Night in the Woods is an story-focused adventure game that follows college dropout Mae Borowski as she comes home to distressed mining town Possum Springs and tries to reconnect with her family and friends. It’s a wonderfully written and animated story with tons of variety in the gameplay. Also, everyone is a talking animal.

Stick around after the spoiler break (at 45:28) for a discussion of the game’s themes and politics, as well as the ending and memorable story beats.

Night in the Woods is available for PS4, and on Mac/Windows/Linux via Steam and itch.io for $19.99. Expect it to take around 6 to 8 hours to complete.

This week we also have an after-show (at 01:12:00) discussion of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a decidedly not-short game.

Links for this episode:

• Late Night Work Club
• @bombsfall on Twitter: “should be mentioned that the only NITW character with a canon voice/affect is Gregg. he’s the guy with the glasses. https://t.co/pteh6ncYkX”
• Scott Benson on Curious Cat
• Multi-album soundtrack by Alec Holowka available on BandCamp

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

Linelight is a minimalistic puzzle game from Brett Taylor and his one-man development studio My Dog Zorro. It’s an action puzzle game distilled down to an incredibly streamlined form. We discuss what makes this deceptively simple puzzle game so engaging and even emotional.

Linelight is $9.99 on Steam and Playstation 4. Expect it to take less than five hours to complete.

Links for this episode:

• Linelight on Steam
• Linelight on Playstation 4
• 90: Expand – The Short Game
• Linelight Lavaboard mode announcement
• Flywrench | Messhof
• SOFT BODY
• 74: Bird Week! – The Short Game
• The Short Game’s brand new Twitch channel

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

2064: Read Only Memories is a cyberpunk visual novel adventure game from Midboss, the same diverse team behind the GaymerX convention and Gaming in Color, a documentary about LGBTQ people and themes in gaming. Originally released in 2015 as just “Read Only Memories” the new title indicates an updated version that adds all-star voice acting to this 8 hour dialogue-heavy experience. The art is stylish and the characters are cute and appealing, but how is the game?

2064: Read Only Memories is available on Steam (Mac and Windows) and PS4, with PS Vita and mobile versions coming later this year. It’s usually priced at $19.99 but as of this writing it’s also available in the Humble Freedom Bundle. Expect it to take roughly 8 hours to complete.

• 2064: Read Only Memories
• 2064: Read Only Memories on Steam
• 2064: Read Only Memories on PS4
• MidBoss

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

With the English language release of Puyo Puyo Tetris right around the corner (alongside the Nintendo Switch) we take the opportunity to nerd out about our shared love of Puyo popping, the history of the Puyo Puyo series, and the head-to-head puzzle game genre generally. We also talk a bit about our thoughts on the Nintendo Switch itself.

Links for this episode:

• Hardcore Gaming 101: Puyo Puyo
• Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters – YouTube
• Tetris – Wikipedia
• Puyo Puyo Tetris – Wikipedia
• Puzzle League (series) – Wikipedia
• Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo – Wikipedia
• Tumblestone

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

The Room series is one of the best selling short game franchises on iOS, known for its beautiful animation and tactile mechanics. Each of the three entries expands on the physical puzzle theme, moving from single boxes in Room One to the multi-room Myst-like mansion of The Room Three.

Nate, Shane, and Laura talk about what it means to solve a physical puzzle on a touchscreen, and what we love and hate about the genre in general. We also talk a little bit about our experience with in-person “escape the room” games: one of us ran a bar and another destroyed Chicago.

The Room and its two sequels are available for iOS and Android. The Room and The Room Two are also available on Windows via Steam. Each title is usually priced at $4.99 and take about two to five hours to complete.

• The Room •
• The Room Two •
• The Room Three •

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
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane

Pony Island is two-and-a-half hours of puzzles and surprises. Don’t be put off by its retro-glitch aesthetic or its apparent self-satisfied transgressiveness. Once you break through its shell you’ll find a rapid-fire series of clever ideas.

Pony Island is available on Steam for Windows and Mac for $4.99. Expect it to take about 2.5 hours to complete. A hidden ending is available for completionists. Expect that path to take about five hours.

Links for this episode:

• Pony Island
• Pony Island on Steam
• Polybius (video game) – Wikipedia
• Humble Overwhelmingly Positive Bundle – Humble Bundle

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

Couch co-op comes to the kitchen this week as we talk about Overcooked, a culinary party game from Ghost Town Games. Overcooked was one of the most talked about local multiplayer experiences of 2016 so we’re happy to make it our first game of 2017.

Each game of Overcooked takes only a few minutes, and a pair of dedicated chefs can tackle its co-op campaign mode in around six hours. Overcooked is available on Steam for Windows as well as on PS4 and Xbox One. It’s also available on physical disc for both consoles.

Links for this episode:

• Gamasutra – Game Design Deep Dive: Building truly cooperative play in Overcooked
• The Short Game 23: Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons
• Cook, Serve, Delicious! | The most intense cooking game ever made.

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
• Shane Kelly – @8bitShane
• Raygan Kelly – @raygank

Recorded and edited just before we drop the guillotine on 2016, it’s our Short Game game of the year round up! Stick around for some gaming memories of 2017, and a drunken message of hope for 2017 from Shane. See you next year!

Fifth Place:

• Thumper
• Hyper Light Drifter
• Severed

Fourth Place:

• Abzû

Third Place:

• SUPERHOT

Second Place:

• Firewatch

Game of the Year 2016:

• Inside

Past GOTY episodes:

• 70: Game of the Year 2015 – The Short Game
• 29: Game of the Year – The Short Game

Some runner-ups:

• Pocket Card Jockey
• Reign
• Virginia

Virginia is a “first person interactive drama” that tells a mysterious story of an FBI agent on her first. It’s most notable for its unusual editing style, inspired by film and the game Thirty Flights of Loving. It’s also one of the most critically controversial games of the year. Some reviewers showered it in praise (Time Magazine included it on its Game of the Year list 2016) while others dismissed it or gave it poor reviews. (Its Steam user reviews have trended from Mixed to Negative.)

Raygan loved this game, Laura hated it, and Nate and Shane fell somewhere in between. One of our most interesting discussions in a while! Stick around after the spoiler break at 37:33 for a discussion of the mysteries and symbols of the game.

Virginia is available on Steam as well as PS4 and Xbox One for $9.99. Expect it to take an hour and a half to two 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

Severed is a dungeon crawling touch-based action RPG by Guacamelee! developer Drinkbox Studios. First released as a Playstation Vita exclusive, it has since been released on iOS, Android, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U. (We suggest the iOS or Vita versions.) It’s a worthy follow-up to Guacamelee (though very different!) and an all around great game that will take you 7 to 9 hours to complete.

• Severed – Drinkbox Studios
• Severed Announce Trailer – YouTube
• 37: Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition – The Short Game

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