Get the censor button ready
If you ever wanted to experience what it’s like to punch the buttons on a live broadcast, trying to keep it all together, Not For Broadcast is right around the corner to give you a chance. The full-motion video (FMV) sim game will get its official launch on Jan. 25, 2022.
Not For Broadcast has been in Early Access on Steam for a little while, but NotGames and TinyBuild are launching the full production at the end of the month. The 1.0 version update will include Episode 3, which has three broadcasts and over 17 hours of new TV content, as well as new adverts, story endings, challenges, and more.
The setup of Not For Broadcast is that you’re a new technical producer for the National Nightly News. Using a production board, you’ll decide which angles go live, which ads air, and which swears slip through without a blaring “bleep.”
Of course, nothing’s ever that simple. Things will go haywire, from electrical issues to little minigames you’ll have to complete as the show goes on. And all the while, of course, making both the advertisers and the bigshots upstairs happy.
Fun fact: I worked at a news station for a little while! And having played the demo for Not For Broadcast a while back, I found its portrayal of the technical aspects of TV production—punching up cameras, switching live during interviews—to be both fun and at least somewhat similar to how it really works. The granular aspects are smoothed out, but you will probably have moments where you lose track of the interview and let a shot linger too long.
Reviews of the Early Access seem fairly positive on Steam and, from what I’ve seen of the story content, Not For Broadcast seems to take a satirical approach to modern society. And with all the FMV games coming out these days, it’s fun to see one like this add a new twist to the genre. Like Night Trap but with news instead of trapdoors. You can find Not For Broadcast on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store.
