Needy Streamer Overload Switch Review
| Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Release Date | 10/27/2022 |
| Cost | $19.99 |
| Publisher | WSS Playground |
| ESRB Rating | T |
Needy Streamer Overload has to be one of the most messed up games I’ve ever played. At the same time, it has the artistic merit that Stilstand and Gone Home wished they had. The plot of the game is you guide a fledgling Internet streamer to stardom. She goes by two usernames: BrainCandy, her normal dour goth persona, and AngelKawaii, her bubbly streaming personality. She is extremely needy, clingy, and prone to severe mood swings. I’d go as far as to say she has some kind of mental illness. Considering you can literally send her to a “mental hospital,” I’d venture a guess that it’s so.
Needy Streamer Overload takes place on a computer running “Windows 2000”. BrainCandy is in a webcam box at all times. She instant-messages you often, and you can respond with one of eight emojis. In addition, she constantly posts on a “tweeter” as both her personas. Now, on the left side is a series of commands you can give her. You can have her spend time with you (including getting naughty). She can surf various sites on the internet. You can also have her eat “magical macrons” (drugs). She can go out to a dozen different places in Tokyo as well. Each thing you have her do will affect one of three stats: stress, affection, and mental darkness. These stats can also give her ideas for different streams.
Each day in Needy Streamer Overload is divided into three parts—day, dusk, and night, and everything you do will take either one, two, or three time slots. You can even have her sleep until the next day if you want. Nighttime is for streaming, and you can take on various topics like gaming, conspiracy theories, nerd stuff, and naughty stuff (you’ll gain a ton of followers but she’ll hate you). This will have an effect on her follower count and mostly her stress level. During most streams, you can delete comments and pick super chats for her to read. But if you choose to skip them, that’s okay.
And now, the part you’re reading this review for:
The Messed Up Part of Needy Streamer Overload!
The messed up nature of Needy Streamer Overload comes when her stress and mental darkness levels get too high. And the first thing she’ll do when over-stressed is cut herself.
Another thing she’ll do is start talking about death and suicide and how she wants to die:
She’ll also become emotionally manipulative:
I didn’t get there, and part of me doesn’t want to, but I fully believe that if you push her far enough, she’ll either attempt suicide or outright kill herself. Needy Streamer Overload is that dark.
The issue is there’s no real way to avoid the messed up content. Streaming is extremely stressful, and if you try to manage stress while neglecting her affection level, she’ll just walk off and then it’s Game Over. But if her affection is high, she’ll get even crazier. It’s as if the developers want you to push the main character into the darkness. It’s kinda twisted in that way as well.
But the dark and twisted nature of Needy Streamer Overload is what gives it its artistic edge. The game is emotionally draining yet powerful at the same time. When she goes dark, you’ll go dark along with her. The writing is that well done. It almost seems like there’s a real person behind the screen. A very unstable person, but a person nevertheless. I’ve known people like the main character (and often been there myself), and therefore it hits home hard. Gone Home wished it was this emotionally powerful.
Finally, you can draw comparisons to Doki Doki Literature Club. Both are extremely dark and twisted. Except in Doki Doki, it’s a straight visual novel, and you have far less control over the outcome than you do here. Here, there are twenty-two different endings!
For those who can take it, Needy Streamer Overload is a must-experience emotional roller coaster. It is an instant Must Play!
Overall: Needy Streamer Overload is a dark and twisted tale that has an artistic edge other games wished they had.
Verdict: Must Play