Just finished my first playthrough of the main game (saving the DLCs for a rainy day, or a free weekend).
This game made a Guinness World Record for "Most Full Motion Video footage in a videogame", clocking in at 42 hours, 57 minutes, and 52 seconds, and I will eventually play through however many times it takes to see it all. The actors are fantastic! The characters of Jeremy and Jenny are funny and heartwarming (lots of the actors are, but these are my favourites). And the fact that they made SO MUCH footage that will never get seen in just one playthrough is amazing! Having the ability to see the rush tapes (all the stuff that did not make that night's broadcast) after each night's play is a huge bonus because I can see all the bits that I couldn't pay attention to while recording the show.
As for the gameplay, the broadcast room element is pretty wild, but could be a bit dodgy at times. I played it in standard mode, which was still forgiving, considering how often I forgot how to fix the channel interference. Each day's broadcast posed different challenges from faulty wiring, damaged equipment, infestation (no spoilers), and of course, content deemed not for broadcast (swears, nudity, hijacked signals, etc), all whilst keeping engagement ratings up by switching cameras and cutting to commercials on time. I quickly started to take pride in my own work and always watched back the broadcasts (noting to my partner the few occasions I had to reshoot the segments, and lamenting that the first cut I did was so much better - the game crashed only twice, but I did have about 3 rating failures to replay). I tried one challenge several times and failed almost immediately each time. It seems that it has to be done perfectly or you fail. Not forgiving at all. I don't think I'll be able to play the challenges.
Between broadcasts, your character has a home life, and most of it is generally narrative, but you do make a few game-altering decisions. I thought it was a bit droll at first, but got really into it as the game progressed and I realized what's happening.
I couldn't have found this game at a better time, with the strife of an election looming in the future. I strived for the best ending because I just didn't want to face reality of our dark future. There are 4 main endings with 2 variations on them EACH. And there are FOURTEEN epilogue endings!
But now that I've gotten the best, I think I can face the rest.
This game made a Guinness World Record for "Most Full Motion Video footage in a videogame", clocking in at 42 hours, 57 minutes, and 52 seconds, and I will eventually play through however many times it takes to see it all. The actors are fantastic! The characters of Jeremy and Jenny are funny and heartwarming (lots of the actors are, but these are my favourites). And the fact that they made SO MUCH footage that will never get seen in just one playthrough is amazing! Having the ability to see the rush tapes (all the stuff that did not make that night's broadcast) after each night's play is a huge bonus because I can see all the bits that I couldn't pay attention to while recording the show.
As for the gameplay, the broadcast room element is pretty wild, but could be a bit dodgy at times. I played it in standard mode, which was still forgiving, considering how often I forgot how to fix the channel interference. Each day's broadcast posed different challenges from faulty wiring, damaged equipment, infestation (no spoilers), and of course, content deemed not for broadcast (swears, nudity, hijacked signals, etc), all whilst keeping engagement ratings up by switching cameras and cutting to commercials on time. I quickly started to take pride in my own work and always watched back the broadcasts (noting to my partner the few occasions I had to reshoot the segments, and lamenting that the first cut I did was so much better - the game crashed only twice, but I did have about 3 rating failures to replay). I tried one challenge several times and failed almost immediately each time. It seems that it has to be done perfectly or you fail. Not forgiving at all. I don't think I'll be able to play the challenges.
Between broadcasts, your character has a home life, and most of it is generally narrative, but you do make a few game-altering decisions. I thought it was a bit droll at first, but got really into it as the game progressed and I realized what's happening.
I couldn't have found this game at a better time, with the strife of an election looming in the future. I strived for the best ending because I just didn't want to face reality of our dark future. There are 4 main endings with 2 variations on them EACH. And there are FOURTEEN epilogue endings!
But now that I've gotten the best, I think I can face the rest.