Golf + pool + the developer behind holedown? Be still our hearts. Subpar Pool brings polish and charm to the (pool) table, with tons of variations and challenges to keep it fresh — we highly recommend you pick it up on mobile, Switch, or Steam. Plus, a tour of your hosts’ various attempts to play games in bars. 

When inkle drops a surprise release, we dive in — and this time, we dove into a maze of art from museums around the world. The Forever Labyrinth is a totally free, browser-based “replayable narrative rogue-like adventure” made in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture. In addition to reviewing the game, we took this as an excuse to talk about our favorite museum-going experiences and our feelings about corporate-sponsored games. (Encarta may also come up.)

Expect each run to take about twenty minutes, with multiple trips through to uncover more secrets.

• (00:00) - Introduction

Turns out all of us skipped the tutorial and (whaddayaknow!?) had a really hard time with the early hours of this retro action platformer. Don’t be like us! In the end though we all had a blast with this indie spin on Mega Man.

• (00:00) - Gravity Circuit

I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since we last talked about the Playdate, the cute little console with a crank. We start with an update on if/how we’re still playing out Playdates, and then talk about some of the games that have been turning our cranks lately.

• (00:00) - Intro

The famous Roottree sisters and their parents, heirs to a billion dollar candy empire, have suddenly died in a plane crash. The inheritance is in question, with a massive family tree full of potential beneficiaries. 

Fortunately, it’s 1998 and you know how to use the internet.

We discuss this exciting free entry into the Obra-Dinn-like mystery game sub-genre. 

You can play the game for free on the web at the developer’s itch.io page. Expect it to take between four and eight hours depending on your research style, and whether or not you have a smart friend like Laura to help.

This week Nate and Laura cover Jusant, somehow our second 2023 tower game and our second 2023 climbing game — but micro-genres aside, Jusant’s got plenty of charms of its own. Don’t Nod, the creators of Life is Strange, blend a rock-solid control scheme with scenic vistas and meditative vibes. Expect it to take about 4-8 hours, depending on your route planning and completionism.

We’re a little late, but it’s time to talk about The Short Game’s Game of the Year! As with previous years we’re also handing out many superlatives, including returning awards like Dirtbag of the Year.

Patrons also get access to our unedited, recorded planning meeting where we hashed all of this out. Support us on Patreon if you want to hear that nonsense!

• (00:00) - Introduction

Laura and Raygan manage to shift one small shovel of their pile of shame before the holidays. We’re so glad to have made time for Chants of Sennaar, an incredible puzzle adventure game in which you climb a Tower of Babel, learning languages as you go.

• (00:00) - Chants of Sennaar

The latest game from Short Game favorite Inkle has proved to be a bit divisive. Laura enjoyed it, but Raygan hit some major issues that spoiled the experience. It made for an interesting conversation!

• (00:00) - A Highland Song

Oh dang it’s a holiday weekend and we don’t have time to prep for an episode… Let me see what everybody else on the internet is doing right now…

…

So here’s the Short Game Holiday Gift Guide!

• (01:52) - "Gamer Gifts"