goood.games

Reception

Mainlining deserves credit for presenting an original and interesting take on a familiar genre.

Mainlining fails to really provide any interesting commentary on its chosen subject matter, revelling instead in caricatures we’ve all experienced a hundred times before; stuff you’ll have seen done better in any Grand Theft Auto game that has parody websites involved. Its gameplay too often degenerates into trial-and-error and lacks any sort of consequences...

It’s hard to say much else about the game without giving away some fun story beats, but overall Mainlining is a fun game with great, consistent art direction and some very clever (and mostly faithful) old style hacking mechanics. While it almost certainly plays best elsewhere, the Switch version is impressively competent and it’s a great themed adventure...

Mainlining offers little but a frustrating experience on the Nintendo Switch. It’s all too clear how the PC version would be superior in every single regard, while also costing five dollars less there. From broken mechanics, poor keyboard functionality, and no indication of what you’re supposed to be doing, Mainlining is a game that I wouldn’t recommend...

Its fantastic art and concept cannot help Mainlining on Switch from being an absolute chore to play.