Consume Me

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Consume Me
DevelopersJenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder[1]
PublisherHexacutable[1]
DirectorsJenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson
EngineUnity
PlatformsWindows, MacOS[1]
ReleaseSeptember 25, 2025
GenreLife simulation
ModeSingle-player
Jenny Jiao Hsia in 2025

Consume Me is a video game by Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson. It received the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, Nuovo Award, and Wings Award, and was nominated for the Excellence in Design, Excellence in Narrative, and Excellence in Visual Art awards[2] at the 2025 Independent Games Festival.[3][4]

The game centers primarily around the player character's daily schedule, with a particular emphasis on the effects of an eating disorder on their day-to-day life.[5]

Gameplay

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Consume Me has a semi-autobiographical story, revolving around the daily, teenage life of developer Jenny Jiao Hsia.[6] The gameplay consists of a series of minigames that simulate everyday activities, such as eating, exercising and applying makeup.[7][8] The player needs to manage Jenny's schedule by strategically allocating her limited time throughout the day. In addition, the player must maintain different character attributes, including energy, mood and money, which are affected by the outcomes of the minigames.[9]

Development

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Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson co-directed the game. They met as students in the NYU Game Center program and have collaborated on multiple projects, including Beglitched. Consume Me began as Hsia's capstone project for her undergraduate degree. Hsia prototyped the minigames, created the art direction and narrative, and built the non-interactive sequences. Thomson programmed most of the game, designed its systems, and contributed its text and musical scene. They were joined by Ken "coda" Snyder (soundtrack) and Violet W-P (sound design). Jie En Lee created much of the game's art.[10]

Prototypes of two minigames were playable at the Victoria and Albert Museum's Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt exhibitions in Kensington and Dundee between 2018 and 2019[11][12], exhibited alongside objects from Hsia's moodboard and her sketchbook[13]. The game was built with the Unity game engine[10] and released on September 25, 2025 for Windows and MacOS.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Consume Me on Steam". Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  2. ^ "'Consume Me' Leads with 5 Nominations at 2025 IGF Awards". January 15, 2025. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  3. ^ Maas, Jennifer (March 20, 2025). "'Balatro' Wins Game of the Year at Game Developers Choice Awards; 'Consume Me' Takes Top Honor for Independent Games Festival". Variety. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  4. ^ Elderkin, Beth (March 20, 2025). "'Consume Me' Wins Grand Prize, Nuovo Award at the 2025 IGF Awards". Game Developer. Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  5. ^ Liao, Shannon (September 26, 2025). "She Counted Calories as a Teen, Then Created a Game About It". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Bea, Robin (September 24, 2025). "'Consume Me' Masterfully Portrays Teenage Trauma But Leaves Its Most Important Chapter Out". Inverse. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  7. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (September 24, 2025). "Coming-of-age horrors cut deep in Consume Me". Polygon. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  8. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (October 4, 2025). "Consume Me is a raw and funny memoir in video game form". The Verge. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  9. ^ Taylor, Mollie (September 30, 2025). "Consume Me is a devastatingly accurate insight into diet culture and how all-consuming it is trying to attain the perfect lifestyle". PC Gamer. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Couture, Joel (March 20, 2025). "The bleak humor and desperate power of Consume Me". Game Developer. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  11. ^ Williams, Rihannon (September 8, 2018). "Videogames: The V&A exhibition putting game design on an artistic pedestal". The i Paper. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  12. ^ Dornan, Russell (March 6, 2019). "Videogames: what to expect in Dundee". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  13. ^ Valade, Damien (October 26, 2018). "Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt at the V&A, an exhibition not to be missed". Medium. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  14. ^ Tran, Edmond (September 24, 2025). "Consume Me Review". This Week in Videogames. Retrieved October 15, 2025.

Further reading

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