​

Family dinners can be hard. This is obviously highly subjective and dependent on your family, but any gathering of extended family is going to be a bit awkward. These are people that you probably don’t see often, who you have few shared experiences with, but you feel a responsibility to be close with because of your shared blood. With travel restrictions in place due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there’s likely going to be a lot of families unable to gather for these types of dinners. Luckily, indie developers Laura Mitchet and Brendon Chung have brought us Tall Bagel, a roughly ten-minute narrative experience simulating a family dinner at a fancy restaurant.

It does a great job capturing the mild discomfort of an extended family gathering. There are a few moments where the conversation veers a little political and people need to be told not to discuss politics at the table, an awkward reminder of how fragile the peace is. Large parts of the conversation are taken up with catching up on basic facts about people at the table, reinforcing how tenuous your connection is. And there's one guest sitting silently at the end of the table, struggling to fit in: you.

​

You play as Mar, one of the dinner guests, and some kind of large amphibian. Your only way of interacting is to launch your long frog tongue across the table and swallow whatever object you reach, so as the conversation plods along, there’s no way for you to jump in. If you're somebody who feels disconnected from your family, Tall Bagel becomes an eerie experience as it captures such a familiar feeling through such an absurd premise. Every now and then, a fly will buzz around the table, and you can catch it with your tongue. Nobody reacts to it, however; it's just this little game you're playing to kill time during dinner. As they talk about the social issues of the day, they'll throw in some comments about how they affect amphibians, giving you an easy way to join the conversation--but you still can't. The worst moments are when you're asked a direct question, and the entire table turns in unison to stare at you, patiently waiting for an answer. You want to answer them, to not hold up the conversation anymore, but you just don't know how, so after a few seconds someone else will helpfully pipe up and answer for you.

That's the hardest pill to swallow about Tall Bagel. None of these dinner guests are bad people. There's no drama, the awkwardness doesn't come from major flaws, and they all try reasonably hard to include you. But there's just something different about you, and you can't communicate with them. Even if you could, somehow you know they wouldn't understand. It's nobody's fault. That's just how family is sometimes.

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of GBAtemp Recommends. If you'd like to see more, leave your feedback in the thread below or check out our previous articles.

GBAtemp Recommends Issues

Jazzpunk - #17
Mario's Super Picross - #16
Dread X Collection Volume I & II - #15
Journey to the Savage Planet - #14
Collar X Malice - #13
Persona 4 Golden - #12
Call of Duty: Warzone - #11
Uno - #10
Frog Detective Series - #9
The Simpsons: Hit & Run - #8
Catherine - #7
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red & Blue Rescue Team - #6
Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku Series - #5
Dead Rising - #4
Classic Fallout - #3
Silent Hill 1 - #2
Danganronpa Series - #1

 

[Ericzander]

What a strange concept for a game. You drew me in with the concept and then shocked me with the ol' frogaroo. I love it.

 

[slimbizzy]

looks interesting. i was a bit skeptical at first because usually when you see a dinner table setting with pink colors it's some sort of romance roleplay game but then i scrolled down, saw what ericzander said, got caught by the "frogaroo" and instantly read the actual post.

not something i'd purchase nor play, but it's cute and probably holds some funny komedy moments.

 

[relauby]

looks interesting. i was a bit skeptical at first because usually when you see a dinner table setting with pink colors it's some sort of romance roleplay game but then i scrolled down, saw what ericzander said, got caught by the "frogaroo" and instantly read the actual post.

not something i'd purchase nor play, but it's cute and probably holds some funny komedy moments.

I didn’t fit it into the post but it’s worth mentioning that this is free on the developer’s itch page.

 

[slimbizzy]

I didn’t fit it into the post but it’s worth mentioning that this is free on the developer’s itch page.

oh goody! maybe i'll give it a shot then! thank you for this and happy holidays!

 

[Chary]

It’s games like these that really catch my attention lately. Weird, out there concepts, made by tiny/single team devs, with a small focus. Love the recommendation.

 

[Taleweaver]

Hmm... I get the idea, but I only have these situations from hearsay. Both my extended families are pretty awesome. There's little I would dare discuss with them, let alone there 'd be something that would turn things awkward.

But it's a good concept. Even if it comes down to' a walking simulator without walking '. I'll probably check this one out soon...

I didn’t fit it into the post but it’s worth mentioning that this is free on the developer’s itch page.

Ah... I figured something like this.

 

[Reploid]

Hm... I wonder what's for dinner

 

[Silent_Gunner]

"None of these dinner guests are bad people. There's no drama, the awkwardness doesn't come from major flaws, and they all try reasonably hard to include you. But there's just something different about you, and you can't communicate with them. Even if you could, somehow you know they wouldn't understand. It's nobody's fault. That's just how family is sometimes."

Wow, that hit home...

 

[Bladexdsl]

WHAT THE FUCK is this shit?!

 

[Maq47]

WHAT THE FUCK is this shit?!

Something you don't need to pirate. xD

 

[Seliph]

As an amphibian myself I'm glad to see this type of representation in video games

 

[ZipMartin]

This game is ridiculous. I laughed so hard when everybody looked silently at me after I croaked or licked their faces. I love it.