Not For Broadcast

Genuinely such an absolute treat start to finish. So much heart, I highly recommend. So much so, I'm writing a proper review rather than a funny line. ---------------- Gameplay ---------------- Every time you change the camera, and every time you censor a word in a 'Not For Broadcast' it feels like a conscious and important decision that all builds to change public relations towards the major factions in the game. It manages to make itself genuinely challenging at times to paint the narrative you want to with such simple mechanics. There is a standout mission that uses the game mechanics perfectly where a political event is attacked by terrorists live on air, and the public reaction shifts based on the cameras you choose to control the narrative. Painting the same event in very different lights. Supposedly this game has 14 different endings, which is kinda crazy. ---------------- Story ---------------- The government's control of the media here feels real, and in some ways even less involved than they are in real life. The game's story takes place over a far longer time frame than I was expecting, which is smart, as these things take time, and indoctrination of the Youth into this new world order is portrayed terrifyingly casually. The segments you control are just normal news segments. But with a militarised dictatorship involved in some way in each part. It also does something very hard, which is to be consistently funny, while never undermining the seriousness of the situation. Got many solid chuckles out of me while I also understood this was no laughing matter. ---------------- Acting ---------------- Occasionally, some scenes with the side characters do feel like an improv comedy show; however, our leading actors hand in an absolute BANGER of a performance. Stand outs are definitely... Claire Racklyeft (Julia Salisbury), who plays a hauntingly fake but charismatic dictator who occasionally stops by to do fun arts and crafts on air. Paul Baverstock (Jeremy Donaldson), who gets to have by far the most memorable scene in the game. And our lead actress, Andrea Valls (Megan Wolfe), with a very grounded performance of an anchor woman who is a pawn in Advances game but through tone, subtle facial expressions, and occasional rogue statements, tells us what she really thinks of all this. ------- Take a Proper Gander at this ------- It is worth mentioning, I'm 90% sure this game is Right Wing Propaganda, which I'm not a fan of. However, I would attribute their style of political commentary more to an inverted 'The Boys' rather than a 'Babylon Bee' or something lame. It doesn't take over the story, and it manages to self-criticise several times throughout to create a landscape alot more nuanced. Especially in the ending I got in, which they seem to almost switch teams. I would also say the main commentary here is about how our opinions are shaped by the media we consume and how that media is selectively fed to us by higher powers, more so than any narrative they have for either side. So if I can sit back and make fun of people who have a cry about everything going woke, then ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, I can't have a cry when something does the opposite. -------------- I'll be back -------------- One run of this game is a lot longer than I thought it would be, which is great, and I will definitely be coming back for a second run to try more extremist approaches to the varying sides rather than a more balanced one. To see how my decisions shape the Territories. Buy game. It good.