Headliner: NoviNews Review for Steam

Re-shape society, influence a nation, and change lives as the Headliner of NoviNews– the premier source of information for the fictional country of Novistan. As Headliner, it’s your job to decide which articles are released with the morning’s paper, and to choose which news the people get to see. Will you choose to blindly support a mysterious new beverage being released, or will you cry out against it? Will you promote tolerance, or violence? As your virtual boss will tell you, even silence is a viewpoint. Every choice you make matters, and will immediately affect the state of Novistan, your job, and your family.

Headliner: NoviNews is a point-and-click PC game by developer Unbound Creations, reasonably priced at $9.99, and available on Steam. Physical play is quite simple, all it requires is making choices, but it is the weight and effect of those choices that adds depth and difficulty to the game.

 The player character is slightly customizable, but ultimately that doesn’t affect your game. One thing that really struck me was the inclusivity! Players choose their name, appearance, and preferred gender pronouns (she/he/they) at the start screen, and your selection here doesn’t change play or how your character is treated. There’s even a small romantic sub-plot that is similarly unaffected by gender.

Throughout the game, there are two main storylines happening that you can affect with the articles you choose to release, but there are also several secondary stories happening concurrently that are all also changed by how you shape society. Each of these mini-plots has several different endings, so this game has a lot of re-playability, especially given that you can complete the game within a few hours. While gameplay only lasts 14 “days,” so you don’t get a lot of time to get to know the NPC’s, they are endearing enough that you get attached. Will you promote your brother’s stand-up career, or encourage him to get a steady job? Will you get to know your coworker, Evie, or keep your distance? The possibilities in Headliner are myriad, not only for each individual storyline, but also in the combinations of endings you can get.

You can’t “win” the game, per say–you decide if you’re happy with the ways things have ended up after two in-game weeks. I, for example, wasn’t pleased with my outcome, so I replayed it and ended up getting an even worse ending! Part of the main appeal of Headliner, for me, was the unexpectedness. You never know what’s going to happen, even if you’re replaying, which can lead to hours of exploration.

Headliner ends up pretty reflective of real life in that there is no perfect way to play–each option you choose will have both good and bad side effects. It showcases the impact that media has on society, in a way that I hadn’t considered so in depth before. It’s also quite relevant to today’s political climate, at least in the United States, as it deals with many of the issues facing Americans today, like immigration laws and public healthcare.

Overall, I think the fact that I immediately replayed the game speaks for itself. I really enjoyed Headliner, and I think it makes for a really unique game that is somewhere between SimCity, Plague, Inc., and an Otome or visual novel. The only downside in my opinion is the slight tedium that can come from just stamping articles as the most important part of gameplay. Each day plays out essentially the same; you start your day at work with a brief chat with the boss, then you choose the articles for the day, then you see the effects of your decisions on your walk home, interacting with various NPC’s along the way. You repeat this cycle 14 times, which might get a little monotonous even despite the visible evolution of the city and society, but ultimately, Headliner: NoviNews is worth a play (or 3)!

8/10

Check Out the Headliner: NoviNews Steam Launch Trailer:

Headliner: NoviNews is available for PC via Steam.