23 Devs Made a Free Game About Volume Sliders and It's Hilarious

Ever thought a volume slider could be the star of its own game? Well, 23 developers teamed up to make Volume.art, a free browser-based microgame collection that does exactly that—and it's every bit as weird and wonderful as it sounds.

The premise is simple: you manipulate volume sliders through all sorts of abstract, surprising, and downright hilarious scenarios. It kicks off with "A man named Bow" by Alice Bottino, which feels a bit like the Home Run Contest from Smash Bros. You drag back on the mouse to aim a bow and arrow, trying to land it at just the right distance to hit a specific volume level. It's a clever twist that immediately hooks you.

Some of the standout entries come from Lunacid developer Akuma Kira. Take "What's This About," a riff on the much-maligned persuasion minigame from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. You're trying to reach a set likability level with a delightfully lumpy potato man while managing a slowly decaying persuasiveness meter as you cycle between cruelty, honesty, humor, and sucking up. If you know the Oblivion gag, it's an instant favorite—and it's featured prominently in the game's social media promo for good reason.

Surprise and delight are big parts of Volume.art, so brace yourself for some mild spoilers ahead. "Ctrl+Alt+Date" by Iodine is a loving parody of dating games and romance sidequests. You're presented with deep, emotionally complex dialogue choices like "Uhhhh" versus "You're worth so much more than that," all to woo your volume rocker boo and get the music pumping. It's a great gag that had me laughing out loud.

Kira strikes again with "In the Zone," which drops you into a simple 3D environment that clearly evokes the STALKER series. Your task? Follow a Geiger counter to the spot of highest radiation—and thus, highest volume—in a tiny open-ended level. It's a tense, clever twist that shows how versatile the volume slider concept can be.

There are 29 games in total, and it took me a little under an hour to get through them all. Volume.art is brisk and goes down smooth. I found that this microgame format is a perfect fit for a themed game jam. For me, it evoked nostalgic memories of getting carsick playing WarioWare in the back of my parents' minivan, but I've seen some commenters compare it to old Flash games. Either way, Volume.art is well worth checking out—especially since it's free.

So, will you be diving into this volume-slider madness? What's your favorite microgame? Let us know in the comments!