This week, we talk to the hosts of the incredible retro gaming and game design analysis podcast, Watch Out For Fireballs!

Gary Butterfield and Kole Ross chat with us about how they run their excellent show, and give us their recommendations for short games that have stood out to them in terms of quality. This was a lot of fun.

Links

• Watch Out for Fireballs!
• Portland Retro Gaming Expo – Classic Video Game Convention – Portland, Oregon
• Game Design Companion: A Critical Analysis of Wario Land 4
• Shadowrun: Dragonfall
• Silent Hill HD Collection – Playstation 3
• Our Transistor episode

Check out Watch Out For Fireballs!

Support them on Patreon!

A few notable Episodes:
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
Alpha Protocol
Extrasode 74: Alpha Protocol (With Chris Avellone)

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame

Your hosts this week were:

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

Our guests this week were:

• Gary Butterfield – @GaryBuh
• Kole Ross – @koleross

This week on The Short Game, real life twin brothers Raygan and Shane (plus this other guy) talk about the totally digital brotherhood simulator Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, by Starbreeze Studios. It’s a simple and brisk but really emotionally effecting journey through a fantasy inspired setting. The hook here is the unusual controls; Brothers is a co-op game for one, where you control each brother with one stick of your gamepad. What could be a gimmick is used to great effect, and the game builds a great relationship between its characters over its two-to-three hour runtime.

Availability

We played the game on Windows, but it is available for several platforms:

• On Steam for Windows – $14.99
• On Xbox 360 – $14.99
• On PlayStation 3 – $14.99

Links for this episode:

• Starbreeze Studios
• Josef Fares
• Watch Out For Fireballs!
• Ico – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Bear Hive, Nate’s band
• Watch Out For Fireballs! – a retro video games podcast
• Little Inferno – upcoming game

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame

Your hosts this week were:

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

Year Walk, by Swedish indie developer Simogo, is a haunting combination of adventure, puzzle and horror game mechanics, and explores the dark and fascinating territory of Swedish folklore. Players take the role of Daniel, a young Swede in the 1800s about to undertake a Year Walk, or Årsgång, an elaborate divination practice wherein you must contend with many strange supernatural creatures for a chance at a glimpse of the infinite.

This game is beautiful, and also super creepy. Expect it to take about two hours to complete.

In the pre-show, we Nate tells us about Destiny, and Shane delivers his extensive report on the best roguelike games for iOS.

Availability

Year Walk for iOS
Year Walk Companion for iOS

Year Walk for PC & Mac

Links for this episode

• Destiny
• Our Crypt of the Necrodancer episode
• Wayward Souls for iOS, Android, and coming soon to PC
• 100 Rogues for iOS
• 10000000 for iOS, Android, and Computers (Mac, PC, & Linux)
• Our Apple Design Award Winners 2014 eipside
• Simogo – Wikipedia
• Device 6, also by Simogo
• Beat Sneak Bandit, also by Simogo
• The Sailor’s Dream, Simogo’s next game
• Year Walk Soundtrack by Daniel Olsén – Bandcamp

This week, we cover Early Access game Crypt of the NecroDancer. This bizarre (yet incredibly smooth) blend of the Rogue-like genre with the the rhythm game genre had us swinging our swords to the beat. This is one of our favorite episodes yet.

Returning from our well-received iOS games episode, Laura Nash is here to share her opinions with regular hosts Raygan & Shane, and generally make the show less bad.

As befits a rhythm game, this episode features more music than any previous episode! Enjoy!

Availability

Crypt of the NecroDancer is available exclusively through Steam Early Access. – $14.99

Links for this episode

• Player’s Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons): Amazon.com
• Basic Rules for D&D PDF
• Love Letter | BoardGameGeek
• Coup | BoardGameGeek
• Hanabi | BoardGameGeek
• D&D Lords of Waterdeep for iOS
• Sonic 3 & Knuckles
• The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses: Jesse Schell: 9780123694966: Amazon.com: Books
• Amazon.com: Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation: Blake J. Harris
• Beat Sneak Bandit | Simogo
• Music | Danny Baranowsky
• ‘Splosion Man – Wikipedia
• Sunless Sea · Failbetter Games
• Someone beat Dark Souls using a Rock Band guitar controller | Polygon
  You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame

Your hosts this week were:

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

Welcome to Aristotska. Cause no trouble.

This week on The Short Game, we discuss the weird and thought provoking indie point-and-click “document thriller” Papers, Please. It’s possibly the most unique game we’ve talked about on the show so far. Is it fun? Maybe, sometimes. Is it worth playing? Absolutely.

Availability:

• Humble Indie Bundle 12 – If you act quickly (within about 6 days as of this writing) you can grab Papers, Please along with former episode topics Luftrausers and Gone Home in Humble Indie Bundle 12! There are several real gems in this bundle, do not miss it.
• Steam for Mac, Windows, and Linux – $9.99
• Direct from Developer – $9.99
• Coming soon to PS4 & Vita

Links for this episode:

• D&D Official Homepage | Dungeons & Dragons
• Sega Genesis games on eBay
• Rocket Knight Adventures – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• OpenEmu – Multiple Video Game System for Mac OS X
• Crypt of the NecroDancer
• The Nightmare Cooperative
• Octodad – Loving Father. Caring Husband. Secret Octopus.
• Our Octodad Episode: The Short Game
• Review Of GTA V* | Leigh Alexander
• “Instead of only playing as one gross man who commits crimes and swears a lot, you get to play as three different ones. My press kit says this is a narrative innovation. You can’t be a woman. I could be lazy and say this is because women do not commit crimes or swear and nor should they want to, but instead I’m going to come right out and say it’s misogynistic. What, you want to leave me death threats? Go for it! Games are about feeling powerful, and about you getting your way!”
• GTA: This Is Why We Video Gaming (Song A Day #1718)

You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame

Your hosts this week were:

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

A note to our listeners: This episode will be followed by a one week break as we catch up and prepare for “season two” of The Short Game! We have a lot of great games to discuss in the coming months, and we want to hear from you! Let us know which current or upcoming games you would like to hear about on the show, or send us feedback on Twitter or at our website!

This week, The Short Game plays Tomb Raider.

Tomb Raider, a reboot of the classic action shooter series, was one of the most incredible games of 2013, but many people missed it when it was brand new and for one reason or another still haven’t made time for this great triple-A game. We discuss what makes this game stand out from other third person shooters, from the history of the Tomb Raider franchise, and from games as a whole.

Availability

Tomb Raider is available on essentially every platform you could want:

• Steam for Windows & Mac – $19.99
• PS3
• PS4 (Definitive Edition)
• Xbox 360
• Xbox One (Definitive Edition)

Links for this episode

• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
• Guardian of Light sequel Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris coming ‘soon’ | Polygon
• Uncharted series
• Tomb Raider All Death Scenes (SPOILERS!) – YouTube
• Tomb Raider – TressFX Graphics Comparison (PC)
• Microsoft Admits Xbox’s Rise of the Tomb Raider Exclusive Won’t Last Forever – GameSpot
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End E3 2014 Trailer (PS4)

This week on The Short Game, we discuss our first fighting game! Or is this a fighting game? Wait, what is this exactly?

It’s Nidhogg, a game in which two sabre-wielding duelists with infinite respawns face off in a frenetic, bloody tug of war for the right to throw themselves into the gaping maw of the titular Norse snake god Níðhöggr. Chew on that for a minute.

It’s also an incredibly tight and well designed, yet simple and approachable vs. combat game for two players.

We also have a good chat about Game Center CX and Mega Man II, as well as Civilization Revolution 2 for iOS.

Availability

• Steam for Windows & Mac – $15
• Humble Store with Steam Key (10% goes to charity) – $15
• Coming soon to PS3 & PS4!

Links for this episode

• GameCenter CX – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Gaming CX – GCCX Videos
• Retronauts Volume III Episode 27: Game Center CX
• Mega Man 2 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Sid Meier’s Civilization | Official Civ Site | 2K
• Nidhogg – Official Site
• Níðhöggr – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Evo 2014 Indie Showcase to host Nidhogg, TowerFall and more | Polygon
• South Bay Button Mashers: A Bay Area Video Games Club (Mountain View, CA) – Meetup
• Starwhal: Just the Tip | Home
• No Quarter | NYU | Game Center
• GameSetWatch Messhof Whips Out Raging Hadron For No Quarter

This week we delve into our shared Sega heritage with fast paced action platformer Freedom Planet. Launched from a Kickstarter budget of just $25,472, Freedom Planet from GalaxyTrail is a love letter to the character platformer and Sega nostalgia. One part Mega Man, one part Gunstar Heroes, one part Rocket Knight, and many parts Sonic & Knuckles; Freedom Planet is a high speed platform game that recalls the glory days of “blast processing.”

We discuss the game, and then spend a good long while talking about some of the kick-ass Sega Genesis games we played and loved over the years.

Availability

• Freedom Planet on Steam – $15
• Currently Windows only, Mac and Linux versions planned

Links for this episode

• Freedom Planet – High Speed Platform Game by GalaxyTrail / Strife — Kickstarter
• Freedom Planet – Overview video | Polygon
• Ristar
• Mega Man X (video game)
• Rocket Knight Adventures
• ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
• Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation: Blake J. Harris
• Mortal Kombat
• Primal Rage
• Golden Axe
• ToeJam & Earl
• ToeJam & Earl on Steam
• ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
• Haunting Starring Polterguy
• Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
• Home Alone (video game)
• The Lion King (video game)
• Disney’s Aladdin (Virgin Games)
• Comix Zone
• Sega Channel
• Bomberman ’94
• Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition
• General Chaos
• GENERAL CHAOS II: Sons Of Chaos by Brian F Colin — Kickstarter (Unsuccessful)
• Aura Interactor Game Vest – 1994 Commercial
• Sega 32X
• Shadow Squadron
• Doom – 32X (YouTube)
• Sega CD
• Nights into Dreams…
• Double Switch (video game)
• Night Trap
• Behold, the Sega Tower of Power

This week on The Short Game, we discuss Yacht Club Games incredible debut and love-letter to the NES, Shovel Knight. This is a game we’ve been dying to discuss on the show and it stands out as both faithfully retro and relentlessly innovative and modern.

We discuss the ways the game pays homage to its inspirations, from Mega Man to Zelda to Duck Tales to Castlevania, and how it improves upon those games with technology and mechanics that feel both old and new. After the spoiler break we discuss the game’s ending and talk about how it made us feel.

Availability:

Steam for PC, with Mac & Linux as soon as they’re available – $15, or $25 for the Deluxe Edition with Soundtrack and PDF manual
3DS eShop – $15
WiiU eShop – $15

Links for this episode:

• Destiny | Official Site of Destiny the Game
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Shantae (series) – Shantae Wiki
• A Boy and His Blob – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• DuckTales Remastered review: money pit | Polygon
• Shovel Knight cheat unlocks Butt Mode | Joystiq
• Shovel Knight Original Soundtrack | Jake Kaufman
• Strike the Earth! Shovel Knight Arranged | Jake Kaufman
• Sega “Tower of Power”
• Our guest appearance on Casual Shenanigans Gaming – We talk a lot about our Genesis gaming history
• Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation: Blake J. Harris – Amazon.com

Edit: We fixed a small editing error at around the 2:00 mark.

This week on The Short Game, we bring you an awesome interview with Dr. David Heineman, author of the recent Kotaku article ​How To Beat 400 Games In 4.5 Years.

David is a real life scholar of video games. He is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies t Blooksburg University of Pennsylvania and author of the forthcoming book “Thinking About Video Games: Interviews with the Experts.” (Indiana University Press) He also hosts the long running Racketboy Podcast, a great show about playing classic games, game collecting, and great interviews with video game creators and luminaries.

We’re a show about fitting games into your life, and David does that in spades. We ask him about his strategies for finishing all the great games in his backlog, and he offers some suggestions of short games you might enjoy.

Follow David on Twitter at @DrHeineman!

Links for this episode:

• Texas Instruments TI-99/4A – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Shovel Knight | Yacht Club Games
• Destiny | Official Site of Destiny the Game
• System Shock 2 – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Tempest (video game) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• VGG Glossary | Wiki | VideoGameGeek – “1CC (acronym) – 1 Credit Clear – Completing a game without using any “Continues”.”
• Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening – The Devil May Cry Wiki
• Devil May Cry® 3 Special Edition on Steam
• Thief: The Dark Project – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• RetroGaming with Racketboy
• RF Generation. The Classic and Modern Gaming Databases.
• Cheap Video Game Shopping, Sales and Deals – Cheap Ass Gamer
• Sega-16
• Journey (2012 video game) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Call of Juarez: Gunslinger – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Gunstar Heroes – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Turrican – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• RoboCop Versus The Terminator – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Adventure (1979 video game) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Mutant Football League misses funding goal, but work on the title will continue | Polygon – “The Kickstarter campaign for Mutant Football League, a revival of EA’s _Mutant League Football _led by the series’ original designer, closed out yesterday having made less than 20 percent of its $750,000 crowdfunding goal, according to the campaign page.”
• Eye of the Beholder (video game) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia