2021 video game
2021 video game
The Big Con
is an
adventure game
developed by Mighty Yell and published by
Skybound Games
. It was released for
Windows
,
Xbox One
, and
Xbox Series X/S
on August 31, 2021. A
Nintendo Switch
version was released on June 1, 2022. Versions for
PlayStation 4
and
PlayStation 5
were released on August 31, 2023. Set in the 1990s, the game follows Ali, a teenager who works at a
video rental store
owned by Linda, her mother. After learning that her mother owes $97,342.18 to loan sharks, she meets Ted, a
con artist
. They travel across the
United States
, earning money to save Linda's store. The Windows version of
The Big Con
received favorable reviews, while the Xbox Series X/S version received mixed reviews.
Gameplay
[
edit
]
The Big Con
is an
adventure game
where the player controls Ali, a teenager who has to raise money to save her mother's video rental store.
[1]
In each location, the player has to steal a certain amount of money.
[2]
Once the threshold is reached, they can continue to explore, or leave the area by talking to Ted.
[2]
Ali can earn money by pickpocketing
non-player characters
(NPCs).
[2]
Each NPC has an indicator that shows the amount of the cash that they hold.
[2]
To successfully pickpocket a character, the player will have to play a
minigame
where they must stop a needle in a target area.
[2]
If Ali fails to pickpocket a NPC, she will have to find another disguise before attempting to pickpocket them again.
[2]
If she fails three separate times, she will have to rewind
VHS
tapes at a video rental store.
[2]
Ali will earn back lost money after completing this task.
[2]
Ali can also earn money by collecting items and selling them to a pawnbroker.
[2]
Ali can additionally accept
sidequests
from NPCs.
[2]
Development and release
[
edit
]
The Big Con
was developed by
Toronto
-based developer Mighty Yell.
[3]
The developers set the game in the 1990s to make the plot "easier to believe", and allow for a "bright and colorful" palette.
[3]
Saffron Aurora, the game's artist, used cartoons such as
The Simpsons
,
Hey Arnold!
, and
Doug
to form the game's art style.
[3]
Ali is voiced by
Erika Ishii
, and Rad Ghost is voiced by
Dave Fennoy
.
[4]
The team won $50,000 at the 2018 Gaming Pitch Competition at
EGLX
.
[5]
The Big Con
was featured at
PAX
West 2019 and at
PAX
East 2020.
[5]
[6]
A teaser trailer was also released in 2020.
[7]
In March 2021, the game was shown off at the
ID@Xbox
showcase.
[8]
[9]
In May,
Skybound Games
partnered with Mighty Yell to publish the game.
[10]
In June,
Melissa Joan Hart
presented the game in at Tribeca Festival.
[11]
The game's
demo
was available during the Steam Next Fest.
[12]
The Big Con
's theme song was performed by
Rockapella
, and the soundtrack was composed by Dan Rodrigues.
[11]
The game was announced for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on May 12. It was scheduled to release that summer.
[13]
[14]
The game's August 31 release date was announced in July.
[15]
Mighty Yell held a contest to choose a voice actor for a
non-player character
in the game. The winner would receive a copy of the game and a T-shirt.
[16]
The Big Con
's demo was playable at PAX East 2022.
[17]
A Nintendo Switch version titled
The Big Con: Grift of the Year Edition
was released on June 1, 2022.
[18]
[19]
The Big Con: Grift of the Year Edition
was also released for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
[20]
Reception
[
edit
]
The Big Con
received generally favorable reviews, according to review aggregator
Metacritic
.
[21]
[22]
GameSpot
's Andrew King praised the "vibrant" art style and complemented the game's music. King felt that the pickpocketing minigame was "confusing" and thought that the story was "familiar".
[23]
Kyle LeClair from
Hardcore Gamer
felt that the game's con jobs provided "clever" puzzles and "fun" gameplay.
[24]
Miles Dompier from
Windows Central
called the game's story "touching" and "relatable", but felt that the gameplay loop became repetitive. Dompier recommended
The Big Con
for fans of adventure games.
[28]
Eurogamer
recommended
The Big Con
as an "endearing adventure".
[1]
Miri Teixeira from
NME
praised the "immersive" levels, but criticized the controls.
[27]
Nintendo World Report
's Neal Ronaghan wrote that
The Big Con
was a "stylish" game with a "good balance".
[25]
Ozzie Meija from
Shacknews
called the game "intriguing" and described Ali as a "fun" character. He believed that the dialogue was "hit-and-miss" and felt that the pickpocketing mechanic became repetitive.
[26]
Nominations
[
edit
]
The Big Con
received a honorable mention for the Excellence in Narrative award at the
Independent Games Festival
.
[29]
[30]
At the Canadian Game Awards, the game was nominated for Best Indie Game and Best Score/Soundtrack.
[31]
The game received a nomination for Best Audio for an Indie Game at the 2022
Game Audio Network Guild Awards
, and received a honorable mention at the A MAZE. Awards.
[32]
[33]
Year
|
Award
|
Category
|
Result
|
Ref
|
2022
|
Canadian Game Awards
|
Best Indie Game
|
Nominated
|
[31]
|
Best Score/Soundtrack
|
Nominated
|
Game Audio Network Guild Awards
|
Best Audio for an Indie Game
|
Nominated
|
[32]
|
References
[
edit
]
- Notes
- ^
Score based on 13 reviews.
- ^
Score based on 9 reviews.
- References
- ^
a
b
Hollis, Daniel (31 August 2021).
"Review: The Big Con - A Charming Xbox Console Exclusive"
.
Pure Xbox
.
Archived
from the original on 3 September 2023
. Retrieved
26 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
King, Andrew (14 September 2021).
"The Big Con Review -- Oceans '97"
.
GameSpot
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
Livingston, Christopher (11 June 2021).
"
'The moment you have to steal an old lady's wallet, people think there's something wrong with you'
"
.
PC Gamer
.
Archived
from the original on 1 July 2022
. Retrieved
24 June
2022
.
- ^
Borthwick, Ben (13 August 2021).
"Comic adventure The Big Con heads to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC later this month"
.
VideoGamer.com
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Kobek, Patricio (17 August 2019).
"The Big Con Looks To Make Thieves Of Us All"
.
TheGamer
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Moore, D. M. (3 March 2020).
"10 of the most interesting indie games at PAX East 2020"
.
The Verge
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Allin, Jack (6 December 2020).
"The Big Con currently in planning stage"
.
Adventure Gamers
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Bankhurst, Adam (10 August 2021).
"ID@Xbox Indie Showcase: Every Game Announcement"
.
IGN
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Boddy, Zachary (26 March 2021).
"Xbox March Event: Every announcement at the ID@Xbox games showcase"
.
Windows Central
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
LeClair, Kyle (15 May 2021).
"Skybound Games to Publish The Big Con, Coming This Summer - Hardcore Gamer"
.
Hardcore Gamer
.
Archived
from the original on 15 March 2024
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Shankar, Bradly (1 July 2021).
"Toronto-made The Big Con is a 90s con artist game highlighted by the Tribeca Film Festival"
.
MobileSyrup
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
AG staff (16 June 2021).
"Demo round-up for Steam Next Fest"
.
Adventure Gamers
.
Archived
from the original on 22 June 2021
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Boddy, Zachary (12 May 2021).
"Indie game The Big Con releases on Xbox Series X|S and PC later this summer"
.
Windows Central
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Romano, Sal (12 May 2021).
"
'Teenage grifting adventure game' The Big Con launches this summer for Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC"
.
Gematsu
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
Helm, Jordan (22 July 2021).
"Mighty Yell's The Big Con Gets August Release - Hardcore Gamer"
.
Hardcore Gamer
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Romano, Sal (22 July 2021).
"The Big Con launches August 31"
.
Gematsu
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
Culafi, Alex (25 April 2022).
"The 10 Coolest Games We Played at PAX East 2022 - Feature"
.
Nintendo World Report
.
Archived
from the original on 25 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Reynolds, Ollie (26 May 2022).
"Nintendo Download: 26th May (North America)"
.
Nintendo Life
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
24 June
2022
.
- ^
Bonthuys, Darryn (12 June 2022).
"Biggest Games Releasing In June: Diablo Immortal, Mario Strikers Battle League, And More"
.
GameSpot
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Shaver, Morgan (15 June 2022).
"Shacknews E6 2022: Everything shown during the Shacknews Indie Showcase"
.
Shacknews
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"The Big Con for PC Reviews"
.
Metacritic
.
Archived
from the original on 5 December 2023
. Retrieved
22 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"The Big Con for Xbox Series X Reviews"
.
Metacritic
.
Archived
from the original on 5 December 2023
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Ahmed, Emad (31 August 2021).
"The Big Con review - the fun adventure of a 90s hustler"
.
Eurogamer
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
LeClair, Kyle (31 August 2021).
"Review: The Big Con - Hardcore Gamer"
.
Hardcore Gamer
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Ronaghan, Neal (27 May 2022).
"The Big Con (Switch) Review"
.
Nintendo World Report
.
Archived
from the original on 30 May 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Mejia, Ozzie (31 August 2021).
"The Big Con review: Pickpocket monster"
.
Shacknews
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Teixeira, Miri (31 August 2021).
"
'The Big Con' review: a refreshing take on nostalgia and the art of the heist"
.
NME
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Dompier, Miles (31 August 2021).
"The Big Con review: A vibrant and touching blast from the past"
.
Windows Central
.
Archived
from the original on 26 June 2022
. Retrieved
23 June
2022
.
- ^
Rousseau, Jeffrey (7 January 2022).
"Unpacking and Inscryption lead 2022 IGF Awards nominations"
.
GamesIndustry.biz
.
Archived
from the original on 7 January 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
Wallace, Chris (11 January 2022).
"Inscryption and Unpacking earn multiple nominations for the 2022 IGF Awards"
.
MCV/Develop
.
Archived
from the original on 29 June 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Vegvari, Steve (9 April 2022).
"Introducing the Winners of the 2022 Canadian Game Awards"
.
Canadian Game Awards
. Archived from
the original
on 12 August 2023
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"20th Annual G.A.N.G. Award Winners"
.
Game Audio Network Guild
. 26 May 2022.
Archived
from the original on 26 May 2022
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
"A MAZE. Awards 2022. Nominees, Honorable Mentions and Jury Announcement | A MAZE. / Berlin 2022 - 11th International Games and Playful Media Festival"
.
2022.amaze-berlin.de
. 3 April 2022.
Archived
from the original on 26 May 2022
. Retrieved
24 June
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]