Ratings and Reviews by Audiart

Although I did not enjoy playing Fail-Safe, I had to give it a good rating for its very effective and innovative narrative voice. Jon Ingold is really a master of this and it shines brightly in this early game. In fact I think the brevity of the game really accentuated the tantalizing and creepy atmospheric effect of the narrative.

It would be a shame to elaborate further on the nature of this narrative voice, for it would ruin the experience of playing the game, and as the puzzles and plot are fairly unmentionable, this would seriously detract from the merits of the game.

However: Fail-Safe, by so exquisitely rendering its eerie atmosphere, produces a distinctly uncomfortable feeling; there is blood, you are trapped, it is an emergency. I would not recommend this game to anyone who is not fond of such scenarios, because the game is, from its first line to its last, so instantly and totally immersive.

In this way, its greatest strength can be its own shortcoming (for some players) -- the narrative method is so effective that I sincerely disliked the feeling of being immersed in the world of Fail-Safe, as it felt so very real and urgent and disturbing.

Aptly summarised in the quote above, CHAOS is a weak attempt at surrealism which succeeds only in being abstract. The distinct and immediately noticeable lack of any plot, objective, or character depth make this game little more than an exercise in futility. While CHAOS is busy trying to channel Kafka, Fellini, or Dali, the player is left to wander aimlessly with no inventory, no personality, and no clue.

(Spoiler - click to show)The 'object' of the game is simply to escape one room and continue on to the next in your meaningless quest through a featureless landscape. Ironically the 'vulcher' is "flapping his wings ... with a plot in his mind." Don't get your hopes up. I was expecting the 'puzzle' to be, figuring out what was going on. Then I realised nothing is going on at all.

No technical problems, though copious grammatical errors (and the glaring misspelling of "vulture" in the first room) make the otherwise capable prose a chore to read. Each room is a disconnected vignette, sparsely-furnished with a cluttered description. Much of the writing in CHAOS is so absurd as to be paradoxical and ultimately, "full of nothing."

"In each direction you can see hazy beginnings"... perhaps this is more of a warning to the player than a description of the desert. Unwrapping the mystery of CHAOS' environment would add much-needed dimension to the handful of memorable rooms in the game. Given a plot, some of these hazy beginnings could become remarkable with a little flesh on the bones.

Brace yourself for adventure, absurdity, and pumpkins.

Mentula Macanus is an absurdist epic that requires extensive mapping and saving, can be frustrating and sparsely implemented at times, but ultimately never fails to delight your inner highbrow with the ridiculous and paradoxical.

Puzzles and story are somewhat linear; the real meat is in its brilliant black humor and totally unexpected moments of profundity. The most rewarding moments leave you truly flabbergasted by obscure references that you didn't think anyone else could possibly understand. Not many games have made me laugh out loud, but this one did.

Play this for its humor, not its puzzles; take your time with it and allow it to exercise your patience; and above all don't take it seriously - you will be richly rewarded.

Like all exploration games by Ryan Veeder, I only wish it were longer.

The atmosphere of Wrenlaw immediately drew me in. It felt uncannily autobiographical; I've been there, this very place, done these very things. Wandering, seeking purpose, imbuing what I find with a meaning drawn from memory.

Wrenlaw opens more questions than it answers. There are no traditional puzzles, just wandering through your environment and your memories. But what are you searching for? Did you find it? Can that which we are seeking ever be really objectified?

Guilded Youth looks and feels great, but unfortunately lacks in its puzzles and a real sense of satisfaction upon completion. The interface is a very convincing and well-implemented reminder of my gaming youth and is the only really memorable part of the game.

At first I was drawn in by the story (which I could relate to) and the thrill of exploration. However, the repetition and somewhat jarring moments of returning to "reality" interrupted this otherwise quite pleasant nostalgic experience.

I never felt much connection with the characters so the more emotional scenes had little impact. Repetition of the main scene quickly became tedious and the puzzles, while not difficult, were frustrating to execute. Ultimately I would not have pressed on with the game were it not for the charming interface.

This game is nice to look at but not as nice to actually play. In some ways maybe the 80s were really like that, but I wanted to re-experience my memories of that time period, not to be reminded of the dissonance.

Self-indulgent purple prose with very little plot and punctuation. I suspect there is a very good reason the author did not write their name on this game. Do yourself a favor and spend an hour with Ovid instead.

Amazingly similar to Nord & Bert, this game is in some ways better than that Infocom classic. It is much funnier, but far less polished. Some of the anagrams and palindromes are genuinely brilliant and laugh-out-loud hilarious - though much of the humour is more groan- than chuckle-inducing.

Much like Nord & Bert and Ad Verbum, Manor has different areas to pass through with different types of wordplay, some of which are amazing, some of which are a real bore. Admittedly, it's hard to make a coherent game based solely on wordplay, and given that consideration, the narrative is pretty solid. Naturally, it tends towards the surreal as objects are manipulated by your punnery.

Unlike Nord & Bert, Manor is a continuous narrative and is not subdivided into sections. In some ways this works to its advantage, giving the game a goofy & surreal, yet cohesive feel. However, since you cannot skip around to different sections at will; I found myself trying to get through some parts of Manor as quickly as possible just to get that section over with.

Ultimately, the real gems in this game got lost in the overwhelming heap of mediocre puns and sophmoric humor. It would have been better to shorten this game, to pick out the real winners and help them stand out.

In short, if you liked Nord & Bert you'll like this. But if you're expecting Counterfeit Monkey, you'll be disappointed.