Some games are big, sprawling adventures that expect hundreds of hours from their player, and others are small, bite-sized little experiences. Short Trip is inarguably the latter; it can be completed in about five minutes, despite the fact that it took five years to craft. The game is described by creator Alexander Perrin as “an interactive illustration” and it tasks the player with driving a tram for goofy-looking, bipedal cats through scenic mountainside villages.
Short Trip can be played free-form or with a “scheduled” mode. A scheduled playthrough syncs with your computer’s clock to create a time table, and your goal is to be on time so all these cats can get to work on time. The developer Alexander Perrin previously released an earlier version of Short Trip for free; the final product can be picked up for just a couple of dollars.
While the visuals are an obvious draw, when playing I also found myself soothed and relaxed by the sound of the tram rumbling along the tracks and the soft meows of parting passengers. It’s a small, simple pleasure to live in that world for a few minutes here and there.
This is the kind of game that serves as a lovely palette cleanser at the end of a work day or after devouring some massive, open-world RPG. Sometimes, I want a dense experience where I have to tailor my roster of multiple characters in order to tackle end game bosses… and sometimes, I want nothing more than to be the simple driver of a tram full of cats, ringing the little bell so the next station knows I’m on my way.
Short Trip released on Steam on Dec. 11, and is on sale for 10% off for launch.
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