Need to Know

Need to Know
N/A
Metacritic
73
Steam
56.974
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$8.99
Release date
28 August 2018
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
73 (155 votes)

Welcome to the Department of Liberty. Ascend the ranks of the NSA-like surveillance agency and decide: will you stand up for privacy, or help create an unstoppable police state? Spy on people’s deepest secrets, pick apart their private lives and decide their fate in this modern surveillance thriller.

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Need to Know system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core i3
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD 520 or equivalent
  • DirectX: Version 10
  • Storage: 3 GB available space
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
490930
Platforms
Windows PC
Mac
Linux
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Enchanted Mingos
Enchanted Mingos

Great game about privacy, I much prefer it so far over orwell. The devs are constantly pushing out updates to make the game run smoother

FinnMont
FinnMont

If you liked Paper Please you'll like this.
At points it does seems to throw you into the deep end a bit much but really with enough thought you can work it out. And even then everyday the developers are releasing new updates to make it clearer, its obvious they really care about the game and will continue to support it for a while.
Also Aussie developers so good to support.

bobbyandassociate
bobbyandassociate

i got this game a few years ago, and dismissed it at the time after playing only a little bit. But i got to say, after coming back to it, its pretty fun. the story seems a bit linear (but i cant say for sure since i havent played several times), but the mechanics are somewhat intriguing.

that being said, it can sometimes feel tedious on certain missions. I reccomend in some cases you have a pencil and paper to write stuff down, as some missions require you to cross-reference information from multiple screens

muriat
muriat

If you liked Papers, Please, you'll like this. Ending could use a bit more oomph, but the ~20 hour story is smart and very well done.

Elijah Rose
Elijah Rose

Love the game!! become an agent and climb the ladder to more power, all while selling info behind the dol back, get contacted by strangers. its a good story, not much on character customization but i think that will come later, the profiles given are a bit weird but it'll get better, im sure of it. love the whole the whole thing, been looking for something like this for a while!! The problem is that the mission statements aren't clear, sometimes you think you have it right when its wrong, and you like " what the O_o thats definetly wrong there!" or "i was right on that! seriously!" i keep thinking maybe its me but the more i play the more i see that its not me and its the game. in my opinion. even when your right and you click "alert" if you dind't get all the clues you still loose points... love the game but im really tired of this, been playing for 20 hours or so im clearance 7.

Gunpowder Lullaby
Gunpowder Lullaby

I wanted so badly to like this game. I bought it with dreams of Papers Please, and Orwell dancing in my head. While it does scratch that itch there are a few things that just turned me off of it.

The home sections seem like padding, and are just anoying.

The later missions become needlessly convoulted to the point I was playing with a pad and pen to keep track of everything I was searching for.

This would be an amazing game if it was just streamlined a bit.

MikeyTX
MikeyTX

A little slow and complex but interesting.

Vermin_SkuMm
Vermin_SkuMm

Spying, quick thinking and bold decision making. I can't wait to decide if old betty Crocker is actually trying to build a homemade bomb or just drop her kids off to school.. either way, I feel like the hero that saved the world ;) This is such addictive gameplay, I feel like I can move up and down rankings easily and make devastating choices that don't only effect the in game characters but make me question my own morals in the heat of an investigation. Monomyth Games have presented a strong stylized experience with some of the best music I have heard in an indie production for A LONG TIME! For the price, you'd be hard pressed to find a more addictive and unique experience on steam. Sign me up (and my conscious)

xidabaozi
xidabaozi

This game is amazing,the stroy is impressive, but there is a unplayable bug that caused me stuck in the level 1.please fix this bug.

adrag856
adrag856

Overall pretty fun, similar concept to Papers, Please, but seems to have more depth and without the time limit stress (at least to the point I've reached in the game). I purchased the game on 11/22/18, and I'm not experiencing the bugs that others seem to be having, so maybe the devs have improved upon it since release. Although it is pretty funny when a woman with long blonde hair comes up with the name Rick (or something to that effect). Overall, I'd recommend it if you liked Papers, Please.

ilmcp
ilmcp

Overall a very enjoyable game.
At launch there were quite a few bugs and problems, but the devs have been putting out consistant updates to improve the game and their hardwork shows.
If you've enjoyed games like Papers, Please or Orwell, I highly recommend trying Need to Know.

FriendsDavid
FriendsDavid

Big Brother is...YOU!

Seriously, if you liked Papers, Orwell or Not Tonight, chances are pretty high you'll love Need to Know, too. Basically you are working for a fictitious government agency, spying into online history, social life and other aspects of potential suspects.

The better work you do, the higher you go in the agency's ranks, and the more tools and responsibility you get. And - the tasks definitely get more complicated, too.

The game had a rough and somewhat buggy start, but the developers have been constantly updating the game and I can wholeheartedy recommend Need to Know in its current state.

Fug My Doot!
Fug My Doot!

Fun game with an interesting concept and story. Still a little rough around the edges but the devs seem very active in updating and improving the game.

JRCOBRA
JRCOBRA

Game got stuck on the tutorial and wouldn't let me proceed and start the first assignment. Refunded.

Anonymous
Anonymous

A truly great game.

I've been waiting for this game since the original trailer was released. The wait was well worth it. The game had some issues at launch with some glitches and bugs, and an all around poor game interface. Any issue that I've found with this game has been resolved with the recent patches and updates, and I can now thankfully report that the game is an interesting and entertaining product that provides hours of fun.

You'll be challenged with fast paced - exciting gameplay that forces you to make a large variety of choices that will ultimately have a large impact on the outcome of the game.

Absolutely recommended!

AlphaSimp
AlphaSimp

Edit: A recent update fixed the issue I guess. Played the game and its fantastic! Papers Please in the modern era!

shais04
shais04

Just so that everyone knows, this is totally fake, and this has never, nor will it ever, happen.

| Copy and paste the above section |

saureco
saureco

Do not let the simple GUI fool you. This is actually well written, thought out, and introspective. Akin to Papers Please and other data crunching games, this actually shows a very human side to data security. The game not only deals with the ethical quagmires of our intelligence community, but you get to have a look under the hood of a young intel agent's life. Balancing ethics and morals, dealing with what to do when a friend is caught up in the web, how to keep secrets buried even from family, and how people even cope with the stress and isolation (constructively and destructively). I honestly thought this would be a $10 throwaway game (on sale), but more than a couple times I caught myself resting my cheek in my hand saying "hmmmm" to some of the situations.

Recommended. Don't be an idiot. Get it.

tamilbrodt
tamilbrodt

this game man it is so fucking annoying it will dock for the tinyest mistakes and the story isnt even that good

Colley
Colley

I was looking forward to this game for a long time but I have to say it's not really what I expected. I assumed the game would be more about making your own judgement based on what data you find on someone but it's more in line with "papers, please" where they tell you a set of "rules" and you just have to tag keywords. It kinda takes the fun out of digging into suspects when you're just skimming for preset keywords like a puzzle. I played a bit more into the game and it's just more of the same. Shame.

beds3000
beds3000

I really enjoyed this game. I played it over a week or so, and couldn't wait to get home every day so I could play it.

I ended up feeling attached to my character and her friends, which is not something you would expect during the first few hours of playthrough. Maybe it was just from being exposed to them for so long, but I liked feeling like I was actually this agent.

I have to admit that the story component wasn't amazing, but I thoroughly enjoyed the process of selecting information on the suspects. I would have liked for my character to do more activities outside of work, and to actually be able to interact with Fyre dates through more than one conversation.

I wouldn't play it more than once, as you have the opportunity to explore several endings within one game. But I was very happy with the game overall and would highly recommend it for fans of Orwell. Also, even if you're not sure about it, try to play it all the way through! Kudos to the developers!

uncle shorty
uncle shorty

Steam ate the review I wrote, so:

Game good. Game REAL good.

- Pretty colors!
- Attention to detail: BIG. Bring fine toothed comb!
- Writing Very Good, make me cry at least once.
- Take all time you want invading privacy! No timer!
- Have touchscreen laptop, tap thumb to fingerprint scan when starting work. Feel VERY cool.
- Gameplay consistant, but not boring.

- Tutorial vanish after first couple powers. Figure things out on own. :(
- Entire game chasing after details. No like checking time stamps on phone calls, spelling on names? No like game!

Stinky
Stinky

I like these kind of games, but this one is too barebone. Not enough flesh on it, almost streamlined.
Example: one mission a friend needs to know if someone is cheating, you dont do anything other than check the persons profile(clicking it).

NinesXF
NinesXF

A surprisingly fun gem of a title that... if it wants to or not, teaches the players that the world is complex.

Unlike Papers Please, where if you make a mistake, you can see plain as day what you did wrong and how you can improve, Need to Know is as grey as it's central themes. There are going to be choices you have to make with incomplete information. You might flag evidence that game rejects, or ignore evidence the game was expecting you to flag- and you might do so fully believing your choice was right. There is an margin of subjectivity in this game that is wonderfully refreshing. You're not going to have all the information and you have to make choices.

For many players this might be frustrating, fully believing you made a choice and the game just disagreed with you. But that's life. Rarely does that wrong choice fully lead to a game over and the plot itself is good enough to keep me invested.

My biggest surprises is that this title isn't more well known. It's a solid game.

zlimepi
zlimepi

This game is wonderful in how it presents it's self. It has a building way to show the things that you can do building the story as you go.

PawelK198604
PawelK198604

This game could be frustrating, especially mission that requires from the player to match suspect profiles or match suspect with their travel destination, but generally is a good game, maybe with exception of the soundtrack that could be annoying in some mission :-)

notadev
notadev

11/10 Would break the 4th Amendment again.

Altaproductions878
Altaproductions878

Terrible, near constant lag to the point where the game is barely playable, tedious dialogue, and the gameplay is boring.

Destro
Destro

Story is a little cringe worthy and lacks realism. Game-play is fun so far from what I've played but immersion is lacking a little due to the lifeless and one dimensional characters.

Lore
Lore

Loving this game so far. It is a little slow but I find that it adds to the immersiveness of the storyline.

TheGuyInTheChair
TheGuyInTheChair

This is a wonderfully simple yet addictive line-management game. If you have any interest in games like, 'Papers Please'. Then I urge you to give this game a go. It is a game that you can play if you only have ten minutes or if you have all day.

Shadowjack
Shadowjack

The game refuses to load my saves. Any save I try to load -- a "Loading" message is displayed and then nothing happens, the game is just stuck in the main menu.
Broken product, will try to refund. :-/

Rynard
Rynard

This game takes inspirations from Orwell and Papers, Please. Any fan of either will like Need To Know. It had a great story, and each "work day" comes with a new set of objectives and challenges, as you delve deeper into the shadowy underworkings of government surveillance. The story was pretty much on rails the whole time, though there were options to deviate, which I didn't explore on my first playthrough. You can expect 15-20 hours to finish the game. I got it on a sale, but even at full price, 15 bucks for 15+ hours seems like a good trade-off to me.

Give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

Baizey
Baizey

general theme and gameplay is ok.

stability of the game ui and save file is in the garbage

Bork FedZ
Bork FedZ

Its a great game with great story striking morals we would expect but this game knows how to keep it fun. The puzzles are amazing and complicated further you go. However I just had a bug where some of my game progress by some i mean most gets deleted or duplicated for no reasons. Also the one with duplicating info is infuriating.

Setari
Setari

This game is an excellent mix of NSA-Deep State-surveillance and Papers, Please. 9/10. Only some things are sometimes very vague for instructions, and can lead to your Compliance Rating TANKING really hard, which sucks.

Devs, please review the game and maybe get some QA people to let you know what's not obvious in the game. Otherwise it's wholly excellent.

Sruba
Sruba

Game like Orwell, but with a bit more story to a character, not only to the main plot. Strongly recomend.

WalllRus
WalllRus

The game is too tedious and boring for me to recommend.

First off the story is definitely the best part of the game. It kept me playing until the end and had some great twists to it. The game gives you different options and choices every now and then but after i replayed some chapters the choices i made hadn't changed much. At least you can get different endings though.

Another point in favour of this game is that its just good to look at. Music and sound is also great. It never feels cheap.

Problem is Need to Know long game that revolves around matching up information. Did a suspect mention a certain word, or call a certain person or travel somewhere on a certain day. To get through the story you have to do this over and over and over again and not much else.

I think the game could have been better if you are given the story context, some clues and then asked to make a decision of who you think is a threat or not. A few times you see something like this where you get a interrogate someone and have figure out yourself how to blackmail them based on the available information. For the majority of the game though its just boring.

ok
ok

v interesting, good gameplay, good fun

uncleslip
uncleslip

does start to get a little repetitious, but a great game for detail oriented people

SyntheticOne
SyntheticOne

Noticeably buggy - first time I see the game on Steam that systematically misses triggering achievements. A couple of bugs did affect my progress, effectively forcing me to reload or accept losing score.
UI seemed to me both poorly designed and implemented. Many interactive elements are not highlighted in any way, it's often not obvious how to close an overlay screen or a access a button that is overlapped by another UI element.
Gameplay-wise, didn't strike me as anything more than a repetitive memory/attention exercise. May grow deeper somehow when you progress, but I suspect all complexity you can expect here comes down to having more sorts of the same attention exercise (spot the right word within several lists and texts).

TheEvilPizza
TheEvilPizza

Could've been done so much better but overall it's good.

DanishScorpio
DanishScorpio

Need to Know is a surveillance simulation, the gameplay of which is somewhat reminiscent of the cold and calculated papers, please. You assume the role of an employee of an NSA-like organization called The Department of Liberty, and take care of checking people's browsing history and other personal information to identify a possible security risk. The game gives you more options and scary ways to control the longer you play and rise in security clearance. There is always an elementary question floating in the room: Do you stand up for individual rights or do you help to create an uncontrollable police state.

With its topics, Need to Know is not only closer to reality than many other games, it also creates a completely new game approach that will involve many moral decisions. The gameplay, which is basically just scanning data and making quick decisions, is very close to the border crossing simulation papers, please. Nevertheless, since then hardly any studios have dared to deal with a political issue that affects us all in a similarly dry and fascinating way.

THE GOOD
- Memorable characters
- Nice story events
- Wonderful atmosphere
- Highly addictive

THE BAD
- Won't appeal to everyone
- Takes some trial and error

8/10

DISASTER | BAD | MEDIOCRE | OKAY | GOOD | GREAT | AMAZING | MASTERPIECE

If you like this review, then please consider giving it a thumbs up. I've also reviewed other games that you might find interesting. If so please follow Top of the Chart.

diligent_d
diligent_d

What a great game. Was a bit skeptical at first, but once I got the hang of the UI and missions, I had a lot of fun. Surprisingly in-depth writing and mission design. Fantastic game overall!

humanjiajia
humanjiajia

The game is quite interesting however the inconvenient control of dialogue, that you have to click on your own every time and couldn't use space or enter, is rather annoying to me and drive me away from playing more.

Christoffre
Christoffre

    • Very confusing UI. Confusing to the point that you do not know if you are actually playing the game.
    • Sometimes the game freeze... and you're not sure if you're supposed to press soemthing, or read something.
    • The tuturial continues wether or not you understand it. The text meant to help and explain to you just flutter away, never to be seen again.
    • You are on a constant countdown. Including the tutorial. If there's something about the game you do not understand, including the basics, you better learn it quick.
    • The story during the tutorial phase is so slow and boring that it brings down the whole game. It would have been better omit it completly until you know enough about the game's mechanics.
    • Characther creation, as it legally can be described, includes 2 characters; a male person and a female person (with two skin colours and a couple of hair colours)

Good and interesting idea. Decent graphics. Poor execution.

krauchinsky
krauchinsky

Fun gameplay and plot,

sorry Zhuk that I never sold you anything.

sunblindedone
sunblindedone

This game was definitely cool - a more drawn-out, involved and far-reaching Papers Please - but one major thing needs to be mentioned. It feels like it was written by a librarian. What I mean is that everything must be clicked in PRECISELY the right way, in EXACTLY the right order. If you have three tools at your disposal, you must use them in EXACTLY the way the developers intended - often with missing or contradictory instructions as to how to do that.

I still recommend this game, though, because if you can navigate the steep learning curve, it's fun and interesting. Even if maybe a trifle too real in this day and age.

Tora
Tora

Honestly, a very fun game. I cared about the characters, and the story had me hooked instantly. I personally think it's too pricey for what you get. There are a few minor glitches that will require you to quit and re-enter the game, and they happened enough for it to be a minor annoyance, but only a minor annoyance. The game lacks polish and despite the game making it seem like your choices will matter, they don't. I wouldn't recommend purchasing this game unless it was on sale, in all honesty. I had fun, but not enough fun to justify a $15 price tag. But seriously, if you find this game on sale, buy it.

2021 Revision: The game was updated about a year ago, and it seems to have fixed a myriad of bugs, but I still don't think this game's price is justifiable.
2021 Revision 2: The bugs are definitely gone, but again, price is too high. But definitely give this a shot if you get it on sale.
--Pros--
*Excellent story
*Nice music (2021 Revision: The music is absolutely frickin' banging. Love it.
*Good UI
*Glitches are usually minor (little to no glitches as of 2021)
---Cons---
*Low replayability value
*Gameplay is fun but repetitive (2021 Revision: It could be seen as repetitive, but it's not an issue for me.)
*Price tag is too high for what you get (2021 Revision: This is the main contributing factor towards me not recommending the game. $14.99 is just too high. A $9.99 to $11.99 price range would be great.)
*Slightly frequent but minor glitches (No longer an issue as of 2021)
*Some glitches require rebooting the game (No longer an issue as of 2021)
*Lacks polish (No longer an issue as of 2021)
*Confusing at times

Abstractedsixty
Abstractedsixty

one of the best damn games ive ever played. I bought it Feb 4th, 2020 for reference and I actually have irl things to do.

brianarut
brianarut

This is a linear story. You can make "choices" that go against the path to an immediate game over. If that bothers you, don't buy this. However, the story is a lot of fun. Well written and surprisingly long. It is repetitive, some of the mechanics were a bit frustrating, admittedly definitely not for everyone. But I personally was forgiving of most of the issues and I loved it, would recommend to anyone who likes attention to detail tasks. Play it with other background music, the repetitive sound effects are rough.

firehawks222
firehawks222

I like this game you have to think and focus on the details of each task the game gives you. It involves alot of analysis and digging for more evidence than what's in front of you. If you like a challenge and a well designed game that takes you in and makes you think then this is the game for you.

Mookie
Mookie

Good game, however kinda short. I hope they maybe add some new content and develop this further as I really enjoyed it and would love to see more of the same.

You play as a investigator of a secret department within the government, alongside your job you also have to manage socialising with your colleagues and your family accordingly.

drive-by goose sequence
drive-by goose…

As other reviewers have mentioned, it's in the same vein as Papers, Please and Orwell. I'd say the play style is closer to Orwell, but much more in depth. There aren't a lot of choices to make unless you want a quick game over (although you could definitely say the same thing about Papers) but the investigative gameplay is more than enough fun.

creffett
creffett

Good: interesting story.
Bad: downright opaque interface.

Miss Highest Heels
Miss Highest Heels

Interesting attention boosting game; keeps me immersed in the world of international espionage.

Heichi
Heichi

I love the concept, and am not upset that I paid money for something that really did try, but played it under an hour and will never touch it again. The opening timeline, which is unskippable, takes FOREVER. The instructions in the tutorial, by contrast, are almost non-existent and I wasn't able to bring them back up. Way too much time spent on really uninspired dialogues, not enough on the actual game. I just can't recommend this, but I hope the company learns from their mistakes.

Note: you can skip the opening with the skip to first day option, but that also means skipping the tutorial, which I did want to go back to.

Beckz0rz & Jaym0i
Beckz0rz &…

LOVED this game! It has a bit of everything. Best game I've played of this genre and desperately hoping for a second one

coryroush
coryroush

EDIT: After playing an additional 14 hours, I felt it was best to revise my original review. I can rate this game as being recommended, so long as you're okay with a few necessary compromises. I'll explain those below.

I wanted to like this game very badly, but 5 hours in and I'm starting to see the seams and cracks that make this a less than perfect experience. I think my dissatisfaction with the gameplay comes down to one question: when you played Papers, Please, was your favorite part of the game the times where you had to squint at the IDs to see if that was a D or a P or a G? If so, you'll love this game. Everyone else will be irritated, and rightfully so.

The game is beautiful - I loved the interface and the art style. The story, at least so far, is passable and engaging, and I'm conflicted about finishing the game because of its flaws and the main reason is because I do want to see how the story resolves itself, and there's an early "flash-forward" that has me intrigued about what remains to be experienced.

But when the core gameplay is "spot the difference between two letters or numbers" or "try to remember this ridiculously complex flow chart of rules and protocols", it gets exhausting. It also doesn't help that for me, the game was slow and plodding at times. Opening up a menu sometimes took 2 or 3 seconds longer than you expected it to, and visual transitions sometimes slowed to a crawl. Add to that the completely boring gameplay loops and you have a recipe for boredom.

So again, to summarize... if you have fun deciding which of these three names - P Vasquez and D Vasqez and B Vaskez - matches the one in a briefing supplied to you before the stage begins, and you can suspend your disbelief that so many people would have more than one variation of the same name in their address books, then you'll like the game. Otherwise, maybe read a plot summary.

UPDATE: I stuck with the game because of the story, as I mentioned. And I was surprised to see - well into the game - that the gameplay does get mixed up in interesting ways eventually. There are still lots of repetitive tasks that seem to be there just because, at the end of the day, this is a game and not a true simulation. But there was something to the premise and the characterization and dialogue that kept me wanting to press forward even when it was monotonous. If you think you're up for the task and have nearly 20 hours to spare, the ending is passable.

siobhansagessa
siobhansagessa

enjoyable mechanics with a morally complex plot. not too preachy with its messaging.

can be repetitive over time. not a game I wanna play for hours in a row as it can a bit tedious. would love some more dynamic effects created by choices in the game that at this point are seemingly irrelevant to the game.

ladynomad2000
ladynomad2000

It is very intense and you found yourself spiraling deeper and deeper.

iluve2read247
iluve2read247

This game is awesome, although in the beginning of the game I don't know why I didn't get fired. I sucked at getting the right guys with the right info. It seemed like the game wanted more info than I was able to select. I really enjoyed the "off work" work stuff making Bitcoin and supplementing my income. I think they should make the store have more purchases because what is offered so far sucks lol.

parabirb
parabirb

Great game in general.
A bit buggy but worth the money.

Lexi.GameDev
Lexi.GameDev

Nice game. Good humor a rewarding experience !

Zeekay980
Zeekay980

Compelling story of slowly slipping towards more and more invasive surveillance measures and what people will do with such information. Like Papers, Please the gameplay gets more complicated as more data is available. Excellent soundtrack. Really gives a sense of urgency.

WonderElly
WonderElly

Premise
You are a government employee working for the 'Department of Liberty' where your job is to spy on/profile suspects and targets. You 'match' pertinent information (dating profile, purchases, social media posts) to mission based criteria.

Play it if you like....
If you played and enjoyed 'Papers, Please', or 'Orwell' then chances are you'll like this game. If you like the concepts of 1984, V for Vendetta then you'll enjoy the story. And if you really just like sorting and matching information like a nerd (like me) then you'll love the gameplay

Pros
Great gameplay concept and the profiling aspects are really interesting - a lot of thought has been put into these elements and I enjoyed seeing what I'd get access to next.
Progression through the 'ranks' is done at a decent pace which keeps things fresh. Theres also some evening missions to supplement your income
Theres also a nice mix of mission types - I enjoyed the 'waves' missions where you are given more information each 'wave' in order to keep or eliminate a suspect.
Plenty of moral ambiguity to the main characters - although some are cartoonish.
Overall story is quite compelling and I was always eager to see how it would progress (I did a lot of 'Oh I'll just play one more mission before I switch off.....')
Again, if you're an information-sorting nerd like me you'll just love the gameplay.

Cons
UI is a bit painful sometimes - you can't zoom into information (you can change the UI to either 'IN YOUR FACE' or 'far away' but neither is a good compromise). For example when I had to look at a persons job on their social network it was so tiny I could barely make it out. And again when selecting suspects from a clustered area I couldn't highlight the right profile. I think this could be improved by making better use of the screen...there is SO MUCH empty space! I like to have the mission rules up all the time to match to but I constantly have to scroll through them at the bottom of the screen even though there was a huge empty space to the left of the screen totally un-used.
Story con - like a lot of these games you're given the illusion of freedom of choice.

Overall
I played the game through in 25 hours and was fully addicted to it as I was playing it. I think it just avoided getting stale mainly because the main story always kicked in at the right moments. If the UI could be sorted I'd have been so much happier.

asi.mov
asi.mov

The story is very engaging, and you see your character delve down a path they thought they never would.

rainjay
rainjay

I got this game because I really loved Orwell and found it to be a thought provoking and thrilling story experience. This game, although comparable in premise, is definitely unique in its gameplay and purpose--you get prompted to "participate" (I say this loosely because your dialogue options are limited) in text/phone conversations as well as chats with your coworkers, and you can do "off the record" work from home. Like Papers, Please, more surveillance options open up as you play and there is an underlying plot. But I do have some issues with the mechanics of the game; as I mentioned before, dialogue options are very limited, and you're required to pursue certain paths in the story (you can't chose *not* to work for specific groups. You have to take all opportunities or you get a game over, which is kind of annoying). There's also some bugs and small annoying "Features"... The instructions/tutorials/exposition text all automatically progress (no "click to continue") so you can easily miss out on instructions or text. Sometimes the tutorial messages will get stuck and stop proceeding even though you've done what they've asked. Then it won't continue until you've gone ahead and figured out the tutorial section on your own. The game could use some more polish, but isn't unplayable and is fun enough.

galae30
galae30

I really wanted to like this game. I saw Jon from MATN on Youtube try it and it looked liked my kind of thing. While I really like the premise, how it looks and some of the missions, unfortunately the experience has been frustrating. Mostly small things, but many small things which add up to an overall frustrating experience.

My general frustrations have been:
- Cluttered screen, especially when using a laptop when the screen is smaller.
- Evidence not demonstrating what the rules require but marked as missed when not chosen. (E.g. Evidence of someone telling a suspect to buy shares, when the rule says suspect must have bought shares. These are not the same thing, but the game considers them to be.)
- Moving background makes selecting the small dots difficult and no option to turn the movement off.
- You can choose incorrect evidence yet the immediate feedback says something which suggests it was in fact correct.
- Some rules weren't fully explained either in tutorial or in Peepr so got confused especially in the beginning.
- No way to re-evaluate a suspect once you've made a decision even if the day hasn't ended.
- No way to replay a day or restart unless you log out.
- Strongbox missions are sometimes very long winded and so get fed up quickly as the strongbox only seems to allow as much evidence as you can fit on the screen without scrolling. When on a 13inch macbook it fills up too quickly.

I think this game has a lot of promise, but it needs working on before I will consider recommending it.

GamerForLife
GamerForLife

Interesting for the first little while. Then gets way too repetitive. Also - it is sort of disturbing spying on people. So if the game is to educate people into preferring a non-police state world then it serves it's purpose. I recommend this for that reason. But as far as the fun factor it is lacking severely in the fun department.

TheRealSam
TheRealSam

Really fun and intresting game.
Puts a twist on the normal Detective games

MiNDRiP
MiNDRiP

Good game for mature children and teens, but most adults will be disappointed. The main game mechanic is "finding a needle in a haystack". Unfortunately, the haystack is tiny, and the needles are not very well hidden. You are provided a list of keywords to find in tiny documents, given basic criteria. The biggest challenge is making sure it is spelled correctly before highlighting it. I expected the game to be more investigatory, being able to follow leads, etc... this is not that kind of game.

Your character is a young adult, fresh out of college, working his/her first job. The story and the style of the dialogue was written to appeal to children. At one point, my friend in the game texts me to ask who was my high school crush. I immediately assume he is phishing for the answer to my security question to hack my password, but no. I'm overthinking. The game just does this to determine if your crush was a male or female, so it can introduce a new character into the game.

The icing on the cake for why I have to give this game a thumbs down... An anti-government group tries to extort me. There is no option to report this to the Department. I choose not to provide them any documents, because I take national security seriously, and then I lose the game. ---You must leak classified documents, or it is game over.

So much for Monomyth Games' "will you stand up for privacy, or help create an unstoppable police state?" ---Well, I'm forced to leak classified documents to terrorists, so I guess I don't have much choice in the matter.

Monomyth Games also writes, "You can also resist ... by aiding underground groups ... Or, you can just use all of that juicy classified information for your own personal gain. Your call." ---But it's not my call, because if you don't leak the classified information, it is game over.

The pitch made about the game misrepresents the actual game. I would have paid twice as much for the game if it delivered on what was promised, but as it is, I feel duped. They did a really good job on the graphics and interface design... moral dilemmas in stories are awesome, but you can't propose a moral dilemma to the player and then force a game over state if they choose to follow federal law.

Tiberius Nazamir
Tiberius Nazamir

The narrative is compelling and the gameplay is wonderful.

Sorne
Sorne

Great Game! The story is really engaging and a lot of the options make you think rationally and really pay attention. 10/10 Would love to see some DLC for this game :D

MMarthaller
MMarthaller

At first I was a bit skeptical. Then i got to the story, I had to make choices... SERIOUS choices. and that is where it became great.

MajorProbes
MajorProbes

Overall was an interesting game, had to take a few breaks to stop it being repetitive, plan on finishing it soon. Would advise picking it up on sale if your into these sorts of games. (Orwell, is probably closest thing to it,)

Darconia
Darconia

Loved it!! Loved it!! If you like logic puzzles, this is fun... Couldn't stop once started....trying to get to Clearance Level 1 with my soul still intact...

Cora
Cora

I have not finished the game!! This is one of the BEST dystopian simulations i've played. Similar to Orwell, as other reviewers have pointed out, but EVEN BETTER!

Things I loved:
I love the challenge. It's definitely a game you have to pay attention to and make correct choices.
There are different facets to the game that allows you to balance home and work life and develop numerous relationships. These are not optional. NPCs will just force you to talk through the phone or at work.
Relevant story that builds onto itself and you are ultimately working towards the final goal which is to identify and locate Cloud Dweller ( i believe thats his alias)
I like the characters. I like the story. It's very well written and done. And I love that I can be sassy with that dude at work that everyone hates. LOL
It's a long and complex game. It was longer and has more content than I expected.
The dating app KILLS ME! Those profiles XD no wonder people are single.

Things I hated:
Some choices lead directly into game over. I ended the game multiple times unintentionally with no warning through dialogue selection. Like I was talking to the reporter/boyfriend/friend? Not sure of his purpose yet. Anyway, I accidentally said I worked at DoL and BAM! game over. Thankfully the autosave system allows you to log back in and pick up before you make that choice. But it was just so sudden and happened multiple times during different scenarios.
Everyone forces you to work for them. You have to keep selling secrets to keep your reputation up with everyone so they don't either blackmail you or fire you. It's annoying. I would rather have more choices. I don't like being two-faced and this game forces you to be that.

Overall - I still recommend it. I keep wanting to finish it and it has held my interest which few games do. However, I doubt I'll replay it. Either way - it's definitely worth the price! Buy it on sale if you can, but even $15 is still decent for this game.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

alphyna
alphyna

A very meh take on the spying/censorship genre. You play as a secret government agent who scans people's private data looking for criminals. The data you get to scan is reasonably diverse and requires attention, but the tone and presentation are just underwhelming. The game makes weak attempts to make you feel uneasy because you invade the privacy of your friends — introduced so poorly, I didn't even notice a character's name was similar to one in my contact list because I've only had a whopping one conversation with them before. Also, a game this simple has no right to run so poorly as to stutter.

OhMyGA
OhMyGA

why isn't this game talked about more?! literally so fun and tons of content for a great price. i can't believe i have never heard of it till now.

Nozzy
Nozzy

Pretty solid game if you're a fan of the spying genre.

If you played the game "Orwell" then this game is for you. You basically work your way up in a new department in the US called the "Department of Liberty" Working for the Deep State has never been better

OutlawGiga
OutlawGiga

I like this game. I would recommend this game, but it needs to change the way that it's marketed. I agree with the top review that does not recommend the game about their frustrations with the game. I think Need to Know markets itself as a game for people who really liked the Orwell games, and offers the same kind of choice paths that it would, when in reality there is a single linear path you can follow in this game because of the inability to pick and choose who you want to work with; the game mechanic forces you to work with everyone who presents themselves.

Like I said, I would recommend this game. I really enjoyed playing it. But I don't like it when games offer choices and branching story paths when really there isn't much deviation offered at all.

JaMSeS
JaMSeS

An interesting theme, especially for a simulation game, a decent implementation, unfortunately not enough solid/fun gameplay or story/roleplaying to back it up

hman1500
hman1500

Absolutely incredible. Didn't run the best on my laptop. Had a couple of soft locks, but I can't tell if that's due to something with the game or if it's just my laptop. If it's worth anything, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary before the soft locks and it didn't happen at the same part once I rebooted the game.
I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, especially since I can't figure out if I'm doing the spoiler formatting right and can't be bothered to write this again if I get it wrong.
I'll put a summary at the bottom where it's segmented off from the spoiler area.

Game's great. Would recommend.

---------SPOILER TERRITORY. SORRY I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT THE FORMATTING---------

The story is fairly well written. It can be a little iffy at times when it comes to the grand scheme of things, but if you hold your suspension of disbelief, mainly the idea that someone could rise through the ranks like that and that you are pretty much the lynchpin for everything that happens in the story, it works well. I do wish that there were more outs from the story as time goes by, but you can only put so many options into a game before you start over-writing it.
While I'm talking about endings, I'll bring up probably my least favorite one. One of the final endings is just one or two sentences and then it boots you back to the main menu. I get that they weren't trying to take a side in the underlying debate in the game, but it does seem a little strange when you have dialogue choices mean almost the exact same thing multiple times in the story.
I love how the characters are implemented into the story. On Day 2 meet someone who has your back. And that same person is with you until the final major decision. He's well developed and seems almost human with the way he's written, having real motivations behind his actions that are very relatable to many people. Almost every main character you interact with has an effect on the story if they don't straight up give you a way out of the story. For those that don't give you a way out, they still plant seeds into your mind. What those seeds may be will vary and what they grow into is up to you, but the fact still remains that they have really thought the writing out.
The mechanics of the game have also been very thought out. It may look like dots on a map when you first start out, but it quickly expands when you hover over that dot. A name and a picture along with a general location does enough to put meaning into a character that will be on your screen for about a minute. And then there's more information on the person once you click on them, information that will almost never have an impact on the case at hand. As you go through their data, it plants more seeds of doubt in the system. And then you have to click one of two buttons. Do they go free, or do they not go free? No matter what button you click, there will be text that pops up. That text tells you what happens to that person. Solely because of what you decided to do. The weight behind all that is monumental at times. It makes you question your decisions at times. And it is absolutely well done.
The commentary on the security/liberty debate is where this game really shines. By establishing a connection with someone who will be on your side until the end of the game, it ensures that the line for most people will be blurred. It's story is written well enough to have it come out to you at points and ask you if what you are doing is right and warns you that it's a dangerous path that lies ahead if you continue down it. As you keep climbing the ladder at the DoL, it's not just the people around you that starts to make you question the morality of everything that happens here. That's before you start to notice that the decisions are starting to become less and less mundane as time goes by. And as it all comes to a head, there's one question in your mind:
How much are you willing to sacrifice for security?
This question meshes in well with other subplots in the story, whether it be surviving though nepotism or just trying to live a normal life. You see people early in the game have moral dilemmas when they have to do things like authorize a new technology early or have to decide on where to take their career. Adds a nice bit of background to the characters you meet along the way.

---------[END SPOILER TERRITORY]---------

All in all, this is a fantastic game. It's entertaining, has a well-written story, and has a lot of deep questions that you have to ask yourself as technology advances in today's world. Takes a bit of time to complete. It took me about 16 hours to do my first full run of it. And it was 16 hours well spent.

Final Ratings:
Story: 8/10
Need a little bit of suspension of disbelief to get the ball rolling, but once the ball does get rolling it's hard to stop it. Excellent twist that you can just straight up miss if you're not paying attention.
UI: 6/10
Hope you like dots. You'll be seeing them almost exclusively. Does contribute well to the whole computerized atmosphere of the game. Sometimes Person(s) Of Interest (POI) get lost in the southern side of the map or in places that aren't really in conventional areas (looking at you Alaska and Hawaii). Sometimes the UI overlaps itself if you click a button too early and there's dialogue or if there's a POI on the eastern side of the map in the space between the phone and what the office around you looks like. Map scrolling can be annoying, so you disable it and then it's annoying that it isn't scrolling, so you re-enable it and the scrolling gets annoying again, and then you get annoyed that you have to toggle this on and off so you just leave it one or the other an deal with it.
Music: 7/10
Can get a little repetitive with some of the longer levels, but it's pretty well written. It's electronic style fits well with the setting of the game. Musical cues also help out in some scenarios.
Commentary: 10/10
Can't go into too much detail without spoiling a lot of the game. If you don't care about spoilers, go back up and reread the section that I start by mentioning the commentary.
Overall: 8/10
It's fun.

TiredGoblin
TiredGoblin

I figured this was going to be another Orwellian saga that I would get bored of by chapter two. That did not happen. I very rarely feel compelled to play a game to absolute completion, but this one made me curious enough to go for it. 27 hours later, I regret nothing.

Some Weird Kid
Some Weird Kid

A little confusing to begin with, some things are poorly explained throughout, but a good concept and fun regardless.

The Kekistani
The Kekistani

Controls and IU are horrible, it has the potential for a good detective type game but not like this. Expecting to play something like Spycraft? Go play Spycraft again instead of this.

Jagged
Jagged

This game is so good I played it start to finish twice.

Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf

Image you have a good core gameplay idea. From there you have two ways to make a game out of it.
Number 1 is trying to expand that gameplay idea with many additions and variations.
Number 2 is an nearly endless loop of the same basic idea with nothing more then graphical changes (aka the way most mobile games work).
Now guess which way the devs of this game take. Right. Number 2.

This was one of the hardest games for me in the last years to force myself to get all achievements.
But the game isn't hard. Instead it is very easy, but unnecessary long (real playtime around 20 hours) and amazingly boring.
The ground premise of the story and the first hours of gameplay were really good and kept me going.
But soon all the flaws popped up:

- While some missions tell you, there is time pressure ... there is no countdown gameplay wise.
- There is no way to arrange your screen with nearly 1/2 of unnecessary infos for the mission, 1/5 for the mission info and only the rest for the changing mission data you need to process.
- While the game has a linear story and missions, that follow up older ones, there is no database or such and using info from it in further investigations.
- The very few times, the game expands the gameplay and make it a bit more complex (for example compare infos from different suspects), it ruins this step, by not changing your possible way to process the data.

The funny thing is, that with a way shorter game length/less missions (around five hours) I would have looked other all these flaws and would have given this game a thumbs up.

Devon
Devon

Was a good game when I was able to play it, but should reflect on the store page that it doesn't work on an M1 Mac.

sierra830
sierra830

As a fan of Orwellian games like Papers Please, this is right up my alley. Although it would be nice to have at least a third skin tone option. Since we can choose a skin tone, we should have more than just two especially when they're pretty close together. It's like beige and slightly darker beige. That's pretty nitpicky and inconsequential though.

Jasia
Jasia

I do enjoy the game so far but have not ventured too far down the rabbit hole. It does remind me of Papers Please, Orwell and such, which if you are into, this should be right up your alley. This game requires a lot of my concentration, due to spotting tiny differences like spelling mistakes, timing of phone calls instead of just the contact person etc. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I can't play it for too long as I would feel mentally tired after a while. It's a fun game I pop into for a couple sessions and then hop out of, and not something I can play all night and feel relaxed.

All in all I would recommend if you enjoy this genre, and I did feel like I was making a difference with my "work", I guess. My main gripe is something lot of other reviews have mentioned, that the game was marketed as a game of choice, so you could choose to use your "powers" for good or evil, choose how you handle the information and what side you are on etc. However, this is not truly the case because you end up having to balance all the different "sides" to avoid a game over. This feels incongruent with the marketing and does not feel too nice when you realize you have to play all the sides, essentially lying to everyone, and cannot really play the game the way you want to, or that your character would have. The storyline is pretty linear so far, which also does not match my expectation of the game and I've been following it's development from way back.

Other than that, it's an interesting take on the surveillance topic. Wish there was an easier mode for when I want to chill out, or a creative mode that does not force me to make a choice I do not want to, is all.

Ethonoris
Ethonoris

Way too many unclear rules. Tutorial guy talks too fast. Game punishes you for not being able to keep up with all of this.

5 Chromosomes Per Second
5 Chromosomes …

The concept isn't exactly unique. A few games touch on subject of state sponsored espionage programs. Orwell, Beholder, etc. The concepts are straightforward, and those games execute those concepts pretty well. I'd love to recommend this game but the UI in beyond buggy and non-functional in some areas.

It's a small gripe but the fact the map scrolls while you're clicking around is silly as shit. Not sure who thought that was a good idea, but it's a mild annoyance I can look past.