I came into Small Saga expecting a cute, quirky RPG about a mouse avenging his tail, and it is absolutely that. The gameplay is a blast, the turn-based combat is tight and satisfying, and the whole adventure is just plain fun. But what's really gotten its little rodent claws into my brain is how I can't stop thinking about it, long after I’ve put it down. It’s the way the game’s world holds up a grimy, discarded mirror to our own that truly elevates it from a great game to an unforgettable one.
The game can be a bit on-the-nose at times with its writing, but frankly, it earns it by making some damn good points. The juxtaposition of a "medieval" rodent society—with knights, royalty, and angry gods—existing just beneath the surface of our own modern, human world should feel like a hilariously incoherent mishmash. Instead, as the story unfolds, their society feels disturbingly familiar. The rodents’ primitive struggles with greed, blind faith, political corruption, and class warfare are just a furry, miniaturized echo of human society's own ongoing problems. It’s less of a fantasy and more of a fable that hits uncomfortably close to home.
So, come for the charming revenge quest of a mouse against a god, but stay for the surprisingly profound critique of the very world we live in. I've been thinking about this game pretty consistently ever since I played it. And the music is all pretty great, too!
(Also, and this is a very important point: gay rats :3)