Headliner: NoviNews

I am addicted to Headliner: NoviNews for the Nintendo Switch. I just can’t stop playing this game. I’ve beaten the game several times now and I keep going back for more. What is Headliner: NoviNews? Why is it so addictive? Here is my review of Headliner: NoviNews for the Nintendo Switch! Warning though, there may be some spoilers for the game in this review!

In Headliner: NoviNews, you are the editor at major news outlit in a country that is definitly not America or the UK or Japan. NoviNews takes place in a made up country where the free press isn’t exactly free. Sure they can post whatever they want…but there will be consequences.

Not only that, but the people in NoviNews’ world pay attention to what the editor of this outlet decides to publish. Thats right. You are given articles that you can choose to publish or not. Those articles will influence the world going forward.

Basically, Headliner: NoviNews is a simulation game, though it does have an end point unlike something like Animal Crossing which goes on forever. NoviNews will end. It’ll end good or very bad. Its your actions, the things you publish but also the way that you interact with people in the world that shape the game’s ending.

There are multiple endings to this game. Some are happy endings, though many of them are unhappy endings. You choose if you want to be a guy or a girl or a non-binary. Then you go to work, choose your articles and then go home. On your way home, you’ll run into different people: your brother, a co-worker, and many others. The interactions between you and these people is just as important as what articles you publish. You can be as nice or as mean as you want to these people.

And here’s where I talk about the writing in NoviNews. The articles and dialogue in the game are so well written. And I love the dialogue choices that you get in this game.

Let me give you a for instance. This is a bit of spoiler, so yes SPOILER WARNING.

There is a character is this game that’ll try to get you to publish an article. Well, articles. They’ll try to tell you how important it is for you to do. Your love ones will depend on this. You have the option to say that you have no (bold) loved ones.

“What about your brother?” He’s a tweep. What about that co-worker you flirt with?” She’s a flusy. What about your dog? I have no dog. What about your boss? He’s a jerk. And then the person starts to say a bad word and then:

I just love this conversation. There are so many other conversations to love in this game though. And yes, one time I was mean to my co-worker and go her deported in the end. I feel very guilty about it. I have a hard time being mean to her. I think I have a video game crush…

Anyway, NoviNews is well written. The gameplay invovles a lot of walking and talking. You can buy stuff with in-game money and change the look of your apartment. There’s action in the game but you do not take part in it. As the headliner, you can cause mayhem and then get to observe the results. I hope you can live with yourself.

The game’s controls are not perfect though. The touch screen controls, especially, don’t always work. The analog and button controls for menus are not great. Overall, analog and buttons do work well for dialogue, article choices, and walking around. And the graphics are good, though nothing special. Thats not what Headliner is about though. Headliner is all about its story and its mayhem causing gameplay.

Headliner: NoviNews is a great game. If you love sim games at all, you need to check this one out. If you love causing mayhem and laughing gleefully at the results…well…this game might be for you too. Yes, you over there. I see you.

Headliner: NoviNews gets an 9.0 out of 10.

Thank you to Plan of Attack for providing a digital code for this review. Headliner: NoviNews is now available on the Nintendo Switch eshop. Oh and yes, you can pet the dog in Headliner: NoviNews. You can also feed your pet Drone too. He likes batteries.