New video game creates partnership for explosive fun

By: Cody Hood

The sound of a gentle tick-tock fills the room as the bomb is revealed to the diffuser. The diffuser looks around the bomb, noticing a piece of the bomb filled with wires. He focuses in on it, noticing that there are three, with them each going yellow, white and blue.

The expert carefully looks at his manual before relaying to cut the last wire. A careful snip indicates the part of the that’s bomb is done for, and they continue until all modules are finished.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a puzzle game developed by Steel Crate Games and is currently sold for $14.99, while the bomb manual is free by going to their website.

The game is based around a person defusing a bomb, and a bomb expert with the defusal manual. The catch is that the bomb defuser can only look at the bomb, and the bomb expert can only look at the manual. This requires the two people to communicate between one another accurately and quickly, since the bomb is on a time limit.

The bomb has modules and pieces of the bomb that need to be interacted with in order to defuse the bomb. Each bomb has a different set of modules, each having their own design to them. Some have wires that need to be cut, some have hieroglyphs that need to be pressed in the right order and some even have a button that needs to be pressed or held until a specific time.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is based on communication between the diffuser and the bomb expert. Each module has specific settings on it that correspond to something in the bomb manual. Be it checking the serial number or what color something is, it all requires the bomb expert to check the manual and make sure the directions are accurate and swift.

The bombs have varying difficulties depending on the type of the bomb and the amount of modules on each bomb. Most bombs typically have three strikes until it explodes, but later on, there are some bombs that have no strikes, and the first mistake cause them to explode. It’s truly a challenge to the people defusing, but it’s definitely worth the satisfaction when the bomb is defused.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a fun experience for two people for the cost. Only one person requires the game, and the other can just look at the manual that is printed out or on his/her computer screen. It’s a challenging game, being a test of communication between the two friends. It’s a nice thing to play if people just want to redirect a stressful day, and it will truly test the bonds of relationships for time to come.