Talkin' 'Bout Tiny Games

Rapid-Fire Recs

Man, remember when this ‘zine actually had game recommendations? Well, contrary to appearences, I do, so this issue is a mixed platter of a bunch of different games that I’ve enjoyed in my absence.

Sayonara Wild Hearts

The highest profile game on the platter, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a mix-between an infinite runner and a rhythm game, set in a bisexual-sapphic fantasyland inspired by tarot cards. It’s a colorful thrill ride, all set to pumping pop music that’s the heart of everything that accompanies it.

Specifications

• Windows (also Apple Arcade subscription)
• $12.99 USD
  
• ~1 hour
  

_______ What Even Is That Thing?

_______ What Even Is That Thing? (WETT for the sake of my fingers), as it turns out, is several things all seemingly put into a blender to create the odd mishmash of a game that stands before you. Part the childish joy of mashing the keyboard, part an exploration of negative space, and part a guessing game show, WETT warns the player that completing it alone is an unlikely endeavor - and that proves true, as the sheer abtruseness of the hints combined with the game show-like flow means that having multiple minds working on any level is a huge boon. Aside from the secret levels, I never managed to figure out the answer to number 13 - one that’s based on being familiar with regional pop culture, but otherwise the game was a fascinating little experiment, accompanied by perfectly fitting off-kilter music.

Specifications

• Windows, Mac
• Free
• ~1 hour
  

Mu Cartographer

Mu Cartographer is an unassuming game: upon booting it up, you’re greeted by an unassuming oval of what can only be called colorful soup, and a bunch of abstract knobs and dials like something out of an alien spaceship. And therein lies the joy of the game - without any verbal direction, using only trial and error, the foreign system used for navigating the Soup Bowl will become completely decipherable. Any dent you make in its impenetrable exterior feels like a victory, and the rush that comes from those victories is what will draw you into the world of Mu Cartographer, and the fractured story of explorers that came before.

Specifications

• Windows, Mac
• $5.00 USD
• ~4 hours
  

Affinity

In a manner similar to Monument Valley and I Love Hue, Affinity is a puzzle game that’s less focused on stumping the player with mechanical conundrums than simply letting the player slowly work at its various puzzles in a similar manner to all those adult colouring books that are a part of the mindfulness movement. Similar to the two games mentioned aboved, Affinity is visual-focused game wherein the player slots particular shapes together in order to create an illustration wherein each shape is a single color. The final product is desktop wallpaper-worthy poster-like image, before you’re sent to the next puzzle. It’s a thoroughly relaxing experience - the act of piecing together smooth, curved puzzle pieces instead of jigsaw shapes just feels satisfying - and after finishing I only wished there had been more levels.

Specifications

• Windows
• $3.99 USD
  
• ~3 hours
  

Oh, Reader

Presented as an urban legend about a man who lost himself in a book more than he should’ve, Oh, Reader is a short piece of interactive fiction that had me on the edge of my seat, eager to savour every little detail and scrap of the story I could. Parts of the tale that were likely intended to be surprising were not to me, however they were still delightful (can you call horror delightful?) and Oh, Reader still managed to catch me off guard at the end. If you’re someone who enjoys the act of reading, Oh, Reader is a great piece of interactive fiction that really gets to the heart of act, and the detail spared on its format is not wasted.

Specifications

• Browser (There used to be an HTML file you could download, but it’s absent)
• Free
• ~45 minutes