"If VR was invented for anything, it was the simulation of pushing important-looking red buttons".
Not For Broadcast, the thoroughly ridiculous full-motion propaganda sim, is getting a VR version. Now, you’ll have to use your fallible mortal hands to exercise strict control over Britain’s media diet, making sure its ever-more calamitous government keeps looking slick and ship-shape even while everything collapses. Perish the thought.
The VR version of Not For Broadcast promises the same “gameplay, story, and gripping dark comedy” as the original, but with the tantalising prospect of being able to “punch, slap and grab anything that dares to get between you and the truth”. This is so immersive, boast the devs, that you’ll “feel like you’re really being electrocuted by your poorly maintained equipment!”
It looks, well, as absurd as the original game, which was already plenty slapstick even without your flailing limbs making a hash of everything. Not For Broadcast has a Guinness World Record-holding amount of FMV footage in it, a great deal of which consists of stuff like police chiefs in stockings and bizarre fictional sports. It’s not exactly Swiftian satire, but it’s enjoyably silly most of the time.
Ian Evenden scored the non-VR version of the game 85% in his Not For Broadcast review back in February last year, noting the sheer joy of watching a group of actors getting together and “genuinely enjoying themselves” on screen. He did criticise the game’s limited interactivity, though. Perhaps a VR edition is exactly what it needed?
Not For Broadcast VR releases on March 23 on Steam. You can keep track of updates via the game’s Twitter.
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