Small Radios Big Televisions

Small Radios Big Televisions is an indie puzzle video game. The game was developed by Fire Face and released on 8 November 2016 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4. Owen Deery, under the developer name Fire Face, created everything in the game, including artwork and music and wrote a custom game engine.^[1] In March of 2024,Warner Bros. Discovery told Deery that the company would be pulling the game from digital storefronts, citing "internal business changes." In response, Deery made the game free to download.^[2][3]

Small Radios Big Televisions
Developer(s)	Fire Face (Owen Deery)
Publisher(s)	Adult Swim Games
Platform(s)	Windows, PlayStation 4
Release	8 November 2016
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player

Development

The game started as a free web-based prototype using WebGL and JavaScript. When the prototype attracted significant interest, Owen decided to turn it into a stand-alone game.^[1]

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	PC: 67/100[4] PS4: 62/100[5]

Review scores

Publication	Score
Destructoid	8.5/10[6]
Hardcore Gamer	3.5/5[7]
Push Square	[8]

Reception

Small Radios Big Televisions received mixed reviews from critics upon release. On Metacritic, the game holds scores of 67/100 for the PC version based on 7 reviews,^[4] and 62/100 for the PlayStation 4 version based on 15 reviews.^[5]

The game received praise from critics for the unique atmosphere created by its visuals^[9] and music.^[6][10] The music style has been likened to Boards of Canada,^[11] which was also cited as inspiration by Owen.^[1] Several reviews voiced their dislike for the unvaried puzzles^[12] and confusing story.^[10]

References

1. Sayed, Rashid (21 April 2015). "Small Radios Big Televisions, Magnetic Tape Decay and PS4 Development". GamingBolt. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
2. Purdy, Kevin (March 6, 2024). "'It's kind of depressing': WB Discovery pulls indie game for 'business changes'". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
3. Kerr, Chris (March 5, 2024). "Small Radios Big Televisions dev says mandated Warner Bros. delisting is 'kind of depressing'". Game Developer. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
4. "Small Radios Big Televisions for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
5. "Small Radios Big Televisions for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
6. Porreca, Ray (1 November 2016). "Review: Small Radios Big Televisions". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
7. Whittaker, Matt (8 November 2016). "Review: Small Radios Big Televisions". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
8. Tailby, Stephen (20 November 2016). "Small Radios Big Televisions Review (PS4)". Push Square. NLife Media. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
9. Vanderhoef, John (21 November 2016). "Small Radios, Big Televisions Review". GameCritics. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
10. Howington, Charles (18 November 2016). "Small Radios Big Televisions Review". The Overpowered Noobs.
11. Priestman, Chris (21 October 2016). "Small Radios Big Televisions finds the beauty in machine glitches". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
12. Irwin, Johnathan (13 December 2016). "Small Radios Big Televisions PC review - "Tune in, or tuned out?"". Hooked Gamers. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Original web-based game prototype