Hey there, welcome for another batch of kickass-y hooks and games !
Please forgive this lousy pun in the title, but fall and winter are all about coughs and sneezes so it seemed legit to dedicate this article to such games.
So yes, this month selection is going to be about doctors, sickness and all the games presented are sick, in a good way! It started with the discovery of Prescribe and play on reddit, then I dug to find out the others. Chat with the developer will be on my French blog soon! And yes it will be in French (Sorry not sorry, I’m froggy get over it sweetie).
Without further ado, let’s get into this kickass hooks selection!
Prescribe and pray
Type of hook
Visual, concept, marketing
Official USP
Who said being a Doctor was easy? In Prescribe and Pray, you are the Doctor! Check the patient’s identity, diagnose their illness (often bizarre), and write their prescription. All without making a mistake! So, are you up for the challenge? (Steam)
Marketing hooks
Treat your patients… torture others. You are THE doctor! Prescribe and Pray, the demo is now available on Steam! (Reddit)
Prescribe and Pray – Will you be able to treat all your patients, or sacrifice some? (Reddit)
Prescribe and Pray – Your decisions will heal, or kill… (Reddit)
Context
Precribe and Pray is basically Papers please set in a medical center, in France, in the 90’s. Las Ninas, the solodev behind the title, has no direct link with the medical world, but he’s nostalgic of the 90’s in France so here’s that. He was hugely inspired by Theme hospital, one of the first games he played and loved. I didn’t play this one, but you might find some references there as illnesses in the game are fun and wacky (Although gingeritis, which makes people become red-headed, might make a couple of Irish people furious).
(Short) Review
I played the demo, which lasts about 30 minutes, and it was quite fun ! It was before next fest so some bugs were still there, but the game is fun, the learning curve was steady so that you don’t get overwhelmed or bored and you could feel an interesting story is coming up in the full game.
And I’m not the only one to think so! From 800 wishlists before next fest, Prescribe and Pray surged to 2700 wishlists after the festival. That’s a 1600 increase, very good for a first timer.
My take and my hooks for Prescribe and Pray
Graphically, the games looks polished and the 90’s vibe is very well displayed to the player (we even find invoices in Francs, beloved French currency). The concept is fine tuned and understandable in a couple words. Maybe what Prescribe and Pray missed for performing on reddit or other social media is a catchier intro to its trailer. During the first 10 seconds, all you see is people getting in the office one by one. In rhythm with the music, so the artistic vibe is here, but the marketing devil in me says 10 seconds is too long for social media. Las Ninas could polish his trailer, making the intro only 3 or 5 seconds long, with the shocking moment closer to medium scroll time. It didn’t hurt his wishlist count (which proves the trailer is good otherwise) since people coming to your steam page generally have longer watch times : if they’re here, they’re already interested, which is not the case of people on social media.
Anyhow, here are my attempts to hook Prescribe and Pray’s potential players :
“Paper’s please in a doctor’s office”
“Your patients die, you retry. No risk for you! (Or is it?)”
“Now every doctor uses chat-GPT anyways, so why not try your luck?”
Please check out Precribe and pray’s Steam Page!
Do no harm
Type of hook
Visual, concept, sound
Official USP
Lovecraftian Doctor Simulator (Smart, simple, clear, unique. All you need in a hook)
Marketing hooks
Make moral choices — decide who to save or kill, discover whom to trust, and unlock multiple endings! (steam)
Our experience of rejections for a Game that made ~$750K Gross in 5 Months (reddit – 751 upvotes, the post does a lot too)
I just like the dumb and funny look on the character’s face in my doctor simulator game – Do No Harm (reddit – 170 upvotes)
Lovecraftian, Medical “Papers, Please” with Multiple Endings (reddit – 402 upvotes. The post was just presenting the game but told you the hook is particularly efficient)
Context
Do no harm is, as said before, a lovecraftian doctor simulator. And that’s all that is, but it’s a lot already. Geeks love lovecraft-y stuff. It might be less known than LOTR or Star Wars, but it’s a universe that works well. The horror genre is hot on steam too, here are 14 reasons why Mr. Zuckowski thinks you should make one. And paper please inspired games are pretty scarce, at least very well known ones.
Mix all these ingredients with a unique and polished art style, an interesting concept and compelling gameplay, you’ve got Do No Harm. No wonder why they made 750$ gross revenue on steam alone after 5 months. And 58 publishers ignored/declined their offers. I’d say shame on them, but the potential hit game missed is a big enough punishment for them to endure.
The community manager of the game, called novruzj on reddit, did a tremendous work gathering information and promoting the game, some posts having up to 900 upvotes, and bringing feedback to the team with spot on questions.
All in all, with a solid hook and a good game, they made it into the industry. And their next game, Lunar Ascendant, might hit it right as well with a whole different direction (more on that later).
(Short) Review
Here’s a 3 minute review with a heavy accent guy. Sorry if you don’t get much, but I promised a short review so here it is!
My take and my hooks for Do No Harm
Do No Harm worked well, probably because they had an interesting hook and a good game. They probably don’t need my help for marketing, but if I had to give them a hook, that would be…
“If you ever dreamt of being a doctor in Cthulu’s universe, try our game.”
Please check out Do No Harm’s Steam page!
Rhythm Doctor
Type of hook
Visual, concept, music, narrative, pretty much everything
Official USP
Rhythm Doctor is a rhythm game where you heal patients by defibrillating in time to their heartbeats. Learn each patient’s unique heartbeat and defeat boss viruses trying to sabotage your rhythm, all set to heart-pumping, soul-soothing music. (steam)
Marketing hooks
Save patients with your rhythm mastery! (Steam)
You hit the button. That’s it. (Youtube)
Context
Rhythm doctor has been in development for at least 9 years. 9 YEARS! At least that’s the first trace of the game’s alpha on 7th beat games youtube account. Now it’s a mega huge hit (25000 reviews in one month and 20 days, which is 750 000 units according to Video Game Insights) and not all games developed in 9 years achieve this success, but it can explain how fine tuned is the game now. It’s been in early access for 5 years, since February 2021 and was released in december 7th, 2025. I planned on writing an article about this game in november, and I might have been able to say “I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!” if I did, but well, maybe next time.
In short, Rhythm doctor is a one button rhythm game where you have to heal your patients by defibrillating the heck out of their hearts to make them feel better. One button might seem easy, but it’s not: visual cues are sometimes in motion, oftentimes tricky and you have to know the song well to beat the game. It’s got varied music styles, cute pixel art graphics, an interesting story with takes on loneliness, love, status of the healthcare system and other themes, and you can listen their OST for free on youtube.
(Short) Review
I did not play the game, but IGN reviewed it. When IGN accepts to review your game, it generally smells good for future sales.
My take and my hooks for Rhythm Doctor
Well, their sales skyrocketed and they certainly don’t need my help for marketing, but if I had one hook to give them it would be…
“One button to heal them all.”
Please check out Rhythm Doctor’s Steam page!
If you missed my previous articles (come on Valentin, they most probably did, you’re no Chris Z yet) please read them if you liked this one :
Valentin’s Kickass marketing hooks #1
Valentin’s kickass hooks selection #2 – Bugs, gnomes and houses
Valentin’s kickass hooks SPECIAL: Tanat, A man of houses and love
Good luck have fun (with marketing),
Valentin
