Experience/Opinions – Not quite a review. Not quite a preview. When you jump into a beta and experience something else.
No More Robots are onto something with this open beta malarkey. This is the third time I’ve received code for an open beta where it has been an offline single player game (check out Let’s Build a Zoo here and Fashion Police Squad here) These betas are essentially the first hour of the game for you to try and provide feedback on. I wasn’t particularly jazzed to go back to Not Tonight for the sequel. The first game is incredible but because of that it was mentally and emotionally exhausting (check out that review over here) The new game is set in America so perhaps the degree of separation will make the experience less like a terrifying glimpse into the future and more of an enjoyable Steam indie game.
Diving into Not Tonight 2, it looks like a lot has remained the same since Not Tonight. The world is still very broken, you’ve an interesting story and you’re going to be spending time working as a bouncer. You’ll be playing with a clipboard and checking IDs while balancing your finances and everything else. This time around you’re given a journey narrative with a friend captured by a shady organisation and facing deportation unless you can get to them with their passport in 30days. The road trip to different locations is a stroke of genius as it gives a clear sense of urgency to the overarching plot. There’s also a ‘Death Road to Canada’ vibe of progressing to a goal that will be interesting to see more of.
Character interactions are now played out like a classic adventure game with most dialogue so far having one or two choices in how you respond and react to them. Following on from Not Tonight the sequel has ridiculously good writing and so far Not Tonight 2 is shaping up to be just as interesting as the first game. The bouncing is the same as the first with more checks unlocking as you progress. With a mouse it’s a lot easier and faster to just drag the ID to the clipboard which is one advantage over the Switch port of the original. I realise the original Not Tonight started life on the PC but it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out if Not Tonight 2 is ported to the Switch as well.
There’s not much more to say about Not Tonight 2 at the moment, if you played the first game but found it too oppressive (ie you live in the UK and have seen the news in the last 2 years) this might very well be for you. It’s going to be very interesting to see how American’s review this when it launches as there are nods to Not Tonight but it’s very much its own creation. We’ll have to see how this pans out but it’ll definitely be a game to keep an eye on.
Especially as it likely has an eye on you.
Not Tonight 2 will be out towards the end of 2021
Wishlist the game on Steam here
Beta code was provided by No More Robots check them out here
ElderlyGoose 