Barnstormers: Determined to Win Reviews

Good Story but a tease. Worth $10 bucks though, but more of a interactive movie.

Really loved this experience- it's short but sweet and worth the price. It was so cool to feel what it's like to grow up in that time as a kid, and directly experience the camaraderie as well as the discrimination that players faced. It was fun picking up objects in different scenes that helped tell the history, and the interactions with other characters felt very natural and intuitive. The music, narration, voice acting, environments, uniforms and use of color were also very well done and it made me want to explore that world so much more. It reminded me a bit of the Field of Dreams, and definitely created a feeling of magic and possibility. I particularly appreciate that at the end, the narrator gives a call to action prompting players to think about what we can do today to combat racism. It made me imagine an alternate universe where instead of the Negro League players joining MLB, the MLB players joined the Negro League and the Negro League coaches kept their positions. MLB has a long way to go to improve diversity and make coaching and leadership opportunities more equitable, and that's something I'd like to advocate for in sports leagues generally. Games like this should be getting more headlines, and I'll definitely be sharing it! I think the developers have the beginnings of a more in-depth experience ready and would love to see that be built out further with full teams, gameplay, and additional story moments teaching about the history. It would also help to be able to have locomotion, or ability to rotate the player if you get stuck facing the wrong direction too. Finally, I'd love to see this experience become available on wireless VR headsets and in online multiplayer mode. I was a bit concerned about hitting objects on my desk when swinging a bat, but there wasn't a huge risk of that since most of the current experience is about soaking up the environments and really feeling like you've stepped back in time.

I'm giving this game a recommend because I think it tells a brief part of history that many may not be aware of. However, be aware that what you are buying is a 20-minute, quasi-interactive story. If you're hoping for an option for batting practice or anything else, there's nothing... Not even pause.The history is important. (Sadly, the only difference between this and modern times in the gas station scene are the cars.)The gameplay is virtually nonexistent. ATTN: Devs, I like the idea behind this. Maybe there's someone out there with a basic baseball game that you can collaborate with to make a full-fledged Negro League Baseball game to tell the stories of the forgotten/ignored greats.