Reminiscent of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, it's ideal for hardcore gamers, casual gamers, journalists, writers, editors, and anyone who wants to learn more about real-world political issues
The Westport Independent2016
The Westport Independent
2016 Coffee Stain Studios67Worthwhile
Playtime
BriefIt typically takes about 1.5 hours to finish the game.
Playable on
Available on
- Free
Game modes
Details
- Launch
- January 21, 2016
- Developer
- Double Zero One Zero
- Publisher
- Coffee Stain Studios
- Themes
- -
Overview
"The Westport Independent is a censorship simulator about the last weeks on an independent newspaper which is to be dismantled according to a new government bill. You play an editor in charge of choosing what will be printed in the paper, making sure that the content is nice and proper according to the government guidelines. With rebellions against the government rising slowly amongst the public, whose truth will you print?"
Screenshots
Reception
Press65
Players76
WorthwhileGood- Metacritic63from 16 reviews
- OpenCritic67from 12 reviews
The Westport Independent is amusing, but I wish it had more depth
The premise of The Westport Independent sure is interesting, sadly, it's execution falls short. I feel here's a bit of history lacking, and no climax whatsoever. With a bit more work, this might've been a great game, such as Papers Please was. It still is an entertaining game given it's short duration, although it's repetitiveness eventually bored me...
It's not without merit, but it's a bare bones package that is more of a novelty than anything.
The rich districts will only buy your paper if you publish news about celebrities, while the poor also need to know about the industries they work for. This is the tightrope that you must walk in order to survive in the world of journalism, and a few embarrassing typos aside, The Westport Independent does a pretty good job of simulating it.