Thank you so much to Maxim for the wonderful advice, now I can MOG my rivals and become the top dog in the animal kingdom!!!
More seriously, considering the obviously satirical nature of this work, I thought that this was a very interesting look at the perpetuation of toxic masculinity and unrealistic beauty standards among men - which is a topic that is not nearly talked about enough (though of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from chimeriquement!) It also manages to pack a LOT of problems with the manosphere into the 1000 word limit (h0m0ph0bia, mi$0gyny, overemphasis on $exu@l conquest as a sign of a man’s worth, so on and so forth).
Click for some minor spoilers
One thing that immediately stuck out to me is how surprisingly reasonable Maxim sounds at times. Of course, he MOSTLY sounds like a tool (who encourages you to smash your face for a sharper jawline), but he’s not stupid - he cites scientific research, recommends that you sleep well and eat a balanced diet, etc. Rather than “blaming women for not dating them,” he encourages unpopular guys to actively better themselves. It’s a line of reasoning that almost sounds healthy/empowering, if it didn’t play straight into ideals of toxic masculinity, framing men as competitors, overemphasizing the “grind” and the need to better oneself to “perform” (rather than bettering yourself for your own sake; or accepting yourself as you are). It does a good job at toeing the line between making Maxim absurdly ridiculous and genuinely persuasive - which is perfectly in line with alpha male influencers
Near the end of the game, after the stream is off, you see a glimpse of Maxim’s “hidden depths” (and the usage of color matrices for this was a very clever way of utilizing the jam constraints!) as he confronts his own insecurities, both about his looks and his effect on the world. However, even when you see those hidden depths, it becomes plain how shallow/self-absorbed Maxim is. Throughout, Maxim expresses derision towards both genders (talking down on “females” as if they are a different species; criticizing his fellow men as losers). Even in his “happily ever after,” he addresses his future wife as a beautiful tool who will look pretty, have relations with him, and give him children. The only person he treats as a human being is his potential future child - a son, of course, not a daughter - who is almost an extension of himself. It’s a rare moment of self-awareness and thoughtfulness, but even that is reeking of Maxim’s ego.
Of course, the artwork is gorgeous, and I loved the contrast of the pink with the UBER MASCULINE content. The chill lo-fi track in the background felt very podcast-like but also a bit eerie. I really liked how Maxim’s design was undoubtedly “attractive” but also made him look so much older than he actually was (to the point where I thought he must be 40). It was really in line with what I’ve seen of “beauty” influencers, where the overuse of cosmetics and “looksmaxxing” techniques leaves them so much older looking than they actually are.
Overall I really enjoyed this, and in particular I liked the exploration of this topic in particular. Maxim is not babied, but he is humanized (and I’d honestly love to see more explorations like this in fiction!) Fantastic work, as always!