I played a lot of games over PAX Aus and SXSW Sydney 2024. A lot of games. The one I can’t stop thinking about was one of the weirdest on show: My Arms Are Longer Now, from Toot Games. There’s just something about being a “yucky long-armed thief” that is so compelling, and so wonderfully, weirdly beautiful.
In this upcoming Aussie-made game, you are an arm. One very long, very stretchy, very creepy arm. You can wind your way around objects, twist yourself upwards into the sky, and pinch nearby items. You can also retract like a fancy hose reel, for a quick escape.
The demo for the game shown off at both PAX Aus and SXSW Sydney (and also currently available on Steam) takes place in a distinctly Australian tram. I say distinctly, as there’s elements of caricature in the depiction of the train’s many occupants – ocker accents, and the typical polite-but-awkward day-to-day public transport interactions some players will be well-familiar with.
Read: PAX Aus 2024 reminded me why video games are good
Each character in the demo makes for a delightful train companion, as you manoeuvre your lightly-terrifying arm into their personal space. In this world, a long, disembodied arm is still a horror, but the way each passenger deals with their uncanny visitor is hilarious. There’s a lot of “oh, um” and “that’s not right” as you get closer and closer to your new friends.
The humour is in the dissonance. You, a wayward, disembodied arm pinch a man’s bike and slowly retract, back through the doors of the train. The owner stares at you in shock and fear, rooted to the spot, as he quietly says, “That’s… my bike?” in the most uncertain voice. Poor guy.
Manipulating your arm is difficult at first, but the fun is in learning to master its strange, snaking ways. You’ll learn to wrap yourself around objects, “fly” through the air, and work your way around a variety of obstacles, pinching and slapping as you go. Then the real fun of My Arms Are Longer Now begins. And by real fun, I mean the tormenting of innocent train travellers.
At one point in the demo, a ticket inspector arrives, demanding to see everyone’s tickets. He does not give two shits that you are a disembodied limb. Everyone who rides the train must have a ticket. So, what do you do? The simple answer is easy: you must steal one.
That leads to a segment of gameplay that can only be described as the fondling denouement. You must approach each passenger, and pinch them around their pockets, hoping to find a ticket that will stave off the advances of the ticket inspector. Eventually, you find one, and the inspector reacts in extremely funny fashion: you are a terrifying arm, yes, but you have a ticket. Therefore, you may travel freely on the train.
That also means you’re free to go for the biggest prize of the demo: a secretive briefcase attached to a woman who will immediately, loudly scream if you attempt to pinch it off her. She’s the real star of the demo, with her high-pitched squeals and suddenly flailing limbs – particularly when you give her a light pinch on-and-off and watch her leap into action. Sorry to that lady, but the briefcase is worth a lot of money, and it’s very funny to watch her yelp.
With some sleuthing (and pinching), you can eventually find the briefcase key, detach it from her person, and get away with some cold, hard cash. That leads to the real intrigue behind My Arms Are Longer Now – a mysterious interrogation scene that implies the long arm is being investigated by the full force of the law.
Over the course of its short gameplay demo, My Arms Are Longer Now was incredibly endearing – so much so, that I played it multiple times. There’s so much about the game that works. It’s got a very neat, cartoony art style. Its silly physics are incredibly fun to master. Its voice work and tone is immaculate. When the game eventually launches, it will certainly be one to watch.
While it doesn’t have a firm release date yet, you can stay up to date on progress via the Toot Games social pages.
