The Big Con

The Big Con is a comedy adventure game in which we play as an underage swindler living in the USA in the 1990s. The protagonist is trying to help her family pay off a debt taken from a usurer. The game was developed and published by the independent studio Mighty Yell, in which we can find developers in the past involved in the development of such games as Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Jill Murray), Jazzpunk (Dan Rodrigues), Guacamelee! 2 (Saffron Aurora, George Degenkamp) or Runbow (Dave Proctor).

Plot

In The Big Con we control a teenage girl living in the USA in the 1990s. The protagonist's parents run a small shop selling DVDs, but due to financial problems they are forced to take a loan from a usurer. When they are unable to repay the debt, they run into serious problems, from which the protagonist tries to pull them out.

A lot of humour can be found in the game. The theme of growing up also plays an important role - the protagonist is a typical teenager quarrelling with her mother.

Mechanics

The Big Con is a rather classic point & click adventure in which the action is observed from different perspectives. The gameplay is about exploring locations, talking to various characters and solving puzzles (usually it's about finding and using the right item). The main goal is to discover the storyline prepared by the developers.

In the course of the gameplay we often cheat and steal from people we meet. We can sneak and disguise ourselves in order to approach the victim. Additionally, the heroine has the ability to call home and argue with her parent.

Game modes

In The Big Con we can only play alone. The core of the game is a feature campaign.

Technical aspects

The graphic design of The Big Con is quite simple - we have drawn, 2D boards and character sprites. The game is maintained in a rather distinctive style marked by very expressive pastel colours. The graphics looks pretty good and matches the relaxed, humorous atmosphere of the Mighty Yell studio's game.