Mainlining

Mainlining could have been a good, comedic antidote to Orwell’s overt political warnings. As it turns out, it’s got as many flaws as an outdated Windows operating system.

Mainlining fails to really provide any interesting commentary on its chosen subject matter, revelling instead in caricatures we’ve all experienced a hundred times before; stuff you’ll have seen done better in any Grand Theft Auto game that has parody websites involved. Its gameplay too often degenerates into trial-and-error and lacks any sort of consequences for the player getting things wrong, which renders the whole investigative process pretty much pointless.

Though not the first of its kind and by no means the most original tale spun from out this current trend of liberty-vouching discussion, Mainlining is a smart and cleverly put-together point-and-click piece that is layered enough with its puzzles but prominently more effective in its use of real World culture in providing that added sense of personally historic immersion.

Mainlining deserves credit for presenting an original and interesting take on a familiar genre.

Mainlining is certainly an interesting title for its style and, although it can quickly become boring, fans of the genre might like to spend a few hours there.

It’s hard to say much else about the game without giving away some fun story beats, but overall Mainlining is a fun game with great, consistent art direction and some very clever (and mostly faithful) old style hacking mechanics. While it almost certainly plays best elsewhere, the Switch version is impressively competent and it’s a great themed adventure that is both challenging and satisfying.

Mainlining offers little but a frustrating experience on the Nintendo Switch. It’s all too clear how the PC version would be superior in every single regard, while also costing five dollars less there. From broken mechanics, poor keyboard functionality, and no indication of what you’re supposed to be doing, Mainlining is a game that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. If the idea does at all intrigue you, look into the original PC version. It’s likely that even a basic laptop could run the game, and with the amount of typing needed and window jumping required, a keyboard and mouse are practically a must for a decent experience.

Its fantastic art and concept cannot help Mainlining on Switch from being an absolute chore to play.

Starting with the positive Mainlining comes to the table as a pretty unique experience on the Switch, with you working to use your computer and hacking skills to catch cyber criminals...

A wry hacking adventure, marred by a few unfortunate design choices.