Ministry of Broadcast

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Ministry of Broadcast is a challenging Puzzle-Platformer released on PC, mobile devices, and Nintendo Switch in 2020. This game follows in the tradition of games like the original Prince of Persia, Flashback, Another World, and the original two Oddworld games, putting you in the role of a character with only the most mundane of athletic abilities who finds himself in a deadly situation.

In this game, that deadly situation takes the form of a snowy, dystopian future ruled by an authoritarian regime that hosts a deadly contest of sorts where contestants must survive through deathtraps, vicious personnel and murderous dogs in a crumbling facility, with the promise of being able to cross a Berlin Wall-esque barrier to see his family if he manages to get past these trials.

Ministry of Broadcast has a dark sense of humor, in a world where life is cheap, and even the seemingly kind-hearted protagonist (simply called Red) must literally step over (and walk on) the bodies of other “contestants” to survive. The callousness with which every character in this game regards life and death really underlines the dystopian nature of this game’s world.

The presentation here is depicted with some decent pixel art that finds a nice balance between detail and abstract, backed by a mostly minimal soundtrack that strikes up at times of urgency and distress. The result is a game that does a good job of setting an ominous tone while retaining a bit of detachment to the death that permeates the game.

Oh, and make no mistake, you will be dying a lot in this game. You’ll need to think on your feet and consider the obstacles in your way in each new situation in order to progress, and often this means you’ll have to go through some trial and error, dying over and over again before figuring out what you need to do. In addition, there are moments where you’ll need to be quick on your feet, and the platforming here is pretty terrible (by design, that’s the sort of game this is).

As far as games of this sort go, this is a pretty decent example of this sort of gameplay, and while it does an excellent job of setting up a fascinating world, I wouldn’t say that this game elevates its genre or supersedes it. And as this style of game is really an acquired taste, that means this is definitely not going to be a game for everyone.

However, if you enjoy the Puzzle-Platformer games I named earlier as examples, then Ministry of Broadcast is definitely going to be a game you’ll want to check out. While it doesn’t do anything truly groundbreaking, there are some good puzzles here, and a fascinating world to explore and try to survive in. However, less-skilled players and those who don’t have much experience with this style of game may find this is a bit difficult to get into.

tl;dr – Ministry of Broadcast is a challenging Puzzle-Platformer in the vein of games like the original Prince of Persia and the first two Oddworld games. In this game, players take the role of a man trying to survive through a series of deathtraps set up by an authoritarian regime as a part of a deadly game show of sorts. While this game doesn’t do anything to elevate beyond its genre, it is a great example of it, and the dark atmosphere is excellent. This won’t be a game for everyone, but players who enjoy this style of game will definitely want to check it out.

Grade: C+

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