This is the one hundred twenty-sixth entry in the Scratching That Itch series, wherein I randomly select and write about one of the 1741 games and game-related things included in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. The Bundle raised $8,149,829.66 split evenly between the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Community Bail Fund, but don’t worry if you missed it. There are plenty of ways you can help support the vital cause of racial justice; try here for a start. Lastly, as always, you may click on images to view larger versions.

This next random selection from the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality is having trouble fitting its name through the door. It’s Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist, by Crows Crows Crows, and its tagline in the bundle reads:

A 15 minute experimental heist game

I’m going to hold you to the 15 minutes, Crows Crows Crows.

I’d heard of this one before getting the bundle. Crows Crows Crows are best known for The Stanley Parable, which I’ve still not played, but have certainly read a lot about. Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist is a free game that followed The Stanley Parable, guaranteeing a lot of press coverage. Like The Stanley Parable, however, it’s difficult to write about, because its central conceit is that it is not what it seems to be. I do not want to ruin that surprise for you.

So I must simply say this: Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist is a short first-person game with a silly and humorous tone. It’s mostly about walking around, poking about with various objects, and listening. And it is largely successful at being funny. It never made me laugh out loud, but it’s clever and very silly. Especially when playing through a second time, which gives access to audio tapes of director’s commentary. I nearly missed that this was a thing in the game, but I’m glad I checked them out, because the actors really went all out on these.

I do have some complaints. Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist is controlled in typical first-person fashion, with the WASD keys and mouselook, but there is no option to invert the mouse Y-axis, or even to adjust mouse sensitivity. It also runs at a fixed, low field of view, so I gradually developed a headache across its fifteen minute playtime. I’m not a game developer, but I don’t think these options are difficult to enable, so it’s disappointing that they’re not here.

But it’s hard to be too upset about this for such a short game, especially when it’s offered for free (or whatever price you wish to pay). If a quick, funny game sounds good to you, definitely check out Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist, whether or not you got it in the bundle.

That’s a suitably brief 126 down, and only 1615 to go!