The Short Game

Into the Breach is the second game by FTL developer Subset Games. FTL was the focus of the fifth episode of this podcast, way back in May of 2014,and has been a major obsession for all of us (but especially Nate) ever since. This time, Subset has taken on the tactical strategy genre, but their take is one of the most streamlined and cleverly designed games in the history of the genre. We are joined this week by guest host Sandy Bledsoe, managing partner of Houston gaming tavern Coral Sword, who has spent the time since the game’s release streaming Into the Breach on Coral Sword’s Twitch channel. We discuss the game’s unique mechanics, and try to avoid constant comparisons to FTL. Stick around after the spoiler break at [01:03:17] for in depth strategy talk. Into the Breach is available for Windows via Steam, Humble, and GOG for $14.99. As a (somewhat) roguelike-inspired game, each battle is short and each run takes around 30-45 minutes, but the game is meant to be re-played for advancement and progression. For Mac users, the DRM free versions of the game (via Humble or GOG) run just fine via WINE. Use tools like WineBottler to install. Links for this episode: 05: FTL – Faster Than Light – The Short Game CoralSword (@CoralSword) | Twitter Coral Sword – Home | Facebook CoralSword – Twitch CoralSword – Sandy’s Sandbox – “Into the Breach” – Twitch ‘Into the Breach’ Didn’t Click Until I Played it Like an EMT – Waypoint Sanford // Sandy (@sanfordandpun) • Instagram photos and videos 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: Sandy Bledsoe – @sanfordandpun on Instagram Nate Heininger – @natestl Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitShane (00:00) - Into The Breach (01:03:17) - Spoiler Break

This episode we’re checking in on the sequels to three landmark iOS games we’ve covered the past: Alto’s Odyssey (followup to Alto’s Adventure), Framed 2, and Monument Valley 2. Laura and Raygan discuss the games and what makes a compelling sequel. Also, Laura is leaving leaving on a five week honeymoon to Europe. Congratulations, Laura, and have a great trip! Check out all three games on the iOS App Store: Alto’s Odyssey FRAMED 2 Monument Valley 2 Here are our episodes on the original games discussed: 38: Alto’s Adventure and Endless Runners – The Short Game 50: Framed – The Short Game 11: Apple Design Award Winners 2014 – The Short Game Other games mentioned: 141: Gorogoa – The Short Game 113: The Room – The Short Game 98: Reigns – The Short Game 139: Reigns – Her Majesty – The Short Game Tiny Wings 2 – Polygon 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

The first game from Mountains, a new “craft games” studio headed by Ken Wong (lead designer of Monument Valley), Florence is best described as an interactive graphic novel set to music. It’s a beautifully illustrated and scored story about a young woman’s first first love. The soundtrack by Kevin Penkin (soundtrack composer of Made in Abyss) is especially good, and the entire package is extrordinarily polished. This is a story driven experience, so our spoiler break is a bit early at [00:20:29]. Florence is available on iOS and (soon) Android, and costs $2.99. Expect it to take about an hour to play. Links for this episode: Florence Giant Days Vol. 1 | Amazon.com Blankets: Craig Thompson | Amazon.com To Be Or Not To Be – Ryan North on the App Store Miley and Lilly Designer Dreams | Laura’s first professional game work. No longer online officially but available here on an unofficial site. Play at your own risk. Infinite canvas – Wikipedia Florence (Original Soundtrack) by Kevin Penkin on Apple Music Florence (Original Soundtrack) by Kevin Penkin on Spotify 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) - Pre-spoiler discussion (20:29) - Spoiler Break

Celeste is the second game from Towerfall developer MattMakesGames, which this time is Matt Thorson (Towerfall), collaborator Noel Berry (Skytorn), and friends. Nominally a game about climbing a mountain, Celeste is a difficult story-driven platformer that surprised us by becoming one of the best games of 2018 so far. Celeste is a fairly short game but play times will vary, with main story completion taking between 8-12 hours. A significant amount of optional, post-game, and bonus content is included. The game is available on Steam and Itch.io (Windows, Mac, and Linux) and on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. It costs $19.99 on all platforms. See the game’s homepage for links to purchase. Spoiler break at [01:02:49]. TowerFall 12: Towerfall Ascension – The Short Game PICO-8 Fantasy Console Celeste – Pico-8 Version Celeste Original Soundtrack | Lena Raine Celeste B-Sides | Lena Raine Episode 87 – Caveman-Adjacent – The Casual Hour 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 Nate Heininger – @natestl Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitShane (00:00) - Celeste (01:02:49) - Spoiler Break

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator’s title says it all—you play a hot dad that gets to date other hot dads. As soon as it was released in July 2017, Dream Daddy stormed to the top of the Steam charts and left social media swooning in its wake. But after the launch afterglow has faded, are we still charmed? (Yes.) After the spoiler break at [00:36:30], we discuss all-important third dates and other major/minor dad-dating decisions. Dream Daddy is available for $14.99 on Steam. You’ll spend about 4–5 hours wooing the residents of Maple Bay, depending on how long you audibly groan (or rejoice) at puns. Our Dadsonas: Gomez Addams Jacques Swift Carl Bonesworth 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

Doki Doki Literature Club has been suggested by more Short Game listeners than any game since Undertale. On the surface it’s a moe anime themed visual novel dating sim, but just under the surface is something much darker. As the game’s cryptic Steam description says, this game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed. Hard spoiler break at [00:17:31]. Trust us on this one. Doki Doki Literature Club is available for free on Steam and itch.io, with a $10 “Fan Pack” available that includes a soundtrack, desktops, and an concept art booklet. Expect the game to take about four to five 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 Nate Heininger – @natestl Laura Nash – @laurajnash

Here’s a fascinating and beautiful little puzzle game that’s almost impossible to describe with words alone, but we’re going to give it our best shot. Gorogoa is a game many years in the making. It’s been winning awards and gaining buzz since at least 2012, but it’s finally out in its final form on iOS ($4.99), Steam, and Nintendo Switch ($14.99). We discuss the game’s puzzles and art style, as well as attempt to decode its cryptic but thoughtful story. Spoiler break at 00:32:52. Gorogoa Mad Fold-in – Wikipedia Gorogoa Interview | Rock, Paper, Shotgun The Puzzle Of A Lifetime – Kotaku interview ANNAPURNA Interactive 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 Shane Kelly – @8bitShane Raygan Kelly – @raygank (00:00) - Intro & Pre-Spoiler Discussion (32:52) - Spoiler Break

Join us as we finally put 2017 out of its misery! It was a great year for games, if nothing else, and we’re rounding up our favorite short- and non-short-games of 2017. Our Game(s) of the year: 117: Night in the Woods
 129: Pyre Other Games Mentioned: 139: Reigns – Her Majesty
 135: IFComp 2017 pt. 1
 131: Tacoma
 132: Sonic Mania 122: What Remains of Edith Finch 116: Linelight 123: The Sexy Brutale 114: Puyo Puyo (Series) 133: Nex Machina Past GOTY episodes: 110: Game of the Year 2016 70: Game of the Year 2015 29: Game of the Year There were a lot of great games in 2017 that we missed, some of which we hope to cover soon. Here’s our list: Dream Daddy Doki Doki Literature Club Butterfly Soup Gorogoa Rakuen West of Loathing Universal Paperclips Bury Me My Love A Normal Lost Phone/Another Lost Phone Four Last Things Last Day in June Heat Signature Everything Blackwood Crossing Monument Valley 2 Framed 2 Hidden Folks Nidhogg 2 Emily is Away Too Finding Paradise (To the Moon sequel) And a few games we’re looking forward to in 2018: Donut County Manifold Garden Dreams Florence Moss WATTAM The Room: Original Sin The Wolf Among Us Season 2 You can follow our show on Twitter at @_shortgame Like the show? Support us by writing a review on iTunes! Your hosts this year were: Raygan Kelly – @raygank Shane Kelly – @8bitShane Nate Heininger – @natestl Laura Nash – @laurajnash (04:28) - Night in the Woods (14:23) - Pyre (21:06) - Other great short games of 2017 (40:49) - Non-Short GOTYs (57:14) - Listener Responses and Games We Missed (01:09:43) - Looking forward to 2018

The succession is complete, and Reigns finally has an heir, or uh, sequel. This isn’t merely a queen-based rehash of the original game. Reigns: Her Majesty adds to and improves on the Reigns formula in several ways, while keeping its core tinder-swipe kingdom building gameplay. Reigns: Her Majesty is available on iOS, Android, and Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It costs $2.99. Expect it to take around 3-5 hours to complete. Spoiler break at 00:34:28. Links for this episode: Reigns: Her Majesty 98: Reigns – The Short Game Reigns Her Majesty: Walkthrough Guide – Good Ultimate Ending (How to Get All Three Endings) | App Unwrapper 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 (00:00) - Pre-Spoiler Discussion (34:28) - Spoiler Break

We’re a little late getting this out, but we’re wrapping up our IFComp 2017 coverage with a discussion of the comp as a whole, the top 10 games, and discussions of a few games that we didn’t cover in our earlier episodes. Our IFComp 2017 Coverage – 134: Intro to IFComp – 135: IFComp 2017 pt. 1 – 136: IFComp 2017 pt. 2 The Top Ten: – The Wizard Sniffer by Buster Hudson – Eat Me by Chandler Groover – Harmonia by Liza Daly – Will Not Let Me Go by Stephen Granade – Absence of Law by mathbrush – The Owl Consultsby Thomas Mack, Nick Mathewson, and Cidney Hamilton – A Beauty Cold and Austere by Mike Spivey – 1958: Dancing With Fear by Victor Ojuel – Future Threads by Xavid – Domestic Elementalism by fireisnormal Also Mentioned: – Violet by Jeremy Freese – 1st place IFComp 2008 and former highest score – Queer In Public: A Brief Essay by Norbez – Alice Aforethought by Hanon Ondricek – Swigian by mathbrush (as Rainbus North) 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) - The 2017 IFComp (07:07) - 1st place: The Wizard Sniffer (11:27) - 2nd place: Eat Me (14:19) - 3rd place: Harmonia (20:28) - 4th place: Will Not Let Me Go (26:08) - Queer in Public Queer In Public: A Brief Essay by Norbez - The Golden Banana of Discord winner (32:08) - 5th place: Absence of Law (36:50) - 6th place: The Owl Consults (39:13) - 7th place: A Beauty Cold and Austere (41:43) - 8th place: 1958: Dancing With Fear (42:55) - 9th place: Future Threads by Xavid (46:50) - 10th place: Domestic Elementalism (50:07) - Cool stuff outside the top 10 (59:57) - Wrap-up and Outro