The Short Game

Speed Dating for Ghosts seems at first like a riff on the comedic-dating-sim-adventure-game in the vein of Dream Daddy or Monster High, but this short narrative game doesn’t ever do quite what you’d expect. Get to know a cast of 9 ghosts (plus extras!), each of whom has a story to tell. Some funny, some sad, and some just downright strange things happen as you date these spirits. Recently released...

Guildlings is a charming mobile-first adventure RPG set in “a world of wizards and wifi.” We’ll be scribbling bad fan art of the characters in this Apple Arcade adventure for a long time. Guildlings is exclusive to Apple Arcade, and is playable across all Arcade platforms. Expect it to take around 5 hours to complete, with additional chapters coming as soon as summer of 2020. The Short Game is sup...

This week we’re discussing Wide Ocean Big Jacket, a story-game camping trip, from developer Turnfollow and publisher Tender Claws. Mord and her boyfriend Ben are on their first camping trip together (like, together together) accompanied by Mord’s uncle Brad and aunt Cloanne. From MEAN TEENS to birdwatching, this game was Short Game bait, and clocks in at 60-90 minutes, or as the developers describ...

Shane and Laura take the podcast where it’s never dared to go… up off of the couch! Ring Fit Adventure for the Nintendo Switch is yet another Nintendo attempt at a fitness game, but it falls much farther on the “game” side of the line than past offerings. Laura and Shane have both been playing the game for a few weeks, and discuss how it’s transformed their approach to exercise. The Short Game is...

Kentucky Route Zero, both the game and this episode, have been a long time coming. With the 5th act of the long in-development magical realist adventure game finally coming on January 28th, we decided it was time to cover this frequently requested game. We played and discuss the first two acts, with plans to cover the remainder of the game after the release of chapter 5. The Short Game is supporte...

This week we’re breaking from our usual format to discuss the 2010s, and the arc that indie games (and gaming generally) have taken through the decade. The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Discord, where we discuss games, plan episodes, and talk about what we are playing in real time. You can also support us by writing a review...

As Nate put it, Katana Zero is a game that really goes for it. It goes for ALL of it. Incredible high speed acrobatic melee combat. Clever time-manipulation mechanics. A dialogue system that lets you literally slice through your opponent’s words with your sword. All of this, in service of a story that, well… let’s just say it prompted a very spirited discussion both before and after our spoiler br...

2019 was a divided year in so many ways, so perhaps we should have expected a stalemate when picking a Short Game of the Year. All four hosts run down our exceedingly divergent Short-GOTY picks while also calling out other games we loved in 2019. We also include some listener picks from our Patreon supporters! 00:00:00: Introduction 00:03:58: Raygan’s List 00:25:53: Shane’s List 00:43:35: Nate’s L...

The Detective is back in his second mysterious adventure! We covered the first Frog Detective game earlier this year, and now we’re back with his most intriguing case yet. The Frog Detective games are really warm and funny, and we think they’d be great to play with a young relative during the holidays. We spend the first half of the episode talking about Frog Detective 2, and the second half talki...

Outer Wilds is a bit longer than the games we typically cover, but it was such a surprise favorite that we had to talk about it on the podcast before the end of the year. In Outer Wilds you play as an astronaut exploring his tiny solar system and uncovering the mysteries of the vanished species that came before. It’s a game that does exploration and discovery in a way I’ve never seen before. Becau...

Bleak Sword is a dark fantasy action game with 1-bit diorama artwork and brutally difficult combat. It’s a surprise inclusion in the opening volley of Apple Arcade, since it’s tough as nails and doesn’t seem like the typical mobile game fare, even with its excellent touch screen controls. This game really made our $5 subscription feel worth it this month! The Short Game is supported directly by ou...

A lot of developers have tried their hand at a first person physics puzzle game, but not many have put the artistry, innovation, and sheer time into them as William Chyr has put into Manifold Garden. After seven years in development, the game was finally released last month on Epic Game Store and Apple Arcade, and it’s one of the most impressive games we’ve played this year. In Manifold Garden, gr...

This week we’re re-releasing our episode on the best reason to own a 3DS, Link Between Worlds! This was a great episode thanks to guest host Gary Butterfield. Now that Raygan’s move is complete and his mic and computer are unpacked we should be returning to a regular schedule next week. The Short Game is supported directly by our listeners on Patreon! Supporters at any level get access to our Disc...

Fans of John Wick, John Woo, Deadpool and/or Nate and Laura buddy hour — you’re in luck! We’re covering My Friend Pedro this week, a stylish shooter/platformer that prioritizes making you look and feel like a badass. What time is it? Bullet time! My Friend Pedro is available on Windows (Steam, GoG, Humble) and Switch. Regular price is $19.99, and it should take between 4–6 hours to complete depend...

Our third and likely final episode on IFComp 2019 before the comp ends on November 15th. (Get your ratings in!) We covered the following games: 00:03:18: Chuk and the Arena by Agnieszka Trzaska 00:12:32: Remedial Witchcraft by dgtziea 00:20:29: URA Winner! by Carter Sande 00:30:08: Faerethia by Peter Eastman 00:40:16: Each-uisge by Jac Colvin 00:45:33: Saint City Sinners by dgallagher 00:49:22: Po...

What went wrong aboard the low earth orbit space station Observation, and what did you do to cause it? In Observation you’ll play as S.A.M., the AI in charge of maintaining the space station, assisting (or hindering?) Dr. Emma Fisher as she attempts to recover control of the station after a massive and mysterious disaster. This is our Halloween game for the year, and although it’s more of a thrill...

Our second episode covering IFComp 2019. This week we had a lively discussion of 13 games: 00:03:03: Skies Above By Arthur DiBianca 00:10:00: Limerick Heist By Pace Smith 00:17:32: The Legendary Hero Has Failed. by Tom Martin 00:22:04: Lucerne by Dimitri Kaviani 00:24:30: The good people by Pseudavid 00:31:30: Night Guard / Morning Star by Astrid Dalmady 00:36:13: The Surprise by Candy Meldromon 0...

Our 200th episode is a special milestone, and we’re spending it returning to the topic of our very first episode. Gone Home came out in August 2013 (our show started in April 2014) and its influence is still being felt today! We start by patting our selves on the back for keeping the podcast going for over five and a half years, then discuss the game, focusing on its legacy and influence across th...

This is the 25th year of the competition (!!!) and there are a record breaking 82 entries! We’re kicking off our coverage of IFComp 2019 with discussion of the first 8 games we’ve played. Due to travel and other conflicts it’s just Raygan and Laura for this episode, but Shane and Nate will be back next week for our special 200th episode. After that we’ll be continuing our IFComp coverage with two...

Suddenly this horrible goose is all anyone is talking about. Untitled Goose Game, developed by House House and published by Panic, is a game about being a horrible goose and causing trouble for everyone you meet for no reason other than f**k you I’m a goose. We have brought friend of the show and bird correspondent Mark Bramhill back on the show to discuss this great game and terrible, terrible bi...

Simogo is a legendary developer on iOS. We’ve covered their work in the past, especially the stunning Year Walk. Sayonara Wild Hearts is a big departure from their previous games. Get a load of this marketing copy: Sayonara Wild Hearts is a dreamy arcade game about riding motorcycles, skateboarding, dance battling, shooting lasers, wielding swords, and breaking hearts at 200 mph. As the heart of a...

Marketed as a “pinbrawler” or top-down, pinball-inspired, hack-and-slash dungeon crawler, Creature in the Well seems designed to appeal to Raygan’s specific tastes. It’s tough as nails, and occasionally frustrating, but this is a truly unique game that manages to follow through on its strange promise of injecting pinball (or break-out) mechanics into the tried and true action RPG formula. Creature...

Hot on the heels of last week’s episode on Telling Lies, we’re covering another FMV game. This week it’s Erica, a surprise release from British developer Flavourworks and published as a PS4 exclusive by Sony Entertainment. It was both announced and released in a surprise presentation at Gamescom this year. Erica uses beautifully shot full motion video and Telltale-style interactions to tell a stor...

Telling Lies is Sam Barlow’s long awaited follow up to Her Story . Similarly to that game you’re acting as an investigator, searching through a database of video evidence, experiencing a story through out of sequence full motion video, but Telling Lies takes the format to a new level of polish, with high production values and a large cast of talented actors. Rater than focusing on a single charact...

A few months ago we finally covered Anodyne , an indie developers Sean Han Tani and Marina Kittaka. Now it’s sequel is here, and it’s a massive step forward. Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is a sequel in the Final Fantasy tradition, where no characters, story, or world is shared between the games, and they can be played in any order. This new game pushes the themes and gameplay of the first game forwar...