Ministry of Broadcast (Switch) Review
Release Date: April 30 2020
Publisher/Developer: Hitcents/Ministry of Broadcast Studios
Platform: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), Steam
Price: $14.99
A mysterious wall, developed seemingly overnight by an all-powerful regime, is built through a country and literally split it in two. A man is separated from his family and the only way back is by participating in a bizarre reality show competition where players run deadly gauntlets for a chance to get over the wall and to freedom.
As we can see in today’s current situation with the Coronavirus, quarantines, and the like, humanity will manage stressors with (often dark or sarcastic) humor. Our protagonist, known simply as Orange primarily because nobody cares to learn it, must win by any means necessary, even if he has to sacrifice other players by luring vicious dogs to them or using their bodies as platforms to get over deadly spike pits. Orange finds some humor in the situation at first, but as he goes on the morbidity of the situation begins to take it’s toll, especially as he begins doubting whether he will get his promised freedom upon winning.
The Ministry of Broadcast pays homage to classic platforming games with puzzle elements, much like the similarly dark-humored Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee and Exoddus. Orange will likely die, and die a lot, as you go about figuring out the myriad of puzzles in the gauntlets and in between. There is no user interface, and most all of the information you need is displayed in the environment or during short dialogue speech bubble style conversation. There is humor in all of this, as even the bleakest deaths result in a witty and sarcastic jab from a raven that follows you around. From what I’ve played, save points are generously spaced, so a death doesn’t set you too far back. Occasionally there would be a tough bit right after a bit of monotonous platforming, which would feel frustrating as you may end up speeding through it only to flub up on the tough bit and have to start over again.
Orange is not a fast man. Even at a run he putts along, and he may slip and slide a little further than you expect which results in an instant death. There are a few quality of life control supports, like edging you into the right place when climbing, but the control scheme will fail you, and you will die. Again, this is furthering that dark humor that pervades the title, and gives you that much more of a sense of achievement when you pull it off.
Sometimes the platforming puzzles throw me back to Monkey Island. Sure, you don’t have to find random things strewn about and cobble them together, but the precise pattern needed to get over a bridge or through a door has so many deathtraps surrounding it that you feel a sense of trial and error. A couple times I’d come to a place that the successful next step was a decent sized drop. A hair too far, and I would break my legs and die. A hair too short and I’d hit a pitfall. Didn’t help it was off the bottom of the screen. The game does it’s best to give you clues to get through but there were a few times I felt like brute force was the only way to push through.
Ministry of Broadcast has a patch incoming, offering some slightly easier difficulty modes and squashing a few bugs in the process. According to the developers, the Coronavirus situation has delayed that patch. My most major complaints circled around those things (a few buttons I would hit had problems getting double-tapped, and there are some genuinely hard issues around timing what seem to be random events). I won’t knock the game for those issues, but I will say they will be welcome additions once the update goes live.
Ministry of Broadcast is an odd game, one that tries to straddle the difficult hurdle of telling a story, remaining humorous, and still providing a solid gameplay experience. If you are a fan of dry, sarcastic, and dark humor, the clumsy controls can be satisfying in their own right, as clumsy pratfalls lead to awkward death. What seems like an action game, controlling a hero through a gauntlet of deathtraps in order to escape to freedom, really is a thinking man’s puzzle game, figuring out the order and timing of dealing with obstacles in your way as you struggle for freedom.
Pros:
-Witty banter and dark humor provide an engaging story
-Puzzle platforming reminiscent of the classic “Abe” games
-Forgiving save points for the multiple deaths
-Storyline starts simple, but engages you as it develops
Cons:
-Sloppy control scheme and slow movement translate to a lot of deaths (likely by design)
-Some puzzles are vague or require precision timing (with above sloppy controls) and lead to a brick wall
Special thanks to Hitcents/Ministry of Broadcast Studios for providing a code for review!