Off the Shelf Media

Aliens are on Earth. The world you have come to know is crumbling around you. Cities decimated as chaos is the new law of the streets. Nothing but destruction is certain. The need to know eats at humanity worse than all the pain these new invaders brought. That’s where you come in, along with three other brave souls, to photograph it all for print media. 

Where most games might put you in front of the action, The Headliners has you tucked away behind the camera, but it certainly is not safe. While the concept for this game is not the most unique, it certainly delivers in this more recent genre of games that is a splinter from the classic survival horror. 

As survival horror games became a subgenre of horror games, a new subgenre seems to be forming, one that tasks the player with basic tasks that are not interesting but drop the player into a terrifying and unique world. These types of games, Lethal Company and Crime Scene Cleaner, have an alternate game theory where the player has a mundane job they continue to perform even in the chaotic and fictional world they are in, as if the player is not the main character but an extra in the overall world and story of the game. 

These new types of ‘occupational thriller’ games are becoming popular because of their co-op functionality and the comedic irony element of being a normal employee rather than a space marine or ace assassin, which would follow the typical trends in gameplay. They are certainly separate from sim games as well because of their heavily fictional settings but blend with horror elements well enough to make a good game. With that, let’s dive into what makes The Headliners newsworthy.

Gameplay: 2

When in doubt, strive for simplicity. The controls are basic and make jumping into the game easy. After your first ten-minute round, you will have mastered them. The sprint is slow, your stamina bar drains fast, and your health might as well be equivalent to shotty paper mache work ,but hey, I already warned you that you do not play as a space marine. 

You can buy equipment to improve your character’s stats and inventory but more often than not, you will find yourself with nothing more than the basic camera. They all cost money, a shared pool each player can spend at a terminal before each round. Let’s just say, the writer’s strike never reached your publication’s doors. 

Your task is to photograph the alien invasion in all its glory. Pictures with more chaotic elements and dancing selfies give you more points, naturally. Each round will increase the amount of points needed to pass. You only get three lives, while also increasing the dangers you face. It is perilous from the start but that’s the fun part, at least with friends. That is right, your friend might be brave enough to twerk next to a floating Medusa head for some points but you can get more by documenting it yourself. This type of photo diversity is important too because copies of photos that are similar or share the same elements will be removed from the point pool. 

The best strategy so far seems to be to spend a few minutes inside a building being terrorized, then head outside to snap some titan-class mutants roaming the streets. It’s important to get your camera to the helicopter to receive and see your photos as well, even if you find yourself incapacitated, anyone can pick up your camera and return it for those sweet journalistic points. This is by far the best part of each round, going back to the headquarters and seeing which pictures had the highest impact and which one made the front page. 

Story: 0

A little ironic that a game that makes the player part of print media has a bad story. Those that had a chance to read my Risk of Rain 2 review might remember that even a minimal story does not make a game’s story bad. 

This circumstance is a little different because for the life of me, I cannot find any form of one. Does it make the game worse? No, but it is nonexistent so it would not feel right to give credit to something not even attempted. Do not let that give you a bad impression of this game. You do not play it for the story, even if there was one, but it is an element expected in videogames designed outside of mobile games and even a few too many of them have stories. 

Atmosphere: 2

This game delivers on the world you play in. In general, it is familiar with a touch of citywide destruction. One unique aspect is the widescreen style border you play through. Yes, your aspect ratio is set correctly. 

The sound quality comes in nicely as well, better than to be expected from an indie studio and captures the moments of terror and panic well. The little animation that does occur to the characters comes through mouth movements if your voice chat is enabled and a face of pure terror if your character wanders too close to the danger. It is simplistic and surely something that will be developed but what elements are there work perfectly together. 

Value: 2

The game is $7.99. Buy it. It is fun and cheap and I am willing to bet every system can run it. If I could rate it a three, I would. The only complaint I have is the restriction of four players. Not something I am too particular about in this case because the total amount of photos each player has and the scaling could get complicated. 

Duration: 2

Recently, a large content update was released for free, adding new monsters, maps, and playable characters. The game loads quickly and joining a game is just as quick. With more updates and some minimal refinement, the longevity of the game will certainly last the rest of the year. 

The key element here is adding diversity and how much the devs at KAFI are willing to split everyone’s $8 before a new game. It certainly does not seem like a scam given the more than fair price and core functionality. In my advice, buy the game and have a blast. 

Total Score: 8/10

Pure and simple, the game is fun. It does not come with depth, but everything it does have works perfectly and makes it easy to have more fun with the people you are playing with. Maybe the real top story was the friends we made along the way. Well, it is if you can get them in frame. The worst part about this game is your gaming chat might get spammed with a lot of screenshots.