1998: The Toll Keeper Story

If you not in this type of game buy it in the deep discount. Cause the story is very short. But as Indonesian gamer, I like this game, cause Iam in my junior high school when this thing happen. From the gameplay is improvement from the initial demo, UI and tutorial is much more clear. There is a few ending that you got, with how you react in the gameplay session

[h1][b] TLDR: A gorgeous comic book art style and blunt narrative give this toll booth sim its own identity, but it never quite escapes the shadow of Papers Please and stumbles where that game excelled. [/b] [/h1] [h1]PROS: [/h1] ➕Art style ➕Multiple endings based on your actions ➕Impactful story [h1]CONS: [/h1] ➖Constantly missed dialog due to menus overlapping and cutting out ➖No “3-Strikes” forgiveness - you pay penalties immediately for the first error ➖Too similar to Papers, Please Due to the obvious comparisons to Papers, Please!, I’m including my review for PP [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/239030?snr=1_5_9__402]here[/url]. [h1] [b] Content (Game world/Narrative) – [5/10] [/b] [/h1] The game world is set in the fictional land of Janapa. As the player, you only really experience a single screen: The toll booth. All other screens are dialog or cutscenes. So there is no real exploration or secrets (that I found). This game has a much heavier narrative focus than its sister title, Papers, Please. While PP is more subtle in its narrative and consequences, this game is very blunt and revolves around you choosing a side, or none, to assist during the revolution in Janapa. The added element here is you play as Dewi, a young woman far along in her pregnancy. So the stakes feel higher as you witness Dewi’s story of trying to bring a child into the chaos of the country on the brink of collapse. [h1][b] Gameplay (Mechanics/Difficulty) – [6/10] [/b] [/h1] The gameplay loop, very similar to Papers, Please, as you working at a toll booth. It starts out simple with taking money and then slowly adds in a new mechanic daily that becomes more and more restrictive to the people passing the booth. The only real difference between this and PP is that the mechanics are changed to be a toll booth instead of a boarder crossing, and it's a bit easier. Otherwise, by the end, you’ll still be checking multiple things with every passerby. Remember how I said it's easier? Well, it is insofar as you don’t have to check so many different things like in PP, but as a compromise to being easier, you get no warnings. Every mess up is an immediate fine, whereas in PP you get a couple warnings before the fines hit. Still, despite this, I was waaaay over the amount of funds I needed. It’s still much more forgiving without having to also play a minigame where you decide who gets to eat and heating and medicine. [h1] [b] Graphics (Quality/Technical) – [7/10] [/b] [/h1] To me, this is the only area that beats Papers, Please, hands down. The art here is great. It looks like a comic book. I’d say this is around PS4-quality. The game ran fine, though technical options were low. I noticed no bugs. 1440p @ 240hz | installed on SSD [h1] [b] Audio – [6/10] [/b] [/h1] There is a radio that you can turn on each day that plays a few songs. Nothing amazing, but I enjoyed it. There is not much voice acting, just one part for a cutscene. [h1] [b] Replay Factor (Longevity) – [3/10] [/b] [/h1] A full playthrough will take you around ~3 hours. With 4 endings, you’d have to play around ~12 hours. I can’t really see that being worth it unless wanting 100% achievements, as the only real difference in the endings is just a different ending cutscene. [h1] [b] Final Verdict – [6/10] [/b] [/h1] 1998: The Toll Keeper Story (TKS) is a game very similar to Papers, Please. If you never played PP, you should go play that. While this game is good, and it scratches that same gameplay itch of “Job management” under high-stress settings, PP is the better experience in my opinion. The biggest parts that differentiate TKS is the art style and the story. The art style is great, and a big leap over PP, so TKS wins in that area no contest. But the story is a bit more nuanced. As I mentioned above, TKS is a bit more heavy-handed when it comes to the narrative. There are buses full of protesters, there’s government fliers being handed out to say opinion - it’s all more “In your face”. Compared to PP where there’s an air of mystery around every person at the checkpoint - Are they a suicide bomber? Are they planning at attack? PP really nailed that Soviet-style gravitas while TKS is more centered around the 1998 events (in Indonesia) as a backdrop to the life of a pregnant woman trying to survive in the midst of this. Due to its heavy narrative focus, I expected a bit more from the story. I didn’t feel like Dewi’s thoughts or actions really aligned with everything happening around her, she basically seemed like a blank slate in order to placate the player. I would have much preferred if the players actions of siding with a faction became evident in some of the cutscenes. I don’t want to dare drop the word “Mediocre” for its narrative, but it definitely didn’t resonate with me. Overall, I do recommend TKS, but PP is the better experience from almost all angles. [h1] [b] Recommend? (Price) [Y/N] [/b] [/h1] [h1]Yes[/h1] $12 is a tad high for a ~3 hour game and only becomes worth it if you consider playing it 4x for each ending (I don’t). The historical low sale price of $7.19 is a better price point. You can find my curator page here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Synik_GR