Review - Small Radios, Big Televisions

With no knowledge of where you are or why you’re here, you end up in front of a strange structure. Inside is a mess of corridors, puzzles and, most importantly, tapes. You are clearly heading somewhere, but who knows what awaits you at the end. Small Radios, Big Televisions is an experimental game published by Adult Swim Games. It is a mix of a puzzle and adventure game that focuses on strange tapes that the player finds throughout the game.

As has been said, the core gameplay of Small Radios, Big Televisions is the puzzles scattered throughout the environment. These range from swapping around gears to turning water valves. Few of the puzzles were very challenging, but that did not detract too much from the experience. It was more fun to explore the world and get closer to understanding what is going on than the actual puzzle solving. The one puzzle that was particularly difficult was mostly so due to poor design, as the puzzle was supposed to be solved by wall markings that, even after solving the puzzle, made no sense. However, that was just one puzzle in the whole of the game.

While the physical puzzles are interesting, the cassette tapes present a puzzle in and of themselves. Each tape transports the player to another world where they look around and interact (to a small extent) with the world around them. The goal in each is to find a gem that acts as a key for different doors. Each tape holds a single vignette, but each vignette can be corrupted into numerous strange worlds that can reveal new resources for the player to use. I have mixed feelings about the tapes. Not because the idea is flawed, I was very intrigued by the concept of tapes as levels. While Small Radios, Big Televisions was successful in their thematic usage of the tapes, I felt that the gameplay revolving around said tapes was severely lacking.

In terms of the thematic usage, almost all of the tapes focused on images of nature. The natural images were juxtaposed to the fallen, unnatural landscapes that occurred outside of the tapes, impressing the post-apocalyptic undertones of the world. By corrupting the tapes and distorting the natural world, the reality of the illusion was brought to the forefront. The player could no longer ignore the fact that the peaceful scenes were mere illusions meant to distract the viewer from reality. This was a rather clever way to use the game’s primary feature for thematic purposes.

Despite the strong thematic presence of the tapes, the actual experience was lacking. The tapes were each a small vignette, or an image presented to the player. Any movement within the environment, beyond looking around, was completely autonomous. One could think of it as though they were dropped into a painting with the sights predetermined and the world limited. It would have been far more engaging to have each tape exist as a small level unto itself with movement and puzzles. However, the current implementation is closer to a hidden object game.

Moving on from the tapes, the environment outside of the tapes was interesting. The player viewed the world from a camera that was drawn back, looking at the world from a wide angle. Outside of structures, movement occurred in a system reminiscent of FEZ’s perspective changing system. Once the player enters a structure, they view it from a fourth wall perspective. The perspective was interesting and played with in interesting ways at the end of the game. The drawn back view of the world impresses its emptiness in a way that could not have been achieved with a physical player avatar. There is also thematic juxtaposition of the drawn back view in the world outside of the tapes and the first-person perspective within the tapes. The latter reinforcing the engagement that the player’s character is supposed to have with the tape’s worlds.

Without any spoilers, I’ll try to discuss the main themes. Beyond the natural versus unnatural themes that are presented by comparing the tapes to the outside world, there is also the question of what is real. The ending of the game leaves the player in a position where they may feel that they have fixed something. However, upon further consideration, the ending should be problematic to the player. It has potential to question the value of any of the actions taken up that point, presenting the keen player with an existential crisis. Unfortunately, it is hard to get anymore specific without revealing key facts about the end of the game.

While the ending can be philosophically interesting, the way that the game depicts the end condition (that being a rather happy, successful feeling) may imply that the developers missed the greater implications. It’s hard to say, I cannot talk to the developers after all, but I will at least give them the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

So, should you pick the game up? It is an interesting game thematically, however it is very pricy for what it is. The game took me less than two hours to complete and I felt as though I was taking my time in many areas. For the full twelve dollars being asked, the game is not even close to interesting enough to warrant that price. For half the price it might be worth getting if you are seriously intrigued, but I would highly recommend waiting for a significant sale or if it happens to be in a cheap bundle (I purchased it through Humble Bundle). Otherwise, I would recommend checking out a Let’s Play or something of the sort.

Fire Face Corporation, Small Radios, Big Televisions. Adult Swim Games, Nov 8, 2016.

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