VideoGame Author Filibuster disguised as a game.
I for one don't have much of a problem with political satire in games, hell one of my favorite game series as a whole is GTA: A series known for lambasting the shit out of american culture and politics and overall providing a fun game in itself. Not every game or piece of media needs to be political, I don't think anyone in their right mind wants Mario to become some political thriller epic, but there's nothing wrong, in moderation, to have political satire as long as either A. You recognize death of the author and allow the viewers to make their own decisions & opinions based on their experiences even if it's not what you intended. B. the satire is subtle & nuanced, recognizing the issues at hand and their complexity and again, *letting the viewer think for themself* and or C. Everything is completely satirized & exagerrated to not even pick a side in the first place.
NITW does none of that.
There are only two characters in this entire game, fans may tell you there's a lot but really like just about every story written like this there's just two. "I agree with the creator's opinions and therefore I'm the most smartest & talented" & "Durr. I am stoopid dum dum and or evil. I disagree with the creator's opinions".
Does it need to be said how...egotistical that style of writing is?
Also yes, spoiler-alert, they pull a lovecraft out of nowhere, and OH WOW, the dum-dum characters that the author disagrees with literally turn out to be EVILS. They're literally portrayed as fucking klansmen mixed with the cthulhu cult, real subtle there. (though tbf, not a bad idea for a story in it's own right)
I'm not even gonna comment on the specific ideology the game professes itself, As someone who's been radicalized in political echo chambers twice in my lifetime I lean centrist these days, it's really if anything just the utter...garbage way it is written in. that isn't to say I do agree with the game's ideals it's just that even if I did[somehow] I'd still think the game itself is garbage.
as for the actual gameplay? there's literally nothing to do. You just walk around and talk with the other one-note characters until some plot point happens or you play some boring shitty minigame that you could literally just play in ANY other game. even Telltale and DAVID CAGE titles have more depth than this game both narratively and as a fucking GAME in itself.
do I like anything about this game? well I'll admit maybe it's just my inner furry the art style is decent, it's nothing special or to write home about but it does have it's own style and that's something worthy of praise. The Game's portrayle of the rust belt from what I heard is pretty accurate as well...but that's really it, I'm not gonna shit on everyone that likes this game and I can understand why some may like it, but it really didn't deserve the praise it got back when it got released. It's nothing deep or "woke" It's just a childish simplification of shit written by someone who jerks off to chapotraphouse & rick and morty while wallowing in self destructive behavior, self-pity, egotism & resentment against the rest of society out of entitlement.
VideoGame a lovely experience
I finished this game in two days, and I definitely intend to replay. (I became BFFs with Bea, and I'm curious about what Gregg's route holds!) The art style is simply beautiful, and I loved the music. (The dream sequences were among the most stunning in both these aspects.) The gang is also a very compelling and believable group of characters — I really connected to Mae, and felt her struggles, even ones I have no personal experience with. I also loved the setting. Having grown up in a Dying Town myself, it all felt very, sadly real. My only real complaint is that the mechanics, for me at least, were not intuitive. I wound up Googling them. But overall, I'd definitely recommend this game — even if you're not normally into video games. Give it a try. It's slow to start, but I think you'll enjoy it.
VideoGame The gold standard for a narrative heavy game
I just finished streaming this game (a tad late, but somehow spoiler free), and I'm, quite frankly, obsessed with it (to the point of cosplaying Mae). Here are my spoiler free thoughts.
On a surface level, it has a simple but effective art style, with lots of flourishes. Characters and places have just enough detail to look interesting, and the animation's full of character (from the way eyes subtly glance at moving objects, to Mae's ear twitch and joyful leap).
Similarly, the writing is top notch. Not only does it absolutely nail the individual character driven stories, while still having a lot to say about the Adult Fears and injustices that define their lives, but it uses what it has in some fascinating ways. Optional areas and secrets abound (pun intended) in the exploration segments, dialogue branches can get called back hours later in the most unexpected places and there's enough content between branches that you need to replay several times to see everything. The interactions between the characters feel natural, and have a lot of depth. Even the miniarcs of the various minor characters have some very satisfying payoffs.
The story in question focuses on the Player Character Mae Borowski, who's just returned home after dropping out of university. All in the backdrop of a dying former mining town. While the politics of the town and a mystery Mae gets embroiled in make up the overarching plot, the emphasis is the lower level interactions. The first few hours will see Mae hop off the bus, try to walk home (which introduces the jumping mechanics which'll allow you to explore the rest of the map), run into her old friends, grab a pizza and then, and only then, do they spot something amiss. The rest of the game proceeds in this way, focusing on Mae catching up with her old friends, neighbours and teachers, going to bed, then waking up the next day to repeat the loop. The main plot shows up almost incidentally, even when Mae starts taking an interest and having strange dreams (as any protagonist is wont to do).
Structurally. the main game is mostly a series of skits with Mae and her childhood friends. There's an overarching plot where Mae begins to see and wants to investigate a mystery, but this is second to the character-to-character interactions. Each day begins with Mae waking up, at which point you can freely explore her hometown for as long as you like, which has all sorts of interesting things to find (from optionally raising a nest of rats, chatting with her neighbour about poetry, to spotting "dusk stars" with her old teacher), and all of them influence later scenes (for example, said rats will hang around and become a feature in several places if you feed them enough). After exploring for as long as they want on that day, the player can pick a friend to hang around with in a more linear segment. After this, Mae returns home, there's dialogue with her parents, you can play a few minigames, and then you can go to bed for a trippy dream sequence before the next day's exploits. There's a few hidden Relationship Values, but these scenes are mostly an end unto themselves, allowing you to learn more about the town, Mae herself and the lives of her friends.
In addition to that, there are two minigames; a rhythm action game where Mae practises her bass (there are some segments where you have to do this while practising with her band, but they don't affect the plot beyond a single line of dialogue afterwards and only serve to unlock new songs), and a surprisingly well developed Roguelike on Mae's computer, called Demon Tower (which even has speedruns on AGDQ).
Overall, I can't recommend this game enough to anyone who wants a cosy, but dark mystery that focuses on the cast rather than the overall plot, and has a lot to say on social issues.