Spying on Strangers Through Hidden Cameras in 2099: Dystopian Thriller Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 Surprise-Launches on Switch and PlayStation
Peeking into the private lives of complete strangers through dozens of hidden security feeds while scrambling to pay your rent on time is a wonderfully twisted premise, and console players can finally jump in today. Developer Fictiorama Studios and publisher Joystick Ventures have officially launched Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 on PlayStation 4 (playable on PS5 via backward compatibility) and Nintendo Switch as of October 22, 2026.
The Primate Observation Club Opens Its Console Doors in 2099
First released on PC via Steam in May 2023, where it earned an 81 Metascore on Metacritic for its sharp writing and darkly comic take on mass surveillance, this sci-fi sequel transports the series' signature investigation loop into a retro-futuristic dystopia. By the year 2099, Earth has been stripped bare into a barren wasteland, humanity has spread across the galaxy onto planets sponsored by megacorporations, and humans now live side by side with robots and aliens.
As the newest recruit of the shadowy Primate Observation Club, your entire world revolves around your apartment terminal. Using the MonkeyVision application, you monitor live hidden camera feeds known as "cages" that peer into corporate offices, deep-space laboratories, occult hideouts, and private homes. While fans of camera-monitoring tension recently saw the co-op horror game Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch bring security feeds to Nintendo consoles, Fictiorama Studios leans into detective work, resource management, and biting social satire.
OmniPal Holograms, Door Peepholes, and Breaking the Golden Rule
Every cycle in Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2099 forces you to balance your obsession with the screens against your own basic survival needs. Buying extra camera licenses, keeping your fridge stocked, and paying rent on time requires picking up odd side jobs and managing your sleep schedule. Whenever a subject lets a suspicious name, schedule, or password slip during a late-night conversation, you cross-reference those clues on the in-game network to answer Club assignments or uncover deeper conspiracies.
Above all else hangs the Club's golden rule: never "feed the monkeys," meaning you are strictly forbidden from interacting with the people you observe. Naturally, the game constantly tempts you to cross that line. Once you piece together enough personal details, you can hack security systems, place threatening phone calls, blackmail corrupt figures, or tamper with someone's experimental beverage from afar, though interfering always carries unpredictable consequences.
To keep the apartment loop fresh, the 2099 sequel introduces several upgrades requested by long-time players:
- The OmniPal AI Assistant: a floating holographic companion that breaks the solitude of surveillance, broadcasts corporate promotions, and unlocks mysterious functions as the story unfolds.
- An Installable Door Peephole: a handy upgrade that lets you check who is knocking before opening the door, helping you dodge your conspiracy-theorist neighbor or far more dangerous visitors.
- End-Game Fast Forwarding: completing your first playthrough unlocks a time-acceleration feature, making it much easier to hunt down missed clues and experience alternate endings on subsequent runs.
My Perspective: The Ultimate Guilty Pleasure for Handheld Play
I still remember getting completely absorbed by this surveillance loop, keeping a real notepad next to me just to track when specific characters showed up on camera. What I love about Fictiorama Studios' design is how organically it turns you into an armchair detective without holding your hand. In a late October lineup already packed with inventive indie gems arriving on console, being able to monitor your "cages" in handheld mode on Switch or from the couch on PlayStation at an accessible price point ($14.99) makes this surprise release an easy recommendation for mystery fans.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
