Reviews by Gryphon
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Father Leofwine is Dead, March 14, 2022 General Recommendation: I recommend this game. It’s a very engaging story, and the mystery is realistic and clever. It has appeal for both puzzle-solving players, and those who prefer more traditional narratives
Preview: You are tasked with finding out who murdered Father Leofwine, a priest and friend of King Alfred. You play as two characters, one the official court investigator of the murder, and an unofficial investigator with less resources and more difficult methods.
=SPOILERS BELOW=
RATINGS:
Basic Plot & Coherence:
The plot shines here. A lot of mystery stories (interactive or otherwise) seem to throw in suspects and twists just to confuse the reader into missing the true guilty party, but in this story, each development of the plot was logical, and made perfect sense in retrospect. Even the surprises made sense in the context of the characters and world the author had developed. The idea of having two seperate and unrelated guilty parties is a clever plot device, it complicates the story without sacrificing continuity. This historical context also adds a lot.
Characters & Development:
Cynehelm and Wulf work well as a duo, and bring a sense of scope the story that might be hard to replicate with just one narrator. Cynehelm is experienced in the king’s court and bureaucratic matters, while Wulf is both more experienced in the real world and far more jaded. Each brings their own unique take on the story.
The side characters, even the ones who had only a few scenes, all showed their character and personality. I liked the dynamic between the members of the king’s court. It’s clear during any of the scenes where they interact that nobody trusts anybody, and several of them have their own private plans.
I also particularly liked the queen’s role in the story. Her being the murderer was both satisfying and surprising.
Grammar:
I saw no mistakes.
Mastery of Language:
I was impressed with how the language was adjusted to fit the tone of the work. It’s really believeable that these characters are living in medieval europe based on how they talk and act.
Branching:
This story is fairly linear, but that’s not really a problem in the context of an investigation. I take off a point because the choies about trusting wulf seems to have little impact on the story, and that could have been an interesting branch.
Player Options/fair choice:
No problems here, I thought many of the insta-death paths were unusually well foreshadowed for save-or-die choices.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
I enjoyed my playthrough a lot. Though I died a lot, I did figure out the queen was guilty of the muder about halfway through. I wasn’t sure of Alrdic though until the end.
CONCLUSION: A fun and engaging game with a compelling mystery.
Tower of Rowena, March 14, 2022 General Recommendation: I definitely recommend this game, especially if you’re fond of discovery-based puzzle games.
Preview: You go around the tower in an open map, coming up with solutions to various problems that will let you get the treasures. Much of the game is exploring the tower, and fiddling with different objects and activities as you search for the treasures.
=SPOILERS BELOW=
RATINGS:
Basic Plot & Coherence:
As an open map exploration game, this game doesn’t really need a nuanced plot. The plot that does exist works perfectly, and provides an intriguing and engaging frame for the exploration of the tower. Rowena’s tower was filled with a number of fascinating details that fleshed out the feel of exploration and discovery. Even after finding all 17 treasures, I was left with the lingering feeling that there was more to explore, which is exactly the mood a really good puzzle game evokes. Kudos to the author!
Characters & Development:
Again, as a puzzle game, the characters don’t really need a personality, yet though character was by no means the focus of the game, I thought the author did a good job fleshing out the thief’s character. I really got a sense of the main character’s personality through the narration and the phrasing of the choices.
Grammar:
No problems here.
Mastery of Language:
I quite liked the use of language here. Though there was nothing special about it, the narration in this game brought just the right humorous and lighthearted mood to it.
Mechanics & Coding:
The coding allows for an open-map exploration game, and all the items are coded excellently. The bag of holding mechanic allows the player to easily review their progress.
Branching:
This isn’t a traditional story, and doesn’t have branching.
Player Options/fair choice:
All of the puzzles had fair, and retrospectively logical solutions. The player always had options for things to do and places to search, and there were no obvious solutions that you weren’t allowed to try. I really felt like I could do anything I wanted in this game, which I don’t usually get from storygames.
Nitpicks: Were we supposed to be able to find a way to free the prince? I never found a way to do that.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
I found all 17 treasures. I thought the mechanic for getting to the roof was particularly clever. I kept falling off the tower and dying because I thought my strength potion would let me climb better. I particularly liked the way the log was used to solve both the first and last puzzle of the game.
CONCLUSION: A fun and approachable puzzle game with a lot of character.
Detective 1: Blacks Island, March 14, 2022 DETECTIVE ONE: BLACKSEA ISLAND: 88
General Recommendation: I definitely recommend this game, especially if you like trying to solve the crime yourself while reading mystery books and watching mystery shows.
Preview: You travel around the island investigating different locales and asking questions of the suspects. As you uncover different pieces of evidence, you can work out who committed the crime, and how and why it was done, and confront the killer.
=SPOILERS BELOW=
Basic Plot & Coherence:
A well-formed tight murder mystery story. The killer has clear means, motive, and opportunity, and it’s up to the player to figure them out. The crime itself is relatively simple (and the killer’s motivations aren’t extremely logical), but the act of discovering them is what makes this game really worth it.
I liked the way the island’s history was integrated into the story. This background knowledge gave the fictional events a lot of depth, making the island seem like a very expansive place. The island like a place that could really exist, not just some place the author invented for the sole purpose of writing a mystery story. The history, while providing essential clues to the murder, also provided some nice red herrings. At the end, I was surprised to learn the extent to which the histories were true.
Characters & Development:
Each of the characters serve their purpose well, with each providing a slice of important information needed to solve the crime. The characters are all fairly two-dimensional, but this is understandable, given the nature of the story.
I suppose I didn’t think the killer’s motivations made a lot of sense. Also, they kind of just confess at the end, without have any real reason to do so. This is all pretty forgiveable however, as it gives the story a cinematic conclusion, allowing the player to win through the knowledge of the island they’ve gathered during their investigations.
Grammar:
No typos here!
Mastery of Language:
The language was direct and functional, which works well in a game like this, as it doesn’t unnecessarily distract the player. The opening scenes were more descriptive than the rest of the game, which was good, as it set the tone and did not distract from the mystery.
Mechanics & Coding:
I certainly didn’t notice any bugs.
On the one hand, I hate the time mechanic, on the other hand, I think it really contributed to the overall atmosphere of the work. I played this game with a sense of urgency, working in every way I could to limit the amount of time I spent walking around. I’ll grudgingly admit that the time mechanic served its purpose perfectly, and added to the game. Hmph. Interestingly, I think that even though the player has plenty of time to visit everywhere they need to, the time mechanic is more narratively useful in the mood it imposes on the game, rather than in actually limiting the player’s options. The time mechanic was a good way to allow the player open-map exploration while also limiting just how much sleuthing they can do.
Branching:
None, obviously, as this is essentially a murder mystery told in a nonlinear format.
Player Options/fair choice:
Pretty good. I felt like I had the options I wanted. The dialogue options were somewhat limited, but I felt like this added to the story rather than took away from it, as it left the player to do most of the thinking themselves, and removed unnecessary distractions.
Nitpicks:
Olivia Powell’s habit of wearing a kevlar vest under her clothes should have been foreshadowed. :)
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
I guessed correctly who the killer was very early in the story, but I’m the first to admit this guess was pure speculation and had no basis in fact. It wasn’t until later, after discovering more evidence, that I figured out the how and the why of the crime.
CONCLUSION: Lots of fun! I’ll definately be playing the sequel!
Gunslinger, March 14, 2022 General Recommendation: I recommend this game, it’s an entertaining read.
Preview: You play as a disillusioned and disaffected, but powerful, gunslinger, searching for direction in a frontier setting on the brink of disaster.
=SPOILERS BELOW=
Basic Plot & Coherence:
Nothing like an execution to pull the reader into the story!
The story’s plot covers a couple of the possible reactions to an impending demon invasion, and how that invasion plays out with respect to the main character. Consistent with the dark tone of the story, it turns out there’s very little you can do to actually stop the invasion. In the only ending in which something close to this is achieved, it requires the sacrifice of your soul. The entire story seems like an intriguing exercise in futility, exploring the various ways the main character can fail to find direction. Oddly, I found this especially apparent in the “Death at midnight” ending, an ending with a relatively smaller scope than the others. The tight focus of the gunsligner’s conflict with the pair of natives shows all the more clearly how futile his efforts are.
Though the story contains plenty of action, it is much more introspective than anything else. The action serves more as a backdrop for the main character’s reflections than as an actual driver of the plot or character change.
One other thing I enjoyed about this story was the depth of the worldbuilding, even for the elements that were not fully explored. The system of magic in the world seems very interesting, both with how the main character is actually seen using it (such as for summoning his horse), and the musings the characters and narration have on it, such as Thomas’s recollection of magic being tamer in the east. The hints about elements like Goldwater and the setting’s dominant religion game the game a sense of depth, despite covering a period of relatively small scope.
Characters & Development:
The main character’s voice was what really jumped out to me from the start. In the beginning of the story, the narrator passively watches the destruction of Redshire after barely avoiding execution, and muses over the history of the town and the natives. While this could easily be a straight info dump, the unique tone of narrator’s reflections keep it interesting, and reveal important information about the character’s outlook. This internal monologue remains consistent throughout the work, tying the different events together through the gunslinger’s perspective.
The side characters showed plenty of depth as well, illustrated both through the consistency of their actions, and the gunslinger’s thoughts about them.
Grammar:
I didn’t notice any errors.
Mastery of Language:
Excellent. I would say the use of language is the biggest strength of this game. The gunslinger’s narration is full of clever phrasing and metaphors that both set the mood and are a pleasure to read. The beginning immediately hooks the reader into a world with a specific tone, and keeps it up throughout the story.
Branching:
There’s plenty of branching. The player’s choices are meaningful and affect the course of the game. There is a wide variety of ways the story can end up spread throughout the 7 endings.
Player Options/fair choice:
The consequences of the player’s actions are well foreshadowed, and there are no “gotcha!” deaths.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
I definitely enjoyed this game, which is a testament to the skill of the writing, as I don’t usually enjoy games where the main character’s actions are so futile. Here, however, I felt that the gunslinger’s lack of direction added to the overall tone of the story rather than detracting from it.
CONCLUSION: A fun game with a unique western take on the grimdark genre.
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