Small Radios Big Televisions

About

Small Radios Big Televisions is a single player puzzle game. It was developed by Fire Face Corporation and was released on November 8, 2016. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"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.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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70%

Audience ScoreBased on 297 reviews

graphics58 positive mentions

grinding13 negative mentions

The game features stunning visuals and a captivating soundtrack that enhance the overall experience.
The unique concept of exploring virtual worlds through cassette tapes adds an intriguing layer to the gameplay.
The atmosphere is immersive, evoking a sense of nostalgia and wonder throughout the journey.

The gameplay is overly simplistic, with puzzles that lack depth and challenge, leading to a short overall experience.
Navigation can be frustrating due to awkward camera controls and a confusing map system.
The story is vague and open to interpretation, which may leave players feeling unsatisfied or confused.

graphics
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
53%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique aesthetic, combining low-poly designs with nostalgic 80s and 90s influences, creating a visually striking experience that resonates with players who appreciate artistic visuals. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke feelings of nostalgia through its CRT screen-like presentation and trippy visuals, although some note that the simplistic graphics can lead to confusion in navigation. Overall, the visuals are considered the standout feature, enhancing the game's atmosphere and complementing its ambient soundtrack.
- “What turns this game into a piece of art, and in fact one of my very favorite 'game' experiences, is the combination of graphics, music, and setting.”
- “The graphics extend the feeling of nostalgia - this is a low-poly world, projected through a CRT screen.”
- “The graphics are the most appealing part of the game.”
- “Repetitive, low-poly graphics, sometimes hard to track where you have been and what you need to do.”
- “Short puzzle game that other than the nice trippy visuals, is awful, slow and 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.”
story
119 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
69%
3%
The story in "Small Radios Big Televisions" is a polarizing aspect, with many players finding it vague and lacking depth, often describing it as a collection of cryptic hints rather than a cohesive narrative. While some appreciate the environmental storytelling and the intriguing themes of technology and nature, others criticize it for being overly simplistic or pretentious, leaving them confused about its meaning. Overall, the game offers a unique aesthetic experience, but its storytelling may not satisfy those seeking a more substantial plot.
- “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 paintings, markings, and graffiti on walls tell the story and often help with solving puzzles, so always check those, especially if you love storytelling.”
- “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
97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
58%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised for its phenomenal quality, with many reviewers highlighting its ability to enhance the overall experience and atmosphere. The soundtrack features a blend of relaxing ambient and psychedelic electronic music that complements the game's visuals, creating a captivating and immersive environment. While some found the music repetitive or not particularly memorable, the majority agree that it is a standout element that elevates the game's artistic presentation.
- “What turns this game into a piece of art, and in fact one of my very favorite 'game' experiences, is the combination of graphics, music, and setting.”
- “The music from this game is by far some of my favorite video game music ever.”
- “The soundtrack is very heavy, baked synthwave that combined with the aesthetic and unique visual style, give everything a very dystopian, 'analog' feel.”
- “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
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
71%
9%
The gameplay is primarily a straightforward point-and-click experience focused on finding objects and solving simple puzzles, with a significant portion of the game involving repetitive navigation between locations. While some mechanics, like the tape feature, are praised for their creativity, many players find the overall gameplay lacking in depth and challenge, often leading to a tedious experience. The game is short, typically lasting only 2-3 hours, and while it offers an interesting aesthetic, the simplistic gameplay may not appeal to those seeking more complex interactions.
- “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 gameplay is mostly solving puzzles to progress, with only a small amount of exploration.”
- “The core gameplay is not complex - 95% of the game is find-the-object, with a very small amount of puzzle in the form of either (a) manipulating collectibles to open new point-and-click locations, or (b) solving simple orient-the-object puzzles to open new point-and-click locations.”
- “It's hard to stay interested, since the gameplay offers very little in return to completing the 'puzzles'.”
- “The problem though is that this is all wasted on gameplay that is both mundane and, quite frankly, pointless.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
29%
13%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and surreal qualities, often described as haunting, serene, and artistically brilliant. Players appreciate the unique blend of minimalist graphics and adaptive soundtracks that enhance the overall experience, making it a captivating journey that transcends traditional gameplay mechanics. Many reviewers suggest that the game is best enjoyed in an altered state, as its atmospheric depth invites introspection and emotional engagement.
- “It's the video game equivalent of a mood piece, oozes atmosphere and everything even if it's not mechanistically great, genuinely deserves buying just for the experience in my opinion.”
- “I loved the haunting atmosphere and the more I played, the more invested I got with 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!”
- “This is an easy, short game that is more about atmosphere than anything else.”
- “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.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be overwhelmingly tedious and frustrating, with repetitive puzzles and clunky navigation detracting from the experience. While the visuals are appreciated, the gameplay is criticized for being slow and lacking engagement, leading to a sense of annoyance rather than enjoyment. Many reviews highlight the tedious nature of collecting items and solving puzzles, which often feel pointless and poorly explained.
- “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 over two hours and finding little incentive to revisit it. While it may serve as a casual, short experience, the limited collectibles and lack of challenge contribute to its low replay value, making it more suitable as a one-time play rather than a game to return to. Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale before purchasing, as the content does not justify its price.
- “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.”
- “At just over two hours, you may want to wait for a sale before jumping on it, because I cannot envision that there is much replay value in this.”
- “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.”
- “However, it's not very long, has very little replay value with its limited collectibles, wasn't difficult even once, and the trippy visual tricks kind of get old after a while.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
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
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 on my system despite meeting the recommended requirements, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I experienced frequent frame drops and stuttering, which completely ruined the immersion and enjoyment of the game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Despite the lack of interactive characters and a clear plot, the game offers a captivating and occasionally emotional experience that resonates with players.
- “No characters to interact with, no plot one can easily discern, but a fascinating and sometimes emotional experience.”

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54%Critics’ scoreBased on 14 critic reviews

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3h Median play time

3h Average play time

3-4h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Small Radios Big Televisions is a puzzle game.

Small Radios Big Televisions is available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 3 hours playing Small Radios Big Televisions.

Small Radios Big Televisions was released on November 8, 2016.

Small Radios Big Televisions was developed by Fire Face Corporation.

Small Radios Big Televisions has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its graphics but disliked it for its grinding.

Small Radios Big Televisions is a single player game.

Similar games include Kairo, Observation, Dreaming Sarah, Broken Reality, Tiny Echo and others.

Small Radios Big Televisions

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