Release Date: Unknown
Played On: Win
Available On: Lin / Mac / Win
Time Played: 8m 32s
Progress: Completed
Developer: Torfi
Publisher: Torfi
It's been a while since I've been able to write about a game and post a new post, so let's ease ourselves back into it with a tiny little game that managed to surprise and delight me in unexpected ways. Although I must stress that my thoughts on this game are genuine, and are by no means satirical, which is something I feel the need to point out after reading other interpretations that failed to find any value in the experience at all.
In fact, most of the other commentary I've read on this little game, is that it's relatively pointless and stupid. However, that is often the case when a game leans into the abstract and surreal nature of its being. I have promised myself not to comment on the way that other players fail to find value in simple games like this, and instead focus on everything I felt while exploring the world and shaking hands.
Fundamentally, this is a game about walking around a seemingly infinite plane, and shaking hands with as many other business men as you can find. After shaking hands, your new friend will follow you, and eventually you are leading a conga line of new business friends around like a suited snake. At least until subsequent scenes, where a new set of business men try to avoid you, opting for each other's hands instead; or when the one person you need to reach is being blocked by rampaging sumo wrestlers. It's quite the journey, and a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.
In the beginning all is well. We have the ability to walk around with the happy clip-clop of each step that rings out and echoes through the vast open space. Every now and then a potted plant appears, creating a warm and welcoming décor amongst which to work. Soon enough you spot another human in the distance, wearing the same pressed suit you have on, despite remaining motionless and unaware of your presence.
While approaching the other man, our arm raises in front of us and we extend our hand. Indeed, the stranger notices our approach, and subsequently raises their own arm and holds out their hand in readiness to receive us. We connect and perform a firm handshake as we acknowledge and recognise each other in an otherwise empty and uninhabited world. That is until we spot another figure standing about a screen’s distance away, similarly motionless and suited up. Our feet begin moving with that familiar clip-clop, but this time we are followed by the fellow we just shared a handshake with, his own clip-clops echoing through ours.
Another handshake, another follower. More business men join the parade and their happy footsteps ring out in a chorus of business shoes on brightly polished floors. I found myself revelling in my new cohort of professional fellows, as it didn't take long before I had shaken more hands than I could keep track of. From a simple gesture of human contact, I had built a community, and it happened within minutes of beginning.
Just as in real life, not all things are sustainable and given to longevity. Perhaps we shone too bright during the first level, with our pied-piper gathering of eager acquaintances, because all of sudden we're alone again in that infinite plane. Our feet clack and ring out as we search for more hands to shake, but this time when we extend our hand towards another, they turn and walk away from us without hesitation. If we stop, they stop, but if we pursue, they find someone else to focus on and shake hands with instead. Leaving us alone and without connection.
So it goes, as we continue extending our hand of friendship and solidarity, only to be rebuked and relegated to walking by ourselves. The crowd no longer gathers, and the parade has become absent. The reality of our position in a world that no longer wants us begins to weigh down, and the infinite world appears barren and desolate. If it weren't for the static décor of potted plants, we may begin to question our own existence and corporeal relationship with our surroundings.
I've worked in offices before, and I've had to wear shirts and ties, and I've shaken a lot of hands. To say that this tiny little game resonated with me deeply, is something of an understatement. There's a particularly nuanced state of corporate loneliness that is captured beautifully in A Firm Handshake, which left me feeling blue and thankful that I escaped that life so long ago.
At the same time, A Firm Handshake is a neat allegory for modern life in the grip of a pandemic. Our interactions and social connections have lost their physicality and our world has become one of distance and disinfectant. We've revelled in the benefits of remote learning, working from home, and eliminating human interaction while remaining productive in society. Meanwhile this short little game asks us what we might have lost when we removed physical connections and became fixated on our own isolated satellite lives.
A Firm Handshake might not speak to everybody in the same way, which is essentially a moot point to be said about any work of art. However, I feel like this game deserves a healthy dollop of recognition for its minimalist and surreal method of understanding loneliness and human relationships. After all, no amount of elbow-bumps and Zoom calls will ever replace the bond of a human being occupying an adjacent space in reality. This game reminds us how important connections can be, and I applaud it for succeeding; whether it intended to or not.