"Wake Up"

11 April 2025

83s

Oh, rats!

As Birmingham struggles with a rat infestation of epic proportions, Xbox accidentally rubs salt in the wound with a commercial about human-sized rats. Protagonist Horatio (geddit?) is stuck in an all-too-familiar rut: wake up, work, eat, sleep, repeat. He's got a running wheel in his apartment, mind you, but it only just gets the rodent's heart pumping.

Beyond his front door is a drab city full of dystopian ads for cheese, protein drinks, and ambulance chasers ("1-696-CHEDDAR-NOW"). His job's not much better, to be honest—all he does is stamp forms until 6pm on the dot. This is the rat race at its most demoralising, only some rodents have evolved into humans able to break up the monotony of life.

Like a great mouse rat detective, Horatio pieces it together: they all play Xbox games on multiple devices and screens. After a shaky start to Microsoft's 'This is an Xbox' campaign, it's a case of identity crisis averted thanks to meticulous world-building, tactile direction from Romain Chassaing, and visual effects courtesy of 1920, who nail both Horatio's human and animal motions.

Global

Electronic Gaming