Our take on Mighty Yell and Skybound's new Indie adventure game
The Big Con
We’ve been playing a lot of The Big Con recently; a game where our hero (who isn’t really a hero due to her actions) lives in a bright and bold sit-com style world and must do anything to save her mother’s business from falling into the hands of loan sharks.
Set in the 1990s, expect bright patterns and slang words which have recently made an unironic comeback. Rad! As a narrative driven game about exploration, there is a lot to love about The Big Con, so we’ve broken some of these things down for you.
The humor
The Big Con is a comedy - but comedy is a very difficult thing to do well in games. Many jokes can fall flat, especially when not backed up by a voice cast.
What The Big Con does is give players an option to use a laughter track while playing. This adds that canned studio laughter of all good (and bad) sitcoms.
Just this addition makes the game feel lighter, but it also shows the developer, Mighty Yell, doesn’t take the game too seriously. Expect plenty of corny jokes, puns and even a talking ghost only Ali can see… because every sit-com needs a weird quirky character!
The 90s
Having been a teenager through the 1990s, I can safely attest that, yes, we did dress like that and talk that way, even in the UK. The Big Con gets the decade completely; everything is bright to the point of eyesore and drenched in Hawaiian patterns, neon, and tie-dye.
Each character oozes 90s fashion and “style” with wavy hair, sharp Miami Vice suits and kitsch accessories.
The dialogue
Games which are primarily driven by their narrative, must above everything else, feel comfortable in their dialogue choices. The Big Con feels natural for the genre - bold self-aware comedy.
While the game isn’t fully voice-acted, the script flows nicely between characters and Ali’s internal monologues are often wry and dripping with sarcasm. Even when exploring items that don’t help the main plot, the writing is welcomely refreshing.
The visuals
You can see how colourful the game is. It’s bold, vibrant, and quirky.
With a style that embellishes a 90s Saturday morning cartoon feel, The Big Con is always a joy to look at. It’s a visual love letter to comics and cartoons with stark black lines and an eye-popping colour palette.
The accessibility
The key gameplay in The Big Con is pickpocketing random people in order to raise money to save Ali’s mother’s video rental store. To do this players must stop a moving arrow at the right point to swipe cash.
Thankfully Mighty Yell have taken everyone into consideration and allow players to let the minigame play itself. While also giving options for dyslexic fonts and easier hints, it feels like a game trying to cater to as many as possible.
Grab your officially licensed The Big Con Steam PC key.
Article by Dan Lipscombe
