Ratings and Reviews by Passerine

At its core, Starbreakers is a series of puzzles, but the puzzles are complemented by a slowly unfolding story which wrapped up the game nicely. It's mostly standard math/logic/word puzzles, but a few stood out as particularly creative, and together they formed a fun and satisfying path to the conclusion. Increasingly detailed hints are available in the sidebar, and I appreciated the wink to seasoned puzzlers somewhere in the middle (thank you for not making me do that thing I thought I was going to have to do). Worth an hour or so of your time if you like puzzles but not majorly challenging ones.

I really appreciated this game as a straightforward narrative, as a reflection on IF nostalgia, and as a multilayered mystery to unravel. The story is beautifully recursive, and the way the gameplay ties itself in knots is just fun. The descriptions and parser responses were entertaining and full of detail. Certain events felt slightly uncomfortable, but resolved in ways that made the conclusion even more satisfying—at least it felt like a conclusion, though it seems very possible I still have more to discover.

A nostalgic yet fresh adventure game set in an unusual world with unfamiliar problems that nonetheless felt very real. Light on puzzles, heavy on character. The story was both fun and emotionally resonant, and I appreciated the feeling of being able to choose how things turned out. Even the title is just really good. I enjoyed this game a lot, and I feel like I understand orcs better after playing it.

There's a beautiful simplicity to Inform code, and Antique Panzitoum uses both the phrasing and the features of the code to evoke a sense of place and inspire the imagination even though interactivity can only be imagined. The repetitive nature of the code makes the world seem even more epic, and I just thought it was really cool.

I also enjoyed playing the game itself before knowing what the code said, because the helplessness of not knowing was beautiful in its own way.

I was a beta tester for this game. The graphics are cute, the puzzles are fun and not frustratingly difficult, and the storytelling is funny and yet surprisingly emotionally resonant. And there's a robust tutorial for people new to IF, as well as Easter eggs for more experienced players. Also real eggs.