Please, Don't Touch Anything

There's something oddly satisfying about pressing buttons. Even if it means the end of the world, people just can't resist pressing that big, shiny, red button. Please, Don't Touch Anything takes the whole idea to the next level. This retro indie puzzle game gives you the possibility of pressing all the buttons you want, but not without consequences. The main goal of the game is to go against your better judgement and see in how many ways you can blow up the world.

The game runs on pretty much any computer, even with outdated hardware, due to its retro-style graphics. You can also find it for mobile devices. It consists of a single executable, which you can download and run in just a few seconds, without going through an installation process. A demo version is available, which you can play forever, but it doesn't have as many endings as the full version.

The game starts you off in front of a command console, with only one big, red button in the center, as well as a screen that shows a city in the distance. An off-screen person asks you to watch the console while they go for a bathroom break, and, of course, tells you to not touch anything. Obviously, it's exactly when someone tells us to not touch the big red button when we go ahead and press it.

Once you press the button, you will discover that the console is more complex than it appears. New panels with more buttons will appear from all sorts of secret compartments. When you press the big button for the first time, a switch will show up, which you have to move, after which you may press the big button again to detonate a nuclear bomb and level the city you see on the screen. After blowing up the city for the first time, you have to discover other buttons and switches on the command console and destroy the city in new and interesting ways, which can include earthquakes, alien invasions or even summoning the devil.

The game doesn't make the button sequences obvious, so you have to experiment and figure out various procedures all by yourself. For example, if you press the red button a second time, three numbered buttons will show up, and you will have to input a code to bring up even more controls. Press the button about five times and a secret drawer will open up to give you a screwdriver, which you can use to remove a cover and find yet more buttons.

Each end of the world scenario is triggered by a specific sequence, which you have to figure out. However, the game doesn't expect you to just try out different combinations without following some form of logic. There are numerous clues scattered all over the place, so you have to look carefully and make the connections. For example, a set of arrows will tell you the order in which you have to press a series of buttons. Other clues are not that obvious. You may see some Braille writing or binary code, but you won't immediately know where to use them.

If you just can't resist pressing the big red button, Please, Don't Touch Anything will scratch that particular itch in many interesting ways.