The Short Game

The Itch.io bundle for Ukraine (organized by Necrosoft Games) included a ton of great stuff. We spent some time this week combing through the nearly 1000 games and other works in the bundle, and have come back with a few suggestions! (To browse or filter your bundle games, try https://randombundlegame.com) 00:10:54: Games We Have Previously Covered 00:27:26: Combo Postage 00:32:44: Sunlight 00:35:42: Cecconoid 00:37:55: Cloud Gardens 00:39:00: The Mortician’s Tale 00:42:44: GoNNER 00:46:54: Landlord of the Woods 00:50:25: Welcome to Elk 00:51:50: Death and Taxes 00:54:01: Dépanneur Nocturne 00:55:01: Bard Harder 00:55:43: [SPEER] 00:57:48: Toree 3D and Toree 2 00:59:03: Grapple Force Reina 01:01:07: Dumpy & Bumpy 01:02:52: Kuso: Love 2 01:04:51: ZeroRanger 01:06:44: CrossCode 01:08:16: Outro 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Introduction (10:54) - Games We Have Previously Covered (27:26) - Combo Postage (32:44) - Sunlight (35:42) - Cecconoid (37:55) - Cloud Gardens (39:00) - The Mortician’s Tale (42:44) - GoNNER (46:54) - Landlord of the Woods (50:25) - Welcome to Elk (51:50) - Death and Taxes (54:01) - Dépanneur Nocturne (55:01) - Bard Harder (55:43) - [SPEER] (57:48) - Toree 3D and Toree 2 (59:03) - Grapple Force Reina (01:01:07) - Dumpy & Bumpy (01:02:52) - Kuso: Love 2 (01:04:51) - ZeroRanger (01:06:44) - CrossCode (01:08:16) - Outro

The sequel (or “sister game”) to 2018’s Far: Lone Sails returns us to a world in which driving a train/boat requires an awful lot of running around. 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Introduction (49:27) - What's Making Us Happy This Week? (49:38) - Shane - Elden Ring (53:59) - Nate - Settlers of Catan Mobile (58:34) - Raygan - Bundle for Ukraine (01:06:45) - Laura - Theater Friend Gossip (01:15:03) - Spoiler Break

A world in which dodgeball is the solution (and cause) of every problem! Dodgeball Academia is a somewhat overlooked sports RPG released in 2021 for PC and consoles (and included in Game Pass), and we had a lot of fun with it! We all stan Baloony. 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Dodgeball Academia (53:54) - What's Making Us Happy This Week (54:01) - Laura - Snacking Cakes (58:32) - Raygan - Bulk Chocolate (01:06:19) - Nate - Skiing (01:08:48) - Outro

We’re taking a break from our regular format this week and doing an all What’s Making Us Happy This Week episode. First, Shane talks about the out-of-the-box experience of his new Quest 2 VR headset, and Laura talks about her return to the Xbox family after a generation away.  After the hardware talk, Raygan embarrasses himself by recommending some anime, Shane talks about Guillermo del Toro‘s latest movie Nightmare Alley, and Laura recommends some TV shows. We’ll be back to our regular format next week with Dodgeball Academia, and then with some of the games you voted on in our upcoming episode poll. 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Intro (02:34) - Quest 2 VR (30:29) - Xbox Series S (aka The Game Pass Box ) (47:32) - Raygan’s Recent Anime Recommendations (01:05:30) - Nightmare Alley (01:16:10) - Laura's TV Recommendations (01:22:36) - Outro

Webbed from Sbug Games is a puzzle platformer starring a charming little spider on a quest to save her boyfriend. It has incredible movement and webbing mechanics, and fantastic animation (all those legs!) but suffers from some early game pacing issues. We discuss why we loved the game, and how to get past some of the early game hurdles and into the fun stuff quickly. 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Webbed (01:01:34) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week? (01:01:38) - Laura - Normal Gossip (01:04:26) - Raygan - Synology NAS (01:08:39) - Shane - Kamigawa Neon Dynasty (01:14:19) - Outro

The biggest surprise of Wonder Labyrinth is that it was made at all. Team Ladybug‘s 5-10 hour Symphony of the Night clone inspired game is based on a nearly forgotten early anime property, yet released in the year 2021. If you ignore the minimal but mostly unintelligible story content, this is a really good metroidvania in the direct lineage of the Koji Igarashi Castlevanias. It’s available on Windows, Switch, PS4/5, and Xbox One/Series, and is included in Game Pass. 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash

ElecHead is a little robot with a high voltage head. Touch any surface to electrify it, or throw your head to electrify things at a distance, but pick it up in 10 seconds or explode! That’s the whole premise of this clever and breezy puzzle platformer from Japanese indie dev NamaTakahasi. Stick around after for one of my favorite ”What’s Making Us Happy This Week” segments in a while 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Introduction (36:43) - What's Making Us Happy This Week (36:48) - Laura - Music Recommendations (39:42) - Nate - More Music Recommendations, Yoga with Adrian (43:07) - Raygan - Combo Postage Winter Update (47:14) - Shane - AstroJax

Tux & Fanny began as a 2019 film by Albert Birney, released in parts on Instagram and as a feature-length film on Vimeo. Barney has since developed the idea into a video game that mixes the quirky oddness of the film with an almost bottomless well of lavish but incongruous inclusions. Full of delightful one-time throwaway mechanics and unnecessarily fleshed out mini-games, Tux and Fanny begins as a parody (?) of traditional point and click adventure games, but ends up something completely different and unique. Tux & Fanny is available on Nintendo Switch and for Mac/PC on itch.io, for $10. Expect it to take around 6-8 hours to complete, but if you decide to read the unabridged copy of Moby Dick included in the game it could be a bit longer. 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Tux & Fanny (57:51) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week? (58:04) - Nate - Central Heating (01:00:38) - Raygan - Tetris Micro Arcade (01:04:01) - Laura - Poppy Manicure Tool (01:08:17) - Outro

This week we’re talking about Sable, a long-in-development open world coming-of-age story set on a beautiful but desolate alien planet. Afterward, in the What’s Making Us Happy segment, Shane has very bad opinions about the execrable M. Night Shyamalan movie Old. 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygankShane Kelly – @8bitShane (00:00) - Sable (46:21) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week? (01:00:16) - Outro

Word games are ubiquitous, and almost universally short, but most are too slight to make for a full Short Game episode. This week we’re starting by discussing the virally popular Wordle, then moving on to talk about our favorite word games over the years. For Patrons, check the Patreon exclusive feed for a separate recording of Nate and Laura playing Shane’s “Guessing Game!” 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 on Apple Podcasts! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Your hosts this week were: Shane Kelly – @8bitShaneNate Heininger – @natestlLaura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Wordle (33:18) - 7 Little Words (35:52) - Codenames (38:47) - Shane’s Guessing Game (43:05) - Puzzlejuice (44:35) - Upwords (49:03) - New York Times Spelling Bee (52:56) - What's Making Us Happy This Week? (53:18) - Shane - Beast Breaker (59:11) - Laura - Moulin Rouge on Broadway (01:02:40) - Nate - Bit Brigade Live Speedrun Soundtracks (01:07:53) - Outro