A Dark Room is one of the most celebrated mobile games of all time, and one of the most memorable games we’ve covered on The Short Game. It’s just been ported to Nintendo Switch in a new and enhanced version. We’re re-releasing our 2014 episode on A Dark Room, also enhanced with an all new intro!

A Dark Room is a game with many surprising twists and turns, so we have a fairly early spoiler break at 00:24:00.

A Dark Room began as a web game, and you can still find that version online, but it really came to life on mobile. You can find A Dark Room on iOS, Android, and now Nintendo Switch.

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame

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Your hosts this week were:

• Raygan Kelly – @raygank
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane
• Nate Heininger – @natestl
• Laura Nash – @laurajnash

Anodyne by developers Sean Han Tani and Marina Kittaka is something we’ve been meaning to cover for a very long time. Originally released in February 2013 (early days of the indie game boom), it’s taken this surreal Zelda-like over six years to get a console release. Now that it’s available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, and on the eve of the release of its sequel, Laura and Raygan visit Anodyne to see how it stands the test of time.

Anodyne is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as iOS, Android, PS4 and Nintendo Switch, for $9.99. Expect it to take around 10 hours to complete.

Links for This Episode:

• Anodyne
• Iwata Asks – The History of Handheld The Legend of Zelda Games
• Steam Community :: Guide :: A complete guide to Anodyne’s 100%
• Apollo astronauts left their poop on the moon. NASA ought to go back for that shit. – Vox
• Hi Score Girl | Netflix Official Site

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

Game Is Good! This week we’re discussing the award winning puzzle game Baba Is You, from Finnish developer Hempuli Oy. In this mind- (and rule-bending) puzzle game, each Sokoban-style level is governed by a unique set of simply stated rules (Baba Is You, Block Is Push, Flag Is Win etc) each of which is represented by a set of physical rule-objects that can be pushed around and manipulated within the game. Each level involves re-working the rules to create a win-condition. It’s one of the most interesting puzzle games we’ve ever covered on the show.

Baba Is You is available on Switch and pretty much all of the PC game stores including Itch.io, for $15.

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

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

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

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

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

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