, but it also touches on real-world issues. "Karoshi" is the word for a Japanese phenomenon where businesspeople suddenly drop dead from stress-related illness, due to overwork. It doesn't have anything to do with intentional suicide. Venbrux has twisted the meaning of the word, crafting an indictment of oppressive corporate environments, rather than the social pressures that would drive people to literally work themselves to death. I think it's a less interesting topic, but then, I have the luxury of working in a non-rectangular office. Maybe the point about cubicles killing you just can't be made often enough.
Walkthrough Guide
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FULL WALKTHROUGH!!!
Walkthrough
lvl 49 (aka 49 lives left)
go right and jump into spikes
lvl 48 (aka 48 lives left etc)
push leftmost safe to the right so you can use it to jump up, then push the right safe out of the way so you can jump into spikes
lvl 47
step on the button to make the safe fall down. Then walk over and push the safe to the left and leave it on top of the button. Then go jump into the spikes.
lvl 46
Press either button to make the safe fall down. THen go and push the safe to the right so it is lying directly over the rightmost button. Then go push that button to make the safe fall on top of you
level 45
don't push the button at first, instead push the lower safe to the right until it us underneath the upper safe. Then go push the button to make the higher safe fall right on top of the lower one. You can then go and push the lower safe out from underneath causing the higher safe to fall on top of you, thus killing you.
level 44
go get the gun, then jump and shoot the safe on the platform until it falls off, then jump onto the safe and then off of it as a boost to get to the spikes
level 43
get the gun and shoot at the lower right bumber. Quickly, as the bullet is going around, jump up onto the platform to the left/middle of the screen and as the bullet is coming back around, jump into it
Level 42
get the gun and shoot at the lower left bumper twice. Quickly, as the bullets are going around, run to the right. When the bullets hit the safe, they will knock it off. Make sure the safe lands on top of you
Level 41
get the gun and stand on the small platform sticking up from the ground to the left. Shoot as many bullets as quickly as you can. If done correctly, you should shoot the box and then the safe as it is falling down, knocking it out of the way of the hole. Then push the box all the way to the right and jump off of it to reach the spikes
level 40
get the gun and start bouncing on the green thing. As you are bouncing, shoot the bumper and try to get the bullet(s) to bounce back and hit you
level 39
get the gun and shoot either the lower left or lower right bumpers. When the bullet comes back around, manuever yourself into it's path.
level 38
grab the gun and shoot the left most explosive. The safe will get blown to the right, then get blown back to the left and will land where it started. Once you shoot the first explosive, move yourself to the right so you are underneath where the safe will land
level 37
get the gun and push the upper explosive to the right. Position it right in the middle of the other explosives (right on top of the grey platform) then go stand directly underneath the left safe and shoot the explosives. the chain reaction will push the other safe to the right which will activate the switch and drop the safe on you
level 36
get the gun and push the lower safe slightly to the right so the safe is just hanging off the edge. Then shoot the explosives underneath and it should blow the safe to the right on top of the other set. Push the safe to the right again so it's just hanging off the edge and shoot the explosives again, the safe should blow over on top of the last set of explosives. Again, push the safe to the right but before you shoot the explosives, go all the way to the left and stand underneath the other safe, then blow up the explosives and the safe should land on the switch, dropping the other safe on top of you
level 35
keep moving left and you will transport to the other side of the map, then jump up into spikes
level 34
push the bottom safe to the left until you can use it to jump up. Push the second highest safe over to the right until it fall on top of another safe. Go back down and push the bottom safe all the way to the right. Go to the right through the big switch (which turns on the electricity) and push the button. go back left through the switch (which turns the electricity off) and push the highest safe to the right through the switch(turning it on) use the safe you pushed through to jump over to the left and go stand on the electric boxes
Level 33
i don't know how to do this one legit, but i just quickly went in and out of the switch until i was able to hit it and back out just right so it stayed on, if anyone knows how to do it correctly let me know
level 32
push the safe over to the right until the explosive drops down. Then push the safe to the left until it is just touching the electric boxes. Push the explosive to the right until it is right next to the safe. jump down, activate the switch and quickly go under the second safe. The explosive box should blow up when you turn on the switch, blowing the first safe over onto the button, releasing the second safe
level 31
jump on the green thing, get the gun and land on the small platform. Shoot to the right until the higher box falls and gets pushed over onto the button. Then jump and shoot the lower right bumper to take out the wooden box. Then shoot it again, but quickly run all the way to the right and stand in the way of the bullet (this may take a few tries)
level 30
just walk into the spikes
level 29
grab the gun, shoot the wooden boxes in your way and jump up and over to the platform that puts you in line with the other boxes. Shoot the first two. Now, as soon as you shoot the third, run to the right to get underneath the falling safe.
level 28
This one is tricky. You have to jump, grab the gun and shoot the bumper all in one go. If you mess up restart. Once you get it, the bullet will bounce back and forth. activate the switch when the bullet is on the RIGHT side, and then run over and get under the safe before it falls
level 27
here you can "teleport" across the map through the sides again. So get the gun, shoot one way, warp to the other side and get hit by the bullet
level 26
start by jumping off of the lower safe, and up to get the gun. Jump over to the left and push the highest safe off the edge. Then push that safe to the right and have it land on the button. Then push the other safe on the bottom to the right to activate the square switch. You can then jump off that safe, and the second one. With both switches activated you should be able to drop down into the right section, with a safe on top of a wooden box. Drop down and shoot to the left and take out the box. Quickly run over and have the safe land on top of you.
level 25
push the safe as far to the right as you can while still leaving enough room to jump over and push it back. Push the explosive directly on top of the wooden box and shoot it. Jump to the other side of the safe and shoot rapidly in succession to push the safe over the hole where the box was (make sure not to push it all the way over to the right. Push the safe on top of the boxes with o's in the middle. Jump up, step on the button and activate the switch. Jump down, push the safe onto the square switch, and jump into the electric boxes
level 24
get the gun, jump and shoot the safe and quickly run to the right to have it land on you
level 23
get the gun. Push the lower box all the way to the right. Jump down, shoot the lower left bumper, then jump back up and immediatly shoot as many bullets as you can to the right at the lower safe. When the first bullet hits the higher safe, it should hit the button and the lower safe should be shot over to the right. If it isn't already, push the lower safe onto the square switch, and jump into the spikes
level 22
get the gun, jump up and to the left. DO NOT press the button. Instead stand to the left of it and shoot rapidly to the right. Once a lot of bullets are going, step on the switch and run to the right. If done correctly, one of the bullets should have blown up the fallin explosive causing a chain reaction which pushes the safe to the right. Make sure you are standing underneath the safe when it falls.
level 21
get the gun and stand on the button. Fire one bullet and as soon as it is passed where the barrier was, get of the switch so that the bullet hits the safe, but the safe does not fall into the pits. Repeat until the safe is near the right-most pit. Then Shoot the safe, keeping the button pressed, so it falls onto the other button. You should then be able to jump into the spikes.
level 20.
jump into the pit in the middle and you will continually warp to the top and fall again. Get the gun and shoot both the safes over so that they fall on the two switches (you'll have to hit both of them twice) Then you can go jump into the spikes
Level 19
run to the right and keep pressing space quickly. You should hit the button, pick up the gun, fire bullets, and have bullets bounce back and kill you before the safe falls
level 18
as soon as you press the button run right to have the safe land on you
level 17
push the safe to the right until it just activates the switch (don't push it any farther) then run all the way to the left and warp to the other side and run into the spikes
level 16
jump up to where the button is. You can then jump over to the right on top of the highest platform (you will jump "through" the cieling") then run to the right until you fall on the spikes
Level 15
jump onto the lowest free standing platform. You can't jump up to the right, but you can jump to the left and "warp." activate the switch and jump on the electrified boxes
Level 14
run right, through the switch, warp to the other side of the map and onto the electrified boxes
Level 13
jump and hit the button. It will appear that nothing has happened. Restart. You will now start in a different spot. Hit the button, restart. Hit the button again, restart again. Activate the switch, and stand on the electric box
Level 12
One of the spikes on the right side is the real one, it will kill you
Level 11
keep jumping. You will jump higher and higher every time until you jump high enough to reach the gun. Jump down and jump up again until you can reach the bumpers. Shoot and kill yourself with the rebounding bullet.
Level 10
if you run to the left to "quickly" a wall will show up. Run to the left in small increments (i.e. tap the left arrow so you only move a small amount at a time) then the wall won't show up and you can run into the spikes
Level 9
if you fall down the pit, you will warp to the top. Use this to get the gun. Jump down the right pit and land next to the explosive. Push it to the left until it falls off. It should land up and to the right of the safe. Shoot the explosive so the safe gets blown to the left and starts falling forever. Jump over the gap and stand so your body is just hanging off the edge, the safe should squish you.
Level 8
DO NOT push the button. Jump up and get the gun. Shoot all of the wooden boxes without hitting any explosive. After all the boxes are gone, push the left safe all the way to the right (so it's next to one explosive and on top of another one) Jump up and over to the other side of the level. Push the explosive over here all the way to the left. Stand under the right safe and shoot the explosive. The chain reaction should push the other safe over onto the button, dropping th right safe onto your head.
Level 7
move a little bit to your right and press K on your keyboard
Level 6
If everything you do is wrong, then do nothing (i.e. restart the level and don't press ANYTHING) You will blow up after a few seconds
Level 5
Left and right are reversed, which makes it a little tricky. But get used the new controls and jump onto the floating boxes and into the spikes
Level 4
Wherever you click (with your mouse) a box will appear. Make a staircase and jump into the spikes
Level 3
Your character can now stand on your mouse. You can now jump up, move the mouse underneath your character and have him stand on it. Use this new power to jump up and get the gun. Then drop down and shoot the safe over to the left (if you miss, you can always stand on your mouse and try again) then run into the spikes
Level 2
despite your gaming instincts, you have to give up. Click on the return to menu button in the top left part of your screen and you will die.
Level 1
avoid the hearts (they will give you more lives....more lives=bad) and try to get squished by the jumping pink box. It somewhat followes a pattern (if you restart it will jump to the same places)
Congratulations!!!!!! You have succussfully killed yourself!
Posted by: vader177
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October 13, 2008 4:31 PM