Show Notes
Fishbowl, developed by imissmyfriends.studio and published by Wholesome Games Presents, is a quietly emotional narrative game about a young woman processing her grief while the world around her changes forever. You play as Alo, who has just moved to a new city to start a brand new job, just one month after the passing of her dear grandmother. As Alo is coping with this loss, along with all of the changes that come with moving and starting a new job, she learns that her work will abruptly shift to all-remote, due to a surge in illnesses leading to a global pandemic. The experience of living through lockdown while processing her own personal loss is deeply relatable, and takes both Alo and players to many places emotionally, all while staying within the four walls of Alo's apartment.In episode 67 of No Small Games, Kate and Emily reflect on their own experiences of the pandemic in 2020, as they discuss their time playing Fishbowl. The game brought up many memories for both hosts, as they compare their experiences to Alo's. This conversation was a cathartic flashback to the year that life as we knew it turned upside down. We hope that listening can be cathartic for you as well. Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:06:30 - Boss Battles00:18:08 - Fishbowl Discussion01:13:48 - Fishbowl Spoilers01:34:45 - Game Ratings01:39:12 - One Small Thing Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social Emily's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social No Small Games Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/nosmallgames.bsky.social No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com
More from No Small Games
Project Songbird, developed by Connor Rush and FYRE Games, is a 2026 narrative horror game set deep in the Appalachian forests. Singer-songwriter Dakota is struggling with writer's block and needs to escape their intrusive, dark memories to focus on producing their music. Project Songbird combines survival horror gameplay with a traditional narrative walking sim experience. Players must help Dakota confront their inner demons and make it out of the woods in one piece.In episode 73 of No Small Games, we're getting into the Halloween spirit by confronting the two scariest things we could thing of: horrifying monsters and emotional vulnerability. We discuss the triumphs and downfalls of this iteration on survival horror gameplay, along with our impressions of Dakota's journey. Best of all, we dig in to the themes of the story, that center around what it means to create things for ourselves, for other people, and how to survive the pressure of expectations. Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:09:00 - Boss Battles00:27:15 - Project Songbird Discussion01:49:10 - Game Ratings01:54:34 - One Small Thing Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social Emily's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social No Small Games Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/nosmallgames.bsky.social No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com
Sovereign Tower, developed by Wild Wits Games and published by Curve Games, plucks you from obscurity and drops you atop the throne of a small, humble kingdom. Without warning, it becomes your role to listen to subjects and determine whose requests get granted, to develop relationships with potential allies, and to protect the sovereignty of your rule. To do this, you must gather a band of fearsome knights to your round table. You'll be able to choose their quests and strategically send them out on missions that require their specialized skills and hopefully also meet their goals for personal fulfillment. Yes, it is essentially medieval Dispatch, in the best way.In Episode 72, we're joined by Robin Bea to discuss the many shenanigans we engaged in during our playthroughs of Sovereign Tower. You'll hear about our successes in dating around the tower, and who we chose to ally ourselves with. A heads up to anyone who wants to play the game: every choice matters and the narrative begins to branch meaningfully and quickly, so our narrative discussion will contain some spoilers, even before our official spoiler section. We had a delight chatting with Robin about this incredibly special game, and we hope you enjoy the chat! Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:05:52 - Weekly Boss Battles00:16:20 - Meet our Guest - Robin Bea00:33:27 - Sovereign Tower Discussion01:31:53 - Sovereign Tower Spoilers01:39:21 - Game Ratings01:45:14 - One Small Thing Meet our GuestRobin (she/her)@robinbombus.bsky.socialRobin Bea is a games journalist and critic and the co-host of the video game podcasts Girl Mode and dotzip, and In Sequence, comics and manga podcast for everyone. Her voice in game media is one that we admire immensely.Check out Robin on:Girl Mode dotzip In Sequence Bluesky
Welcome back to the NSG Indie Game Roundup, our monthly series featuring indie games news, plus game demos and new release discussions.If you thought your Indie Game of the Year pick or top 10 of 2026 was locked in, September probably threw all of that out of whack. It certainly made us question everything we previously thought, because this month was relentless with its deluge of incredible indies. From Well Dweller, to Woodo, to Sucker for Love, we really drew from every genre and vibe this month in our selection. We're also looking ahead to October, because 2026 does not appear to be slowing down with the game releases.Also, huge thanks to our newest Patreon supporters! In addition to other fun perks, members on Patreon get early access to all of the Indie Game Roundup episodes. If you love No Small Games and would like to support us in growing the show, while also unlocking fun, exclusive content, you can check out our Patreon page.You can find our full show notes, including links and shoutouts, on the No Small Games site: Indie Game Roundup - September 2026 Show Notes
Wax Heads, developed by Patattie Games, is a slice-of-life visual novel mixed with a record store management sim. You'll spend your shifts at Repeater Records recommending albums to a parade of strange and charming customers, learning about the panoply of fascinating artists from the Wax Heads cinematic universe, and chatting with your coworkers. Everyone on staff at the store has a fascinating backstory to unpack, but none more than your elusive boss, Morgan Macintyre. But just as you're getting to know and love the store, your customers, and your colleagues, the threat of a closure begins to loom. Can Repeater Records be saved?In Episode 71, we had the pleasure of chatting with content creator Kevin Cortez about this quirky musical-centered game. Everyone had their own personal experience of spending day in and day out recommending music to the Repeater Records customers, and you'll get to hear about everyone's favorite coworkers. Most importantly, perhaps, you'll also hear our definitive berry rankings! Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:05:38 - Weekly Boss Battles00:13:02 - Meet our Guest - Kevin Cortez00:26:28 - Wax Heads Discussion01:35:38 - Wax Heads Spoilers01:41:12 - Game Ratings01:46:02 - One Small Thing Meet our GuestKevin (he/him)@kevincortez.huffpost.comKevin Cortez is the Shopping Editor at HuffPost, a contributor to the gaming blog site Mothership, and a content creator who curates recommendations for a variety of fun product types, including gaming merch. We're big fans of all of his work and loved getting a peek into his process in this episode!Check out Kevin on:Tiktok Instagram Bluesky
We're bringing you along for our first PAX West in Seattle! We're stoked to share all the indie demos, side events, and shenanigans!Our very first PAX West in Seattle had us feeling like games media babies all over again. Two buildings, many floors of expo booths, panels, and programming, and so much to explore! But we played more indie game demos than ever at this PAX! We also got to attend some wonderfully indie-centric side events like the MIX Fall Showcase and the Seattle Indies Expo. We're a little loopy from all the travel, but we hope you enjoy this recap of all the games we got to check out, including some exclusive sneak peeks!Curious to hear and see more about these games? Check out our roundup of 11 stellar indie games we got our hands on at the show, including our Game of the Show! Also, check out the full show notes for the names of and links to all of the games we talk about in this episode! Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro00:00:05 - NSG Off the Cuff: PAX Day 100:07:53 - PAX West 2026 First Impressions00:19:10 - Unofficial Side Events00:27:47 - NSG Off the Cuff: PAX Day 200:50:20 - PAX Indie Demo Highlights01:15:20 - Interview - Manda Farough and Greg Rogers, Causeway Studios01:33:34 - PAX Indie Demo Highlights Continued01:38:18 - Interview - Ben Escobar, Genie Boy Games01:42:56 - PAX Indie Demo Highlights Continued02:12:21 - Interview - Quintin Pan, ambedo studio02:20:20 - PAX Indie Demo Highlights Continued Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/katerblossom.bsky.social Emily's Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/aspecificegg.bsky.social No Small Games Bluesky ✦ https://bsky.app/profile/nosmallgames.bsky.social No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com