Tonight We Riot
Developer(s)Pixel Pushers Union 512
Publisher(s)Means Interactive
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch, Linux, macOS, Windows
ReleaseNintendo Switch
May 5, 2020[1]
Linux, macOS, Windows
May 8, 2020[2]
Genre(s)Beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Tonight We Riot is a beat 'em up game released in 2020 by American[3] studio Pixel Pushers Union 512, and published by Means Interactive, both worker cooperatives, and released for Windows, MacOS, Linux and the Nintendo Switch. The game promotes left-wing anti-capitalist ideals.[4][5]

Gameplay

The game follows a player-controlled crowd of workers rather than a single character,[6] each member with their own weapons, to fight against Pinkertons, militias, and police as they move their way through a level. Players can inspire more workers to join the crowd by liberating factories and encouraging more workers to join the fight. The game's difficulty is dynamic as it is tied in part due to the size of the mob, from being extremely difficult as a single worker to challenging or easy as the mob grows in size.[7] The levels end in boss fights ranging from large vehicles operated by the police to the President of the fictional country the game takes place in.[8][9]

Plot

The game follows a worker's uprising in a future year of the 21st century[8] that begins in Factory Town, an industrial town in a fictional country. After the uprising takes over Factory Town, they begin pushing through Bootlick Bayou, a logging town, Dockyards, a port and finally the Bowling Green Estates, a wealthy neighborhood which is the capital of this country. The uprising grows in size as it proceeds through each level in each area, inspiring more and more workers along the way. The game concludes with the workers overthrowing their government, implying that an anarcho-syndicalist government is formed in its place.[8]

Development

Tonight We Riot started development around 2016, after Ted Anderson, one of the developers of Pixel Pushers Union 512, developed a smaller game called Radical Rebels which was nominated for the Gamer's Voice award at South by Southwest.[10] Publishing partners were initially found with New Blood Interactive, who first revealed the game at PAX West 2016,[11][12] then showed the game off at PAX East in 2019.[13] The game changed publishers to Means Interactive, another worker cooperative as a publisher, as it was "a better fit" for the game and game's message.[14]

Reception

Bonus Stage gave the game a positive review, praising the gameplay, story, and message, along with the game's sense of tongue in cheek humor.[15] Wireframe also gave the game a positive review, praising the game's crowd control mechanics and that Pixel Pushers live true to their ethos, but criticized the game's short length and difficulty level.[9] Indie game storefront Itch.io featured Tonight We Riot on their "Games of the Month" list for May 2020.[16] Conservative magazine National Review praised Tonight We Riot's gameplay mechanics, describing them as "innovative", but overall gave the game a negative review due to the game's short length and the shared socialist ideology of the developer and publisher, claiming that due to their ideology, they should not sell the game on the Nintendo eShop and Steam.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "SwitchArcade Round-Up: 'Umihara Kawase BaZooKa!' Western Release Announced, 'Tonight We Riot' and Today's New Releases, the Latest Sales, and More – TouchArcade". May 5, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  2. ↑ Riot, Tonight We (May 1, 2020). "We have a huge announcement, Fellow Workers!". Twitter. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Pixel Pushers Union 512". Twitter. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  4. ↑ Walker, Ian (May 7, 2020). "Tonight We Riot Devs Wanted To Make An 'Unapologetically Leftist' Game". Kotaku. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  5. ↑ Ottenhof, Luke (May 31, 2020). "'Tonight We Riot' and the Rise of the Socialist Video Game". Observer. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  6. ↑ Woodcock, Jamie. "Interview with Pixel Pushers Union 512". Notes From Below.
  7. ↑ Crecente, Brian (April 3, 2019). "'Tonight We Riot' Delivers Socialist Message to the Nintendo Masses". Variety. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 Pixel Pushers Union 512 (February 13, 2021). Tonight We Riot (1.0 ed.). Means Interactive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. 1 2 Walker-Emig, Paul. "Tonight We Riot review – a brawler with a socialist ethos". Wireframe magazine. Raspberry Pi Foundation. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  10. ↑ J James F (December 1, 2020). "Behind the Union That Created "Tonight We Riot"". Industrial Worker. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  11. ↑ "PAX West 2016: New Blood Interactive To Debut New Games". popgeeks.com. September 1, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  12. ↑ Tonight We Riot - Reveal Trailer, retrieved December 28, 2022
  13. ↑ "Tonight We Riot coming to Switch". Nintendo Everything. March 30, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  14. ↑ Flores, Jake; Ptak, Alex; Lee, Anders. "Tonight We Riot w/ Ted & Stephen from Pixel Pusher Union" (Podcast). Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  15. ↑ Baglow, Lewis. "Tonight We Riot Review | Bonus Stage is the world's leading source for Playstation 5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, 3DS, Wii U, Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, and DS Video Game Reviews with over 5500 in-house reviews to date". Bonus Stage. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  16. ↑ Hayes, Spencer. "Games of the Month: Tales from Off-Peak City, Samsara Room, and More". itch.io. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  17. ↑ VerBruggen, Robert (May 16, 2020). "Antifa: The Video Game". National Review. Retrieved February 13, 2021. It's pretty funny that socialists are selling an overpriced product via Nintendo's latest console and the computer-game portal Steam, which is run by the multi-billion-dollar company Valve.
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