The Big Con

 PC
The Big Con Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
5.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 7 Ratings

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  • Summary: Hustle through the 90s in THE BIG CON, an adventure game where you're an awkward teen hustling to save her family video store from gangsters. Play as Ali, a high school junior gone AWOL from band camp to seek revenge on the loan sharks that threaten her mom's video store. (Fighting with yourHustle through the 90s in THE BIG CON, an adventure game where you're an awkward teen hustling to save her family video store from gangsters. Play as Ali, a high school junior gone AWOL from band camp to seek revenge on the loan sharks that threaten her mom's video store. (Fighting with your mom is YOUR job. No one else gets to do that.) Maybe you'll profit from the latest collectible plushie craze, and make an interesting friend or two along the way.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. COGconnected
    Sep 17, 2021
    85
    If you are nostalgic for the gaming scene of the 90s, The Big Con is a can’t-miss throwback. But even if you are maybe a little younger, or sick of wallowing in that most radical of eras, you may find a lot to like. It’s certainly a very cool con artist story, which is appealing to me. Funny and a little melancholy, The Big Con is exactly the sort of adventure game I’ve been wanting to play for decades.
  2. WellPlayed
    Aug 31, 2021
    85
    The Big Con is a bright, fun and surprisingly wholesome crime spree through a Saturday morning cartoon version of 90s America. You might develop a compulsion for kleptomania, you might feel bad for picking hundreds of pockets, but at least you'll laugh along the way and feel cool doing it.
  3. God is a Geek
    Aug 31, 2021
    85
    The Big Con is a welcome nod to one of the coolest decades of all time, featuring some great writing, beautiful visuals, and fun gameplay.
  4. Windows Central
    Aug 31, 2021
    80
    The Big Con delivers a heartwarming story set in an iconic time period filled with beautiful characters and stunning environments.
  5. Gfinity
    Aug 31, 2021
    80
    You’ll only need several hours to complete it, but The Big Con’s one adventure worth looking into. Offering a vibrant presentation brimming with nostalgia, there’s an enjoyable story about 90’s America which kept me hooked. Though the pickpocketing mechanic lacks depth, that’s made up for by a fun narrative and good sense of humour, keeping the action entertaining. If you like indies, The Big Con’s a breath of fresh air that comes recommended.
  6. GameSpot
    Aug 31, 2021
    70
    The Big Con is ultimately about its story, though, and it's a story that mostly works despite an inescapable sense of familiarity. There aren't many beats here that you haven't seen before, and while that lends the closing hours the feeling that expected pieces are simply falling into place, the game has enough verve and style that it manages to hold it together. The writing isn't especially funny or clever, but there's enough personality in the art style and story conceit that I was still entertained for the bulk of the six hours that I spent with it.
  7. Multiplayer.it
    Aug 31, 2021
    65
    The Big Con is a nice game, but not very deep. It entertains for the time it lasts, but in the end it doesn't give much in terms of experience, if not for its graphic style that stands out on everything else.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 3 out of 3
  1. ronadi7368
    Nov 2, 2021
    4
    First, I skipped the needless filler gameplay. Then I skipped the needless filler dialogue. Skipping the the entire game was a natural next step.
  2. habened198
    Sep 20, 2021
    2
    The Big Con shows the player some genuine consideration by being irredeemably boring right from the start. Another game would trick the playerThe Big Con shows the player some genuine consideration by being irredeemably boring right from the start. Another game would trick the player by making the first few scenes fun, or by putting a gameplay hook near the beginning of the player experience. The Big Con does away with these notions early on and frees the player to decide whether they really want to plod through some pretty bad writing and extremely bad gameplay for longer than the unbearably long opening location.… Expand
  4. mallfiend
    Sep 25, 2021
    1
    The Pros:

    1. the art style is very appealing The Cons: 1. the game play - extremely shallow, there is 1 minigame and it's so easy I    The Pros:

    1. the art style is very appealing

    The Cons:

    1. the game play - extremely shallow, there is 1 minigame and it's so easy I just turned it off since there was virtually no chance of failure and it just slowed the game down.

    2. the game play (cont.) - when ted takes you to the 2nd zone it almost feels like an assortment of con jobs was about to open up. I imagined grifting people at the mall, setting up a 3 card monte table or cobbling together trash to create counterfeit merchandise but it's just more pickpocketing.

    3 the game play (cont.) - there was some optional "puzzles" to complete at the mall but pick pocketing the comedian, which you can do immediately, gives all the money you need for the level so there's no reason to do them.

    4 the items - 90% of all the items you pick up are a waste of space you'll just sell at the end of the level, the relevant items are special collector items for the level and quest items. If you pick up every item on the level the game will combine the relevant items together for you so just mindlessly collecting items, pick pocketing, and talking to everyone will move the game along. I would have liked to combine different items, use them to create items to scam and con people with.

    5 mindlessly moving along is by design - it's clear the gameplay isn't the focus, the aesthetic and writing is. the point is to move you along and have you hear all the funny dialogue and characters. while some of the characters are charming and some of the writing is clever, it's not enough to stand alone

    6 the 90s setting is wasted - "the 90s" is just an excuse to be wacky and "radical". there's no real 90s references, no collecting of pogs, "pokemon" cards or beanie babies, no moon bounce shoes, or green slime or anything a kid who grew up in the 90s would have remembered. there is only a thin veneer of a vague 90s aesthetic and the really that is all the game has going for it.

    7 the dialogue boxes cover up too much of the characters during conversations, only Ali and Rad Ghost are properly aligned so the dialogue doesn't cover half their face or body. Also during conversations Ali will grunt or yell "WHAT?" abruptly and often it doesn't match the tone of the conversation well.

    Overall I think this game concept had a lot of potential but didn't really do anything with it. The writing and story is passable if it's just a foundation for interesting gameplay and mechanics but as the main focus it's a complete failure. If there was ways to craft and combine items to pull off interesting cons, it could be great, but simply running around the map spamming the pick pocket button is not interesting or engaging gameplay.    … Expand

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