I often argue that games are the most impactful art form of our time. Unlike a movie, which can be superb and make you feel and think things, a game forces you to make choices and decisions in the moment. You can’t be passive in a game, and that makes actions and consequences real.
1998: The Toll Keeper Story is a toll booth simulator with short visual novel elements that is all about choices and actions. You play as Dewi, a married and heavily pregnant lady in Janapa, a fictional Southeast Asian country. There are protests underway, initially from students, who are unhappy due to the financial collapse taking place in Janapa. The government wants peace and for things to carry on as normal, but the everyday human is struggling to put food on the table. The story is heavily inspired by the Asian financial crisis that impacted Indonesia hard in 1997/98, and the parallels are here. The people turn, the laws get worse, and the country falls into disrepair and mutiny.
For Dewi at the toll booth, each day starts off with increasingly draconian rules, sometimes with financial incentives to push them through. Cars will arrive at your booth, and your job is to make sure only the right people pass the toll, or simply fine them if they wish to proceed. If they don’t have the right number plate, ID, or weight limit, or they have contraband or counterfeit money, there’s something you can do about it. Some will incur fines, but others can result in refusal or even arrest. Of course, arrests and dishing out propaganda are incentivised, and that’s key because you’ll need to pay rent, put food on the table, and prepare for your newborn’s arrival in a few weeks. Making matters worse is that any mistake you make will result in a personal fine for you. Let through a taxi cab with protestors in after the ban on small vehicles carrying protesters is enforced? That’s a fine. Even if it’s your taxi cab-driving husband, working to bring in more money! You could refuse him entry, but that will take you down a different path. Characters appear regularly across the story, and how you interact with them will determine part of their fate, and also yours.
If you are thinking this all sounds similar to Papers Please, then you’d be right. It is. This has Dewi’s added story, the real-world similarities, and some beautifully drawn artwork that feels of the time. Each day shows the view from your booth looking a little more smashed up. The person you let through and paid some money for out of your own purse might bring back extra food next time as a thank you. Others might not be so helpful. I loved that in short story bursts and diary entries between days at work, we got to understand what Dewi, her husband Haru, and their bestie Simta were all thinking and feeling. Even the landlord who’s putting up the rent is struggling with her morals. You’ll struggle with yours, as the player too, and that’s what makes 1998: The Toll Keeper Story so compelling and fascinating to play.
That said, there is a “right” way to play this game. If you keep getting fined for mistakes, you’ll get sacked. If you don’t hand out any peace posters or arrest anyone, you’ll likely not be able to afford the rent. This means you cannot play too extremely anti-Government, as you’ll hit a game over screen. I hit a few during my playthrough, and each time it meant I had to play more by the rules. Clearly, I wouldn’t have survived Janapa! I also found that sometimes the UI got a bit messy towards the end of the game. Almost every day brings in a new rule to follow or check by, and in order for fines to be triggered, you have to select the right rule and the thing that’s the issue. These are spread over multiple menus and items, so occasionally I thought I’d selected things, but not always in the order the game expected. These were very minor hiccups and didn’t distract me too much from the overall experience. Remember to use the vehicle screen to see if a bus has 4 or 6 wheels! I learnt my lesson the hard way…
Where 1998: The Toll Keeper Story excels is in its narrative and storytelling. It creates a slowly sinking dread that each day is becoming slightly more desperate, and the stakes are slowly rising. Like a frog in hot water, you are always one key decision away from a disaster, but you might not know when it’s time to back down or stand your ground. This isn’t a game that is a laugh a minute, but it is tense and thought-provoking. I think looking back at what happened 28 years ago is also very relevant today. It feels like we’re on the brink of something similar happening again, and this is a moral compass training ground. Fascinating.
Review copy provided by the developer. 1998: The Toll Keeper Story is out on PC.
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