Reviews by Vivienne Dunstan

This is a comedy parser game of a pact with the Devil, written very much in the style of Hammer horror movies of the past.

This was enormous fun. The game is well implemented, both parser responses and rich objects and locations you can interact with. There’s a helpful grimoire to look things up in, and the conversations - including with the Devil - were coded well.

The puzzles are generally pretty easy, but if you get stuck there are built in hints (which work well) and also a walkthrough.

The game isn’t very long, but feels very rich - like having a big dark chocolate cake or something (hey, I’m veering onto food reviews!). I liked that very much.

(Note: this review was based on the mid competition version of the game. Some issues it refers to may have been since ironed out in the latest release.)

This is a really creative parser game, clearly IKEA inspired, that sees you fight dangerous foes with only the power of flat pack furniture. It’s a very amusing concept and largely well realised. If you’re flat pack phobic avoid this game, but for everyone else it is a lot of fun, with some neat puzzles.

However there are some downsides for me. Early on you see quite a lot of items of flat pack furniture, with their descriptions. I did not take proper notes at this point, and you need to remember what the names represent visually later. Take notes folks!

The other downside is there were some disambiguation issues, not least between flat pack assembly instruction booklets and the flat pack items. I had a particularly difficult time at one point trying to physically manage the parts of a flat pack item.

The game is also lacking other characters largely, apart from some rather anonymous ones. And that’s a slight shame. Though there are plenty of flat pack items to interact with.

The ending also feels a bit abrupt. It has a big build up, but then, well, it’s over in a flash. As a player I’d have appreciated some kind of epilogue, or notes on amusing things to try, or author notes. Something for me to decompress with.

In a nutshell this a great game, but one that could have been made a little smoother to play. But a really neat concept, and entertaining. Thank you.

This Twine piece sees you reliving the same Valentine’s Day over and over again, repeating the time you find your partner has left you, and trying to change things.

I’m going to be honest and say that I wasn’t sure what was happening. For example was this in the player’s mind as they repeated, or a literal time loop, or a mix of the two. I’d favour the former, and it being a case of coming to terms with their life.

I certainly found most peace in the game as I engaged more with the world around me, rather than rushing home to get there in time. The little vignettes of life that you encounter around were fascinating, and intriguing how they altered between loops.

One thing I found frustrating was how you would often only see part of a message from the partner who leaves. That message also changes. The incomplete picture made it hard for me to understand them, and what had happened. it felt like a selfish view of the world from the player’s perspective. Which of course everything boils down to in the end. But for a game where loss of another person is so fundamental I felt that person was too far out of reach, not defined well enough. Equally though that was also rather poetic, as the player struggles to attain a new sense of self.

So yup, not quite sure what was happening. I often miss allusions and metaphors, and benefit from things being spelled out plainly. But the writing was otherwise strong, and I found it quite a moving piece. Though something was still just frustratingly out of reach.

(Note: this review was based on the mid competition version of the game. Some issues it refers to may have been since ironed out in the latest release.)

This is a rather wacky Twine choice piece, where you set out on a daring mission to recover lots of puppet figures, before the studio where they were used to make programmes is destroyed. Note I played for about an hour (there’s no time guide on the competition website), including replaying a view bits from saved files.

I liked a lot about this. You are on an abondoned studio lot, split into four sections, and you have to explore each one, including figuring out how to gain access, while dodging scary monsters that are after you. It was really quite spooky. The author in the notes at the start describes it as a bit like Pac-man in these bits. Though to be honest it felt more like Hunt the Wumpus (or rather Avoid the Wumpus!), very IF appropriate.

Your goal is to collect and save as many puppet characters as possible. Each one when you put your hand in it to rescue it responds with a unique character. It was quite hard to put the puppets down safely in the getaway van for safety. The puppets can help you in situations, but carrying a puppet near the monster is risky. I took a pretty low risk strategy of whisking them to safety as soon as possible. And saving a lot.

I didn’t manage to rescue all the puppets, especially in the last quarter segment of the game, where I couldn’t get past a puzzle ((Spoiler - click to show)getting the light on in the final setting). I also seemed to run into a bug mid game - but not a killer one.

But otherwise I really enjoyed this. I also liked the nicely written epilogue (note: I didn’t see some stuff other reviewers mentioned, but I don’t think I unlocked the relevant part of the game i.e. (Spoiler - click to show)didn’t rescue the relevant puppet). I feel as though I’ve had a real adventure, high stakes, and did good. Thanks to the author.

This is a tight hostage negotiation choice piece written in Ink.

First thoughts are there’s a lot more text than for the estimated 15 minutes or less play time. I read very quickly, and estimate the play time as at least double that, possibly up to an hour. However the text is well written, and gripping, and well worth reading.

Next thought: I’d make a rubbish hostage negotiator in real life! I’m sure there’s a good ending or two to find in here somewhere. But safe to say I didn’t find one, despite replaying several times. However the fact that I wanted to replay shows how well written it is. And how rubbish I am at the set task!

A good - if extremely hard to win - piece, but definitely budget for a significantly longer play time than stated on the competition site. And don’t be surprised if things don’t go well.

This Texture piece sees you fall through a long fall, encounter other characters, and reflect on your life.

It’s an atmospheric setting, but often I was frustrated with the lack of control re what I could do. For example at one point there’s another character who appears, but I wasn’t given the chance to interact with them at all, and could only think about stuff. I wish the story and interaction possibilities had been fleshed out more. There were so many other things it could have responded to.

Ultimately the story seems fixed in its destination, it’s just a matter of how you get there. Though as reading I was thinking more of it as a metaphor for life in general, which was an interesting thought. Thanks to the author for conjuring that for me.

This is a Texture piece, where you’re an aged sculptor, near the end of life, wanting to craft one last superb sculpture.

The story is quite linear, but gives the player options of how to proceed along the way. For example they may choose to reflect on the past, or focus more on their art, or a mix of the two. There are some nice interactions with other characters, though again I felt as though these were a little too predetermined.

Ultimately the story boils down to one key choice. I played twice, to see both ending options. I preferred the first one that I got.

So a promising piece, but I felt a little too forced down certain routes. I did like the feeling of creation, of being an artist at work. I did feel as though as I was taking part in that process. Albeit with a generous serving of melancholy along the way too.

A parser “horredy” - well that sounds fun! Note I played this offline in Lectrote with my preferred gigantic font.

It’s a Lovecraftian inspired horror, where you’re a captain of a fishing vessel, start off by just wanting something to eat, and then things get more problematic. And some very disturbing - albeit comedic - imagery kicks in in places as the game goes on!

I liked a lot about this. The writing is snappy and funny, and has the right balance between user interaction and length of text. I loved the way the player gets awarded achievements ((Spoiler - click to show)I got 8/27 of them - really curious about the other 19!), in addition to scoring points. The achievements are an extra incentive to keep playing.

I do think the game and puzzles are a bit unevenly balanced. There’s an awful lot of running around between locations and levels early on, which feels unrealistic. And then at the very end there’s a puzzle ((Spoiler - click to show)the sake / safe / combination code) which I don’t think is adequately clued at all ((Spoiler - click to show)I only found one place the code might be - far down the ladder. Where are the others?). However I was happy to go to the walkthrough for that bit. I just think the whole now do X, without any extra clueing, even chatting to the obvious NPC, needed a bit more smoothing for the player.

However that aside I liked a lot about this. It definitely lives up to the “horredy” tag. So well done to the author. Oh and thanks for some of the after game stuff. Though as a suggestion maybe list all the amusing things to try in one go, rather than individually.

This is a Twine piece, where you play a teddy bear I think (EDIT: correction, no, it’s a toy hare), and have to save your person from a very dangerous situation. It is translated from Russian.

The storytelling is imaginative and apocalyptic, and inspired by the current war. Kudos to the author for the end of game comment on that.

However as a game with locations and objects and puzzles, I couldn’t help feeling that it might have worked better as a parser game e.g. in Inform or TADS or something. Or that the choice interface could have been streamlined to be more user friendly.

The problem with the interface is that the ways in which you can interact with objects require a lot of digging down through the choices. Typically in a location, even one you’ve visited before, you will have to “look around” to find the objects you can interact with. Or you need to choose something from the “inventory” section, which lets you operate your front and hind paws, and offers different choices within it over time.

This all meant that I felt I was having to dig down through the user interface hierarchy far more frequently than I wanted to. And it also rather concealed the options available.

However as a game with light puzzles - and forgiving to the player - I liked the storytelling. As the stuffed toy you explore an increasingly scary world, and I genuinely felt the scares.

The translation from Russian is a little rough in places, and could have benefited from more read throughs from native English speakers. But the writing is charming, and the characterisation of the player character and how they feel about their person is moving. The artwork is also very atmospheric.

I’d like to see more from the anonymous author, but maybe rework the interface a bit so there’s less repeated digging down needed by the player?

And thanks again for that powerful end comment. The game itself is a powerful reflection on current events. Thank you. The feelings this raised will stick with me for a long time after.

Going into this, and apart from it being about Socrates and his wife I’m happily clueless. I did a joint honours classical studies and history bachelors degree. But far more emphasis on the Roman side than the Greeks, apart from lots on Homer and Troy. So yup, pretty clueless. It’s an Ink piece. Note I don’t usually go for romance pieces, but intrigued to see what this author does with it.

It’s definitely not something for people troubled by sex references. Content warnings absolutely apply. It is quite explicit in places. But I enjoyed the exploration of a couple’s relationship in a fateful meeting, mixed with bigger philosophical questions. I suspect that someone more familiar with the philosophy of Socrates and the wider Ancient Greek context might get more out of it. I was just going where the story took me. But I did enjoy it. And it certainly didn’t assume or require any wider background knowledge.

And now I want to read more about Socrates and definitely Xanthippe. And read about the philosophy. Which is no bad thing. Thanks to the author. The writing is extremely strong. Oh and I really liked the author’s dedication notes at the start, which explain and justify the approach he has taken to the historical characters in this work of interactive fiction.