CorgiSpace: The 4MB Mystery Box That Puts AAA To Shame

Booting up CorgiSpace feels exactly like stumbling upon a dusty, forgotten computer in an attic and finding a library of experimental software. It’s a mysterious collection of mini-games tied to cartridges where the stakes are high, and the tutorials are nonexistent. You’re dropped into a world of old-school grit where the story is drip-fed through death, and every pixel feels like it was pulled straight from the Atari 2600 era.

Specs & HUD | Gameplay Review | Performance | Settings & Controls

CorgiSpace Steam Review: Specs & HUD

• Download Size: Clocking in at a tiny 4.11MB, this is pure efficiency.
• Achievement Status: There are currently no Steam achievements to hunt for.
• Game Library: You get 19 games at the moment, with new ones appearing over time.
• Progression System: Games are tied to cartridges; you have to beat one to open the next.
• History Snippets: Each game includes a piece of history about its inspiration that you unlock by playing.
• Secret Content: There is a secret game hidden in the start menu on the game select screen.

Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown

The first game is a top-down 2D adventure game, and you move around and attack enemies for exp and health. You go screen to screen and move by aiming and clicking the move. It all sounds messy, but it is a lot of fun, like an old-school adventure game. You get health items and even change colour as you get new weapons. The movement system seems weird at first, but I grew to love it. Being able to see where enemies would attack adds to the movement mechanic, and the game is unique and fun for that.

A stamina-based system goes down when you move and attack; it comes back quickly, but it’s enough time that you cannot just aimlessly attack; it requires some thought. There are many breakable objects to smash up or grass to cut down. As said, the game plays out on a screen-by-screen basis, and some screens can have multiple exits. The games are not easy, but they are also strangely addictive. It feels like I booted up a computer and got access to a load of cool little games.

The cargo game is like Tetris, but not really. You place cargo containers and try to fill the screen, matching colours to get bonuses and cash. Then you buy upgrades at each level, like a bigger area, more time for drops, and so much more. It’s so simple yet so addictive. The twist being you cannot hold or rate cargo blocks; they will only maybe rotate once, but that also changes the colour. Frogwell remastered is a puzzle game where you fall down a well and can move one square at a time with a jump or use your tongue to grab onto a wall. You have to avoid obstacles and make it to the bottom.

Dust Settlers is a game where you flip tiles and add matches together; the cursor shape changes like Tetris pieces, and to be honest, it’s hard to explain, but after a few games, you know what you’re doing. Debris is a game where you are stationary and have a hook to hook in ammo and health as debris drips, you unlock the ability to shoot debris, and you are protecting your base. Sebastian’s quest is a cheese-pushing puzzle game and supports Japanese and English languages. I kind of don’t want to list every game and every mechanic in great detail, as so much of the game collection is surprising and working it out for yourself.

CorgiSpace Steam Review: Performance & Fidelity

• Visual Style: Features awesome old-school graphics that really feel like Atari 2600 games.
• Loading Speed: Fast loading times across the board.
• Death Mechanics: Instant respawning is included, which is good because you will die a lot.
• Persistence: Killed enemies stay dead when you respawn, and you can find checkpoints.
• Atmosphere: You get sentences or short words after every death, so the story very slowly gets drip-fed to you; it’s mysterious and has a game show-like Knightmare vibe to it.

Settings, Customisation & Control Details

• Controller Support: The game features full controller support.
• Input Depth: Simple two-button controls, where all buttons work, but there are only two actual actions.
• Visual Layout: There are two button layouts for controls, but the game never tells you what they are.
• Remapping: You cannot remap the controls at all, no matter if you have a controller or mouse and keyboard.
• In-Game Settings: Includes a sound toggle, volume slider, full-screen, and controls that let you see them.
• Technical Limitations: To be honest, it’s not needed, but just to let you know, there are no graphics or game settings.
• Navigation: At any point, you can reset the cartridge and also go back to the game select screen.

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