Common Sense Media Review
By Angelica Guarino
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dystopian adventure gamifies gig work, adds dark humor.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Not Tonight 2
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
NOT TONIGHT 2's Eduardo is arrested in Seattle for protesting on New Year's Eve of 2021, and is accused of not being an American citizen. His friends, Kevin, Mari, and Malik, rush to his rescue, facing a 30-day deadline for delivering Eduardo's passport and family tree documents to a jail in Miami. If they make it in time, Eduardo will be released immediately. If they can't make it in time, Eduardo will be forced to leave the country. The group decides to split up -- Kevin will search for Eduardo's passport, Malik will find evidence of his family tree, and Mari will coordinate any virtual help they need while staying in Seattle. The three protagonists' stories branch off from there, but to earn enough money to survive and travel, they all pick up shifts on the gig work app Bouncr, monitoring club queues in time-pressure minigames.
Is It Any Good?
Effective political satire seems more difficult the more bizarre real life gets, and this game places itself in a position of commenting on a strange time in American history with stranger humor. The effectiveness of Not Tonight 2 will come off differently for players with different senses of what should or shouldn't be made fun of. Some of this lies in generational humor, like one character's joke about only being able to get work from apps like Bouncr despite having an Ivy League degree, or in subcultural "in-jokes," like the nerdy city full of wizards vs. knights drama. There are also a few levels where you play as a factory worker directing chickens (who hand off IDs and have an "exclusive" guest list the same way humans do) to their impending transformation to food. This type of gallows humor has the potential to be a negative influence on younger players, so keep this in mind when considering this title's appropriateness for younger teens.
As far as gameplay goes, this title's biggest success shows itself as the player gets acquainted with the BouncR app gig mini-games. Each level takes place over the course of a night, with players checking everything from IDs to masks to dress codes to special passwords. It may sound strange to those who have never understood the appeal of the off-base simulators that have grown in popularity in recent years, like Bee Simulator or Job Simulator, but there's something enthralling about this gig work simulator that will keep players coming back for more. Not Tonight 2 takes mundane work and turns it into a game by adding familiar elements like puzzles or timed mechanics. It also takes a potentially mundane story about working gigs to fund a cross-country road trip and turns it into a surrealist adventure -- highlighted by interactions with mysterious club owners as well as with various apocalyptic and supernatural settings. What results is a unique game pulling inspiration from multiple genres and spotlighting a diverse in-game cast and team of creators.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Talk to your kids about the casual racism that Not Tonight 2 pokes fun at. How does it make you feel? Do you think it can be positive for some people to make jokes about it? Why or why not?
What message does dark comedy and satire aim to portray, and what do you think are some successful examples of it?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo Switch , Windows , Xbox One
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : No More Robots
- Release date : February 11, 2022
- Genre : Role-Playing
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : February 25, 2022
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