Small Town Emo (demo)
Ken is an emo teen with an awkward gay crush on his best friend, Fergus.
Things are (not) okay, but...
Maybe there's a chance they could be?
PLAY DEMO ON ITCH.IO OR STEAM!
xXx_St0ry_xXx
Set the weekend before Halloween in 2007, Small Town Emo follows the story of Ken, a seventeen year old emo with a crush on his goofy best friend; Fergus.
In the lead up to a costume party, Ken spends the day trying to find the courage to confess his feelings.
Can Ken figure things out, or is he doomed to have depressing song lyrics as his Messenger status ‘til the end of time?
xXx_FeaTuReZ_xXx
- 1.275 hours of "gameplay"!
- Play in 4 mind-boggling colours!
- 8 mouthwateringly hilarious collectible memes!
- 97% pure walking & talking - no pesky action!
- Priceless minigames, including "bullet hell" and "pimple popper"!
- Engaging cutscenes - poorly AND quickly drawn!
- Immersive simulated MSN Messenger sequences!
- Hand-picked, faithfully recreated fanfiction tropes!
- Complete linearity, only the vaguest illusion of choice!
xXx_cOnTRols_xXx
| MOVE | [ARROW KEYS] or [WASD] |
| INTERACT | [Z] or [SPACE] |
| CANCEL | [X] |
| MENU | [ENTER] or [SHIFT] |
xXx_eXtraZ_xXx
Full Credits (click to expand)
DESIGN, ART, WRITINGThomas Barrer COVER ART
Hessel Bouma AUDIO BY
Victor Valdez
Beat Scribe
Rulz ASSETS & HELP
Sam Baker
Nate Tamblyn
MonkeyImage CONSULTATION
Lukas Mayo
Jen Dee
Nate Tamblyn
Sarah Lund PLAYTESTING
Tori Head
Kay O'Neill
Alex Cara
Sean Lewis
Sorcha Millican-Nagle MADE IN GB STUDIO
Thanks to Chris Maltby & Co
Light Content Warning (click to expand)
CW: Occasional cursing/swearing, few depictions of mild homophobia, references to drinking underage, vague disrespect of a cemetery.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- when will our Small Town Emos return from the war!?Apr 04, 2025
- sneaks peeks + what weve been busy witthSep 02, 2024
- delays (sorry lol) + cool news!?Apr 30, 2024
- Steam Next Fest: 5-12 FebFeb 05, 2024
- 2024 ((roadmap 2 release)) + MQGF 2023 + thxJan 15, 2024
- Catch Small Town Emo @ SXSW SydneyOct 16, 2023
- Small Town Emo is a part of Gayming LIVE 2023Oct 04, 2023
- Small Town Emo nomin8d for four (4) NZ Game AwardsAug 15, 2023
Comments
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It was good...and then it ended 🥲
The way I frowned when it said demo end. Like bro I wanted to see them kiss sigh
Playing this game on my 3DS with a gameboy emulator <3
Loving it.
omg looks soooo good!!!!!! thanks for sharing, 3DS is such a banger handheld, definitely a fave
i really really hope this gets updated, absolutely adore it <33
This is a work of ART. So inspiring! I can't wait to see future updates for this <3
Despite being someone who's the same age as the characters, a Millennial, I found the dialogue hard to stomach. Even accounting for regional slang, the way these characters talk feels exaggerated to the point of surrealism. Sure, we texted like that a bit, but I wouldn’t say most teens actually spoke that way. It comes off more like a stylized, fujoshi-tinged interpretation of queer teen boys than something grounded in lived experience. I know the devs are queer themselves, but that’s just how it read to me.
That said, the story did manage to hook me enough to want to see what happens next. Still, I wouldn’t say the demo won me over. On top of the dialogue issues, the movement system felt unpolished, and in a game where walking around is the core mechanic, that’s a major drawback.
honestly very valid crit ❤️ the tone/style is meant to be a bit (very?) fanfic-esque and silly, and i can totally see that not being everyone's cup of tea. its definitely a stylisation (cartoonification?) of my myspace-era lived experience, for sure.
i'd love to make the movement feel a bit less jank but not sure if i can get it behaving better in GB studio -- there's just some lag i couldn't quite iron out, lol. maybe in future projects!
in any case, appreciate the thoughtful and detailed critique! 🔥🔥
Absolutly amazing. I want to know if they will kiss. Also the dinosaur 'joke' or wathever was really funny especially since I love dinosaurs. Just a fun little detail. :)
I just love it so much! I played the demo a while ago and I’m still so excited about it. The design of the game’s page is absolutely amazing too. Seriously, wonderful job, you can really feel the love put into it. I can’t wait to play it! 💖
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FINISH THIS I NEED THEM TO KISS. I NEED THEM TO KISS YOU DONT GET IT. AHHHHHHHH
kinda want dan and phil to play this once it comes out
good luck on the rest of development!! this is such a fun and charming game... can't wait for more
pleaasee it would be so good if Dan and Phil played this 😭 I need it in my life
This is hitting hard after the reveal haha
lumin is freaking crazy
heyyyyyy 3:
meanie baneanie.
HIII
i will pee your pants 3:
I want to inject this game into my veins I cried 7 times this is so good I'm bawling
Real
idk if there's anywhere i could send you a short video but i found a bug in the demo :)
hiya! thanks for asking, really appreciate you taking the time to do a bug report!!! <3
if you wanna send it through you can email it to info@fnifegames.com
Is this fully released yet?
noooo still working on it (very slowly part time) sorry lolll. will definitely make a big shout about it when it's done tho!!! <3
Woohooo, thank you, can't wait to play the whole thing nodnod, got it on itchio and steam. This is the game I most recommend since it's so wholesome. ♥☺
I LOVE IT SO MUCH JSUBDHSAJKC
ARRATSRSTFDADTZFASDZFUJIUHK I JUST PLAYED THE DEMO ON STEAM AND I ABSOLUTELKY LOVED IT!!!!!!! RAAA IM GOING CRAZY!!! I CANT WAIT FOR THE FULL GAME
Fucking dammit just have them kiss already I'm going to insane
this was so freakin cute holy crap!! i NEED the full version uughghhg
Looking forward to the full version! I loved the demo and will be keeping an eye out for any updates.
Nico di Angelo and will solace
omg this was soo good!! I can't wait for the full game! also im like pretty sure ferg likes ken back cuz of how he was acting but idk JS CONFESS TO EACH OTHER ALREADY auggggghh
THIS IS SO COOL! I really liked the story & characters! I loved playing as Ken and I can't wait for the full game.
OMG I haven't played this demo in such a long time! I just remembered it and now I wanna know when is the full game going to be released?
yo thanks for coming back & checking on the demo!!! been super busy with other projects but still aiming to release full version this year (2025).. thx 4 ur support <3
YESYESIMFOAMINGATTHEMOUTHAAAAAAAAAAAA
Actually tweaking out at all the times Ken COULD HAVE confessed and didn't, and Fergus is such a cutie pie! UGH JUST MAKE OUT ALREADY!!! :'(
IKR! and the part where they LITERALLY HELD HANDS?? ughhhh i love them sm!!
honestly the graveyard bit was making mr FUCKING PISSED. like i saw the angel statue RIGHT THERE. STUPID BUSHES. overall great game!!! though the slowburn of these two characters is killing meeeee :'l
as i collected the arms and legs puzzle pieces i thought "like Exodia lol"
theN it SUDDENLY FYCKING EXODIA
this is a very neat game
thank u. honestly the exodia cameo/reference felt spiritually necessary, so glad its appreciated!!!!! 🦶💪👹🤙🦵
HELP I CANT FIGURE OUT HOW 2 GET THE FOURTH PART OF THE PUZZLE IM TWEAKING OUT
yoo! sorry for just replying to this now. the graveyard part is for sure a bit confusing!!! 🐸🐸
Once you have the 'Private Key', the 4th part of the puzzle is found in the crypt in the bottom right area of the graveyard (it's sort of fenced off)
u can skim through this playthru video here to check if u are still stuck:
hope that helps!!!!
This is so charming and nostalgic, I love it. It made me cringe and smile at the same time, saw too much of teenage me in the characters lol
This was absolutely incredible, I cant wait to play the full game.
I was so happy, when we went to the cemetery and there was a puzzle. It was fun :D. I do wanna punch the characters a lil' bit but that's just cause teenagers scare the living shit out of me, they could care less as long as someone will bleed, so darken your clothes & strike a violent pose, maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me!
this is cool, i love it i want to see that math girl
how do i send a text
omg great question! well in case u mean within this game: during certain sections Ken will automatically text other characters, but the phone/texting is *not* something you can manually activate from any menus. (also::: the "phone game" option is skippable and not a requirement!!!!!) ye
OMG thank you so muuuch
DONT EDGE ME LIKE THAT NOW I NNED TO SEE THEM GET TOGETHER
AMAZING LOVELY IVE NEVER COMMENTED BEFORE AND NOW IM COMMENTING ITS JUST HILARIOUS BUT ADORABLE BUT BEAUTIFUL I LOVE TH ART THE ASTGETHIC THE DIALOGS THE MECHANICS THE STORY TRUELY DIVINE
THIS WAS SO FUN OMG🙏🙏
This was so adorable :)
Thx <3
It was soooo good. I had so much fun!!! super cute.
WARNING: game contains BRITISH PEOPLE
EEK. or are they... new zealanders???? 😭😭😭😭
please finish the game!! it's so good and I can't wait for more
cannot wait to play this on stream!