Burn-9 : Tactical Radio Action
First Impression
Burn-9 is a very unique take on a choice based visual novel type game that makes it feel fresh. If you mixed Metal Gear Solid and a visual novel and played the dispatch operator instead of a field agent you would have Burn-9. The game feels inventive and intriguing due to the context, presentation and execution. Running a team of operatives is an inciting premise and the high stakes and tactical decision making on the fly means that your choices matter. If you like the spy and visual novel genre and enjoyed the radio sequences from Metal Gear Solid you should give this a try.
Target Audience
Gamers that enjoy a visual novel type experience set within an espionage world may want to check this out. The narrative is the main focus of the game and is delivered is an intriguing way especially if you are fond of the original Metal Gear Series.
Narrative & Gameplay
The core gameplay revolves around a visual novel style sequence with choices that impact the over outcome of the story. The narrative itself also matches its inspiration with memorable characters and situations. In this game you act as the operator for the mission guiding agents as they navigate the field and complete objectives. It’s a very simple premise, but it is delivered in an intriguing way due to the espionage setting. Like any good spy movie, there are multiple layers to the narrative and a large part of the fun is deciphering exactly what is happening and who to trust.
The core gameplay is directing your operatives through a series of choices. What you select will impact the outcome. Failure entails restarting a section to select different choices. Altogether, the simple gameplay and intriguing setting are surprisingly gripping and pull you into its world to uncover answers and the truth of what is actually happening.
Art & Design
The game has a retro pixel aesthetic and comic book art style. It is very reminiscent of games from the NES era. The visual design helps set the tone of the game making you feel like an operator in a retro tech setting. This is accomplished through the use of simple pixel images, screen glitch animations, scanlines, MS Dos text and in certain contexts prominent use of strong green/yellow monotones mimicking computer screens from the 80s era. Altogether, the design elements contribute to the overall vibe setting the tone and drawing you into the experience.
Challenges
One of the challenges in the game is repeating sections if you enter a fail state. If you make a choice that results in failure you will need to repeat a section. However, when you do repeat a section there is no way to quickly skip through text you’ve already come across. This isn’t too much of an issue when you repeat a section once but through an entire playthrough of the game it could become more of a challenge.
The other major component to this game is just understanding what type of game this is and if it is for you. It is heavily narrative focused playing like a visual novel with text based choices that affect the outcome. For those that do enjoy this type of genre it’s quite intriguing. However, if you are looking for more in terms of gameplay/action this may not be the game for you.
Closing Thoughts
Burn 9 is a tactical radio action game in the style of a visual novel with text based choices that affect the outcome. It is delivered in a way that surprisingly pulls you into its world of agents, espionage and political drama. For those that really connect with the context and premise, this is a title you may want to check out.
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GAME DETAILS
PLATFORMS: PC
RELEASE: TBD (2026)
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: 14 Hours Productions / Fellow Traveler
GENRE/TAGS: Visual Novel, Choices Matter, Sci-Fi, Metal Gear
TARGET AUDIENCE: Fans of visual novels and the radio chatter in Metal Gear
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