1979 Revolution Black Friday is an interactive drama game developed by iNK Studios, with assistance from by N-Fusion Interactive. The game is also available on the Xbox one Nintendo switch and Microsoft windows. The game is set during the Iranian revolution where various groups were trying to overthrow the shah.

The game starts with Reza Shirazi, a photojournalist being arrested and taken to Evin prison for interrogation. The game takes place by way of flashbacks during the interrogation where Reza documents his involvement in the revolution. For the most part, you'll be having branching conversations with the other protagonists which will dictate how things unfold, you can choose to be peaceful or violent in your actions, and both options will have a knock-on effect for you and others.

The game is littered with moral choices and tough decisions you have to make on the fly. I particularly enjoyed the interrogation element as it really gave you a sense of how powerless people are in those situations. Aside from the dialogue, you have the occasional quick-time event where you have to press a certain button at a certain time but for the most part, it's akin to the walking dead games in terms of its being a narrative-based experience. The other main feature of the gameplay is photojournalism now speaking from previous experience working abroad covering protests and riots I was really interested to see how they would implement this feature. But unfortunately, I have to say they really didn't do a good job at all.

You never really get a sense of danger or of being time restricted when taking the photos and another issue is you don't really have any sense of creative freedom when taking the shots. There are designated shots you have to take which basically involve you moving the camera to a green spot then pressing the button at the right time. You're then shown a real-life photo of that moment with some supplementary information it's really very disappointing in terms of representation of real-life photojournalism. As in real life, it's very dangerous and exhilarating and exciting when you're in that moment but unfortunately here you really don't get any sense of that feeling.

One other cool feature is the audio tapes you get during the game which can be listened to in the diary section where you keep all your notes on the revolution. Graphically, the game isn't really much to write home about but you know it does look nice in past but the quality of the character models and the game environments, they do vary dramatically. In terms of sound and music and the voice acting, in particular, are they are very high standard. The actors are very good they deliver their lines with a real sense of passion empathy and kind of like real power.

The game has a powerful story the real-life facts along with the audiotapes give a real powerful resonance to proceedings. The freedom to choose your path is a nice touch and the voice actors and scriptwriters did a really good job. while the camera system is poorly implemented and doesn't provide any real freedom of expression and the game doesn't really capture what it's like to be a photojournalist in a hostile environment.

Final Thoughts

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This game is a strong narrative adventure based on the real-life events of the Iranian revolution. The story is well written and the voice actors do a great job of conveying the atmosphere and the emotions of the times. The gameplay is fairly simplistic as in you're just making conversation choices and with an odd quick time event and the odd photo. But the game, it's more of a vehicle for the stories and the struggles of the Iranian people than the things they were going through during this passage of time. It's powerful shocking and educational in equal measure the only major downside is that it's a very short game and one outside of the dialogue sections is pretty bland and tedious but it is worth a look if you're a fan of story-based games.

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