Ratings and Reviews by Spike

Writing farce is like a figure skater launching into a spin: It’s easy to overdo it or underdo it just a little and spoil the effect. Overdo the comedy in farce, and it’s embarrassingly silly. Underdo the comedy in farce, and it comes across as cruel.

The Wizard Sniffer nails it, though, in a spiraling cascade of zaniness that had me laughing out loud several times. Slapstick antic followed slapstic antic, the stakes getting higher each time, and I found myself saying again and again, “I cannot believe the game just went there!”

Part of what makes this work is that the puzzles and pacing are just right. The puzzles are clever and well-integrated into the game but not too difficult; too much player frustration would kill the effect.

Also, the text plays “straight man”: The writing is strong, but Hudson wisely avoids the temptation to go for laughs within the text itself. Instead, the humor is enhanced by the discrepancy between the crazy action in front of you and the I’m-just-describing-what’s-happening text that’s mediating that craziness.

The Wizard Sniffer is really, truly funny. It reminds me of one of those 1930s screwball comedies - or maybe a classic Looney Tunes cartoon. I’ve never laughed so much playing an IF game.