The days of music-based video games seemed long been behind us. Guitar Hero, Rock Band, even Brutal Legend were a staple of the mid-to-late-2000s music videogame scene that are, for the most part, long gone. Although the music-influenced games have left the stage, our partner Sold Out looked to change that with No Straight Roads (NSR). When we first heard about this game in 2019, we couldn’t wait to help springboard the indie game into the spotlight.
A tried and true strategy for any game launch is first-hand impressions. To help cement NSR in the minds of media and influencers, our journey began with facilitating hands-on demos every chance we got including E3 2019, PAX West 2019, PAX East 2020 and providing demo keys thereafter for multiple preview beats. Even after the plug was pulled on E3 2020, that didn’t stop us from keeping NSR in the minds of media and consumers. Our relationships with top-tier press helped secure NSR in a number of online streaming events. We placed exclusive gameplay content with GameSpot and two separate exclusives with IGN (second exclusive found here) which resulted in pickup from A TON of tier-two and -three media outlets. E3’s cancellation was a complete bummer but it allowed coverage to be spread out across a two-month timespan, and keep NSR fresh in everybody’s minds, leading perfectly into our interview and giveaway campaign.
Admittedly, review pitching for an indie game is tough when competing against AAA games. But 2020 was different since many big-name titles had been delayed, with several holding out until the next gen console launch. This provided a window of opportunity to really get NSR in front of media and influencers.
We secured developer interviews with outlets such as Shacknews, GamingBolt and Unwinnable, along with setting up giveaways for NSR’s sold out Collector’s Editions and vinyl soundtracks. The icing on the cake was locking NSR with renown music enthusiast SPIN Magazine where the outlet streamed the game on Twitch while holding vinyl and digital soundtrack giveaways. Gaming media are obvious targets, but we knew NSR’s killer soundtrack and music centric gameplay made it a perfect fit for the music vertical. Continuing this momentum, we then set our eyes on the most important tentpole of any game launch, reviews.
After facilitating multiple rounds of PR beats, we really had a solid foundation of targets to work with. The game was well recognized among media and influencers which made our review pitching a whole lot easier. We pitched our vetted target list and secured over 100, yes 100!, media and influencer review key requests. The stage was set and NSR was ready for the show.
Our coverage embargo lifted, and reviews started pouring in, with 59 reviews and counting. No Straight Roads had quite the journey over the past few years and the game’s launch was timed perfectly. We took every opportunity we had to get the game in front of media and influencers and in turn, secured a compilation of articles that’s almost too large to count. You can check out our top placements below:
