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PUZZLE
CorgiSpace Review: A Dozen Mini-Games That Actually Respect My Precious Time
I've played enough 'game collections' to know they're usually filler masquerading as value. CorgiSpace is different—Adam Saltsman crammed a year's worth of legitimately clever ideas into bite-sized experiences, and I'm annoyed at how much I enjoyed it.
Paul
February 19, 2026
7.3
Overall Score
"I went into CorgiSpace expecting another lazy game collection and found something that actually understands what makes this format work."
First Impressions (Or: My Skepticism Was Justified, Until It Wasn't)
Listen, I've been burned by game collections before. You know the type—seven half-baked prototypes slapped together with a launcher that crashes more than it runs. So when I saw CorgiSpace promising 'more than a dozen' games, my finger hovered over the close button. But this is Adam Saltsman we're talking about, the guy behind Canabalt, so I gave it five minutes. Then fifteen. Then I'd accidentally played through Kuiper Cargo three times trying to optimize my cargo routes like some kind of interstellar UPS driver. The collection's hook is simple: every game is completable in under an hour, and shockingly, they actually respect that promise. No padding, no grinding, no 'come back tomorrow for your daily reward' garbage. Each mini-game has a clear idea, executes it, and gets out before overstaying its welcome. It's the gaming equivalent of a good short story collection, except I usually hate those too.
The Games Themselves: More Hits Than Misses, Somehow
Kuiper Cargo turned out to be my unexpected obsession—a run-based puzzle game about delivering space cargo with upgrade paths that actually matter. It scratches the same optimization itch as Into the Breach without demanding forty hours of my life. Cave of Cards is a roguelike where you clear mushroom-infested caves by making poker hands to craft bombs, which sounds absurd but works better than it has any right to. Mole Mole takes sokoban puzzles and adds explosives because apparently someone finally asked 'what if we could just blow up the boxes?' Dino Sort is a logic puzzle that made me feel smart when I solved it and stupid when I didn't, which is the correct ratio. Rat Dreams commits to its gimmick—a top-down souls-like with only dodge rolls, no walking—and the movement feels tight enough that I didn't rage quit. Not every game landed perfectly, but the hit rate is high enough that I'm not complaining about the five dollar price tag.
Presentation: PICO-8 Charm With PICO-8 Limitations
Everything runs on PICO-8, which means chunky pixels, limited color palettes, and that specific retro aesthetic that either works for you or doesn't. I'm old enough to remember when games actually looked like this out of necessity rather than choice, so the nostalgia mostly works on me. Each game has its own visual identity within the platform's constraints—Kuiper Cargo's clean space interface feels different from Cave of Cards' grimy dungeon crawl. The audio is similarly constrained but functional, with chiptune tracks that don't grate after extended play. Where this loses points is in the sameness—after your fifth PICO-8 game in a row, the aesthetic starts blurring together. It's competent pixel art executed within harsh technical limits, which is both impressive and occasionally monotonous. I wanted more visual variety between games, but I understand why that wasn't possible. The developer diaries explaining each game's creation are a nice touch that most collections skip entirely.
What Actually Works Here
The genius of CorgiSpace is understanding that not every idea needs to be a full game. Cave of Cards would get repetitive at ten hours. Mole Mole's bomb-sokoban gimmick is perfect for thirty minutes of puzzling. Rat Dreams' dodge-roll-only movement would become exhausting in a longer game. Saltsman clearly knows this—each concept gets exactly as much space as it deserves, then ends. The variety helps too. Puzzle game fatigue setting in? Switch to the arcade-style gameplay of another entry. Bored of that? Try the logic puzzle. The collection format means you're never stuck grinding through content you're not enjoying, which is shockingly rare in game design. Some games even save progress, though Saltsman's note that there's 'no secret stuff' is both honest and slightly disappointing. I spent twenty minutes looking anyway. The developer commentary is legitimately interesting if you care about game design, offering insights into the creative process without the usual self-congratulatory nonsense.
The Frustrations (Because Nothing's Perfect)
My main gripe is that some games are significantly better than others, and the collection doesn't really guide you toward the standouts. I wasted time on weaker entries before discovering the gems. A simple rating or recommendation system would help. The PICO-8 platform, while charming, does impose real limitations—no mouse support in most games, clunky text rendering, and that distinctive lo-fi sound that might drive some players nuts. The 'thoroughly explored in under an hour' promise is mostly accurate, but a few games feel either too short or padded to hit that target. I also wanted more integration between games—some kind of meta-progression or unlockables would've added cohesion to the collection. And while I appreciate the 'no secret stuff' honesty, part of me wishes there were hidden surprises to discover. The whole package feels slightly too straightforward, like Saltsman was so focused on delivering exactly what he promised that he forgot to add the delightful extras that make collections memorable.
The Technical Reality Check
Everything runs smoothly because PICO-8 games are tiny and optimized by necessity. No crashes, no performance issues, no day-one patches. The collection launches quickly and switching between games is instant. Save states work when available. It's refreshingly stable, which shouldn't be noteworthy but here we are in 2024 where 'the game actually runs' counts as a selling point. The controls are responsive within PICO-8's limitations—you're using arrow keys and a few buttons, nothing complex. Some games would benefit from gamepad support, but keyboard controls never felt like a dealbreaker. The interface is clean and functional, getting out of your way so you can just play games. After years of bloated launchers and mandatory online connections, this stripped-down approach feels almost revolutionary. It's a video game collection that acts like a video game collection, not a storefront or social network or cryptocurrency scam.
Rating Breakdown
Quality
8
PICO-8 limitations aside, this is exceptionally polished—each mini-game feels deliberate and finished, not like prototypes dumped into a folder.
Innovation
7
A sokoban with bombs, a souls-like with only dodge rolls, poker hands as combat—actual fresh ideas instead of the usual 'it's Tetris but with cats' nonsense.
Value
9
Five bucks for a dozen complete games that don't waste your time? In 2024? I'm genuinely suspicious but I'll take it.
Gameplay
7
Each game clicks within minutes and stays engaging—I kept saying 'just one more' and meaning it, which hasn't happened in months.
Audio/Visual
6
PICO-8 pixel art means you get charming retro aesthetics but also means everything looks a bit samey—competent but constrained by the platform.
Replayability
7
With a dozen different games and some featuring roguelike elements and progression systems, I'll actually boot this up again instead of forgetting it exists.
What Didn't Annoy Me
Legitimately respects your time—each game delivers its concept and ends before overstaying its welcome
Strong variety means you can switch genres when one stops clicking, which saved me from collection fatigue
Five dollars for a dozen games is absurdly good value, especially when most are actually worth playing
Developer diaries provide genuine insight into the creative process without being pretentious
Technically solid with no crashes, quick loading, and reliable save systems
Some genuinely clever ideas like poker-hand roguelikes and dodge-roll-only combat that I haven't seen executed this well before
What Made Me Sigh
PICO-8 aesthetic means everything looks similar after a few games, which dulls the visual variety
No guidance on which games are the standouts, so you'll waste time on weaker entries before finding gems
Some games feel too short while others feel slightly padded to hit the 'under an hour' promise
Lack of meta-progression or unlockables means no reason to engage with the collection as a cohesive whole
'No secret stuff' honesty is appreciated but also means no hidden surprises or Easter eggs to discover
Final Verdict
I went into CorgiSpace expecting another lazy game collection and found something that actually understands what makes this format work. Adam Saltsman clearly spent a year experimenting with ideas, kept the ones that clicked, and had the discipline to end each before it got boring. Not every game is a winner—a few feel like interesting experiments that didn't quite land—but the hit rate is high enough that the five dollar asking price feels almost generous. Kuiper Cargo alone justified my purchase, and discovering Cave of Cards felt like finding twenty bucks in an old jacket. The PICO-8 aesthetic limits visual variety and some players will bounce off the retro constraints, but if you can handle chunky pixels and chiptunes, there's real value here. This is what game collections should be: focused ideas executed well, packaged efficiently, priced fairly. I'm annoyed at how much I enjoyed it because now I have to recommend it, and I hate being positive. But here we are. CorgiSpace is good. Play it.
CorgiSpace
Genre
Puzzle
Developer
Finji
Platform
Windows, Mac, Linux
Release Date
Jan 1, 2026
Rating
7.3
/10
Tags
puzzle
arcade
pixel-art
pico-8
game-collection
retro
sokoban
roguelike
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