Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes - Initial Thoughts

About the Game (From the Steam Store Page)

In Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, one player is trapped in a room with a ticking time bomb they must defuse. The other players are the “Experts” who must give the instructions to defuse the bomb by deciphering the information found in the Bomb Defusal Manual. But there’s a catch: the Experts can’t see the bomb, so everyone will need to talk it out – fast!

Rounds are fast-paced, tense, occasionally silly, and almost always loud. Everybody has a role to play whether they are defusing the bomb or deciphering information from the manual.

Puzzle solving and communication skills – and maybe a few friendships – will be put to the test as players race to defuse bombs while communicating quickly, clearly, and effectively.

Previous Playtime

89 minutes (real time: probably roughly double)

Expectations and Prior Experience

I should not be doing this. I don't want to do this. This is going to be an utter desecration of a fun and original game. But I swore an oath before god and man that I would play every game on my challenge list for 20 hours, no exceptions. And I didn't break that vow for Ship Simulator Extremes or for Sakura Spirit. I didn't even break it for Trine 3, a game I both enjoyed and respected and which didn't deserve to get hate-played 5 times in a row.

See, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is kind of a great game. Or rather, it is a game that has a kind of greatness. It has its flaws, and there's a lot of room in its premise that simply isn't explored, but as far as I know, there is no other game quite like it out there. Certainly, it was the first time I've ever heard of a co-op game where one player doesn't even need to be physically present, not even metaphorically through the internet. Where half the game is a pdf the second player reads from. Where the "main" player doesn't (and indeed shouldn't) know the rules of the game.

This game is about communication. It's about teamwork. It's about trust. The main enemies are the ambiguity and limitations of the spoken word. To win, you need to speak clearly and concisely and develop a partnership with the other player.

I won't be doing any of that. I will be playing this game solo. Despite the fact that this misses the entire point, and is as absurd and pointless as playing "telephone" solo. It's not really the way I want to do it, but that's the reality of my situation. Playing with friends is difficult, because I keep odd hours, and playing with strangers is, to my socially anxious hermit brain, practically unthinkable.

I honestly can't say how this going to go. I'm expecting a train wreck, where I can't do anything. Or maybe where things that were difficult when relayed over the voice chat become trivial when I have the manual in front of me. And that's the best case scenario. Worst case is that it's merely frustrating and dull.

To sum up: I love the game, and that's why playing it like this is going to be a nightmare.