Cab companies are gradually disappearing in favor of ridesharing alternatives like Uber and Lyft. As the world inches closer to self-driving cars, we must ask ourselves: How will this impact the drivers that depend on the gig economy to make ends meet?
Chance Agency’s Neo Cab indulges our imagination in a stylish narrative experience–and drops us into Los Osos as Lina Romero, the last human driver in the neon-lit, AI-driven city.
Lina navigates the city using the Neo Cab app. In addition to choosing who to pick up, you also decide how you interact with passengers. Do you humor them? Do you openly show your disdain for the Capra Corporation running humans out of work? Either way, you have to choose wisely–as your conversations affect Lina’s emotional state and her driver rating. Every word, every reaction, has a consequence. You even have to weigh your resources, like money and your car’s battery charge.
As a person who likes to talk with my drivers, I thought the conversations in Neo Cab felt genuine. I could feel the fear and anger and uncertainty in Lina’s words and thoughts, even when she tried her best to conceal it. It’s real angst that any driver or gig worker feels in an increasingly autonomous world. And? Some passengers you meet along the way hint at sharing this sentiment. Humanity’s in trouble, and it’s up to you and Lina to protect it.
This is one of the most honest games I’ve played so far this year–creativity and politics and style and urgency beautifully blend together. I’m also already in love with the high-tech, neon universe. Only time will tell whether I’ll fall prey to Capra’s clutches…
