PlayStation 4PC (Microsoft Windows)MacXbox OneNintendo Switch2018

Headliner: NoviNews

Short media bias adventure where YOU control national news and its impact on your career, society, and family. Control the News, control the Truth. Share your story, and see what the Headliner before you did.

Community

Critics

Storyline

Genetic sickness plagues Novistan. Conspiracy brews among people. You are chief curator of national news channel. You are the HEADLINER. Public opinion rests in your hands.

Trailers

Screenshots

Very Positive

805 Steam reviews

Review History

Reviews

805 total

≥h

Steam User 6891STEAMNot recommended

Actually i didnt like this game. The story plot was very boring. And i didnt like i had to walk every night in the streets.

Mar 6, 2026·2h·Verified

Steam User 4045STEAMRecommended

Thank you developers for making this game, it is fun and I enjoyed every path I went down/

Mar 3, 2026·6h·Verified

Steam User 7631STEAMRecommended

Boa história, bom entretenimento, escolhas variadas.
Tudo que um jogo desse gênero deveria ter.

Mar 1, 2026·16h·Verified

Steam User 6985STEAMRecommended

The story kept me hooked from start to finish. It's definitely worth a few playthrough.

Feb 25, 2026·5h·Verified

Steam User 4425STEAMRecommended

Fantastic. no notes.

edit: ok so i wasnt imagining giant piles of cash in my room right?
edit2: played twice now, love this game so much!

Feb 7, 2026·10h·Verified

Steam User 2805STEAMNot recommended

L'idée au départ est séduisante mais les situations sont toujours répétitives et pas évident de comprendre en quoi nos choix éditoriaux ont influencé la politique du pays. Qui plus est , mélange pas clair entre politique sanitaire, et relations externes. Les graphismes sont très minimalistes.

Feb 4, 2026·4h·Verified

Steam User 7631STEAMRecommended

故事的发展逻辑和社会环境偏向西方叙事
好也不好

Jan 17, 2026·6h·Verified

Steam User 4857STEAMNot recommended

有一些不错的小设计比如可以收养流浪狗和流浪无人机，但整体上根本没有模拟新闻主编的感觉，只是个简单粗暴不存在任何subtlety的propaganda模拟器，情节安排也挺离谱的，最后一天刚刚得知我哥死了转眼又去跟人约会这合理吗

Jan 14, 2026·2h·Verified

Steam User 5333STEAMRecommended

cool manipulating news

Jan 9, 2026·5h·Verified

Steam User 8660STEAMRecommended

I had a lot of fun with the game! I like that after the first run you unlock a new character, and in the next couple runs the characters always make little comments about the "previous headliner", kinda looping them all together!
After a few though it just starts to act like the first playthrough every time. If you're an achievement hunter it gets a little repetitive in some aspects, but it's still super enjoyable unlocking every story branch!

Jan 6, 2026·29h·Verified

Steam User 1188STEAMRecommended

哇……这个真的很好玩，虽然游戏方式只是决定要不要刊登某篇报道，但玩着玩着真的会有一种非常难以言说的……怎么说呢，社会性抑郁？
其实我不知道这么说是否合适，但这个游戏真的像艺术品一样，它最厉害的地方就在于“即使对时政一无所知”，也依旧能从中感受到政治、战争与资本的恐怖之处……
而且它不是明目张胆的把血腥画面展现给你看的那种，而是让你通过身边的人和事情感受这一切的恐怖之处……
我真的很喜欢里面的角色……每一位NPC都是有血有肉的，和他们聊天时，能看见他们对于爱、信仰、未来、梦想的想法，而你的工作或许会是……摧毁它们。
反正我真的很推荐大家玩玩这个游戏……我觉得游戏性已经很高了，虽然互动的地方不多，但真的是艺术品啊……
顺便一提，这个游戏的meta元素有点吓人啊……精彩。
ps：一点点题外话，最近了解了一下斩杀线之类的事情，发现这个游戏里的很多事情都和直播中的内容能对上……我还能说什么呢？这个真的有点吓人了。

Dec 26, 2025·9h·Verified

Steam User 3439STEAMRecommended

J'ai fait l'écrasante majorité des jeux similaires (Beholder, Orwell, Papers Please... etc.) et selon moi Headliner est le meilleur car il ne s'encombre pas de mécaniques spécifiques exclusives qui encombrent le gameplay et va directement à l'essentiel, à savoir faire des choix à impact sur le monde et en observer directement les conséquences, c'est le mieux réalisé du domaine selon moi et le plus appréciable. Félicitations à la réalisation.

Dec 22, 2025·10h·Verified

Steam User 6873STEAMRecommended

蛮不错的，音乐什么的也很有感觉。自由度再高点就好了。

Dec 21, 2025·1h·Verified

Steam User 4059STEAMNot recommended

slop. its a visual novel without the visuals. its obvious about the direction the game pushes you. boring and depressing. your time would be better spent watching an old movie

Dec 10, 2025·2h·2·Verified

Steam User 3703STEAMRecommended

I rather liked this game in a choices matter visual novel. It was interesting to see the atmosphere of the game's chatter change according to the decisions made. It caused me to consider what a bias was and what I wanted to highlight when there were decisions to be made.

Nov 23, 2025·2h·Verified

Steam User 6212STEAMRecommended

Nov 17, 2025·6h·Verified

Steam User 0526STEAMRecommended

在有限的空间中，做出有限的选择
刚结束1周目，我认为这款游戏并不在于追求一个理想的结局（估计也没有），而是在有限的信息下做出有限的选择，然后收获结果，看到这些决定会怎样影响这个城市，身边的人，以及自己。

有些评论提到“老一套”，这些确实是经典议题，但游戏的表达我认为是比较中立的。例如，关于药物阴谋的指控，“我”是无法独立查证的，只能做出有限的选择（可能通过多周目可以验证），这些黑衣人有无可能是恶意外国特工？在游戏里“我”是无法判断的；是支持国有医保还是私有化医疗？显然对不同阶层影响是迥异的，而在特定时期一国的总资源必然是有限的，感兴趣的可以了解最近的医改；是全球化可能低价但冲击本土产业？还是本土保护主义但国民无法买到便宜的商品?如果20年前这个问题还不太清晰，那这几年应该会更有体会。再包括国家统治方式的情况，事实上“我”所能做的只是是否支持现总理沃尔夫，但沃尔夫下台就会民主化吗？还是会更加时局动荡，抑或是迎来下一个强人？这是没有被揭示、未知的。

但人总要做出选择，也总会做出选择，即使前路不明、难以忍受，即使影响深远、代价沉重，当人有了智能，就开始作出选择，承担后果——而这些事，不会属于一块石头（注：普通的、没有智能的石头）的命运

Nov 17, 2025·2h·5·Verified

Steam User 4079STEAMRecommended

Ahead if it's time, really. I deeply suspect a journalist or two were involved in the writing

Nov 13, 2025·30h·Verified

Steam User 5004STEAMRecommended

What a great game!

Nov 11, 2025·5h·Verified

Steam User 4849STEAMRecommended

It has replay value and your actions have consequences. It's nice to build your own outcome.

Nov 3, 2025·6h·Verified

Steam User 9784STEAMRecommended

多周目的剧情引导或者区别更大一点就好了

Nov 2, 2025·4h·Verified

Steam User 9000STEAMRecommended

필터링없는 무조건적인 레거시 미디어의 정보들을 수용했을 때의 위험성

Oct 24, 2025·5h·Verified

Steam User 0521STEAMRecommended

je l'ai découvert avec le let's play de bob lennon et ce jeu est super

Oct 6, 2025·13h·Verified

Steam User 3295STEAMRecommended

I enjoyed this game, but felt a little lost at times. Its hard for me to remember things and I couldn't quite understand what choices I was making, but I got to still see the effects, and had a good time doing it.

Oct 3, 2025·15h·2·Verified

Steam User 4734STEAMRecommended

Highly recommend this to anyone who likes an atmospheric story-driven game. There's so many different outcomes to explore. Similar to games like Death and Taxes or Papers, Please; so if you've played and enjoyed those games I think you will enjoy this one too!

Sep 27, 2025·19h·1·Verified

Steam User 9753STEAMRecommended

buen juego, a pesar de su rejugabilidad, en apenas tres runs ya te haces el 90% del juego completo, no da para mucho tampoco

bastante caro para lo que el juego ofrece

Sep 25, 2025·17h·Verified

Steam User 9201STEAMRecommended

5점 만점에 3점

[h1] 때로는 거짓 선동도 필요하다. [/h1]
전작보다 많은 발전이 있던 게임.
반복해서 플레이해야하는 것은 전작과 같으나 할 것도 더 많아지고 그로 인해 다양한 결과를 볼 수 있어서 좋았다.
특히 전작과 이어지는 부분도 존재해서 개인적으론 만족했던 것 같다.
다만 피지컬이 필요없는 게임이라 게임의 긴장감이 스토리에 의해 결정되는데, 반복해서 진행하는 게임이다보니 내가 이미 경험한 내용이면 긴장감이 죽어버려 지루해질 수 있다.
언론을 이용해 한 나라를 마음대로 커스텀하고 싶다면 이 게임을 추천한다.

Sep 25, 2025·8h·Verified

Steam User 0406STEAMRecommended

比上集畫面跟劇情都進步了很多, 值得一玩的遊戲。

Sep 20, 2025·2h·Verified

Steam User 0517STEAMRecommended

中文翻译不是很流畅，也只值得玩一周目。

Sep 19, 2025·2h·Verified

Steam User 7000STEAMRecommended

I somehow managed to hike drug prices along with having universal healthcare. I managed to topple an authoritarian though. Not too bad for trying for a first playthrough.

It also managed to scratch that "one more turn" itch that I get in 4x games.

Sep 16, 2025·2h·1·Verified

Steam User 8522STEAMNot recommended

[h1] 食之无味，弃之不可惜 [/h1]
打了两周目，绞尽脑汁挺想夸一下，但发现过于平平无奇，实在是夸不出来。
首先，新闻舆论题材主题虽然新颖，但玩法保守过时。每天可供选择新闻太少，感觉通过新闻操控舆论就是噱头，大部分游戏时间不是在下班路上狂奔，就是给npc跑腿，玩法非常固定，基本上没有自由度。
其次，钱很重要。如果走保守线，玩到中后期发现，钱会越来越不够用，而且同时养比格和无人机基本上与攒钱无缘了，因为要想给npc好结局，必须要提前规划攒钱，而游戏里要花钱的地方太多了，不看攻略根本就不知道啊？！[strike]制作组：没钱你打个什么he，自由主义万岁！[/strike]
最后，简中文本有多处机翻，连很简单的yes？都翻译不对，还翻译成“是吗？”，汉化人员你自己读读通顺吗？翻译质量太差，实在影响游戏体验。但抛开翻译质量，原文文本也是干巴巴的，作为视觉小说游戏，文本不出彩是绝对不合格的。
此外，绝大多数角色形象塑造单薄，感觉所有的npc都是讨好型人格，主角说啥都像在pua他们，npc：嗯嗯，主角说的对呀。
制作组也爱在某些角色的个人线搞恶趣味，起初觉得女同事还挺可爱的，结果[spoiler] 在主角家约会到一半就恶疾发作？？？ [/spoiler]真是搞不懂制作组在想什么，安排这种的情节，感觉就是故意要恶心玩家的。
条子线还出现了条子刚检查完主角证件，后面就瞬移到主角老前面，坐在长椅上跟主角搭话的bug。也太违和了，制作组难道都没发现这个bug吗？
总之，这种平庸，甚至是浪费反乌托邦题材的游戏，建议还在观望的等到90%off再入吧。

Sep 15, 2025·3h·11·Verified

Steam User 1390STEAMRecommended

Great little game for the money. Very interesting and thought provoking to see how each decision affects the world around you.

Sep 14, 2025·25h·3·Verified

Steam User 7361STEAMRecommended

Great game with really mattering choices! meant to be played many times, and which choices actually have feedback in the game. strongly recommended to get it!

Sep 13, 2025·8h·Verified

Steam User 4243STEAMRecommended

Hard to put down this game. Even though main events are the same, the choices in each play through feels impactful. Your previous choices determine your next options, making you think more.

Sep 13, 2025·12h·1·Verified

Steam User 8369STEAMRecommended

Simple, short and fun.

Sep 13, 2025·3h·Verified

Steam User 5006STEAMRecommended

I got the game for 50% off and it is certainly worth that money.
Interesting cool story game.

I would recommend to buy it on a sale.

8/10.

Sep 12, 2025·7h·2·Verified

Steam User 5910STEAMRecommended

I ended up causing the downfall of a bad leader, caused globalism for Novistan, meds got cheaper and my brother did one gig and was never seen again. But hey I got some yuri out of this

Sep 11, 2025·3h·13·Verified

Steam User 8912STEAMRecommended

할인가 7700원
2회차까지 했는데 질렸당...ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
게임이 여러 회차를 돌리도록 설계된 것 같지만, 그러기에는 좀 질리는 감이 있다.
그래도 가격 대비 재밌게 했음

Sep 10, 2025·6h·Verified

Steam User 0827STEAMNot recommended

Meh.

Sep 10, 2025·2h·Verified

Steam User 5462STEAMRecommended

Simple yet thought-provoking. A short game of around an hour or two. Good replay value.

Sep 3, 2025·2h·Verified

Steam User 4220STEAMRecommended

死亡与税赋即视感，还是挺有趣的，尤其是成就，蛮有梗

Aug 16, 2025·1h·3·Verified

Steam User 0744STEAMRecommended

Only took me 53 hours to get the GOOD ending. Nobody got arrested. Nobody got deported. Nobody died. And I still got laid.

Aug 14, 2025·67h·16·Verified

Steam User 7355STEAMNot recommended

It's... cute but I could not get the kind of experience I was hoping for. I wanted to try and stay unbiased and present the facts as an editor but it's just not possible in this game where it's kinda forcing you to be biased.

Aug 11, 2025·1h·16·Verified

Steam User 8535STEAMRecommended

I love misinformation

Jul 15, 2025·7h·3

Steam User 0568STEAMRecommended

A good game! Definitely very interesting and I appreciate the layers you discover after a few runs, though I do think the game lacks replayability considering the concept. I'm a completionist so I played until I got all the achievements, but I think for most people 2-3 run-throughs are enough to enjoy the bulk of the content. I will say that I bought this on sale and I probably wouldn't have bought it otherwise, and there are a few typos.

Jul 9, 2025·12h·4·Verified

Steam User 6642STEAMRecommended

Super jeu, avec tellement d'alternatives intéressantes et réalistes à explorer !

Jun 7, 2025·30h·Verified

Steam User 7871STEAMRecommended

Very fun game, and I very much like this concept. Would definitely recommend it!

Apr 8, 2025·33h·Verified

Steam User 8703STEAMRecommended

jogo muito bom recomendo, pra quem que um joguinho rápido.

Apr 3, 2025·1h·Verified

Steam User 3627STEAMRecommended

Yes

Mar 8, 2025·6h·Verified

Steam User 8887STEAMRecommended

游戏流程非常短，大概不到一小时就能通关，但强烈推荐玩二周目，许多对话与一周目息息相关

Feb 26, 2025·3h·4·Verified

Steam User 0183STEAMRecommended

Great game and a great developer, their other games are worth checking out IMHO.

This game really plays on the affects of media in the public and the story telling is very interesting.

In other news I made my coworker hate me and I got my local mom and pop shop burned down. Hell yeah

Feb 26, 2025·21h·Verified

Steam User 3920STEAMRecommended

Generally and imrpovement of the first game that does a great job exploring the effect news can have on a nation. Sometimes a bit overthetop with some stranger elements, without a doubt worth replaying multiple times however.

Jan 30, 2025·9h·Verified

Steam User 2387STEAMRecommended

결말이 많아서 좋다.
내가 생각한대로만 인생은 흘러가지 않는 다는 것을 보여준다...

Jan 22, 2025·6h·Verified

Steam User 6123STEAMRecommended

시청자는 개돼지

Jan 6, 2025·6h·Verified

Steam User 0784STEAMRecommended

"They didn't brief me for a SOCIOPATH!"

Jan 1, 2025·24h·Verified

Steam User 0026STEAMRecommended

非常棒的游戏，以至于我在玩完之后的几年中一直都在寻找同类游戏却鲜少找到。

Dec 14, 2024·7h·Verified

Steam User 0615STEAMRecommended

Nice game, you can pet a dog :V

Nov 17, 2024·2h·Verified

Steam User 1451STEAMRecommended

Headliner: NoviNews - Five-and-a-half years after first playing

As you can tell by that playtime counter, I absolutely adore this game. I've made a point of trying to get all of the achievements (58/59 - I just can't make my boss proud :( no matter how many lives I live). It's a great game which, although a little slow in some parts (namely the after-work walk home, which can become monotonous after you've played it as much as I have).

I play thorough a couple of times a year usually only focusing in on 2-3 plot lines per run so as to make the experience more concise. There is a core story pertaining to the government itself, but the game also includes a variety of side stories to flesh the world out a little more - At least in my opinion, these vary in entertainment value for me. I almost always go for the coworker and brother sidequests, but I think I've only done the police investigation one or two times out of close to twenty runs.

The main mechanic, that of the titular headlining, is very easy to get the hang of, and the subsequent portrayal of consequences in the media is fantastically impactful. In all, I would rate this game 9/10 and definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in playing!

Nov 6, 2024·49h·Verified

Steam User 0993STEAMRecommended

劇情不錯

Oct 6, 2024·9h·Verified

Steam User 6700STEAMRecommended

A step up from the first game for sure.

Pros

* Simple gameplay loop, allowing you to focus more on the choices
* Encourages replayability
* Good sound design

Cons

* Short, if you're not interested in replaying then you'll clear it in about 90 minutes

Oct 6, 2024·1h·Verified

Steam User 7903STEAMRecommended

A really, really excellent game. Well-made down to the bones. Individual games are short enough - 90-120 minutes, roughly - that you have some really reasonable replayability (I plan to give it another few spins). There is no one right answer to any problem. We live in a world with limited resources and with limited capabilities. We do what we can.

You can publish only things that are true and still have a very skewed view of the world. Truth has nuance, and figuring out what to say to address the current needs of the populace is an interesting challenge.

On the second run and later, once you get a few days in, there's a (minor spoiler regarding world balance and your knowledge thereof) [spoiler] little display that shows the current state of public opinion on various topics. [/spoiler] This can make things really interesting, as you can see (minor spoiler? not really a spoiler) [spoiler] the interactions between, say, police presence and public contentedness with world affairs, etc. [/spoiler] Different events can happen, and I feel that there's a good amount of digging that can happen. I haven't gone for any runs that are *purposefully* disruptive, but I feel that such a run would get very interesting very fast.

Depending on how you manage things, something that blew up into a huge issue in one run might be relegated into a footnote in another. The interactions are really just lovely.

Also, note that this game came out in 2018. There's a [spoiler] pandemic-related [/spoiler] plotline that shows up very, very early (I think it's on a billboard at the end of the first day, and you'll see people talk about it as you go).

I bought this game ages ago, and I'm glad I did. Great way to spend a couple afternoons. And re: the price... normally I'm fairly stingy on the price/hour ratio, but honestly? This is well-crafted enough that I looked at the number of hours played and was stunned that it wasn't longer. It's very engrossing, and the game is just superbly made. Give it a shot. Genuinely, give it a shot. If you don't like it, you can refund it. But just try it; I think you'll like it.

Sep 16, 2024·7h·Verified

Steam User 3896STEAMRecommended

이게 디스토피아고
이게 선택이지

Sep 11, 2024·3h·Verified

Steam User 1837STEAMRecommended

Juste incroyable un de mes jeux preférer

Aug 20, 2024·12h·1·Verified

Steam User 6453STEAMNot recommended

这游戏很小众，内容就是做各种选择题然后就是造就所选择的后果，和第一作差不多，玩法简直太单一单调了。
这游戏的内容实在底子很薄，没有根本的看得出这游戏的第二作的玩法必须得到升华。
俾如沙盒一点，不要老是在微观的状态下改进下一作游戏；不然你依然还是没什么人买的小众游戏。

Aug 20, 2024·11h·6·Verified

Steam User 9295STEAMRecommended

Good story and excellent art but I would definitely say wait for it to be on sale.

Aug 17, 2024·1h·Verified

Steam User 6503STEAMRecommended

This is a fantastic game. Some people may not like that there's no way to make all the characters happy, and the country is always going to descend into chaos, but if you're good with heavier topics, the game is great.

The game has very high replay value because a ton of different things can happen depending on your choices. It's interesting to play around with it and watch how the consequences build different worlds. You can go extreme to one side, you can stay more in the middle, you can incoherently post articles that are all over the place, you can have completely different opinions personally and professionally... the game is very free in that sense.

The game is obviously quite exaggerated in many ways, and the articles tend to be very black-and-white, but I think the devs did an excellent job of making a highly political game that doesn't push any sort of agenda. I think it would quickly lose its value if it were clearly analogous to real-life political events, but with everything entirely fictional, I would imagine the game would be enjoyable for people all over the political spectrum, save for perhaps hardcore extremists. It's about media literacy and society more than politics anyway.

Also, you can adopt a dog.

All in all, a masterpiece.

Jul 28, 2024·15h·9·Verified

Steam User 5839STEAMRecommended

Used this in my Social Studies classes to examine concepts such as media bias and digital literacy. Served as a great introduction to the importance of document analysis

Jul 25, 2024·29h·15·Verified

Steam User 1591STEAMRecommended

I had a fun time playing this. For completionists, getting 100 % achievements can get tedious since you need to complete the game several times.

Jul 21, 2024·4h·4

Steam User 1974STEAMRecommended

interesting

Jul 19, 2024·4h·Verified

Steam User 2758STEAMNot recommended

反反乌托邦主题的游戏，想要打个反心理但是没有理解为什么类反乌托邦游戏都会是同样的叙事结局。言之无物。
就没有把城市还给市民的结局吗？感觉在看克苏鲁小说，全文本都是有种在恐惧着什么的感觉，可是没有写人类的反抗。还有药物、资本、政治机关的描述太草率了，你没有办法根据具体描述确定什么东西是正确的，玩法单纯的水多加面面多加水。
或者只是想说皇帝太惨了呜呜呜，他还只是个单纯大男孩，你个报社记者当然是你要来背这个锅。主题在哪我没看到。为什么选择不曝光真相就是岁月静好，不然所有人都是你害死的，这个因果我不是很理解，想表达什么呢。那个穿大衣的结局突然出来指责我为钱做事……啊？一脸懵，本来也不是为了刷钱开这个结局的。你行你上，来来来你来当记者，站着说话不腰疼。诶你不会制冷不要评价冰箱成不成？
文案搁这搞电车难题呢？设定很好，美术很好，内容空泛。

呃……基本三周目才能打到一个相对较好的结局。
通关以后觉得精神状态不太好，有点情绪低落。

Jul 19, 2024·6h·5·Verified

Steam User 2359STEAMRecommended

I watched the City burn,

Who was I to judge?

Jul 10, 2024·3h·Verified

Steam User 6871STEAMRecommended

Even better than the already good original, Novinews is a great political media game. The dilemmas seemed a little tougher this time and the consequences more sever. I really enjoyed it.

Jul 9, 2024·2h·Verified

Steam User 3403STEAMNot recommended

낱개포장 사탕 사먹은 느낌임. 맛이 없는것도 아니고 비싼것도 아닌데... 뭔가 손해보는 느낌임.

Jul 5, 2024·Verified

Steam User 8207STEAMRecommended

very similar experience to Death & Taxes where your choices literally change the state of the world. This game can be a little stressful but in a good way, like you're stressed out because the game is good. the game also make it very hard for you to play an evil run where you make bad choices on purpose, like its very good at making you feel guilty for being evil

Jul 4, 2024·6h·3·Verified

Steam User 1260STEAMRecommended

Lots of replayability due to branching story paths. 100%ing this game was not the chore I thought it would be. Enjoyable story and gameplay :D

Jun 30, 2024·10h·Verified

Steam User 8534STEAMNot recommended

Centrist crap

Jun 25, 2024·4h·5·Verified

Steam User 5511STEAMRecommended

I played this game pre-covid and just a few days ago again post covid, and it's eerie how it kind of called a few IRL similarities before they even happened of a "gentic virus outbreak" with conspiracies of being man made.

NoviNews has always been an impactful, fun, intriguing and story-rich game. It has multiple endings, each one a reaction to what you choose to do throughout the game. i've come back to this game on and off over four years so far, [trying to get those achievements :] ], and it's been fun every time.

If it's ever on sale I recommend getting it, I don't think it gets updates anymore but would be cool to see if devs added something.

Jun 19, 2024·18h·2·Verified

Steam User 1333STEAMNot recommended

This game explores what would happen if you could get your news from only one source, and that source was able to operate independently and pretty much unchecked. It goes without saying this is not a very realistic scenario: no boss would keep you around after you've already cost the company its biggest sponsor; nor would any government sit idly by while you're slowly dismantling it, one article at a time. Nevertheless, the game offers a great representation of how the media shapes public opinion, and how everyone is human and can be corrupted or can act according to personal bias. It's an interesting experience and if you're into such themes you might want to get it on sale for a single playthrough that will last you a couple hours.

However, if you try to take the game up on its offer of multiple playthroughs, you're in for a disappointment. The story spans 14 days and in the second half it simply starts to overstay its welcome. After all, the gameplay can be described as approving articles and then walking around town to see the outcome of your choices, and it gets quite repetitive after a while. There are several personal stories and even a "whodunit" for you to influence, but subtle changes in dialogue are not compelling enough to justify experiencing them more than once. It absolutely doesn't help that it takes multiple days to set up an ending, and with the way saves work you might end up having to replay large chunks of content if you made a small mistake along the way. Eventually I started simply ignoring all those NPC on the way home - which, while undoubtedly philosophical in itself, doesn't make the game any less of a chore.

While the 2nd and 3rd playthrough try to offer some flavor bits, breaking the fourth wall and giving Groundhog Day vibes, all of it ultimately doesn't go anywhere and for the 4th and 5th run the game just randomly defaults to the original experience. It all feels as if the dev was trying to go for something, but didn’t have enough time or motivation to make it more than a few witty nods to other games. In the end, there will be no payoff, revelations, or a clear answer who's responsible for the outbreak that drives the story. At some point the game starts trolling your sitting through the same content in the hope of seeing something new... And since it's possible to complete the game in under 2 hours and refund, it makes me wonder if the whole "multiple playthroughs" shtick was contrived to prevent that.

And then there's an elephant in the room. Having to choose your pronouns at the beginning felt bizarre back in 2018 when this game released, and it has only grown more irritating since. I have to admit, Headliner's approach to "diversity" is pretty mild and tame compared to what some games do this days - your "token minority" coworker Evie looks tanned rather than black, she doesn't have purple hair, she's neither disabled nor morbidly obese; shockingly, she's rather easy on the eyes! Which, unfortunately, does little to change the fact Evie is a one-dimensional character whose entire personality is defined by her being an immigrant. While it's possible to romance her, this involves indoctrinating the nation to be more "open-minded" and slaying many other dragons - all serving to create an environment where she could thrive. At the same time, the native white female police officer who's your partner throughout the whole detective quest (with similar if not more lines of dialogue and backstory) is strangely not romanceable.

This serves as cautionary tale how indie games are sometimes as likely to embrace modern Western sociocultural trends as AAA games are - be it due to financial vulnerability of indie studios or sheer activism of their creators. With the developer unironically replying to another review that called it out with ridiculous “it appears you are transphobic” - it’s seemingly the latter. Quite ironic - given the game’s message and subject matter.

While I enjoyed the premise of this game and even persevered to sit through its 5 atbitrary playthroughs, the end result is weariness and emptiness rather than fulfilment and satisfaction. I find myself wishing for gameplay that is more varied and doesn’t lose steam after the initial days; choices that are more nuanced and don’t feel like constantly being in a "damned if you do, damned if you don’t" kind of situation; replayability that goes beyond a few memes and easter eggs; characters that are better written and don’t just exist to make certain choices feel more justified; more focus on telling a good story instead of that ESG score; ability to save at will and not just at the start of the day. I’d be interested to one day see a sequel which iterates on all the points I mentioned. But until then…

Jun 17, 2024·15h·3·Verified

Steam User 1683STEAMRecommended

"I had to replay this five times to get my brother to kill himself" - things I said out loud to my wife thanks to this game.

Jun 16, 2024·8h·Verified

Steam User 9897STEAMRecommended

Another headliner game that's just as good. The decisions, the mood, the music are all perfect to fit the theme of the game. Perfection

May 29, 2024·5h·Verified

Steam User 9492STEAMRecommended

great game great story line loved everything about this game highly recommend

May 27, 2024·9h·Verified

Steam User 5116STEAMRecommended

ニュースで国を操るゲーム

例えば他国を糾弾する政権をヨイショしてナショナリズムな国にしたり、逆に政権を批判してグローバリズムな国にしたり
福祉問題を国民に問いかけて国民皆保険制度でお金のない兄を助けたり、医薬品価格低下で高価な薬が必要な同僚を助けたり
スポンサー企業が作ったお酒をヨイショしまくって[spoiler] 近所の店の店主の魂を売らせ [/spoiler]たり、逆に批判して[spoiler] 近所の店を燃やし [/spoiler]たり
警察の力を強めすぎて監視社会にしながらも自分は[spoiler] 暗殺者から守られてその恩恵を受け [/spoiler]たり……

とにかく選択次第で色々な分岐があるのが楽しい　基本的に「みんな幸せになるエンディング」が無いのも特徴（逆にみんな不幸になるエンディングがないとは言わない）

問題点としては、一部の分岐でバグ？があること（具体的には終盤の[spoiler] 兄の台詞で「この台詞が出たらバグだから作者に報告してくれ」 [/spoiler]的なことを言われたときはびっくりした）
あと個人的なものですが[spoiler] 実績を埋めようとすると人でなしな選択をしないといけないものもあるので覚悟が必要……実績コレクターならそれくらい気にならない感じかもですが [/spoiler]

とにかく楽しい作品でした！　次回作みたいなのも今後出て欲しい作品！
因みに個人的には店主のルディさんがお気に入りだったりします

May 17, 2024·22h·2·Verified

Steam User 8987STEAMRecommended

I love how many different endings you can get. There is a pretty nice replay value and the story is interesting!

May 13, 2024·16h·Verified

Steam User 5201STEAMNot recommended

一般般操作不够极致的简单每天都要走就很烦剧情也很无聊内容也让人乏味 56的价格最多给5/10

Apr 24, 2024·2h·3·Verified

Steam User 5866STEAMRecommended

通关了，玩了好几遍，任何抉择都很困难呢

Apr 17, 2024·14h·Verified

Steam User 8185STEAMRecommended

Heckin' great game

Apr 8, 2024·6h·Verified

Steam User 8361STEAMRecommended

This game has a short story line with a decision making game mechanics. It's fun how you can control the news and watch how it impacts the lives of people around you. Some decisions are better than others but almost all decisions has consequences. I wish the game is a bit longer, but I am satisfied with the quality delivered.

Mar 31, 2024·52h·Verified

Steam User 7094STEAMRecommended

Wish this studio would release another game like this one. Was a very good game, was fun to go back and play it. Tho it.... didn't age well in some aspects lol.

Mar 23, 2024·2h·Verified

Steam User 1354STEAMRecommended

烂

Mar 23, 2024·2h·3·Verified

Steam User 3135STEAMRecommended

Good game its fun

Mar 15, 2024·9h·Verified

Steam User 5153STEAMRecommended

can have robot pet 10/10

Mar 8, 2024·42h·2·Verified

Steam User 7706STEAMRecommended

Great game. Good graphics, plot, replayability and decisions changing the outcome.

Mar 8, 2024·9h·Verified

Steam User 3616STEAMRecommended

Its really good and I hope that they make another headliner game, its just fun.

Feb 26, 2024·33h·Verified

Steam User 8080STEAMRecommended

[b]Gameplay[/b]
☐ Very good
☐ Good
[b]☑[/b] Nothing special
☐ Okay
☐ Bad

[b]Graphics[/b]
☐ Masterpiece
☐ Beautiful
[b]☑[/b] Good
☐ Nothing special
☐ Bad
☐ Awful

[b]Audio[/b]
☐ Amazing
☐ Very good
[b]☑[/b] Good
☐ Decent
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad

[b]Audience[/b]
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
[b]☑[/b] Adults
☐ Everyone
☐ Nobody

[b]Story[/b]
☐ Awesome
[b]☑[/b] Good
☐ Average
☐ Not great
☐ None

[b]Difficulty[/b]
☐ One-button
[b]☑[/b] Easy
☐ Standart
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

[b]Game Time[/b]
[b]☑[/b] Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ Endless

[b]Price[/b]
☐ Worth the price
[b]☑[/b] Wait for sale
☐ If you don’t have a better way to spend money
☐ Not recommended

Jan 28, 2024·3h

Steam User 5639STEAMNot recommended

3/10

Jan 27, 2024·19h·Verified

Steam User 7039STEAMRecommended

un peu trop pour ce que c'est

Jan 22, 2024·3h·Verified

Steam User 9641STEAMRecommended

Jan 22, 2024·11h·Verified

Steam User 9530STEAMRecommended

네이버 뉴스란에서 기레기들 존나 욕했는데
하다보면 나도 기레기임

기로 시작해서 기로 끝나는 단어들에는
기레기, 기러기, 기름기, 기울기 등이 있지

Jan 20, 2024·15h·Verified

Steam User 0512STEAMNot recommended

Alors...

non, le jeu n'est pas mauvais juste parce que j'y ai mis une évaluation négative, j'ai juste trop de problèmes avec ce jeu et ça le transforme d'après moi en une expérience passable malgré tant de potentiel:
le jeu est court, OK y'a de la replay value mais c'est indéniable, je l'ai fini en une heure et demi avec la moitié des achivements, puis seulement 3 articles à l'avant dernier jour? sérieusement?? Après les personnages essayent trop fort d'avoir une âme, c'est peut être juste moi hein mais l'histoire m'a pas vraiment touché. puis aussi le jeu essaye beaucoup trop fort d'inclure des belles paroles de morale dans les dialogues, genre Ok pourquoi pas, mais faites le discrètement...

ah aussi y'a les achivements qui anihile le quatrième mur, moi, je veux bien dans un jeu humoristique ou avec un ton léger mais c'est juste pas le bon jeu pour mentionner rdr2 dans les descriptions d'achivs.
je peux comprendre que c'est un travail personnel/indé et je dit pas que le jeu est mauvais, seulement qu'il pourrait être mieux

Enfin bref, jouez y si le trailer vous a vraiment hypé et attendez une réduction. OU jouez à papers please ((presque) objectivement mieux)

Jan 14, 2024·2h·1·Verified

Steam User 1117STEAMRecommended

A great story with game play similar to papers, please. It's engaging, and getting all of the achievements is what made it worth playing the most. It's a true challenge to 100%.

Dec 29, 2023·22h·Verified