“A scenic tram ride, for cats.” That’s the powerful sell for Short Trip delivered in its trailer, after which anything I say would be redundant. But I’m going to say it anyway.
Short Trip is a hand-drawn game, all graphite pencil art on rough paper, about driving a tram up and down the hills of some lovely countryside. Also, yes, you are a cat and so are the passengers you pick up and deposit at each stop.
If Short Trip looks familiar you may know its original webgame version, which we covered back in 2017. Creator Alexander Perrin explained that he was partially inspired by the Hakone Tozan railway line in Japan, and that he spent five years drawing every part of Short Trip by hand. “There’s something extremely quixotic and therapeutic about building and constructing and forming worlds full of life even though they’re all digital,” Perrin said at the time.
The upcoming Steam version will include a new “scheduled” mode where you’re scored for getting your tramload of cats to each stop on time, and apparently it “integrates your computer’s clock” to devise its timetable. There will also be some behind-the-scenes content.
In its original, unscheduled incarnation Short Trip was a relaxing experience, a cozy game that predated the cozy game explosion. It’s just pleasant to see a bunch of meticulously hand-drawn trees slide past as you slowly climb a mountain, occasionally going “Ding!” as you help papercraft cats get wherever they’re going. The new version will be out on December 11, and you can wishlist it now.