Ratings and Reviews by Xavid

A simple, short game with an interesting, fun narrative voice. I was hoping that the concept of reference/representation was going somewhere more than just humor, and I agree the ending was abrupt, but I enjoyed it.

Well-written characters and relationships that make me want to find out where things are going. Its main weakness is its unfinished nature: there's a lot of setup but without payoff, and this contributes to it feeling linear and like my choices don't matter. Also, I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the mysterious conversation, but without payoff that justifies it it seems arbitrary and gimmicky. But the writing is solid and the character interactions are fun, and I hope the remainder emerges because I'm curious to see where it goes.

Very well done: interesting world mechanics and interactions, choices that feel like they matter, and an interface that felt natural for the premise. It left me wanting more, which unfortunately I'm apparently not going to be able to get without a smartphone for the expanded version. I liked how the earlier parts of the game familiarized you enough with the mechanics to make the later challenges seem accessible while keeping them high-pressure. I feel like the progression worked quite well, and it ended up having a surprising emotional impact for such a short game.

Superluminal Vagrant Twin stands out for its unusual format for IF and for its understated, evocative writing that makes the world feel complex and immersive without facing the player with a wall of text. Its mechanics feel quite different from standard IF and work well with the feel. I feel it's main weakness is the lack of a satisfying climax: you gradually figure out more about the world and how to use the mechanics effectively, and then you do that and win without surprises or twists. While there are multiple options, it didn't feel like it mattered which one you picked, and I kept waiting for moral choices or other elaborations on the formula. That said, it was well worth playing and a lot of fun.