Reviews by Cody Gaisser

The narrative content of Photopia is what I'd call a "good little story." It's not the most mindblowingly deep thing I've ever read; but it has some heart, humanity, and empathy to it. To me this in itself is more than adequate compensation for the very brief amount of time it takes to play through to the end.

The real reason to play, however, is the way this "good little story" is told. Unfortunately this is difficult to explain without spoilers - even formal aspects of the storytelling and interface present twists that are best experienced firsthand. Learning-what-Photopia-is-about is what Photpia is about.

(Spoiler - click to show)
The presentation of Photopia differs in a number of ways from traditional text adventures. It tells a very short, simple story. However you play not as a single character navigating a geographical space as the story unfolds before you in a chronologically-linear fashion; rather you experience chronologically-ambiguous fragments of the story from the perspectives of several different characters, piecing the story together as you go. The central story is set in a reality much like our own, but a fantastical side plot is introduced via a storytelling device reminiscent of The Princess Bride, The Fall, and several of Terry Gilliam's films. Certain scenes alter the color scheme of the display in ways relevant to the game's thematic content, cleverly weaving a (non-graphical) visual element into the formal tapestry of this text-based story-game. Photopia's unconventional approach to the form of IF suggests future possibilities in the medium.

While I wouldn't necessarily recommend Photopia to someone who has no experience whatsoever with traditional IF, it is easily simple enough for a beginner's second or third game. It's also unique enough that more experienced players will certainly not want to miss it.

Slouching Towards Bedlam is a short work of weird fiction in an original steampunk setting. (Spoiler - click to show)The overseer of an asylum investigates strange claims made in writing by an unusual patient who is afraid to speak. Several endings are attainable depending on how the player chooses to react to the secrets they uncover.

This sort of stuff ((Spoiler - click to show)reminiscent of The King In Yellow) is right up my alley, so Bedlam sucked me right in. I consider it to be one of the better examples of interactive fiction I have played, with one caveat:

(Spoiler - click to show)Early in the game, I found some machinery confusing to operate. I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be solving a puzzle or was just overlooking important information. I'm still not sure.

Once I got past those hiccups, I found the fiction engrossing and all the endings worth seeking out. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and how those genres intersect.

A desperate person sets out to rob a taco restaurant; absolutely nothing goes as planned. I won't spoil the brief plot - you should just play it and see for yourself. Taco Fiction is highly effective at what it sets out to do - which is to encourage bad decisions and elicit laughter. It's well written, and it's fun. What else do you want?

This is a brief, but disturbing, Lovecraft pastiche. There are a couple of spots of weak implementation, but the solutions aren't too difficult to figure out (and walkthroughs exist). If a grotesque Lovecraftian hallucination sounds like your sort of interactive fiction, then not only should you play this immediately, but it's also probably worth taking the time to save your progress regularly and see what happens to the protagonist when you make him make bad decisions.

Other great Lovecraftian IF:
Anchorhead
The King of Shreds and Patches