Developer: Dexai Arts
Publisher: Crunching Koalas
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch
Tested on: PC
Techno Banter – Review
We’ve waxed lyrical about our appreciation for off-beat titles in the past, but it’s not always easy to get across just how weird some of those games can get. Case in point: Techno Banter. Explaining the mechanics of this lovely little title is cut-and-dry, but it doesn’t tell you how outright bizarre the game can get. We’re talking mysterious cultists, kinky leather-wearing dogs, and a naked old man hiding in an alleyway. That’s only barely scratching the surface too. We’ll refrain from spoiling too much, however, and just tell you the important stuff that you need to know to decide whether this one is going to be up your alley. Unless we already had you at ‘naked old man’, that is.
Story
A prologue chapter introduces us to our protagonist, Nil. He’s the bodyguard of a rich businessman. It’s the night of an important party, and Nil is hoping to make a career leap by pitching a new business idea to his boss. Things don’t go as planned, however, and after a series of increasingly poor decisions on Nil’s behalf, he ends up being fired. Begrudgingly, Nil returns to his old place of work, the Green Door night club. The club has seen better days, but owner Gunthy hopes that keeping the riff-raff out might turn things around. Unfortunately for Nil, who becomes the Green Door’s bouncer, said riff-raff contains some of the worst and weirdest visitors of Rainbow Drive. Can the down-on-his-luck bouncer restore the Green Door to its former glory?
Graphics
The most striking thing about Techno Banter’s visuals is that your surroundings are rendered as a fully realized 3D environment, but all of the characters are represented as 2D sprites instead. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this, of course, but combined with the neon-lit glow of your surroundings and the anthropomorphic character designs, Techno Banter’s visuals create a distinct, dream-like atmosphere. Contrasting with this, the character sprites vary wildly and can be hit-or-miss, resulting in an aesthetic mish-mash. While this fits the game’s overall feeling of outlandishness, this does mean that the game lacks an overall visual identity. The visuals are fairly simplistic, and so performance never proved to be an issue.
Sound
With a title like Techno Banter and a nightclub setting, it’s not surprising that the game’s soundtrack consists of techno beats. The tracks fit the game’s atmosphere, although there is so much going on at any given time that they never are given center stage in Techno Banter’s soundscape. There is voice acting present too… sort of. Characters speak in incomprehensible gibberish, but this does help with getting across their emotions. That does tie into the game’s mechanics, as reading the mood of a club guest is important.
Gameplay
The core experience of Techno Banter plays out like a cross between Papers, Please and Oh… Sir!! The Insult Simulator. As you take on shifts at the Green Door, you’ll need to determine whether or not potential patrons meet the criteria to enter the club. If you refuse them entrance, they’ll start to argue with you. You’ll need to engage in a quick battle of wits, slinging insults and comebacks at them to make them leave. You can make use of different conversational skills to tackle unruly guests in different ways. For example, if a literal gorilla tries to intimidate you, you could insult him to his face, or you could talk to his insecurities and point out how he picks fights because he doesn’t know how to deal with positive emotions. Sometimes, these verbal assaults take on the form of minigames as well, like when a guest unleashes a wave of foreign words at you that you’ll need to dodge. If you’re unable to talk a guest away, they’ll enter the club anyway, resulting in a lower score for your shift, and so, a lower paycheck. On the other hand, successful shifts will also let you improve the club itself, making it more attractive for VIP guests.
There is more to Techno Banter than just bouncer shifts. In between working hours, you can explore the neon-lit Rainbow Drive, a street filled with shops, side quests, and eccentric characters. Talking to as many characters as you can is worth it, not just for the hilarious dialogue, but also because you’ll often find side quests and can even pick up clues for future shifts. There’s a man claiming to be a time traveler, for example, who begs you not to let his younger self into the club. You can also gain extra XP by completing side quests in Rainbow Drive and inside of the Green Door. If you simply go from shift to shift, you won’t gain enough XP to even unlock half of your skills, whereas all the side stuff easily lets you max out Nil by the game’s final shift.
That final shift brings us to Techno Banter’s replay value. This is a fairly short game that can be completed in a handful of hours, although the final length does depend on how much time you spend on exploring. There are a few reasons why you’d want to revisit the game after completing it, such as seeing different side stories play out. On the other hand, as far as we could tell, the lineup of guests is fixed for each night, rather than randomized, so there is only a limited number of outcomes. This is reflected in Techno Banter’s fairly low price of €17.99. This is the kind of game that you can play multiple times, but you’re probably going to want to put a few months in between your runs to avoid repetition from kicking in.
Conclusion
Just how much Techno Banter will resonate with you depends on whether or not you enjoy playing weird little games in general. This is the kind of title that people will either love or hate. We’re in the former camp, even though we’re not blind to Techno Banter’s shortcomings, like the game’s lack of visual consistency and the limited replay value. Still, we enjoyed our brief stint at the Green Door. If you’re anything like us, then it’s highly likely you will too.
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