Ministry of Broadcast Review (Nintendo Switch)

Review code provided with many thanks to Hitcents

You’re Being Watched

Sometimes when I go for a walk I often wonder if the birds are watching me. Like Odins ravens, spying on my every move, judging me. Waiting for me to slip up and make some sort of comment about it. Well its unlikely you as the reader lets your mind wander as oddly as I do but its what I felt like after playing this very unique game. So lets dive in and go a little deeper.

The Wall

Ministry of Broadcast (MOB) is a cinematic adventure game set in a country separated by The Wall. You play a ginger haired protagonist, something of a rarity in video games. He is entered into a program known as ‘The Wall Show’ in order to hopefully escape to the opposite side of The Wall in order to see his family. The developers wear their George Orwells 1984 inspiration very much on both sleeves. The main difference being this game contains a lot of dark humour. I was often laughing at the text based dialogue between the protagonist and NPCs. It’s certainly not a game that takes itself too seriously and I enjoyed that. What makes this interpretation unique is that you can’t predict quite where this plot is going to go. As you progress you quickly learn everything is not what it seems. I was quickly drawn in by the plot and very keen to see how everything would conclude.

Expect Anything

MOB reminded me a lot of a game I played in my childhood called Another World. The reason I draw this comparison is Ministry of Broadcast is a game you really don’t quite know what to expect. One moment you’re simply platforming around a level, the next, you might be running for your life, then solving a puzzle. All while a crow follows you about giving commentary on your progress. Then after that maybe there’s a weird voice over that is talking about you from the third person. I was often laughing and pleasantly surprised by the sheer bizarre directions this game takes. Talking too much about this would spoil these surprises which is one of the games strongest draws. I highly recommend going into this as blind as possible.

Difficult Platforming

Most of MOBs gameplay will involve platforming segments. Jumping around as well as avoiding various hazards, it’s very reminiscent of Prince of Persia. The controls feel a bit stilted though meaning you have to get your button pressing very precise on the right places on a platform to move about and jump from platform to platform. This is also where I had a lot of trouble with the game.

The game starts out fairly chilled out, giving you time to time jumps correctly and work out how to proceed at a nice pace. However, the game later turns the tables and much of the platforming requires what seems like pixel perfect precision under stressful time constraints. Often I knew how to proceed with the game but because I didn’t jump at the exact point I would die over and over. I often got very frustrated with the controls. I played mostly with the pro-controller on the TV and often when I was under circumstances where I had to be quick I wanted my character to run and jump, only for him to just stand in place and jump up. Meaning I would die yet again. I made it through with persistence, eventually, but the game really doesn’t allow for much margin of error later on. So approach with caution if your prone to gamer rage.

Die and Die Again

Death is a common occurrence. It seems the developers are aware of this as they’ve taken a surprising amount of thought into the death animations for the unfortunate protagonist. After each death a crow flies down and mocks you every time. Making me both confused and also giggle. Fortunately checkpoints are fairly reasonable and not too far away. Load times also felt instant which was very welcome considering my overall death count must have been huge for this title.

It’s All in the Background

The graphics are brilliant with a pixelated design. It’s amazing what the developers of MOB were able to achieve with simple pixel designs. Familiar characters are recognizable and brought to life through their unique dialogue and the attention to detail is really good. The game has no HUD but the developers cleverly weave hints into the background and the environment to give you a gentle nudge in the right direction.

Sound design is also very clever. The music and sound is presented in some unexpected ways that unfortunately mentioning would spoil the fun. What I can say is when the theme of the game changes the music does adapt. If things get more stealthy the music shifts into an interesting style which was both a surprise and a joy for the ears.

Time for a Re Run

The game took me about 8-10 hours to finish for my first run through. That number significantly drops should you want to give it another go. Mostly because you’ll know the solutions to all the puzzles and would probably remember some of the games cheeky tricks it plays on you. The game also has alternative endings as well as secrets to find.

Rate the Show

MOB is unique, the type of game I’m pleased to have the pleasure of experiencing. It’s different and I was drawn in by all the weirdness. The platforming had me frustrated and angry at various points though especially in the last half of the game. But I insisted on pushing through to see the conclusion for curiosity.

Had the gameplay been polished off I would see this as an easy recommendation. However, in its current state I would just be a little cautious.

Final Verdict: I like it

Notes:

The developers have informed me a patch is on the way, which will feature a ‘Story Mode’ as well as a lot of bug fixes, optimization and adjustments to the game. Once this patch is live I will revisit the game and update this review. Keep watching this space.