Troleu is perhaps the most specific job simulator game I’ve encountered. Drawing inspiration from developer andrground’s experience with Moldovan public transit, it’s a tempest of ticket counting, validating trolley passes, and launching passengers at an unforgiving ticket inspector to prevent monetary losses.
In my gameplay experience with the Troleu demo, I took on the role of a trolleybus conductor, tasked with taking fare payments. Sometimes passengers utilized card payments, while others clung to cash, insisting that ‘credit is for weaklings.’ This compelled me to rummage through the various compartments of my conductor bag for sufficient change. Others presented their trolley passes, urging me not to scrutinize too closely.
Issuing proper payment and paperwork allowed me to present a fresh ticket from my ticket roll. However, if a pass was expired or, as frequently happened, displayed an entirely different individual’s image, my only available response was to firmly kick the fare-dodger’s chest before tossing them off the moving trolley.
According to the law, that’s perfectly acceptable.
During my routes, the regulations sometimes dictated that older gentlemen were banned from trolleys due to an ordinance against pipe-smoking or that young girls were forbidden from using public transit because of their excessive giggling. Each passenger who breaks the law diminishes my earnings when I arrive at a stop, so unfortunately, grandma—there’s a new regulation prohibiting your presence, and you’ll have to be thrown off.
As a result, I not only achieved one or two but THREE separate achievements for tossing grandmas from the trolleybus this morning.
The trolley route manifests as a constantly evolving environment of disorder and violence. Passengers may turn aggressive, assaulting one another with overpowering odors or loud music from portable speakers. Some may carry jarred pickles that they drop, shattering on the floor as the trolley encounters a pothole. Others might become inexplicably irate, triggering an impromptu boxing minigame.
Occasionally, I find myself relieved of my ticket stock by shoplifters who board the bus intermittently. They are crucial for replenishing my ticket supply during the course.
You might be pondering, ‘Wow, this guy is pretty unfazed by the casual violence toward pretend passengers.’ My apathy stems from a greater threat onboard the trolley: the ticket inspector. This disdainful juggernaut boards trolleys to ensure compliance with ticket rules. Should he discover even one violation, he charges me and evicts me from my own trolley, stripping me of my earnings. My only defense when he goes on the offensive is to hurl hapless passengers at him until he retreats.
Despite failing several routes, I believe I have at least made a valiant attempt.
Troleu currently lacks a release date, but you can check out the demo now on Steam.
