The Red Button (2024)

Developer: Instant Death
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Genres: Indie, Free To Play
Rating: 4.1 of 5, 297 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 1.2 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A minimal, contemplative experience where the player is prompted to make a single binary choice, with a focus on restraint and the subtle tension of defiance.

minimalistmysterioustensecontemplativeabstractshortinteractive fiction

What players say

Players describe it as an hour-long test of willpower where you resist pressing a red button. Many call it an easy way to earn achievements, and some treat it as a philosophical exercise about choice. Most find it silly but satisfying, though one reviewer found it boring.

Screenshots

More games like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.