In the early days of video games—when arcade cabinets still gobbled up kids’ allowance money—FMV games on a LaserDisc were a staple for the industry. However, like most tech, they were quickly deemed a fad and fell out of favor. Fads are cyclical, though, and FMVs eventually saw a resurgence in the ‘90s thanks mostly to the progress of home console systems like the Sega CD. Today, the FMV genre is alive and well, with notable entries like Murderous Muses, Headspun and Telling Lies all blurring the lines between a narrative game and interactive movie.

One interesting way this line has been blurred is by Not for Broadcast’s use of FMV storytelling combined with a strict management gameplay. Players are put in the role of an ambiguously gendered janitor named Alex who goes from sweeping the floors of the news station to stitching together the nightly broadcast live and in real time after the original broadcast manager skips the country. Not for Broadcast is set in an alternative timeline in which an independent party has risen to power in a landslide victory on the promise of equality and the elimination of poverty via redistribution which has left a bad taste in the mouths of the wealthy—many of whom are fleeing to vacation destinations to maintain their bank accounts or otherwise speaking out against the new leadership.

Behind the scenes at the station, Alex (and therefore, the player) have a semi-functional control board with access to four camera feeds. At the start of a day, you’ll need to flip on the power and preload commercial breaks into the VHS player. Choose your ads wisely as the commercials you play can impact your bank account by boosting or devaluing stock you own. Additional risks and rewards can come from allowing ads from dissenting opinions to strategically infiltrate the airwaves or by catering to leadership approved propaganda.

The Good

The tale told within Not for Broadcast is at the mercy of the player’s choices. Some of the most innocuous and casual choices can lead to surprising consequences as the game progresses. The broadcast portion of the game is broken up into three segments, with players receiving a grade based on how well an invisible audience (measured by a bar at the top of the screen) receives the show. Audience interest can be improved by keeping the flow of the broadcast moving by cutting to close ups when a person is talking and cutting in the occasional reaction or wide shot to keep things from feeling stale. Musical numbers pose an extra challenge where players are encouraged to cut in cameras to the beat, and guest sequences are always a threat with the potential for foul language—or worse, an unauthorized anti-regime rant—can require players to decide whether to allow the language to slide or censor it from the masses’ sensitive ears. Each segment receives a grade, and then another final grade as well as an update to Alex’s financial wellbeing are detailed following the end of each broadcast.

The Bad

Despite incredible storytelling, it’s still genuinely difficult to pinpoint exactly what the overall message of Not for Broadcast actually is. This is an alternative dystopia rife with misinformation and propaganda, some of which we as the player are directly or indirectly responsible for, but it is also teeming with real examples of today’s modern political discourse. The fight for financial equality and opposition to state-sanctioned police brutality are oddly juxtaposed alongside authoritarian policies that are typically on the other side of the political spectrum. It leaves a feeling in the air that NotGames is trying to put ideologies like financial and medical equality in the same space as stochastic and domestic terrorism to make a point about whether or not the ends justify the means.

What Surprised Me

Not for Broadcast was previously released for PC in early access and has gone through quite a few changes based on player feedback to improve the experience. There have also been two additional DLC stories released, with two others currently in the works at the time of writing this review. The first is included in the base game at no extra charge and has players piecing together a ridiculous slapstick comedy show to help raise money for a little girl who will quite literally die if things don’t go according to plan. Hey, it's still a dystopian universe. If you want to pick up the rest, including Live & Spooky, you’ll need to buy them individually when they launch or snag the season pass. FMV fans will absolutely want to just go ahead and do the latter as the Live & Spooky DLC is one of the best standalone moments in an FMV game I’ve ever played. It could have been its own individual story for how dense it is, with players piecing together a live show detailing a gruesome suicide that may or may not have left the news station haunted.

What was Predictable

In the most genuine and unexpected turn of events, I never really found any elements of Not for Broadcast predictable. Regardless of the choices I made there was always an event lurking that surprised me. The base game alone has over 14 different endings and a myriad of possible ways to get to them. Not only do we have an extensive amount of content coming across during the broadcasts, but players can also go into their archives to rewatch the broadcasts they’ve cut together or focus on bits that they chose not to air to uncover additional little secrets, easter eggs and bonus details. It’s respectable how much effort NotGames has put into subverting expectations in Not for Broadcast.

NotGames has managed to create a propaganda simulator that touches on some incredibly dark and distressing content in a way that can still be enjoyable to interact with. The world can be cruel, and the road to hell is often paved in good intentions. There are still bright moments, however, and we can find distractions and humor in those bright spots that help make the bitter bits go down a little better. You can have high risk, intense narratives while still having a game that is fun to play.

Visuals: A+

Not for Broadcast has a fairly simple setting. Locked away in a back room with editing equipment directly in front of you, power equipment to the left, and a phone or bullhorn to the right, its all plainly laid out and easy to navigate. Depending on your choices and events that are occurring during the game the equipment can become upgraded or deteriorate as you’re using it which provides a little bonus when it comes to immersion.

Sound: A+

The audio for Not for Broadcast is near flawless. Even during chaotic scenes audio cues are crisp. Subtitles are accurate and clear. Because the broadcast is aired live with a two-second delay, players are given two audio streams with the live feed and the aired feed and can dynamically adjust the volume mixers for these two audio sources to their own preferences. This makes it easier to listen for necessary audio cues and to ensure that the sweet sound of censorship is being timed accordingly.

Playability: B+

Thanks to a multitude of difficulty and accessibility settings, Not for Broadcast is easily approachable for casuals and hardcore gamers alike. Easier difficulties and more accessible settings can give players less threat of retaliation for going against the wishes of the authoritarian regime dictating what graces the airwaves while still allowing the player to get the full breadth of the story being told. More challenging difficulties can shorten timers and amp up the punishments for failing to keep the watchful eyes of Advance happy with your performances.

Story: A

As previously mentioned, Not for Broadcast’s take on a dystopian authoritarian regime tries to straddle the fence just a bit too much and never really settles on any one side of the story it's trying to tell. There are nods to current events, despite the setting being the 1980s the alternative timeline allows NotGames to tackle topics like a cuddly toy gone rogue scenario that mirrors the COVID-19 lockdown.

Replay Value: A+

Despite feeling like the overall narrative plays a little too fast and loose with politics, there are 14 potential endings and a laundry list of potential scenes to explore so how the story pans out is truly up to you and your willingness to engage in or reject the regime. There are also options to replay segments for better grades, and to rewatch broadcasts so you can view them as your audience did or catch bonus behind the scenes moments you may have missed while editing on the fly.

Overall Grade: A