The Short Game

Quadrilateral Cowboy is the long awaited new game from Brendan Chung and Blendo Games. Its precursor Thirty Flights of Loving was a brief, carefully edited story of crime and romance, but felt like more of a narrative experiment than a full game. Quadrilateral Cowboy expands that concept into a full fledged narrative driven heist game. The setting, a retro-futuristic alternate 1980s that Brendan C...

We’re looking back to the 90s this week as we discuss Sega Genesis brawler Streets of Rage 2. Links for this episode: Streets of Rage 2 on Steam 3D Streets of Rage 2 for Nintendo 3DS Yuzo Koshiro – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia DATA005: Streets of Rage 2 – DATA DISCS You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week w...

The latest (second) game from Limbo developers Playdead games is finally here. Inside initially seems like more Limbo; a puzzle platformer. A mysterious, unsettling story told wordlessly, featuring a young boy exploring a spooky environment. If you’re looking for more Limbo you’ll find it here, but Inside quickly begins surprising you with new ideas and beautiful animation. Over its 4-5 hour run t...

This week we discussed Wheels of Aurelia by developers Santa Ragione. Though technically still in beta, Wheels of Aurelia is a complete experience that expertly blends a driving game with a focus on characters through the use of a interactive fiction. As their website says, “Based on your choices – and the places you’ll decide to visit – you may end up in car chases, illegal street races, or in te...

Can it really be two years since our last board game special ?! This week we’re rounding up the board and card games we’ve been enjoying when not playing short video games. Join us as we talk about that other gaming hobby! Games and links mentioned on this episode: The 2015 Good Gift Games – The Morning News Marrying Mr. Darcy – the Card Game – Home Actualol – YouTube Shut Up & Sit Down – YouT...

As we did in 2014 and 2015 , we’ve checked out this year’s Apple Design Award winning games, and we’re back to talk about what they say about iOS as a gaming platform today and in the years to come. This year’s winners: Chameleon Run Lara Croft GO INKS Student Winners: Linum Dividr Also mentioned on this episode: Shadowmatic Crossy Road – Endless Arcade Hopper Does not Commute Downwell The Executi...

Expand is an innovative, difficult to classify game about navigating a circular maze that shifts and expands in response to your movement. It’s a really special experience and we highly recommend it. Expand is available for Mac, PC, and Linux on Itch.io and on Steam for $6, or $10 with the soundtrack. You’ll want that soundtrack, it’s great. Expect it to take about 4 hours to complete. Links for t...

This week we’re talking about Human Resource Machine from The Tomorrow Corporation. The makers of Short Game favorites Little Inferno and World of Goo have returned last year with a game that is completely different from either of those. It’s a puzzle game in which you use basic programming to solve simple math problems, but we swear it’s more fun that that might make it sound! If you missed Human...

This week we are exploring the insanely varied world of indie game marketplace itch.io . Each of our hosts spent $5 on itch and played two or three games from a variety of vibrant micro-indie creators. If you’re not familiar with Itch.io, it’s most easily summed up as “bandcamp for video games.” Anyone can post their work on Itch and create a custom store page to tell their story. Creators set pri...

This week we played the infamously short game The Order: 1886. Can time (and bargain bin pricing) redeem this beautiful flop? The claws come out as out panel debates the good, the bad, and the artfully blurry of this Playstation exclusive third person shooter. The Order is available physically or on PSN for $20 regular price, exclusively for PS4. Expect it to take between 7 and 10 hours to complet...

This week we’re talking about Warbits, the long awaited iPhone game that captures the feeling (and many of the specific mechanics) of the popular portable turn based strategy Advance Wars. We discuss what makes Warbits so addictive, how it draws inspiration from its predecessors, and how it stakes out its own territory. We also talk about some of our other favorite asynchronous multiplayer games....

This week we discuss Telltale’s mystery/noire adventure set in the Fables comic book universe, The Wolf Among Us . Released episodically starting in October 2013, this was Telltale’s follow-up to The Walking Dead. Now that the game has been out for more than two years (and ported to no less than nine platforms including PC/Mac, consoles, and iOS) we revisit this great story that many people (inclu...

Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP celebrated its 5th anniversary recently, and we’re looking back at its art and influence. If you missed this game when it first launched on the iPad now is a great time to play it as it has since launched on iPhone, Android, and Steam (PC, Mac, and Linux.) Put on your best headphones and settle in for a memorable groove experience. SS&S EP is an unconventi...

This week Laura and Raygan briefly discuss ghostly postage, haunted mansions, and cleansing clerics. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is our main topic. It’s the fourth game in a series of short metroidvanias, but it doesn’t require knowledge of the other four to enjoy. Expect it to take about five hours to complete. Momodora: RUtM is available on Steam (Windows only) for $9.99. Bombservice M...

We’re all game devs this week as we discuss Kairosoft’s Game Dev Story. This early iPhone game was recently updated for newer devices, and the it’s as strange and inexplicably fun as it was in 2010. Game Dev Story is available for iOS and Android for $4.99. It features no in-app purchase of any kind. Expect it to take around five hours to complete a career. Links for this episode: Game Dev Story –...

Assault Android Cactus is a fast paced arcade inspired twin-stick shooter that pits a cast of heavily armed androids against wave after wave of killer robots. We missed this overlooked this gem on Steam, but now that it’s out on PS4 we put it through its paces, both in single player and couch co-op. Expect the campaign mode to take three to five hours to complete. The Infinity Dive, Daily Dive, an...

This is a weird one! Jazzpunk is comedy adventure game with a Dadaist bent developed by indie duo Necrophone Games and published by Adult Swim . It was released in February 2014 on Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux, and it’s coming soon to the PS4. Live action Jazzpunk trailer from Adult Swim You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame See our list of upcoming games, and make suggestions. . Like...

Until Dawn is a 2015 horror-movie-styled adventure game for the Playstation 4 from relatively unknown developer Supermassive Games . It’s unusual for being a “Triple-A” adventure game, exclusive to the PS4 and with a duration of only around 8 hours. Guide a group of teens through a dangerous array of horror movie tropes! Horror movie fans will find a lot to love here but reactions to the game have...

Superhot is a first person shooter where time only moves when you do. That’s the elevator pitch that launched the original version of Superhot from a 2013 7 Day FPS game jam contender to an internet darling and Kickstarter success. Three(ish) years later, the full game is out on Steam and Xbox One. Does its clever but simple premise stand up as a larger game? You have to check out this game. It’s...

Firewatch is a narrative first-person mystery game set in a the Wyoming wilderness. It blends the storytelling of “walking simulators” like Gone Home with the narrative dialogue of Telltale adventure gamesgames (and indeed it is written by Sean Vanaman, the writer of Telltale’s Walking Dead.) It’s very, very good. Before the spoiler break (at 29 minutes) we discuss the game’s stunning visuals cour...

Oxenfree is the first game from Night School Studio , a team with roots at Telltale and Disney. Dialogue takes center stage here, as a bunch of teenagers set off to spend the night on an island that is home to an old military outpost, in a story with equal measures of supernatural horror and teen adventure nostalgia. Before the spoiler break we discuss the game’s excellent dialogue and painterly a...

In Tharsis, you command the crew of the badly damaged Mars mission Iktomi, scrambling to keep the ship’s systems active and the crew alive. In form it’s closer to a solo board game than a typical video game, with on-screen dice and lots of information and resources. Reviews have been divided, with some loving the game’s take on board game mechanics and others being turned away by the game’s punish...

Birds. Nature’s weirdest dudes. This week, we date birds, we defend birds in court, we shoot birds, and we… I guess birds eat bread right? We’re talking rounding up four games that for whatever reason we didn’t feel like doing a full episode on, which all conveniently follow a theme. Hatoful Boyfriend Aviary Attorney Duck Game I am Bread We also talk about our favorite birds from all of video game...

Journey by thatgamecompany and designer Jenova Chen is the game most often suggested to us by listeners, and for good reason. This 2 to 3 hour wordless game experience changed the critical landscape when it launched on the PS3 in 2012, and it continues to be a touchstone for gamers of all sorts. Some of our hosts are returning to this game and others are completely new to it. Journey is available...

Laura and Raygan discuss Cibele by Nina Freeman and Star Maid Games. Autobiographical and naturalistic to a fault, Cibele tells the story of game designer Nina’s first romance (?) with a boy she meets in an online game. Cibele is one of the most personal and authentic stories we’ve ever seen in a video game and it’s appeared on several best of 2015 lists. This game isn’t for everyone, and our reac...