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Ranking the Games of CorgiSpace

Categories: [Lists]
Tags: [Collections], [PICO-8], [Short Games], [Indies]

It's impossible to talk about CorgiSpace without also at least mentioning UFO50, the best-selling game from 2024 that was actually 50 games in one, featuring smaller games in different genres created by different indie developers. The DNA of UFO50 runs throughout CorgiSpace, which features 13 smaller 8-bit games of varying complexity and genres, and like UFO50, varying levels of fun.

Having recently completed all 13 of the base games, I thought it would be fun to write a bit about each one and, in the spirit of the Internet, judge them and rank them like all good video game websites do.

13- Bandit Accountancy: Probably the simplest of the games in the collection, this one features the simple act of pressing the correct direction to move gems into their respective piles before the timer runs out. It's not bad, but it's simple enough that one play is probably all you'll need.

12- Derbris: A play on Missile Command, this game has you collecting ammo and batteries to shoot missiles out of the sky, while also evacuating your city residents and protecting their evacuation pods. It's much more complex than Bandit Accountancy, but it still feels a little too arcade-ey to hold my interest for too long.

11- Mole Mole: Most of the games in CorgiSpace are puzzlers, and Mole Mole is one of the more basic. Featuring a set of one-screen puzzles, your little mole guy collects bombs and blasts a pathway through dirt until you find the exit that takes you to the next screen. I found most of the screens a bit easy, and the ones that gave me trouble were just a bit too frustrating. Decent puzzler in concept, but not quite complex enough to be my favorite.

10- Skelaton Gelatin: The only Metroidvania in the collection, Skeleton Gelatin requires you to move your little blob-friend through a series of platforming challenges using the generation of bubbles as a means of "jumping." I really enjoyed this one, but it had some parts that felt a little too finicky and unclear. Not a bad game, but I feel like there are other games in the collection that felt more engaging. There are two endings to this game, and after I finished it once, I really didn't feel like going back to 100-percent it to see the other ending.

09- Rat Dreams: An interesting 8-bit souls-like, this is probably the most difficult game in the collection. You control a rat with a big sword that moves through a desolate landscape and kills skeletons and stuff. There isn't a ton of complexity to the game itself. Dodging is your basic verb, and you use this movement to both to avoid attacks and attack the enemy. As a fan of difficult games, I had a good time with it. But it's not going to be for everyone.

08- Dust Bunny: Another collection of one-screen puzzles, this one involves moving a bunny around to sweep up and clear the screen of dust. This one has a neat scaling to it, as additional mechanics are added every 10 levels or so. The puzzles never get too complex, but it's enough to keep it fresh through the end. I would have ranked it higher, but it kind of felt a little too easy at times. I would have taken another 10-20 screens with some additional mechanics to really pull things together.

07- Cave of Cards: This is probably the game I spent the most time on to complete, and that's because it felt pretty luck-based. You move around the arena and collect card suits the translate into resources that you use to find more card suits to generate more resources until the screen is clear. Since the screen layout is random, it felt like many of my attempts ended up failing spectacularly due only to the way the screen was laid out. I would pick the wrong first move, and my problems would cascade from there. That said, I am glad I stuck with it, though, because I found actually completing the screen immensely satisfying.

06- Sebastian's Quest: I don't play Sokoban games, but I understand the appeal, especially after playing Sebastian's Quest. You play as an adorable pug who pushes gems around to merge them with similar gems to create new gems, which you then push around to create more new gems, rinse and repeat, until you get a piece of cheese to win the game. Efficiency is the name of the game here, and clearing the ten or so screens requires careful planning and resource management. Overall, Sebastian's Quest is a solid puzzle game, and one of my favorites.

05- Dino Sort: Easily my favorite one-screen puzzle game in the collection, Dino Sort requires you to move little dinosaurs around to meet a set of criteria. For example, the T-Rex needs to be next to prey, but not next to other T-Rexes. The raptors need to be either next to bushes or next to prey. There's essentially one solution to each screen, and figuring out each one left me feeling very satisfied. This is another one that I would have happily had 10 or 20 more puzzles.

04- Dust Settlers: The closest thing to a strategy game in the collection, Dust Settlers involves selecting Tetronimo-shaped sections of a grid to either develop the squares or prime them for future development. You connect developed squares to earn points and earn as many points as possible before time runs out. The game is deceptively simple, but as the timer on the side of the screen starts to wind down, you start to feel the pressure, and the size of the grid starts to feel quite daunting.

03- Vampire vs Pope Army: An interesting tactical game requiring a mix of puzzle solving and resource management, Vampire vs Pope Army has you taking the role of a vampire imprisoned in a cathedral, who needs to kill clergymen and drink their blood to replenish your health. The ultimate goal is to kill the cardinal with at least one healthbar left. This would be a fun one to speedrun, I think, because you can definitely win the game without killing all of the clergymen. And I'm pretty sure you could find a path to winning the game with killing the fewest clergymen in the quickest time. That said, I played this one two or three times to find the last clergymen I was missing to 100-percent it.

02- Kuiper Cargo: If you've played Tetris before, then you'll recognize the simple gameplay loop of Kuiper Cargo. You drop blocks of four squares in various shapes, moving them from left to right and rotating them to fill up empty space. Where Kuiper Cargo sets itself apart is that instead of trying to form complete lines to erase them and keep the gameplay area clear of blocks, you're instead trying to fill every nook and cranny. See, you are loading cargo onto a delivery ship, and your goal is to load the most cargo, both in quantity and value, to maximize each delivery. You then use your earnings to upgrade your ship, so you can take more valuable cargo and larger quantities. The gameplay loop is solid, and I found myself replaying this one more than the others to try and get the highest of scores.

01- Prince of Prussia: When I was a kid, I rented Flashback from Video Kingdom and then learned quickly that I didn't get it. I rented it again and again, and while I never beat it, I always found the movement interesting. It was almost puzzle-like in how you moved through the level, where you placed yourself before acting, and actually carrying out the action. There was a precision there that I did not have the patience for as a kid, but I always wanted to. I haven't played Flashback in years, but the second I started Prince of Prussia, I was instantly transported back to those rental days, and I absolutely loved it. Like Flashback and Prince of Persia (as the name of the game implies), Prince of Prussia borrows heavily from these movement-based platformers, but it does it well. Plus, the entire game is about sneaking up on Nazis and stabbing them in the neck with a shard of metal. Gun? Your character finds one, but doesn't use it, literally saying that he wants to make it hurt. If that's not an awesome enough reason to play this game, I don't know what is.

I know that CorgiSpace isn't going to be for everyone. UFO50 wasn't for everyone. That said, I do think there's an audience for short little games like this, and this collection is full of really good ones. Add into this the fact that the creator wants to continue adding games to the collection, and the five dollar price tag makes a lot more sense. In fact, the first update of three additional games is coming on Wednesday, and I for one will be first in line to download it.