Small Radios Big Televisions

About

"Small Radios Big Televisions" is a first-person puzzle adventure game. The player explores surreal, abandoned industrial landscapes and encounters mysterious cassette tapes that transport them to strange, colorful realms. The goal is to uncover the story behind these tapes and the vanished workers who once inhabited the factories. The game features a nostalgic, retro-futuristic aesthetic and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 305 reviews

graphics55 positive mentions

grinding12 negative mentions

The game features a unique and captivating aesthetic, combining retro visuals with a surreal atmosphere that draws players in.
The puzzles are generally intuitive and provide a satisfying challenge without being overly difficult, making the game accessible to a wide audience.
The soundtrack is excellent, enhancing the overall experience and complementing the game's visuals beautifully.

The game is very short, typically taking only 1-2 hours to complete, which may not justify the price for some players.
Navigation can be frustrating due to confusing level design and a lack of clear direction, leading to unnecessary backtracking.
The story is vague and open to interpretation, which may leave some players feeling unsatisfied or confused about the game's overall message.

graphics
120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
51%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique aesthetic, featuring a blend of low-poly art, trippy visuals, and nostalgic 80s themes that create an engaging atmosphere. While many reviewers appreciate the artistic presentation and ambient soundtrack, some note that the simplistic graphics can lead to confusion in navigation and gameplay. Overall, the visuals are considered the standout feature, appealing particularly to those who enjoy avant-garde and surreal art styles.
- “The graphics are the most appealing part of the game.”
- “The graphics have a uniquely rough style and the ambient music is relaxing, which matches the feel and slow pace of the game.”
- “The visuals are sharp, and the environmental storytelling honestly does more of the heavy lifting in creating this world than any of the interstitial scenes do.”
- “Repetitive, low poly graphics, sometimes hard to track where you have been and what you need to do.”
- “I gave it about half an hour to try to figure out if there was ever going to be any kind of payoff of interesting puzzle or semblance of anything beyond some pretentious visuals and fart-sniffing artsy 'story.'”
- “It's boring, lacks visuals that create any sort of impact and has rather bland music.”
story
118 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
69%
3%
The story in "Small Radios Big Televisions" is often described as vague and minimal, with many reviewers noting its reliance on environmental storytelling rather than a traditional narrative. While some find the themes of nature versus technology intriguing, others criticize the plot for being generic or confusing, leaving players with more questions than answers. Overall, the game offers a unique aesthetic experience, but its storytelling may not satisfy those seeking a deeper narrative.
- “The story is interesting.”
- “The game hints greatly at the story and some dystopian future but leaves just enough mystique that you can keep guessing about the reality of everything.”
- “The direct storytelling is minimal but it manages to convey a lot of narrative and even emotion within a small amount of dialogue.”
- “The big disappointment this game has though is its story.”
- “It forces in an admittedly generic story where it seems a story should just have not been included.”
- “Don't play it for puzzles because they're simple, and don't play it for story because what little there is is vague and the ending doesn't explain anything.”
music
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
59%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing and ambient qualities, often described as a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. Many reviewers appreciate the soundtrack's ability to create a soothing atmosphere, with some noting its psychedelic and electronic influences that complement the game's visuals. However, a few critiques mention that the music can be repetitive and not particularly memorable, suggesting that while it contributes positively to the ambiance, it may not leave a lasting impression.
- “The music from this game is by far some of my favorite video game music ever.”
- “The soundtrack is amazing.”
- “The game’s strange minimalistic graphics fused with the amazing lighting, distortion effects and numbing ambient soundtrack presented throughout produce something that hooks you in and envelopes you.”
- “First, the nitpicky side of me noticed how you can almost never get a proper volume setting that doesn't make the music sound too loud or quiet.”
- “Graphics aren't much to speak of, no real story (at least not in the first half-hour), and the soundtrack is repetitive.”
- “Either the music is on a 20-second loop or it's so bad that it seems like it is.”
gameplay
83 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
73%
8%
The gameplay of "Small Radios Big Televisions" is characterized by its simple, point-and-click mechanics, which involve solving straightforward puzzles and navigating through 2D environments. While the tape mechanic is praised for its creativity, many players feel that the gameplay lacks depth and can become tedious, with a short playtime of 2-3 hours that leaves much to be desired in terms of challenge and complexity. Overall, the game is visually appealing but is often criticized for its repetitive gameplay and underdeveloped mechanics.
- “The tape mechanic is delightful, and I wish it was expanded further, but what it has is extremely good.”
- “Each level has a unique gimmick, and all use tapes as a main gameplay feature.”
- “The visuals and sound design were really atmospheric, and the mechanics were intuitive and fun.”
- “I feel there was a lot more that could have been done with the premise and mechanics, and the last level feels like they ran out of time/funds/whatever because it's super short and basically has no puzzles.”
- “It's hard to stay interested, since the gameplay offers very little in return for completing the 'puzzles'.”
- “The problem though is that this is all wasted on gameplay that is both mundane and, quite frankly, pointless.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
22%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique blend of surrealism and minimalism, creating a haunting and immersive experience that captivates players. The combination of evocative visuals, a dynamic soundtrack, and a narrative that enhances the overall ambiance contributes to a serene yet thought-provoking environment. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke nostalgia and discomfort, making it a standout in the atmospheric puzzle genre.
- “The only particular benefit to the story being there is that it explains a handful of the tapes and contributes to the incredible atmosphere already mentioned.”
- “I loved the haunting atmosphere, and the more I played, the more invested I got in the narrative.”
- “The graphics are somewhat minimalist, which I think adds to the overall atmosphere of the game, while the soundtrack adapts to your situation depending on where you are, what tape you're in, how warped that tape is, etc. Definitely worth a look!”
- “If anything, this game deserves your attention for its use of color and atmosphere in true artistic form and then twisting it into something that makes you uncomfortable.”
- “Mostly it’s about decoding the bizarre visual language and rules of the game and getting sucked into its psychedelic atmosphere.”
- “This is an easy, short game that is more about atmosphere than anything else.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews consistently highlight the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and frustrating, with players finding the puzzle-solving and navigation to be repetitive and lacking challenge. While some appreciate the visuals, the overall gameplay experience is marred by clunky mechanics and a sense of monotony, leading to a disappointing engagement with the game's core concepts.
- “Super tedious game that's not engaging at all.”
- “This game is interesting in concept, however, seeing as its major concept is in revisiting past areas and items, the clunky way of having to revisit rooms is extremely tedious.”
- “I wanted to like the gameplay, I wanted to like the puzzles, I wanted to like the art style; but all I got was brief snippets (about 30 seconds) of cool aesthetics hidden under 15 minutes of tedious, pointless puzzles that manage to be both easy and frustrating.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
Overall, the game offers minimal replayability, with most players completing it in just a few hours and finding little incentive to return after finishing. While the visuals and soundtrack provide a relaxing experience, the limited collectibles and straightforward gameplay contribute to its short lifespan, making it more suitable as a brief diversion rather than a game to revisit.
- “The simple gameplay is easy to chill out to, and the groovy visual effects along with the smooth down-tempo soundtrack make it enjoyable to play. The collectibles add a bit of replay value.”
- “There was a lot of love put into this game, but it has almost no replayability, and twelve bucks will get you a lot more game these days.”
- “All in all, it's a rather short experience of a few hours with zero replayability whatsoever. I'd wait for a sale to pick it up, but it does very well as a little gap filler for a long evening or a not too challenging yet interesting game to wind down.”
- “It took me 2 hours of leisurely playing to get 100%, and there's really not much replay value beyond replaying a chapter to get a missed item or leaving the music on in the background if you didn't buy the soundtrack.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The game is generally stable and free of significant bugs, but some players feel that its short duration does not justify the price, leading to refunds. While visual and audio glitches are noted, they are perceived as intentional design choices rather than stability issues.
- “Visual and audio glitches are a game design choice that I can support.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant lag and frame drops, which ruined the overall experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's presentation has a nostalgic 80s charm, but it suffers from poor optimization, particularly with mouse controls and multi-screen setups, leading some players to uninstall it.
- “There is a definite 80s low-rent charm to this game's presentation, but sadly wonky mouse physics and terrible optimization for multiple screens led me to uninstall this.”
- “The game runs poorly even on high-end hardware, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I experienced constant frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the overall experience.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Despite the lack of interactive characters and a clear plot, the game offers a captivating and occasionally poignant emotional experience that resonates with players.
- “No characters to interact with, no plot one can easily discern, but a fascinating and sometimes emotional experience.”

63%Critics’ scoreBased on 20 critic reviews

Buy Small Radios Big Televisions

3h Median play time

3h Average play time

3-4h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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Small Radios Big Televisions

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Review: Small Radios Big Televisions