Category: Podcast

What Remains of Edith Finch is the second game from The Unfinished Swan developer Giant Sparrow and creative director Ian Dallas. It’s a sort of anthology game; a collection of family stories tied together by Edith Finch’s attempt to unravel a family curse as she explores her ancestral home. We had a great discussion about what this brings to the first person narrative game genre and why it’s been such a hot take machine. What Remains of Edith Finch is available for PS4 and Windows (Steam). Expect it to take two to three hours to complete.

Spoiler break at 52:18.

Links for this episode:

• Giant Sparrow (@giantsparrow) | Twitter
• Ian Dallas » A reasonable man
• 43: The Unfinished Swan – The Short Game
• The Remains of Isadore McMurtlemumsy
• Edward Gorey – Wikipedia
• Ian Bogost (@ibogost) | Twitter
• Video Games Are Better Without Stories – The Atlantic
• Giant Sparrow/Ian Dallas (What Remains of Edith Finch) – official AMA! : PS4
• The Sexy Brutale

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
• Nate Heininger – @natestl

Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya helped define “indie” game development with his freeware masterpiece Cave Story. Several years later, his follow up was a strange and possibly under appreciated game. Kero Blaster is a side-scrolling shooter, but unlike Cave Story it draws more inspiration from games like Mega Man and Contra than it does from Metroid or Castlevania.

Kero Blaster came out in 2014 on iOS and later Windows, but recently got its first console release on PS4. We revisit the game and discuss how our perceptions of it have changed since its debut three years ago.

Kero Blaster is $9.99 on PS4 and Steam (Windows only), and $5.99 in iOS. Expect it to take 4-5 hours to complete, not counting the unlockable “Zangyou Mode.”

Links for this episode:

• Kero Blaster on PSN
• Kero Blaster on Steam
• Kero Blaster on the App Store
• 03: Cave Story – 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

Cut Yourself! (Editor’s Note: Please do not cut yourself.) This week we’re talking the about the sort-of-first-party Nintendo Switch exclusive puzzle game Snipperclips. Break off a tiny controller and chat with us about this unusual game in Nintendo’s launch lineup.

Friend of the show Bryan Wade joins us as a guest. Thanks Bryan!

• How Gudetama, a lazy egg yolk with a butt, became an unstoppable cultural phenomenon – Vox
• Emily on Twitter: “”Crouch down” “Stand up” “No don’t take me with you!” “Put some pleases and thank yous in there!” #switchporndialogue”
• There Was Something Odd Going On With Nintendo Switch Game Snipperclips As I Had Already Played It A Year And A Half Ago – Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News
• Snipperclips – Nintendo Treehouse: Live with Nintendo Switch – YouTube
• Expanded Universe (@Luuuuuuuukecast) | Twitter
• Expanded Universe
• Bryan Wade (@wadebryanr) | Twitter

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
• Laura Nash – @laurajnash
• Bryan Wade – @wadebryanr

We’re hopping aboard Sophia III with Jason Frudnick to help him find his pet frog Fred in this remake/sequel to the classic NES shooter/platformer hybrid. We start with a brief discussion of the Blaster Master series before tunneling into the reboot. Blaster Master Zero is available on Nintendo Switchand 3DS for $9.99. Expect it to take about 8 hours to complete.

Links for this episode:

• Blaster Master Zero Official Site
• Retronauts Micro 57: A Blaster Master retrospective and Blaster Master Zero review | Retronauts
• Paprium is a new Mega Drive game four years in the making • Eurogamer.net

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

The Short Game’s official Dungeon Master (that’s Shane) shares his tips on fitting Dungeons & Dragons into your life. D&D is having a bit of a moment lately, but it can still feel like “30 minutes of fun squeezed into four hours.” We discuss ways to enjoy the world’s greatest role playing game, while still respecting your time. We have tips for both Dungeon Masters and adventurers, and advice on organizing and running a game for busy adults.

Links for this Episode:

• The Game (@the_gamednd) on Instagram
• Doodle polls
• One Page Dungeon Contest 2016
• Dungeon Masters Guild
• donjon – RPG Tools
• Sly Flourish’s The Lazy Dungeon Master
• Building Encounters in 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons: Sly Flourish
• SlyFlourish (@SlyFlourish) on Twitter
• Tales from the Yawning Portal | Dungeons & Dragons
• Fate (role-playing game system) – Wikipedia
• Fiasco – Bully Pulpit Games
• Kobold Fight Club – Online D&D Encounter Builder
• D&D Beyond (Beta)
• Dungeons and Dragons: Bryan’s Song — Duckfeed Presents (Shane DMs a session for the Duckfeed network)
• Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Locations
• Prepared: A Dozen Adventures for 5th Edition
• Book of Challenges: Dungeon Rooms, Puzzles, and Traps (3e) – Wizards of the Coast

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:

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

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