In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime have erected a wall to divide and control the population. The Ministry of Broadcast, among their many duties, have made a TV show about those who would dare try to cross the wall, and you play the latest star of the show.
Citing gameplay inspiration from Prince of Persia and Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus, Ministry of Broadcast — from Ministry of Broadcast Studio — is a 2D platformer with puzzle elements and the slower, realistic clambouring of the titles which inspired it. This means that it makes for a game of ambling up platforms and narrowly dodging guards, but also of deftly leaping from collapsing tower to collapsing tower just in time.
While pixel art might not have been the style people would have thought Ministry of Broadcast best suited, there is enough going on with every screen and room that it is quickly forgotten. Entertaining signs and conversations are littered through the game, all of it delivering a little humour in the stark industry setting — blues and oranges serving as strong colour notes against the industrial greens and beiges.
I was lucky enough to play through some of Ministry of Broadcast at the Sweden Games Conference 2018 where it was entered into the Big Indie Pitch. I played for about half an hour — during which time I went from solving simple lever puzzles through using other humans as diversions, to jumping from collapsing building to building. I tumbled to my death, was clubbed around the head and shot multiple times. It’s definitely not an easy game.
Ministry of Broadcast is in development for PC and Mac, targeting a Q3 2019 release. You can stay up to date with the game through its newsletter.
