Reviews by RottenSnail

In my opinion, this game is perfect. Based on my limited experience with IF, I'd say this game definitely succeeds at introducing beginners to the "traditional" exploration and puzzle IF genre.

The map is sizable enough to keep the player curious but not so expansive as to overwhelm. The teleportation-style navigation feature keeps the beginner from getting bored with the "legwork" of bringing items to and fro to complete tasks and the "think about" hint feature doesn't let the player stay lost long enough to give up.

Having only played the game through once (so far) I don't have experience with the multiple possible endings, but after finishing the game I did skim the "making of" page on the author's site (which is full of spoilers), and I gained an increased respect for the amount of thought that went into the complete and polished game that I played.

I recommend this game especially to beginners, but if you're a veteran player of IF and you haven't played this game yet, give it a try.

The "game" plays out as a conversation. Most of it takes place in a coffee shop and the interactions with the surroundings are limited. I'd consider this game to be more experimental; gently testing the boundaries of the medium, letting the player uncover the back-story of the main character and the NPC, letting the player (to a point) decide how the conversation will go (through multiple-choice dialogue). It's an interesting concept and definitely worth playing. It felt more like reading a book than playing a game, which I think is the point, and I like the result. I gave this game only four stars because I didn't "love" it, though I would definitely recommend this relatively short game to others (especially beginners), and I'd play more games by this author (because I did "love" Bronze).

This is another game that is made to be replayed. And the player can choose how many times they want to replay, or how much of the story they want to uncover. I tagged it "mystery-ish" because, while it's not a puzzle game with a mystery and clues in the traditional sense, the player uses the previous play-throughs to know how else they can interact with the setting and, therefore, uncover more back-story and characterization. You put a small amount of effort into the game, and receive an increasingly rich back-story and characterization.

It's a game that can function as an accessible introduction to IF but the beauty of the narrative is for anyone. I consider that I've "played" the game but I haven't yet reached a point where I feel I've "finished" the game. I'd consider it a short game though I haven't yet reached an "end" and I don't know if there is one.

Photopia is a beautiful game and is relatively short, so I would recommend it to anyone who has a few minutes here and there, whether they're beginners or not. The imagery is wonderful and good use was made of the colored text. I was hooked from the very first scene. The game has a mystery aspect to it because the story will completely shift once in a while and the player is left wondering how the scenes relate to one another.

This game is more fiction than interaction, but that did nothing to hinder my enjoyment of it. The player input is often in the form of multiple choice, and I don't think there's ever really a wrong option. I assume the game would progress the same way no matter what choices the player makes, but I would play along with it for maximum enjoyment.

This is a very short, simple game with a sense of humor. I think beginners to IF will find it very easy and rewarding. It's the kind of game where the player gains enjoyment upon replaying it, which I highly recommend. Even playing through twice, it's a very quick game.