All things considered, Not for Broadcast VR is absolutely a title that any new VR owner should play. It involves just enough virtual reality input that gives players a taste of what to expect when playing a virtual reality game. At the same time, it excellently weaves a story involving propaganda and revolutions all the while critiquing the role of the news media in the most subversive sense.
As I’ve become more familiar with VR titles, my enthusiasm has plummeted with the PSVR2’s library of titles that offer something beyond simulations. Don’t get me wrong, simulations can be fun, but playing sandbox after sandbox with little direction, adventure, and purpose can become something of a chore. I don’t want to be subjected to numerous iterations of what I could do with virtual reality and nothing more; having something preview things I could do while giving me opportunities to question what I should do is much more compelling.
I began playing Not for Broadcast VR thinking that it would be a media production simulator. Despite the game entering Early Access in 2020 and fully releasing in 2022, I was luckily insulated from knowing what it was about, what I would be asked to do, and what would happen when playing. I was the perfect candidate to play this title.
Not For Broadcast VR is deceptive in executing its gameplay loop. At the start, you’re tasked with managing a news broadcast. It sounds simple, just switch camera angles every so often. Play an advertisement when needed. Censor profanity. Rinse and repeat until the news show’s three segments are done, and then you’re off for the day.
In between days in the editing booth, I was presented with a choose-your-own adventure narrative of events happening in Alex’s (the main character’s) life. How was I to respond when Alex’s daughter was planning a trip to another country even though money was tight? How should I have responded when the boss called Alex late at night and attempted to drag them back to the office and miss the planned Anniversary trip? After making some choices, I’m sent back to the office.
Things ramp up quickly as the game progresses. A new function may be added one day and then removed the next. By the end of the game, I was frantically looking everywhere and flailing about all the while I was watching the multiple television screens to ensure that the news program was proceeding as it should. I take that back – I was ensuring that the news program was proceeding as I felt it should be proceeding.
Not for Broadcast VR’s controls translated quite well into the VR space. Controlling the editing booth is done by moving my hand and “pressing” the necessary button or pressing one of the Sense Controller triggers to grab onto a handle in-game. Luckily, most of the actions can be enacted within arm’s reach and require very little movement when standing or sitting. The game has a remote input setting in case the player is in a tight space. Turning on the setting let me simply press the Sense Controllers’ triggers to activate a button in-game and made things much easier, so I highly recommend utilizing that function if your VR setup is limited or you’re feeling like you want a more relaxing playthrough.
I conducted nearly all of my review in standing mode, never once feeling like my existing space was cramped or needing to shift my entire position to fulfill an in-game action. There were a few instances where some of my inputs (motioning to press a button) didn’t entirely register, but it was rare enough for me to chalk it up to a PSVR2 limitation rather than an innate issue with how the game registers actions. In the end game when I had more in-game tasks to accomplish, things felt much more frenetic as I was constantly looking around the entire room and monitoring each of the newsroom’s “vitals” to ensure everything was operational. While some segments were frantic, I would occasionally get to enjoy the game’s pre-recorded video segments and do squats and other light exercises in the background.
I’ve heard my friends describe Overcooked 2 as frenetic and stressful. Not for Broadcast VR inches its way towards those feelings slowly but surely. When things inevitably end up going wrong from interference and other outside forces, alarms begin blaring and the viewership “vitals” begin dropping at an incredibly quick pace. If they dropped too much, it was game over and I was sent back to the start of my current segment to attempt to complete the day. Remote inputs helped quite a bit during a handful of the segments, but I was able to survive on my own without relying on it to make the game easier. If you’re easily unsettled or wanting a relaxing simulation experience, Not for Broadcast might not be for you.
Not for Broadcast VR’s controls are quite simple – just like most of its gameplay. I never had to use too much effort to think about what to do since all of the virtual buttons were laid out in front of me and would activate only when they were to be used. If anything, I was tested in my timing and creativity. That’s it. It’s not the traditional “full-bodied” virtual reality experience, nor does it claim to be one.
Without spoiling much of the plot, I want you to think back to your familiarity with Doki Doki Literature Club. Or Undertale. Think back to how you expected the game to be one thing and then feeling surprised upon the realization that these games were something else altogether. That surprise could have manifested in the form of laughter at Undertale’s deadpan humor. You may have experienced horror when Doki Doki Literature Club began to eat away at your psyche and revealed a terrifying fourth-wall-breaking-reality wrapped in an anime-inspired exterior. Either way, you probably asked yourself, “What the f&*$ is this game?!”
Truth be told, I love games that make me ask existential questions like that. I love being hoodwinked by games and being forced to question my own expectations and actions in-game. That’s what happened as I invested more and more time into Not for Broadcast. Every hour I spent in-game, I was continuously surprised as to the nature of the game I was playing and my place in its world.
The nature of the story is rife with dark humor and mature, Big-Brother-esque themes that emerge in anti-government literature. While some of this humor is read in between news segments as a “choose your own adventure” minigame, most manifest during the news segments themselves. Each advertisement, newscaster, and interview are tongue-in-cheek while satirizing the nature of local nightly news. Think hometown news.
Oh yeah, and the game drastically changed based on my actions and in-game decisions. The nature of the evolving game and its story made me feel like I had an active role in the events of Not for Broadcast’s world rather than going through the motions of a predetermined story where choices end up being meaningless. The fact that there are more than ten endings should give you a hint of the potential outcomes you can have on the game as a whole.
I enjoyed playing Not for Broadcast despite its simplicity. I couldn’t help but laugh during some of the news segments while torn on which decision to make as to the game’s outcome. The nature of the game’s design kept me on my toes and heavily invested in what would happen next as well as what would have happened if I had made a different decision. I can see myself, and other players, replaying the game just to unlock the other endings.
I have two main concerns with Not for Broadcast VR, with the first being its mature themes. The writing and acting in this game are full of dry British humor, political satire, and other themes that would emerge from dark comedies. As such, I find it difficult to recommend for younger audiences since they won’t fully grasp the nature of the material.
Secondly, Not for Broadcast VR is less of a video game and more of a narrative experience. This doesn’t mean that it’s bad by any means, but I have a hard time imagining players having “fun” in the traditional/arcade sense that they might have with something like a shooter. It’s technically a sim, after all.
All things considered, Not for Broadcast VR is absolutely a title that any new VR owner should play. It involves just enough virtual reality input that gives players a taste of what to expect when playing a virtual reality game. At the same time, it excellently weaves a story involving propaganda and revolutions all the while critiquing the role of the news media in the most subversive sense.
