Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes - A High Risk Game With An Incredible Community

It was around November of last year when I started exploring gaming again. After turning my attention away from video games to focus more on what was going on in my life, I found myself with some free time to get back into watching Let's Players online such as Markiplier and Jacksepticeye.

Around midnight, halfway through watching a fifteen minute video, a video in my recommended catches my eye. It was called 'Defusing the Centurion' by a small channel called The Great Berate. They weren't too big, having less than 10k subs by the time of publication, but their video interested me. What was the Centurion? What was the thing in the thumbnail? And why did it have over a million views? The moment I clicked on the video, I was taken back down a memory lane for a familiar game.

I'd first discovered Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (KTaNE) back when the game was first released and introduced to mainstream audiences through Let's Players. It was a game of teamwork, skill and, most importantly, communication. A bomb would be presented to players, needing to be defused. The problem was only one player was allowed to see the bomb and if they could, they didn't have the information to defuse it. Any other players would have it vice versa, all the information but no idea what the bomb looked like. In case I have missed anything, the official game trailer is available to watch below.

Coming back to the game through watching a team of three guys from America and England defuse a bomb with over a hundred different components to solve was a little bit jarring but seeing all of the new things that had been introduced through mods built by the community had sparked my love for this game.

After watching the amount of work and effort needed to defeat the monster of the Centurion, I wanted to be part of something like that. Quickly, I found official servers for the community where I was immediately greeted with friendly people who weren't afraid to have a friendly chat. They were even more eager to play and despite my bad microphone, I had a fun time solving different parts of bombs while also adapting on my feet to the varying ways that people would explain things to you.

There's even Twitch streams running where you can solve bombs with others through the chat, helping you gain experience and knowledge even if you're on your own. This is where I personally spend most of my time playing the game because it is the most accessible and I can play it without having to worry about buying a microphone to talk with other people.

Another thing I would like to note is the soundtrack. It perfectly encapsulates the game, with different soundtracks for different bombs. As the time counts down, the music becomes increasingly louder, setting the mood and building your stress levels as you try and figure out if it's the fourth or fifth wire you have to cut. The soundtrack influences your experience greatly, helping to build the growing worries that can lead to a silly mistake or even accidental detonation of the bomb. However, if you don't want that extra level of stress, the option to turn down and mute all sound is there. There is even a colourblind mode to help cater to those who could need it.

If you're looking for another reason to try out this game, it's even educational. Even while not playing too frequently, I have begun to pick up Morse code, modulos and the NATO Alphabet. This is on top of learning how to adapt to the way people communicate and building your teamwork skills all the while under the pressure of a timer. Learning new parts of the bomb (or modules) help develop your skills in comprehension, mathematics, detail orientation, decision making and time management. Doing all of this while under the pressure of a time limit makes it even more fun and intense.

The best part is that if you want to play this game with your friends, you only need to buy one copy as you only need one person to see the bomb or be the 'defuser'. Any other players can be 'experts' and help you with the information.

All in all, I highly recommend this game. It's a gem that while slightly dated, will most likely remain a classic among puzzle solving and co-op gamers. This game can be played with friends in real life or complete strangers online but regardless of who you defuse with, every bomb and experience is different. The community is more than willing to lend a hand if you need any help and your experience is decided by you. You can have the easiest bomb in the Vanilla game or you can go for a fully modded Centurion, it's entirely up to you.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is available for purchase on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PS4, numerous VR systems and more. The Bomb Defusal Manual is available for download here, while the Repository of Manuals (Modded and Vanilla) is available here.