The first Not Tonight was released in 2018, and took a surgical look at the ideology that led to the UK's Brexit vote. It was a successful take on the Papers, Please formula, with the player travelling across Britain working doorman gigs that balanced satirical humor with tough moral quandaries. Now, Panic Barn and No More Robots are back with Not Tonight 2, which takes the series over to the United States of America.
Not Tonight 2 puts the player in control of a group of friends who are trying to navigate the bureaucratic nightmare of a disjointed alternative history America. After one of their friends is kidnapped by the fascist group known as the Martyrs, who control half of what used to be the USA, the group must get some vital documents from Seattle to Miami to arrange his release, avoiding the trouble that stirs across the country. Along the way, the player must keep track of each person's health, money, and morale, creating a kind of dystopian Oregon Trail.
While the first Not Tonight cut to the core of current British culture with its low-key grime and moments of bizarre comedy, the sequel is considerably more bombastic to fit with the move across the Atlantic. Mt. Rushmore has turned into a giant renaissance faire, the Midwest is a pandemic exclusion zone run by a fast food company, and New York has literally begun sinking into the ocean due to climate change. It's a striking, bold setting that isn't timid about making a statement about the current atmosphere in the United States.
The humor has also seen a bit of a tweak, with the seedy sense of desperation of the original shifted slightly towards a wackier tone. Wizards trying to enter the aforementioned renaissance venue will try to float over the walls with balloons, while in Louisville the player is tasked with sorting out chickens based on age and the amount of growth hormone used to create the most effective slurry. It doesn't always work - particularly when it leans into pop culture references like Star Wars - but the irritated noise of a chicken being turned away from a gruesome demise hits the mark extremely well.
That said, Not Tonight 2 does not shy away from darker topics, such as a run-in with a dangerous cult in Kansas, a brainwashing centre in Orlando, or the wall between Mexico and the USA that aims to stop American citizens from escaping to a country with more freedom. It all works towards the game's wider satire, cleverly taking a look at the power of monopolies and the disparate nature of the different states. It may not cut to the philosophical core of the nation in the same way that Kentucky Route Zero does, but it still packs a punch in its own way.
Not Tonight 2 expands the scope of the original through gameplay as well, and thankfully this works with the overall message of the game. Salt Lake City sees the player giving out communion wafers outside a venue based on the donation tier of the attendee, or filling up air tanks to the right level for those entering an oxygen club in Los Angeles to escape from dangerous pollution. There's certainly more variety here than in the first game, both within the individual missions and with choices to make while travelling across country.
That said, it doesn't always work, with the expanded scope of the sequel sometimes falling foul of its simple setup. Some new mechanics when working as a bouncer feel a little tiresome, like having to work out the names of cult members based on their ID number, while at other points mechanics repeat themselves across multiple locations. It may have been better to spend more time in each location, while leaving space to have more difficult moral decisions.
Even so, Not Tonight 2's gameplay in general is a success, expanding on what was enjoyable about the original and tying into the varied requirements of its new setup. On top of that, there's greater flexibility for players as well. Of note is a difficulty option that could certainly help players from an accessibility perspective, allowing users who may find the venue requirements challenging to still be able to see the plot through to the end.
As such, Not Tonight 2 is a very strong sequel to the original game. It builds on what worked about Not Tonight and updates it for its new setting, all the while keeping true to the series' tone. Its plot and satirical comedy will be too close to the bone for those who feel video games shouldn't be political, but for those who want more of an ideological challenge this will hit the mark well.
Not Tonight 2 is out now for PC. Screen Rant was provided with a PC download code for the purposes of this review.