Originally published November 30, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
Andy O’Flaherty reviews Small Radios Big Televisions…
Small Radios Big Televisions, a new puzzle offering from Adult Swim games, surprisingly has absolutely nothing at all to do with radios, or indeed televisions. What it is to do with is classic point and click adventuring… and tapes. Remember them? Analogue media is the focus of this puzzling affair, complete with their tendency to corrupt and distort, and this property makes up a fair portion of the teasers on offer.
So what’s the game about? To be honest… I’m not entirely sure. Exposition is minimal and cut-scenes sparse, so what little plot is revealed is left to interpretation by the player. As far as I can tell the game is about the ability to use tapes to travel to various different worlds. Tapes are found littered around various factories, and upon inserting them into your tape deck you travel to a unique area, usually with a key to find. Progression involves unlocking doors to allow you to move forward. The factories become more complicated the further into the game you travel, and along the way tidbits of plot are revealed between areas.
Visually the game has a retro Sci-fi look that is reminiscent of Fez crossed with The Witness. The whole thing has this sort of quasi-2.5D/first person aesthetic that is not unlike the many ‘escape the room’ games that are so popular these days. The graphics are bright and colourful, and all of the areas have a unique look to them. What is impressive is how each ‘tape dimension’ distorts and warps once the tape becomes corrupted (by coming into contact with various electromagnets in each factory) giving the whole area a surreal and alien feel.
Sonically the game is also fairly impressive, with a complimentary soundtrack that fits the feel of the game well. Magnetic distortion also has an effect on the tape areas’ soundscape, adding to the already unnerving notion that you are exploring a place to which you don’t belong.
Despite the game looking and sounding pretty good, sadly the actual gameplay is where Small Radios Big Televisions falls short. The cursor feels like it is attached to an invisible elastic band meaning interacting with the far edges of the screen is somewhat cumbersome, and the interface feels a bit imprecise – especially when rotating or moving objects around. The puzzles are also a bit basic, involving not much more than just ‘find the green crystal to open the next door’. Pretty much all the crystals can be found in the ‘tape dimensions’, and if they aren’t there initially, corrupting the tape will usually reveal them. The game is also extremely short, taking me around 2 hours to see right the way through, but it sure did hold my attention for that time thanks to its striking and bizarre gameworld.
All in all Small Radios Big Televisions is an interesting premise that sadly doesn’t quite deliver in terms of engaging gameplay. One for the Steam sales, then….
Pros:
+ Striking visuals
+ Interesting concept
Cons:
– Too short
– Puzzles are basic
– Fiddly UI
Rating: 6/10
Small Radios Big Televisions is available now on PSN and Steam.
Andy O’Flaherty – Follow me on Twitter
