A few days ago, a curious little game appeared on Steam. A “complimentary” game (that is, it’s free, not free-to-play but completely free) from new studio Crows Crows Crows, Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist (hereby referred to as Dr. Langeskov, because DLTTaTTCE:AWH, while amusing, is a pain in the arm to type out) has made quite the viral impact on the gaming community.

It’s a really interesting little experience. Fans of The Stanley Parable may recognise the name William Pugh as on of the main designers alongside Davey Wreden on the standalone release, and that makes sense given Dr. Langeskov’s similar style of narrative and game design. If you haven’t played the game yet, then you really should invest the 20 minutes it takes to play through the thing. If you need a little bit more context to pique your interest, then I’ll give you as broad a summary as I can: you’re following instructions from the disembodied voice of Simon Amstell to run several environmental effects, backstage in an action heist video game.

The game is spearheaded by Amstell’s wonderfully awkward character (think Wheatley from Portal 2) as he struggles to keep the game running with the fictional game company’s backstage crew on strike, hence the need for the player to work the effects for an unseen player’s benefit. The game feels like a bit of a poke at game development companies whose employees are mistreated or overworked, especially in light of recent revelations about Konami, as well as the more obvious Stanley Parable- esque commentary on player-game interactions.

Although limited in scope, Dr. Langeskov is a very tightly crafted piece of work. Although made using the Source engine, the environments shine through the placement of lots of visual gags including post-it notes and letters of resignation from disgruntled employees of the fictional development team of the game. The real charm comes from the excellent writing evident in Amstell’s narration, along with his natural talent with comic timing and pacing. While I didn’t laugh out loud, I was certainly smiling the whole way through the game.

I’ve got to say, this is a hell of a way to introduce yourself to the world as a new studio. Crows Crows Crows (these guys are really into names that are a pain to type, huh) have produced a delightful gem to showcase their considerable talents, and it’s really payed off; I’m sure a ton of people will really pay attention to whatever they turn out next. And I really hope that’s the case. Because in a world where the AAA companies seem afraid to experiment and push boundaries in favour of safe money, it’s great to see that this small team is very willing to to produce a very polished little experiment, so that next time, players know that their offerings are worth the money.