Every now and then a game will come along and you’ll finish it and think, I’ve never played anything like that in my life. Not For Broadcast does exactly that and is one of the most unique and quirky experiences I’ve ever indulged in and I loved every second from start to finish. Admittedly I initially looked at videos and screenshots before this review and wasn’t sure if the game would be for me. It is absolutely one of those games that you won’t know until you try and it reeled me in immediately like a modern-day version of Eurotrash without the tits and bush, although there is plenty of obscenities and sexual innuendos thrown in. Despite some of the game being shot and developed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has since blossomed into a one-of-a-kind game that you absolutely have to try.

Introduction

After enjoying monumental success on Windows PC, Not For Broadcast finally airs on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and also Playstation 4|5 and there is a version floating around for VR as well. After a little research before diving in for the first time, I realised that not only is this an FMV player’s wet dream, but it also features almost 43 hours of raw footage according to Guinness World Records. It officially holds the record for “Most Full Motion Video footage in a videogame”. The most unique and standout feature is the game’s presentation. It takes place as a live-action broadcast from a producer’s viewpoint with an entire dashboard of buttons and knobs to mess around with.

You are responsible for the decisions on what to air, what perspective and angle to push out the coverage from and what order to play adverts at the intervals. Unexpected events take place, interference and plenty of swear words to try and sensor as you man the fort and try and ensure everything displays squeaky clean and smooth for the audience. Start getting stuff out of sync and wrong and the broadcast will be poor and you’ll be booted off the air with a game over, only to try the whole lot over again.

Gameplay

Whilst looking at screenshots looks a little overwhelming, you don’t need to worry as the game talks you through the entire functionality of everything. Before you know it you’ll be powering up, loading advert cassettes and flipping the right switches in no time at all. The main dashboard presents you with four individual screens to your right. These serve as multiple camera viewing points from within the studio and you’ll be pressing the buttons directly below to switch between them. This is handy for focusing on a particular individual or getting the best shots from a performance for instance. You’re advised not to stay on one screen for too long of a duration as the audience watching will become bored.

The screens off to the right-hand side display the same image but one is live and the other is a few seconds behind. This allows you to intervene if something like a swear word will arise, which happens on multiple occasions, so be ready! As the saying goes, prior preparation prevents piss-poor performance! The censor button is down the centre and you’ll need to press and hold this for the duration of the expletive, time it wrong or miss it completely then you’ll get a slap on the wrist for this.

Keep An Eye On The Time

The timer at the top holds the key to everything, it’ll tell you how long the overall duration of the show is and then switches to each segment runtime as you transition through the program. When playing an advert for instance, it’ll be key to keep an eye on the time to then switch back to the main feed once the ad break is finished. The health bar across the top indicates how the show is going and if you’re in the green then it’s going really well, start dropping into the amber and red and you’ll risk the broadcast being terminated.

Interference & Ratings

On occasion you’ll start receiving interference on the airwaves, it is the 80’s after all. On the lower screen off to the right, you’ll need to adjust the dials to match the lines on the screen. It can be challenging and slightly stressful with all the other things to think about, but it adds depth to the game. Once the show is over you’ll receive a complete breakdown of how everything panned out and how you scored ratings-wise. I got a kick out of replaying episodes to try and better these, you can also go and just watch the entire show and fast-forward things after to listen in on the behind-the-scenes areas you missed while you were focused on running things well.

Graphics & Audio

Aesthetically everything presented in Not For Broadcast is aimed at the mid-eighties to early nineties and that shows with the use of VCR tapes, the dress sense and the quality of the filming. I can only imagine how logistically challenging it must have been to create all of the broadcasts with hours and hours of footage. When you become tuned to the production dashboard it is extremely well designed and illustrated brilliantly also. It’s hard to go to length on the overall visuals since the majority is taking notice of the magnificent range of cast who are all dressed for the era and every personality shines through shining performances in the acting.

Accessibility is spot on with subtitles for those who like them and those who are hard of hearing. This has been well thought out with the parts that need bleeping out having a visual indicator present. Colourblind mode is also available with a range of remappable buttons, something that never usually exists with a lot of indies.

In Conclusion

Not For Broadcast is an absolute hidden gem that deserves to be played, especially if you love the FMV genre. It’s also a very good TV producer simulator and with a large range of different possibilities, outcomes and challenges along the way, there is so much replayability here if you want it. I absolutely recommend the deluxe edition as it comes complete with three extra episodes to work through, which are released as DLC add-ons for the PC version. No biggie if not though since you can purchase these separately later on if you enjoy the core game. The eccentric acting and narrative throughout are absolutely sublime and whilst you feel the pressures of running the TV studio from all angles and aspects, it made me want to keep replaying episodes to see what I may have missed.

The political dialogue may not be for everyone, but there is enough balance and belly-laughing humour to balance things out. If you’re after ticking off everything here I’d say it is a good 20-30 hour stint along with the extra episodes although for completionists it’ll be longer since there are lots of endings and I have only seen around four of them. It’s been ever so cleverly stitched together such a memorable indie that I would love to see more content for. One of my highlights of 2023 so far and well worth a buy!