Review: CorgiSpace Is a PICO-8 Game Celebration
If you’ve never heard of it, PICO-8 is a virtual machine and “console” that runs on PCs and some homebrew devices, allowing people to make and share fun, free little game “cartridges.” (_Celeste Classic 2_ is a game for the platform, as an example.) With _CorgiSpace,_ we’re seeing Adam Saltsman celebrate what is possible within the limitations of the system in a _UFO 50_ style collection. While not as robust as the Mossmouth compilation, it’s inventive and well worth the $5 price of admission.
Upon starting _CorgiSpace_ for the first time, we’re presented with a number of wrapped, mystery cartridges with no explanation just like in _UFO 50_. Each of the 13 offers a different approach and plays with the possibilities of certain genres. Puzzles? There are tons of them. Action games that may feel like platformers, Metroidvanias, or even RPGs? Yup. There are even titles with strategic elements. Will you like all 13 of the games? Maybe not. I found there’s a higher barrier to entry for some of them than in Mossmouth’s collection due to technical limitations. But I’d wager at least half of what’s here will click with most people, which isn’t bad considering what an amazing value it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaH_5CDT7Vo
Now, before I get into specific game recommendations and assessments, there’s one issue with _CorgiSpace_ that is persistent among all games in this PICO-8 collection. That is the lack of explanation. There is no insight or explanation provided when headed into pretty much every game, though in some cases it is a bit obvious (_Bandit Accountancy_ and _Dust Bunny_ are perfect examples). If you head into a menu while in a game, you can see “controls,” but it’s mainly suggesting what cross and confirm buttons are and not offering an exact tutorial. I think a little explainer before heading into a game would have made a world of difference for some of the games. Considering other helpful and insightful information can appear on those pages, such as commentary from Saltsman that unlocks after playing a game once, I feel like there could have been room.
Now, in terms of the collection in general, I feel like _CorgiSpace_ excels when presenting a player with PICO-8 approaches to puzzle games. Like _Kuiper Cargo_ is an incredible cargo delivery and package arranging puzzle that involves strategically picking upgrades so you can deliver more cargo and be a better delivery person. I loved it. _Sebastian’s Quest_ is this fantastic approach to sokobon where you’re pushing gems to ensure the pug can eat certain things to eventually get to a point at which delicious cheese can be consumed. _Mole Mole_ is another sokobon, but it also feels _Bomberman_ -like due to needing to use bombs to clear walls and dirt to reach staircases. (But without blowing up the mole or stairs to the next level!) _Dust Bunny_ involves cleaning up and removing all dust in small mazes, while also being very aware of the fact that white buffs will stick to the rabbit and keep you from getting every speck of dirt in certain spots. _Dino Sort_ , while short, is one of my favorites in that it’s a logic puzzle where you must meet every dinosaur’s specific conditions in a small space to progress to the next level. Every _CorgiSpace_ puzzle game I’ve played is varying degrees of fun, and sometimes even great in the case of _Kuiper Cargo, Dino Sort,_ and _Sebastian’s Quest_.
I’d also say some of the action games with puzzle elements come out of this looking pretty good, though they falter due to the fact that there is no explanation as to what you’re doing. _Vampire vs Pope Army_ features this hilarious premise where we are a vampire trying to wipe out every pope. You need to approach attacks in the right order, as sunlight can damage you, popes’ holiness “spheres” zap health, and you’ll need to grab badges that increase your health as you traverse the area. But because there are no explanations about what hurts you or how to approach things, it gets frustrating. _Cave of Cards_ is similar in that you’re trying to get three-of-a-kind of spades, diamonds, hearts, and swords while chipping away at blockades around you. But there’s no explanation as to what any of those matches do or the point of it. Again, spending at least 15 minutes with it helps you work it out, but I do wish there’d been a little more explanation. Especially when I’d suddenly die to an unknown enemy. (It often was a mushroom. Even if it looks like a solid wall, if it’s mushroom-shaped I think it could still attack.)
Once we get into the action games, then things start feeling a little less solid. There are some standouts here, to be clear. _Skeleton Gelatin_ feels like a 2D Metroidvania with a slime that makes goo bubbles that help you get around things and solve puzzles. It’s thoughtful, easy to work things out, and makes you think. _Rat Dreams_ is sort of an action-RPG-like game where it feels like traversing a dungeon filled with enemies. But since it relies on dodge rolls, it really takes getting used to in order to work out how to deal with enemies, survive, and succeed. _Prince of Prussia_ is very cool once you figure out how to handle the 2D, stealth, nazi assassination game. However, since there’s no tutorial or explanation, it took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to even carry out an assassination and attack. (Jumping is also very frustrating there, since it involves using a dodge motion and many gaps involve spike-filled pits.) _Bandit Accountancy_ sort of feels “there,” since you’re only swiftly sorting colored gems. While _Derbis_ might appeal to some _Astrosmash_ fans, the grappling hook element and difficulty figuring out what to shoot and how to grab left me so frustrated that I never played it after my initial 30 minute test.
However, with the wealth of games there it does make it okay if a PICO-8 game in _CorgiSpace_ doesn’t click with you. (I seriously didn’t like _Derbis_!) I think it’s also worth checking the ones you don’t think you’d like. There are sometimes hidden secrets in their menus. For example, in the _Bandit Accountancy_ menu, I found _Snake_ clones like one called _Weasel_ with a cute, white, long weasel moving around an enclosed space to grow hearts, gradually getting bigger as it did.
Given how little it costs and how much you get, I feel like it’s worth taking a chance on the _CorgiSpace_ PICO-8 game collection. The 13+ games there are pretty diverse. I do think the puzzle games are the real stars, though a few action titles can feel pretty special too. It would have been great if there had been better tutorials for some of the experiences. Still, I feel it’s worth a try.
CorgiSpace _is_ _available_ _on PCs now._
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