The Short Game

A violent instrument plays jazz of rage and sorrow on this week’s Short Game. Ape Out is an intense top-down musical beat-em-up from developer Gabe Cuzzillo. We discuss the game’s "virtual drummer" reactive music and Saul Bass inspired art style, and we hear a LOT from Nate about Star Trek: Deep Space 9’s Vic Fontaine. Ape Out is available for Windows (Steam, GOG, The Humble Store, and Itch.io) and Nintendo Switch for $15. Expect it to take around 5-6 hours to complete. You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitShane Nate Heininger – @natestl Laura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Ape Out (46:45) - Spoiler Break (49:34) - Conclusion (Spoilers Done) (52:35) - What’s Making Us Happy (52:43) - Shane - Galaga (54:29) - Nate - Vic Fontaine (01:00:20) - Raygan - Costco, I Guess? (01:02:02) - Laura - The Magicians Season 4 (01:02:52) - Outro

Arcade games are the ultimate short games, and the Nintendo Switch is home to what might be the largest library of arcade game ports of any current generation console. In this special episode we discuss the state of retro arcade game ports on the Switch while sharing our arcade memories, and a few game suggestions. Raygan has compiled a complete list of every arcade game currently available on the switch, and published it as a Medium post. Check out the complete list and let us know which are your favorites, and if we missed anything! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitShane Nate Heininger – @natestl Laura Nash – @laurajnash (00:00) - Intro and Arcade Experiences (14:35) - The Nintendo Switch - The Best Console For Arcade Games? (21:01) - City Connection (34:09) - Twinkle Star Sprites (37:28) - 2020 Super Baseball (53:16) - Outrun (01:02:58) - Rapid Fire Recommendations By Genre (01:15:34) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week (01:15:45) - Shane’s D&D Big Bad (01:16:33) - Taskmaster (01:18:28) - Berry Chantilly Cake (01:19:54) - Pizza Techniques (01:21:11) - Outro

It’s good to have Frendts. This time the Short Game is playing The Gardens Between, a time-reversing adventure puzzle game from developer The Voxel Agents. Expect The Gardens Between to take 2 – 4 hours to complete, depending on "puzzle solving confidence". It’s available on Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC/Mac/Linux, for $19.99. What’s making us happy this week? Laura: @DancerOnFilm on Twitter Nate: Yoga With Adriene Raygan: The Denver Public Library Shane: Umbrella Academy on Netflix You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Nate Heininger – @natestl Laura Nash – @laurajnash Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitShane (00:00) - The Gardens Between (38:44) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week? (39:12) - Laura - @DancerOnFilm (41:40) - Nate - Yoga With Adriene (46:41) - Raygan - Denver Public Library (48:07) - Shane - Umbrella Academy on Netflix (56:43) - Outro

In this special Valentines episode of The Short Game we’re discussing Monster Prom, the monster dating party game from Beautiful Glitch. It’s a mad dash to date the hottest monsters and get a date to prom while screwing over your friends. Monster Prom can be played solo but works best as a multiplayer party game for two to four players. Each game takes from 45 to 90 minutes depending on number of players and your choice of short or long game modes, and there are hundreds of events to discover so each time through should be different. The game is $12 on Windows, Mac, and Linux (Steam). What’s Making Us Happy This Week? Laura: Moami’s Songs That Get Europeans Screaming Twitter Thread Spotify Playlist Raygan: Apex Legends and The Fantod Pack Nate: Buying a House! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Laura Nash – @laurajnash Nate Heininger – @natestl (00:00) - Monster Prom (38:00) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week? (38:12) - Laura - Moami's Songs that Get Europeans Screaming (a Spotify playlist) (40:15) - Raygan - Apex Legends & The Fantod Pack (46:10) - Nate - I Bought A House (47:11) - Outro

The best legs in video games are on display as we tippy-tap our way through Pikuniku. This three hour puzzle-adventure is out now on Switch and PC/Mac from developer Sectordub and publisher Devolver Digital. Pikuniku – Launch Trailer – Nintendo Switch – YouTube The First 12 Minutes of Pikuniku Gameplay – YouTube What’s Making Us Happy This Week? Nate: Kehinde Wiley Laura: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Raygan: Full Strength Beer You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Laura Nash – @laurajnash Nate Heininger – @natestl (02:23) - The Best Legs In Gaming (10:24) - Art Style (13:36) - Puzzle-Adventure-Kicking-Story (21:31) - Collecting and Mini-games (30:20) - Platforming Challenges (38:03) - “New Game +” (40:39) - Soundtrack (43:27) - Co-Op (50:17) - Some Nitupikus (53:49) - Wrap Up (55:54) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week (56:14) - Nate: Kehinde Wiley (58:44) - Laura: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (01:01:21) - Raygan: Full Strength Beer

GRIS is a beautifully animated and colorful game about a girl on a journey through grief. The artwork is absolutely top tier, while the gameplay is presented without challenge or danger making the game extremely accessible. Do we have to be moved by this game if it to be a success? Is it okay to be kind of empty if it’s beautiful enough? GRIS is available on Nintendo Switch and Steam. Expect it to take about three hours to complete. You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Laura Nash – @laurajnash Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitShane (40:50) - x

After a delay in recording due to Raygan’s daughter being born (what a sorry excuse!) we are back with our Game of the Year episode for 2018! It’s been a great year for short games, so the deliberations were fierce. Join us for the results! Thank you for supporting the show in 2018. We have an exciting year ahead of us in 2019 and we hope you’ll join us! If you like the show, spread the word, and let us know what short games you’re interested in for 2019! 00:00:00: Intro – BOTY 2018 00:04:13: A Great Year For Short Games 00:05:57: GOTY 2018: Celeste 00:15:24: The Rest Of The Top 5 00:16:31: Into The Breach 00:25:32: Minit 00:29:32: Return Of The Obra Dinn 00:36:23: Wandersong 00:41:18: Personal Picks 00:41:43: Shane’s Pick – The Tetris Effect 00:44:29: Nate’s Pick – Guacamelee 2 00:46:14: Raygan’s Pick – Yoku’s Island Express 00:49:49: Laura’s Pick – Gris 00:52:12: Best Soundtracks 00:57:37: Dirtbag Of The Year 00:59:18: VR Game Of The Year 01:01:46: Not Short Games Of The Year 01:10:55: Looking Forward To 2019 01:17:20: Outro You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Laura Nash – @laurajnash Shane Kelly – @8bitshane Nate Heininger – @natestl (00:00) - Intro - BOTY 2018 (04:13) - A Great Year For Short Games (05:57) - GOTY 2018: Celeste (15:24) - The Rest Of The Top 5 (16:31) - Into The Breach (25:32) - Minit (29:32) - Return Of The Obra Dinn (36:23) - Wandersong (41:18) - Personal Picks (41:43) - Shane’s Pick - The Tetris Effect (44:29) - Nate’s Pick - Guacamelee 2 (46:14) - Raygan’s Pick - Yoku’s Island Express (49:49) - Laura’s Pick - Gris (52:12) - Best Soundtracks (57:37) - Dirtbag Of The Year (59:18) - VR Game Of The Year (01:01:46) - Not Short Games Of The Year (01:10:55) - Looking Forward To 2019 (01:17:20) - Outro

The Obra Dinn was lost at sea along with all its cargo and 60 crew members. Suddenly the ship has reappeared, but what became of the crew? In this intricate mystery deduction game you’ll use a mysterious pocket watch to see the moment of each crew member’s death and try to reconstruct each of their fates. Return of the Obra Dinn is available for Windows and Mac on Steam, Humble, and GOG for $19.99. Expect it to take around 10 hours to complete, unless you’re some kind of puzzle wizard. Note: Due to a technical issue Laura’s direct mic recording was lost for this episode. Apologies for the reduced audio quality. Return of the Obra Dinn Return of the Obra Dinn dev-log On TIGSource Lucas Pope on his dithering technique Return of the Obra Dinn – Hint / Nudge Guide You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Laura Nash – @laurajnash Nate Heininger – @natestl Shane Kelly – @8bitshane (00:19) - Return Of The Obra Dinn (13:03) - Dithering (20:41) - Why Did This Game Work!? (38:48) - Spoiler Free Tips (46:31) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week (46:58) - Ultrawings (54:12) - The Sound Of Music Sing Along (58:07) - Playing Horror Games Like An Idiot (01:02:46) - Katamari Reroll (01:05:53) - Outro (01:10:34) - Spoiler Break

The Tetris Effect is the latest music/puzzle/synesthesia experience from legendary game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Shane spends most of this episode mercilessly clowning on me for my Tetris skills while we discuss the benefits playing Tetris in veeeeee arrrrrr. Tetris effect – Wikipedia Tetsuya Mizuguchi – Wikipedia Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters (2011) – IMDb The Story of Tetris | Gaming Historian – YouTube A conversation with Tetsuya Mizuguchi and more in Episode 112 | Retronauts FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: War of the Lions on the App Store Etrata, the Silencer (Guilds of Ravnica) – Gatherer – Magic: The Gathering You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitshane (01:17) - The Story Of Tetris (07:34) - Tetsuya Mizuguchi (08:33) - PSVR (12:45) - The Tetris Effect (18:29) - Wait, What Is The Zone Meter? (23:28) - Playing With And Without VR (33:02) - Tetris For Forty Damn Dollars In 2018 (34:59) - Raygan Is Still A Tetris Idiot (37:37) - “Okay, Here’s How To Play Tetris” (42:05) - Other Modes (44:01) - Favorite Songs/Levels (49:53) - PSVR: Better Than The Sega 32X (53:41) - What’s Making Us Happy This Week (54:11) - Final Fantasy Tactics: War Of The Lions (58:38) - Etrata, the Silencer (01:02:17) - Outro

IFComp 2018 is nearing its conclusion, so it’s time for a few last games! On this episode we discussed: 00:02:09 The Origin of Madame Time by Mathbrush 00:12:01 Terminal Interface for Models RCM301-303 by VigiMech Corporation 00:26:04 Polish the Glass by Keltie Wright 00:33:27 Campfire Tales by Matthew Deline 00:36:18 They Will Not Return by John Ayliff 00:38:09 smooch.click by Devon Guinn 00:43:12 Awake by Soham Sevak 00:46:40 Urs by Christopher Hayes and Daniel Talsky Be sure to vote by the November 15th deadline! You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this week were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitshane Nate Heininger – @natestl (00:00) - Intro (02:09) - The Origin of Madame Time by Mathbrush (12:01) - Terminal Interface for Models RCM301-303 by VigiMech Corporation (26:04) - Polish the Glass by Keltie Wright (33:27) - Campfire Tales by Matthew Deline (36:18) - They Will Not Return by John Ayliff (38:09) - smooch.click by Devon Guinn (43:12) - Awake by Soham Sevak (46:40) - Ürs by Christopher Hayes and Daniel Talsky (53:40) - Outro