Headliner: NoviNews

Headliner: NoviNews is a fun game that really can emphasis just how powerful a headline and news story can be, not to mention the wider impact it can have on a society. This is an experience that pushes the adage that actions have consequences so well.

Headliner: NoviNews is a solid political adventure title with gut-wrenching decisions and scathing morality. If you can withstand the crushing weight of your decisions, you're sure to love your time in Novistan.

Despite the repetitive nature that comes with playing a game multiple times however, Headliner: NoviNews is still as enjoyable, intriguing and powerful a year after my first experience with it.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Headliner. There isn’t a lot in the way of gameplay, but with good reason. The gameplay here is just a tool to force focus onto the bigger picture. The fun doesn’t come from approving or rejecting stories, it comes from seeing the effects of your choices play out in the world around you. A short playtime and multiple endings encourage you to play a few times to see all the game has to offer. If you like story-based games, Headliner: NoviNews will make a great addition to your library.

The characters, writing, animation and layered complexity make this a game that feels layered ultimately rewarding.

Headliner: NoviNews is a hard-hitting news cycle simulator that takes the choose-your-own adventure model through dark themes and into the political cycle of a country in turmoil. Issues with controls and short, repeated play-throughs are a bummer, but tolerable.

Headliner: NoviNews puts the player in a newspaper desk with the power to decide which stories will be published and along with this, the responsibility of taking major decisions that affect other characters' lives. This is the major selling point of Headliner: NoviNews and at the same time, it's also what will put it off for other players who will find this concept less appealing. Nevertheless and despite some less enthusiastic aspects of this game, players who dedicate themselves will be motivated into taking this experience further and further.

Headliner: NoviNews isn’t meant to dazzle people with super tight, unique, and revolutionary gameplay. It is, however, immensely replayable as it gives room for you to play through the story again and make all sorts of different choices the second or third time around. Whichever route you take, the entire practice of selecting which articles to publish is to get you thinking about the role journalism plays in society. It’s meant to provoke thought and test the player’s willingness to stay true to their own self in the face of ever-growing moral quandaries.

Headliner: NoviNews has a great concept, interesting characters that you’ll care about, and potential of an enormous amount of replayability. But each part of the game is hindered by something else that can make getting through it a bit tedious or annoying. However, despite these problems, it's at least worth one or two playthroughs.

Headliner: NoviNews’ poignant narrative and weighty decisions offers an entertaining take on a topical conversation: the responsibility of media. Sitting in such a position of power challenges your morals in smart ways while being fun to boot. This is fake news worth investing in.

Headliner is a short experience of just a few hours, mainly built to play over and over again to see how different decisions change how the story goes. Many interesting choices exist for you to make within Headliner, some I can’t say I was overly comfortable with making. The game has a lot to say and not much interest in whether or not it’s exactly what you want to hear. I think it’s an interesting experience that anybody with an interest in politics should absolutely check out, and its “no perfect solution” approach is very interesting even if it is oversimplified. The heavy handedness and the lack of gameplay variety make this game feel hard to recommend.

As a single experience, Headline: NoviNews works quite well, despite having some dark outcomes. But it's lack of depth means you'll get little from playing it through a second time.

I found Headliner: NoviNews entertaining enough to play through multiple times. Yet I still have several concerns with it. Even if the length and repetitiveness isn’t a bother, the lack of choices in a key subplot (and lack of moderate choices in general) plus numerous glitches certainly are. I can’t recommend it at its $13.99 launch price, stimulating though it is. However, the very good foundation here means I’ll be watching for Unbound Creations’ next Nintendo Switch title with anticipation.