Today we are going to take a look at Say No! More. This world’s first NPG – NO!-Playing Game from Studio Fizbin promises to show you the power of the word No in a fun and creative way. Whether it can deliver on its promise is the question we will try to answer today. Say No! More is available on Steam for 14 Euro and 99 cents or your regional equivalent.
With this review you have a choice of either reading it here in text form or listening to the video review. They both contain the same content.
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So… you’ve replaced all the printer toners in all of the offices. Now, you’re printing out 150 copies of invites to an employee banquet. Nobody cares about the interns – well unless there’s a problem all the full-time employees can’t fix. Finally, the last invite is printed. It’s for John, but he forces everyone to call him Johnny and he is so rude. He puts his coffee cup on his invite leaving a stain and tells you not only do you have to print him a new one but make ten additional invites. But okay, that’s fine. You print them, give everyone their invites, and then your boss just tells that someone needs to stay late and replace all the broken light-bulbs as the CEO is coming to visit tomorrow.
We all were forced to go through something like this at one point or another. And we all wished we could’ve just said no. But then, you really needed the job. Say No! More is a story-focused indie NPG which stands for No! Playing Game. And as you might have guessed by now, it’s all about saying no. You can say no to pretty much anything in the game and more importantly to anyone. It’s the perfect catharsis and almost feels like meditating upon the power of the fabled word No. The problems saying no can bring, the freedom it can grant you, and also how hard it can be to say no.
The game itself is split into two main parts. The gameplay and the scenes. You’ll mostly be an observer in the scenes but even there you are occasionally given the chance to do something. But the true fun lies in the gameplay. Here, you’ll turn into an anti-corporate monster that demolishes the structure with every single No that has been muttered. If Disco Elysium is a game about the failures of left-wing ideologies then Say No! More is its five-year-old brother who still believes the magic powers of words and doesn’t acknowledge adult cynicism. I’d even call this game a tiny bit of Marxist gaming.
Since the game uses completely primitive controls – almost like coming from the ancient times of arcade gaming – it is obvious that the story is what you should focus on. And the story is left-wing just enough that it doesn’t make anyone angry yet so clear that there is no other interpretation available.
The game is short. But that’s not a bad thing here. It allows to story to move at a brisk pace yet it does have the bravery to shine a light on a pretty serious topic. Workplace bullying. But it also adds just enough humor to make you sad that it ends.
The only problem is that there really isn’t much to say about the mechanics. You got four different types of No to use and four different strategies to make others unsure of themselves. Combining these will get to you to the company leadership and well… then the game ends.
Conclusion
So… in conclusion. Say No! More is quite intriguing. It’s almost not a game, to be honest. It’s a tool to learn people to say No!, how to say, and to a degree to learn them when to say it. It’s simple, but also right to the point. It’s unlike anything you’ve played before and it does have good humor. If you struggle at saying No! at work or in life in general then Say No! More might be good catharsis for you and perhaps even teach you a lesson. But it does cost a lot of money for how long it is. Wait until it’s at between 5 – 10 bucks and then pick it up and then enjoy.
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