Headliner: NoviNews Reviews
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.
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 tries something new in gaming - managing a news desk and influencing the welfare of the citizens with each day of published and suppressed articles. With a good balance of moral decision making, 2D exploration and interaction with NPCs, the only thing really missing is any depth. After a few repeat plays, you'll have had enough which is a shame as the few hours when the material is fresh is both enjoyable and thought provoking.
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.
There are not a lot of games like Headliner: NoviNews but this new addition to the Nintendo Switch catalogue has a lot of merit, starting with being such a simple game to get into at the same time that it makes the player take decisions of a major importance. This stimulates the player into putting more and more effort into the game and while it's definitely not for everyone, there's plenty in Headliner: NoviNews to keep players satisfied.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Headliner.
I found Headliner: NoviNews entertaining enough to play through multiple times. Yet I still have several concerns with it.
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 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.
It's evident that the team at Unbound Creations is refining the idea of taking tough political issues and making them interesting, digestible, and thought provoking, creating something special and potentially significant.
Headline: Novines is more than just a tick box exercise. The characters, writing, animation and layered complexity make this a game that feels layered ultimately rewarding. There’s little else to really say without spoiling the narrative but if you have ever wondered what a visual novel and papers please look like in one package then it’s time to find out.
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.
Sadly Headliner’s lack of depth, subtlety and nuance undermines the point that it was driving at. That its core design principle is also so derivative of one of the most lauded “art games” of the last decade doesn’t help it, either.
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.
Being put in charge of choosing the headlines that will run for a big city's major source of news must be a weighty responsibility...
For those interested in trying out a social manipulation game before diving into something as depressing as Papers, Please or for anyone who’s skirted visual novels in the past due to the deep time investment typically required, Headliner: NoviNews is a low-commitment entry point.
Thankfully, I didn’t feel like I was getting a lecture, each side of every issue can be explored and the endings don’t cast a judgement on your choices. Its main message is to illustrate the effect the news can have on our daily lives, and gets the point across in a very entertaining way.
Headliner: NoviNews is an engaging, interesting game with a rich story, and what you publish as a national news editor truly impacts the world around you.
Headliner: NoviNews is a second game in the series, lesser in scope, but more fleshed out. It allows you to feel the power through the pages of a national newspaper. It's a great showcase of the power of media and how it can shape the world around us and influence our lives.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Unbound Creations’ Headliner: Novinews is a hyper-compressed exploration of how society reflects the stories it tells, and what this means when the powerful hold all the pens.