Sim games, when they’re done well, are a beautiful thing. I mean … they give you the chance to be pretty much anything you want to be. Being a journalist, for instance, I obviously want to play a game in which I get to be a journalist. You’re thinking that I really need a life and a break, right? Well, I don’t, and this is exactly what I want to do so I’m going to tell you all about Headliner: NoviNews, which is due to hit our screens December 11th.
[youtube tS_95mZWpxo]Coming to PS4 and Xbox One from the clever souls over at Unbound Creations, Headliner: Novinews will see you become just that; a headliner. In this role, you will get the chance to choose the headlines that will shape society. Whether you try and be virtuous and report the truth or just garbage your integrity from the off and embrace fake news is entirely up to you.
Set in fictional Novistan, you will become chief editor of the country’s largest news publication. From your chair in the newsroom, you’ll have to choose which stories the paper is going to run. Sound simple? Well, to do this effectively, you’ll need to balance the local political climate with social sentiment and personal interactions. This is the media, after all; keeping everybody happy is going to be a bit of an uphill battle.
Once you’ve decided exactly what you’re going to publish, you’ll be able to see firsthand what sort of an impact your story has had. As always, your decisions have consequences, so you’ll have to plan your actions wisely.
The stories you choose to report on and events that may spin from these are randomized. Not only will this mean that you experience unique outcomes and endings based on the path you take through the game, but it will also make for bags of replayable fun.
“I’ve always been interested in how media shapes people’s perceptions, which in turn shapes reality. What stories we deem newsworthy, and how we report on those stories, fundamentally changes our entire society. Headliner: NoviNews explores the trials and tribulations of trying to remain unbiased in an inherently biased world“, said Unbound Creations founder and director, JaKub Kasztalski.
If Headliner: NoviNews sounds like something worth exploring, it will be appearing on your consoles at the price of £11.74, or $13.99 for you nice folk across the pond. This is definitely an interesting concept and might open your eyes to a few of the decisions we have to make before putting pen to paper. As you may soon see, it’s often the writing that’s the easiest part.
