There’s Nothing To Do In This Town
https://donotrunwithpixels.itch.io/theres-nothing-to-do-in-this-town

There’s Nothing To Do In This Town is a nonviolent Game Boy adventure game that takes about ten minutes to play. The story set on a section of high street in a town in Wales and seems to be vaguely contemporary, although it gives me a strong early 2000s vibes. You play as a young man who has no money and nothing to do. Also there are some zombies having an office party.

The game is essentially a trading sequence. You talk to people on the street, and you can go in several of the buildings and talk to people there. Your alcoholic father lives in an apartment under the zombie office, and he’s annoyed by the loud music. You therefore need to convince the town’s secret zombie slayer to take care of them.

The graphics are quite good for a Game Boy game, and the trading sequence fits together nicely. The character interactions have big Scott Pilgrim energy, meaning that your character is a loser but means well, thus encouraging all sorts of weird people to open to him. Along with the retro graphics, the various nods to late 1990s grunge culture give the story a lovely sense of nostalgia, and I really enjoyed the experience of playing a game that’s essentially indie alt comix come to life.

The music is great, and it totally got stuck in my head. The game creator also makes short albums of Game Boy chiptunes, and the songs from There’s Nothing To Do In This Town are the last three tracks of this one: https://donotrunwithpixels.bandcamp.com/album/the-outside