Ratings and Reviews by Felix Pleșoianu
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A blast from the past, April 11, 2016You know, people who grew up with gamebooks, like I did, often wax nostalgic about the medium. It's not as common to see someone try and bring those simple pleasures back to life, even for a glimpse. That's why I was excited to hear that Kris was working on Dragon Fate -- a good old-fashioned fantasy adventure where you, an adventurer, investigate claims of a dragon sighting off a small mountain village, hopefully getting rich in the process. But there's more up there than you bargained for...
Briefly put, Dragon Fate does everything right. The writing is to the point, but pleasant (Kris is a writer, and it shows). You can choose what kind of character you play. There's a diceless rule system that allows for freedom in how to tackle the various challenges, and you even get to decide the meaning of the mysteries you uncover, which will have an impact on certain endings. (The story features transformation themes.) The game is non-linear; you can explore in any order, and you'll want to visit everywhere multiple times to catch everything as you level up. The game also boasts no less than 14 endings (not counting death from injuries), but isn't judgemental about them -- you decide whether they're good or bad. All in all, a very replayable game.
All that makes the game more of an RPG than some titles actually claiming to belong in the genre. And to think it's made in plain old Twine! It's not exactly some deep meaningful story, either, but still entertaining, definitely head and shoulders over most of the classic gamebooks it reminds me of. Even the size is just right -- not so large as to require multiple play sessions, but neither so small as to leave the reader disappointed. There are places where there's nothing to suggest that coming back later might be fruitful, but that hardly impacts the enjoyment. So, enjoy!
Simple pleasures, November 17, 2015A deceptively small and simple game, Untold Riches is an old-school puzzlefest with a backstory that seems to run on the Second-Hand Storytelling trope (appropriately given the set-up). The map is nice and tight, with mercifully simple puzzles -- though I did need the hints in a couple of places, simply for failing to realize there was hidden detail to examine. Also I found a couple of places where the text seems to assume I'll have encountered things in a particular order, but I'd have to replay to be sure. If I had to nitpick, the parrot could have been more entertaining, rather than a vending-machine NPC, but fluff by definition isn't essential.
All in all, a silly game with no depth that's nevertheless worth playing. I'd say it's nothing to write home about, but I just did, and that means more than the words themselves. Enjoy.
Rushed but not pointless, April 7, 2013Having read Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space, I expected this game to be the poor man's version thereof, judging solely by the title. And it is... kind of. The ending in particular, with all the revelations and the choices, reminded me of the webcomic. Too bad the first segment of the story feels tacked on. But even rushed as it is, it does help drive home the point. Because it has a point, for all the faults. So try it out if you have a few minutes.
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