Ratings and Reviews by streever

I am clueless concerning both They Might Be Giants and the opera this is apparently an adaptation of; despite my glaring faults, flaws, and ignorance, I enjoyed this game.

The writing is good. The story is interesting and absurd, in the way that Veeder typically writes, but with a sense of a deeper and more meaningful theme.

The actual mechanics are relatively simple. Although I had a paper and pen out, making notes, it turns out I didn't need any of them at all.

I played several of the Apollo games, and found this to be my favorite of the ones I played. A strong effort around a good story with a minimum of puzzles, this was a successful narrative.

This game presents a muddled and incorrect theological perspective, that isn't particularly illuminating or enlightening. This leads to the only flaws in an otherwise well-written and engaging experience.

The shoddy theology makes it hard to recognize your choices as such, but the game makes great use of your choices, so it is frustrating that the developers limited understanding of Christian theology provides some inconsistent and illogical implementation. I recommend saving and using restore/undo as needed.

The actual mechanics of this game are fairly brilliant, and the writing is excellent. There are a few minor bugs (characters aware of events that haven't happened yet), but you can avoid them--and improve the overall experience--by restricting yourself to using "talk to character" instead of the more open-ended "ask".

Some of the puzzles are quite clever, and almost all of them involve multiple outcomes. Keep this in mind as you play; you are not restricted to the most obvious solutions. In this, the game does get closer to a proper Christian theology, although it still misunderstands the significance of this decision.

I enjoyed this game quite a bit and think it is well-done. Yes, there is some unsettling imagery, but I would rate it as "less disturbing than CSI".

This is a simple horror game, playable in under 15 minutes.

It seems extremely merciful; I completed it and won on my first go-through. I tried a second time, deliberately choosing what seemed like the few bad choices available, and found the game was quite good at hinting me toward the satisfying outcome.

The writing is good, although I could use a little more story. I'm not sure why things are happening, and the island has a number of nooks and crannies which could provide exposition for those seeking it. The game gives small tidbits which should be expanded upon, delivering more background and more plot.

There are a number of areas implemented which don't provide anything, and I'm not sure how they advance the game or the story. It would be interesting to have these side paths provide insight and context--perhaps a page of a diary entry here or there--in the same way that Miasmata and Bioshock did.

I think this small twine narrative would be good for a newcomer, to give them a basic sense of what the medium does without being difficult or frustrating.

This game doesn't offer much in encouragement, creating a lot of frustration, but it is fun and well-written, and the (singular) puzzle is solvable.

Try anything you can think of for a potentially funny response, but expect a tough time actually solving this one; you'll have to think outside the box.

This is a great short game set in a different world.

You are a capable fighter and swordswoman who belongs to a secret order pledged to protect the King. A mysterious man has invited you to a ball celebrating the once a year passage of a comet that brings great upheaval and change to the Kingdom.

Intrigue abounds, and there are no real puzzles. The conversation is a hybrid topical system, with a few conversations being unlocked by giving/showing items.

This is an excellent romantic fantasy. The romance aspect is downplayed in favor of the intrigue and mystery.

As usual, a few bits of prose here and there create a more fully realized world. There is some over-done descriptive phrasing, but mercifully little. It is slightly more verbose than some of Short's work, but still wonderfully written.

This is a short experience of death, repeated endlessly.

Puzzle-less and lacking exposition or plot, the game places you in a room, where you will die repeatedly. The main theme is how your character dies--each object you examine is a different death.

I think the story could use more connections and meaning layered into the deaths--and a bit of editing. I caught several typos. Currently each death seems to be at random, with no real connection to other events. There isn't a strong human element, nor is there an emotional connection to make with the character.

This game reminded me of Machine of Death, which I highly recommend. Machine of Death added a real human element to the narrative; the choices you made had real meaning, although you knew your ultimate fate, the narrative played with concepts of predestination and meaning in the face of death.