SGC – Short Games Collection #1

Genre: Compilation

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local)

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Review:

Short Games Collection #1, released in 2021 on Nintendo Switch, is a Compilation of 5 games originally released on PC from 2019 through 2020.

Here is what I thought of each of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
A Game Literally About Doing Your Taxes	Simulation / Misc. / Horror	1	C-
tl;dr This seems less like a game and more like a very short interactive… I guess statement on taxes or something? Honestly, it’s not super-clear, and the game is over before you’ve formed a strong impression. Even the Horror elements are pretty weak. Not worth your time.
Ghostein	Stealth / Horror	1	C+
tl;dr Ghostein is a Stealth Horror game that has you taking the role of a ghost directing a child safely through a Nazi concentration camp by putting posters on the wall. It’s a decent premise, but a bit simple and repetitive. The presentation is great though.
Swallow the Sea	Arcade / Misc.	1	C
tl;dr Swallow the Sea is kinda’ an Arcade-style game that has you moving through a dark undersea environment trying to swallow up smaller creatures and grow larger. It’s a bit like the game Flow, but more limited and without the abstract beauty. Plus, the claustrophobic level design and poor signposting leave a lot to be desired.
The Good Time Garden	Puzzle / Misc.	1	C
tl;dr This bizarre game comes from the makers of Thank Goodness You’re Here!, and as strange as that game is, this is much stranger, like some sort of pink-shaded fever dream where you play a naked little guy feeding various things to… I don’t even know, an anthropomorphized tumor. It’s bizarre and nonsensical, and the game’s in-world logic makes little sense, and there’s no signposting. Still, as an unusual experience, there’s certainly nothing like it.
Uranus	Arcade	1-2 Compoetitive (Local)	C-
tl;dr This Arcade-style game plays like a version of Tron Bikes on a sphere (similar to Astro Bears), but with terrible, unwieldy controls and a bizarre art style.

In short, these games all feel odd or experimental in some way, or perhaps artistically-inspired, but none of them are especially good. Probably the best of the bunch is Ghostein, and The Good Time Garden is worth checking out for fans of Thank Goodness You’re Here!, but honestly nothing in this bundle is anything I feel compelled to come back to play.

When it comes to value… well, you can download Swallow the Sea and The Good Time Garden free on Steam, and you can download A Game Literally About Doing Your Taxes free on Itch.io, so if you play at all on PC, 60% of this bundle is stuff you can already play without spending a cent. For the remainder, Ghostein sells for $2 on Steam and Uranus sells for $4. So a $6 price tag… compared to this bundle costing $11 on Nintendo Switch. In short, not a good deal.

In the end, I just can’t recommend Short Games Collection #1. None of the games here are especially fun, and even if you’re interested in experimental artistically-driven games, you’re better off playing these games on PC, where over half of them are free. With that being the case, it’s hard for me to see this bundle as worthwhile for anyone.

tl;dr – Short Games Collection #1 is a Compilation containing five games: A Game Literally About Doing Your Taxes, Ghostein, Swallow the Sea, The Good Time Garden, and Uranus. None of these games are particularly fun, and over half of them are free to download on PC. So, mediocre games at a bad value… not worth buying.

Grade: C-

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