Say No! More

If there's one thing I learned from the new game Say No! More, it's that saying "no" can be a lot of fun. Here, I'll prove it to you. Was 2020 the best year ever? NO! Did everybody love the ending of Game of Thrones? NO! Should they restore the SnyderVerse? NO! Will I admit right now that the Atari Jaguar is the best console every made? NO! Should all games have loot boxes and microtransactions? NO! And the most important question: Does Say No! More have any shot of making my top 10 list at the end of the year? Well, you get the idea.

In a world full of goofy game ideas, Say No! More is one of the silliest. It's a game about the importance of being disagreeable in the corporate world, as told in the style of one of those mid-1990s arcade titles from Sega. Virtua Fighter had punching and kicking, Virtua Cop had us shooting criminals, and this weird new game from German developer Fizbin has us using the word "no" to climb the corporate ladder. It's the same thing, right?

It's your first day working as an intern at the towering Say Yes More office building. We're not really told what they do or make, but one thing is definitely clear: We have to say "yes." Should we work long hours for questionable pay? YES! Will we let our bosses walk all over us? YES! If our supervisor wants to take our lunchbox, should we let them? The answer is obviously YES!

But wait a second, because the hero intern has another idea. After listening to an instructional tape hidden away by the last intern, they discover a two-letter word that works for almost any situation -- NO! It's the kind of word that literally shocks the co-workers to their core and even makes them fly through walls and doors when told forcefully. It's the secret weapon our young intern needs, giving them what amounts to a cheat code that they can use to not only advance through the corporate system, but also get their lunchbox back.

The game's eight stages all play out the same way. We watch as the intern walks on a set path and is forced to deal with bosses, co-workers and even an unmotivated roommate. Whenever somebody wants us to work harder, lend them a hand, pick up the slack for somebody else and even pay the full rent, it's up to the player to press the button and say "NO!" It can be a heated no, a lazy no, a cool no and, yes, a wacky no. And when a simple no won't suffice, you can charge it up and really let your co-workers have it. Best of all, you will be able to clap, nod your head and sarcastically laugh at the targets before unleashing your powerful "NO!"

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Now, in case you're wondering, no, there isn't a scoring system here. The truth is, you won't even need to switch between the different types of responses, because it rarely matters. This is not what I would call a tough game. It's the type of on-rails game that is almost impossible to lose. The point of Say No! More is not to be challenged, but rather to laugh at the increasingly silly story. And while you're laughing at how over-the-top everything is, the game starts to hit you with a whole lot of truth about the problems with the corporate world and the whole rat race. For as silly as the game gets at times, there's a takeaway message here that's worth hearing out.

But is the game actually worth playing? Well, the answer is a lot more complicated than just a binary yes or no. As a comedy piece with a great message, I think Say No! More is a game worth checking out. And yet, at the same time, the $15 asking price seems a bit steep for a game you'll probably only play once or twice. With a linear story and no real challenge, there's not much replay here, and you're almost guaranteed to beat the whole game in a single sitting. In that sense, Say No! More really does feel like one of those mid-90s arcade games, in both good and bad ways.

I hate to call it a missed opportunity, but there are definitely a lot of things about this game I wish were included. I like the low-polygon look and all of the purposely silly animation, but wish there was more depth to the gameplay. This is a game that either needs some sort of scoring system or a way to randomize the action. It also needs more complexity to the combat, such as matching the right kind of "NO!" with the different types of targets. There's nothing like that here, which means that I'll likely end up forgetting all about this game by the time the year is over. Say No! More is goofy in all the right ways, but the message will resonate with you a lot longer than the bite-sized game.