Hitcents’ Orwellian cinematic platformer, Ministry of Broadcast (MoB), is coming to Nintendo Switch at a time when the game’s subject matter is more relevant than ever. Available on the Nintendo eShop on April 30th (retail version to follow from PM Studios), MoB has Switch players fighting for their lives in an absurd reality TV show sponsored by the all-seeing Regime. Originally released for PC in early 2020, MoB has several significant updates for the upcoming release, including a new “Story Mode” allowing for more relaxed, less stressful gameplay.
In the lead-up to the launch of MoB, Hitcents is participating in what it’s calling the “Stay the Hell Home” initiative by offering the first 1000 players to sign-up for a FREE Switch download of its game A Robot Named Fight!, a Metroidvania roguelike 2D platformer.
Ministry of Broadcast features:
- Themes Ripped from the Headlines – The Wall divides a country in two, and a man from his family. To see his family again, the game’s ginger-haired protagonist has to become a contestant on “The Wall Show”, a Regime-organized TV show allowing competitors the opportunity to escape to freedom. As our protagonist progresses from arena to arena and day to day, he soon realizes exactly how the Regime and the show operate.
- Old-School Style with A New Story Mode – In the spirit of classics such as Prince of Persia (1989) and Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus, Ministry of Broadcast revives the gameplay of classic 2D cinematic platformers, where players need nimble run-and-jump reflexes to avoid mortal dangers, and a sharp mind to discern the real-life parallels. In this style of gameplay, the controls put a bit of distance and delay between the player’s actions and the character’s reaction. For the Switch release, the developers have included a new ‘Story Mode’ (not previously offered on the PC version) allowing players to more readily experience MoB’s story and gameplay through more compliant controls, relaxed timing in time-sensitive sequences, and less aggressive enemies.
- Developers Drawing on Life Experiences – The game is developed by Ministry of Broadcast Studios, a group living in the Czech Republic. Motivated by their own lives in Eastern Europe and some of the atrocities they’ve seen and experienced, the group created a game offering a satirical examination of prevalent sociopolitical issues – groupthink, privacy, fake news, consumerism, and more.
- Death-Defying Gameplay – To reach freedom and family, you must lead the protagonist through each of the Arenas while under the ever-watchful lens of the Regime. Encounter the requisite variety of hazardous, dilapidated obstacles along the way (leg-shattering drops, flaming barrels of garbage, inconveniently placed spike pits, hanging steel beams), but bear in mind: the promise of freedom is not exactly what it seems. The realization that truth is interpreted by those who share it hangs heavy on your mind. What, or who, do you sacrifice?
- Awards – Ministry of Broadcast has been nominated and won several awards for its unique gameplay and art at Indiecade (Santa Monica, CA), Game Connection (Paris), and Game Access (Brno, Czech Republic).
