Reviews by Tito Valenz
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Please help her, October 9, 2022I enjoyed this one a lot. It was atmospheric and slightly creepy. The gameplay centers around your character asking questions to a girl who is begging for help. You have to guess the right things to ask, and the NPC responds. The author has developed an impressive system in which a lot of what I tried got fairly relevant responses. I was genuinely motivated to figure out how to help the girl. There are no content warnings, as that would spoil important details, but be aware you may read descriptions or see images that could disturb some players. I was able to finish fairly quickly, but I am interested to see what other responses are available, so I would replay Thanatophobia again.
I hope you have better luck than me, October 9, 2022I really struggled with this game. I never really got the hang of it, even though it's centered on finding rhyming words. I used the hint system and look at the walkthrough, but I still couldn't come up with a strategy for solving the puzzles. It was clear a lot of work went into this game, and it has a fun, light-hearted tone, but I just didn't connect with it.
Minimalist Romance, October 5, 2022This game is just about as brief as they come. There were so few details that I didn't really get any imagery in my mind. However, it did create a certain feel. Rather than describe what it was like, I would say give it a try. It's so quick, you may as well experience it to make up your own mind.
The Mystery Unfolds..., October 5, 2022Somewhat of a mystery, this game has the player exploring around for clues. However, there is more going on than a run-of-the-mill mystery. It took me a little extra time to put together what I should probably be doing, and I think that might have cost me: I ended up failing my first playthrough. However, I can't wait to try it again. I like the puzzles and mechanics; the Twine format makes it very easy to navigate and retrace your steps when you realize there is something else you can try. Recommended.
The Undersea Adventures of an Unnamed Captain, November 19, 2021Here is a choice-based game that I found very pleasant to navigate. Despite being a sci-fi adventure taking place on another world (not my usual preference), I was drawn in right away; I attribute that to the fact that the setting is more of an underwater environment than an alien planetary location. There are five chapters to this story. I have played the game several times. While I enjoyed the writing, I was a little disappointed that it seemed like nothing you do in the first three chapters keeps you from arriving at the same place in the fourth one. Another nitpick is that in the first chapter, you have to choose what to say to crew members to hopefully inspire their confidence. However, even when I tried to choose carefully, the NPC's reactions seemed very random. On top of that, I didn't see how it made a difference at any point going forward. I enjoyed the exploration and problem-solving of the second chapter, possibly my favorite section. The third chapter lets you decide a few things, but as I said, you end up in the same place regardless. Probably the most challenging portion was the mini-game in the fourth chapter. Tension started to build here and decisions became more consequential. Still, the game is pretty forgiving, and it seemed pretty easy to get a satisfactory ending. I would have liked more time with the NPC mermaids, as they were the most interesting part of the story, but I also enjoyed a lot of the other strange creatures. On one hand, I appreciated the brevity. On the other, I felt like more details could have enriched the experience. Fun, not too difficult, it makes for a solid entry in the 2021 IFComp.
Lots to do, November 14, 2021I found this game very addicting. I had a hard time putting it down, even though there were things about it that frustrated me.
First, this is an RPG. It kind of reminds me of a solo module, or a gaming paperback, like the Fighting Fantasy books. Except 4x4 is randomized, so even though some of the content is similar, enough changed that I found playing again to be just as much fun.
I have played two 5-hour session, each one with a different character. The first character I chose was a trickster, whose skills were magic and charisma. I think my mistake was that I tried to increase her fighting ability, when I probably should have concentrated on learning more spells. Even after hours of exploring, the character still was not effective against difficult opponents. I have not finished the story with this character yet.
So I picked a mercenary for the second try. This character didn't have the charisma to get me certain advantages, but was it was a lot easier to get strong enough to actually finish some of the quests.
This is a really big game with a lot of content. I think the author balanced everything out very well. There are a lot of other things to do besides fight, and a good amount of stats to track.
I played this game so I could score it for IFComp 2021. I am very lucky that I got to this game last. If I had gotten into it earlier on, I might have been so absorbed with it, I might not have had time to give some of the other games a chance.
Just doing my job, November 13, 2021In this story, you have to read messages to a dead person left by their loved ones. Then, you have to contact the loved ones and ask them to verify that this person is, in fact, dead. It connects to the story of another of the author's games, "Weird Grief," which shows a lot more of the characters. I was surprised at the reactions from the characters during the group chat. This was pretty sad. I recommend playing the other game first.
Secrets around every corner, November 13, 2021This is a lengthy parser game in which you must explore a "...beautiful old house haunted by a lost soul." Your command set is very limited, so you have to find unique ways to solve puzzles. As a first game, I thought the mechanics were very clever, allowing this piece to distinguish itself from the pack. There is a mystery here, which unfolds gradually as your character explores and discovers details that explain how they arrived at their situation. I would have really liked (Spoiler - click to show)some branching with the final choice, because I felt that the only thing you are able to do isn't quite in line with the character as I came to know them. I understand the reason for having content warnings in the description of a game, but I was glad I didn't read this one before playing. I prefer to begin with minimal expectations, not knowing what kinds of emotions I might experience until the details unfold. Very immersive with medium difficulty and some startling surprises.
Surreal adventure, November 13, 2021Here is a fairly short story about a man looking for someone who has been missing. He wanders through several dream-like settings and talks to several NPCs to get information. Most of the descriptions and dialogue sound as though they are meant to be symbolic, and that the character’s journey is an allegory. He visits place that have words like “Indecision” and “Realization” in their names. At one point, Alice in Wonderland shows up. He has to ask one girl if he can have her essence. Later, one of the girls he has met tells him he must release them from the hold he has on them. At the end of his search, he is finally forced to accept a difficult truth. It is vague and a little surreal at times. I don't believe that just because a piece of writing sounds like it is open to interpretation necessarily indicates that deeper meaning is present. I think that sometimes authors just go from one idea to the next without having thought about how it fits together. I personally did not feel there was anything to gain by thinking about what this story might be saying.
This game will melt your ugly face, November 13, 2021I guess I'm not a true metalhead. It took me way too long to figure out the possibilities of this game. I came SO CLOSE to reading the walkthrough because I thought I was out of ideas. I am sure true devotees of bone shattering riffs knew the kind of trial and error that was needed to keep progressing.
I enjoyed the humorous tone, and it was fun finding solutions to these situations. There is a little bit of in-game hinting to help players along, which kept me from getting too frustrated. The download includes a cool map, but you would never really need it; the location is easily navigated.
I have read comments criticizing the implementation of this game, and when I was playing the early parts of it, I would have agreed. However, after finishing, I actually think this game is written the way it is meant to be. For the first few puzzles, I was upset because I was trying things that I thought seemed like clever solutions, but were not the correct solutions. That doesn't mean the game is underwritten; just that it knows what it wants to be. You have to stick to theme when playing this one. One thing that helped me is writing down what I had already figured out, so I knew what I hadn't tried. I would never have been able to commit it all to memory.
The one exception is (Spoiler - click to show)the ending. What is going on with the IFComp this year and all the abrupt finishes??? This story was about to climax into a flaming ball of awesomeness and blow everyone's genitals out the backs of their heads, and then it was gone. You gotta give me more here, man!
I could nitpick about the whole glam rock controversy, but so much of this story is so on point, I didn't mind. It's a fun challenge with great theming and an interesting mechanic. If you disagree, then there is not enough room in this comment box to properly describe how much I hate you.
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