While Waiting Review (PC)

If there was ever a time to do absolutely nothing, it would be right here and now, in the mist of a new generation that idolizes idleness and abolishes the mere existence of strenuous exercise. To capitalize on this rather unusual trend, While Waiting has taken the opportunity to single-handedly reduce the complexity associated with convoluted control systems and, with a pinch of bravery, test the patience of a certain group of individuals. In other words, the studio behind the idle-centric chapter has made an experience based on the act of doing, well, nothing. For example, in the opening segments of the journey, you must stand in a queue as a sperm cell, and simply wait for your turn to, you know, live. And yes, this is a video game, with perhaps a strong emphasis on the video aspect over the game. But fine — sure.

While Waiting isn’t so much about the act of waiting, but rather, the things you do while waiting. Take, for example, a long and grueling car journey; the road is flat, and the scenery is next to none existent — but the fact that you have to keep yourself entertained in some way makes you more inclined to create plausible scenarios in your head and act on them. This is, in short, the grounds that While Waiting bases its efforts on: forcing you to idle by as literally nothing happens around you, whether it’s in a traffic jam or on a dead social media post. And guess what? It’s weirdly entertaining, even though it makes little to no effort to instill excitement in its audience.

If you’re interested in learning more about While Waiting, then be sure to read on as we dive even deeper into the art of idle clicking.

Minimal Effort

There’s a lot I can say about While Waiting. Well, there isn’t, but given the fact that time isn’t of the essence at the moment, and that I have all the time in the world to talk about it, I might as well just go with the flow at this point. To answer the question of what While Waiting is, allow me to paint a picture for you. The goal of the game (if you can call it that) is to sift through a series of scenarios—short idle episodes that take place over the course of a lifetime—and to use your cunning skills to whittle down second, minutes, and hours by, if you can believe it, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

The game begins in the womb (because, why wouldn’t it, right?) of a nameless mother, at which point your only choice is to wait patiently until something—anything happens. There’s a queue, a few bits and bobs to gaze at, and the looming possibility that a future of daring excursions could be a reality should you be willing to bide your time and wait for it. But, there’s a catch: you won’t have the chance to do anything exciting; the world has different plans, and it wants you to give as little effort as possible to achieve these goals. And that’s where the gameplay comes in. Well, I say gameplay as if to suggest that there are things you need to do, when in reality, the only thing you can do is hope that there’ll be something waiting for you on the other side. Spoiler alert: there isn’t.

Procrastinating in Style

Of course, While Waiting couldn’t possibly be about nothing at all, otherwise it wouldn’t be a video game. Alas, there are several things they you can do while you wait for the next “story” beat, but they’re about as meaningless as a paper towel on a volcano tour. In one case, for example, you’re tasked with waiting for the sunshine to make an appearance, and you have the opportunity to count raindrops and walk back and forth until such an occasion happens. Naturally, you don’t earn anything from completing these small tasks, other than, perhaps, a big ol’ pat on the back from you inner impatient self. And thankfully, you don’t have a single occasion to reward yourself with such high praise; there are a hundred other levels to beat. Lord, give me strength.

I will put my hands up and say this: While Waiting is as equally frustrating as it is hilarious. Take the luggage level, for example; it requires you to wait for your suitcase, but makes you gaze at countless other pieces of luggage on a ludicrously slow-paced conveyor belt for, you know, ages. Granted, this isn’t exactly laugh-out-loud material, but I can sort of see how some people might find it oddly amusing. That is, until their luggage gets rerouted and placed behind another batch of cases. But that’s all part of the fun, isn’t it? *sobs*

Patience Is a Virtue

It wasn’t until I found myself holding my irritable child in a fairground queue that I realized how impatient I actually was. Don’t get me wrong, I have children, and I too understand the struggle of having to wait for them whilst they either queue up for an extremely overpriced slideshow or a concession stand. And yet, While Waiting was able to exacerbate those struggles by adding a whole bunch of additional curveballs into the mix. Did I want to be at the front of the queue? Yes. But did I want to have to wait until my name was called? Absolutely not — but that was the point, and I wasn’t entirely sure if I was loving it or gradually slipping into complete madness.

There is a silver lining to the monotonous process of being the last in line, and that’s the visuals. As it turns out, While Waiting has some pleasantly surprising set pieces and areas of interest to gaze over with a fine-tooth comb. And that’s great, because let’s face it, if there wasn’t anything of interest to look at, then it would more or less be the case of flipping to another tab in the browser and waiting for a signal to come back. But that isn’t the case here; the game actually looks pretty good, and its comic book style makes for a worthy addition to an otherwise dull experience. For that, I’m on the fence, and I can’t honestly figure out whether I’m perplexed by the concept, or if I’m suffering from some intense case of Stockholm syndrome. Either way, I’m finding enough to talk about — so that’s something.

Verdict

While Waiting is about as tongue-in-cheek as you could possibly get. The game (yes, it is a game) will surely test your patience and your ability to withstand the torment of a fixed system — but that, at least to some people, is a challenge unto itself, and a journey that will likely attract even the most seasoned gamers. It helps, in ways, that the story features a lot of great audiovisual effects and random tidbits, as without them, it might’ve been a different experience. To say that it’s a perfect game wouldn’t be entirely true, but I will say this: It’s certainly memorable, despite its obvious flaws and unfavorable fixation on sending its players around the bend. Thanks for that, by the way.

To cut a long story short, if you can fathom spending several hours slugging through the likes of Getting Over It With Bennet Foddy, then I have faith that you might have the patience to see While Waiting through to the bitter end. If, however, you’re the sort of person who roundhouse kicks inanimate objects after being shot in the forehead with an air rifle, then do yourself a favor and stay well clear of this one. Or better yet, spend an hour or two waiting in a queue for your local government office — if only for the sake of figuring out whether or not you possess the mental capacity to endure a hundred levels of it.