Ratings and Reviews by streever

I loved this short horror work by Dias, set on a scrubby little island where rich New Englanders bought cottages and displaced the sheep herders and fishers who once eked out a living.

The voice of the main protagonist/narrator is strong and realistic; I could imagine this man talking to me in a dark bar. Little details complete his character--he doesn't just chain smoke, he makes a snide comment about vaping, too.

The house is navigated by clicking text links--room to room--and I quickly made a mental map in my head which looked an awful lot like the small Cape Cods and saltboxes of the coastal towns from my home state.

The ending is perfect: as far as I can tell, you have two choices, and it is worth playing a second time to experience both of them. There are other small choices throughout, but most of them function more as "which to do first", although a few conversational options are binary.

Highly recommended. I would love some appropriate audio in the background too, although I recognize that I'm getting greedy as the overall quality of Twine-like games improves. I imagine the quiet clink of glasses and low murmurs, the jukebox of a dive bar...

My only complaint is the candle UI, as it was; you use candles to communicate with the dead, and the game cleverly displays your candles at the bottom of the interface. I may have been wrong, but I had the sense that my candles were limited, and could be used up prematurely; it would be nice to have some way to know that this isn't the case, as it would remove a bit of, I think, unintended tension from the experience.

Hennessy writes with a strong voice and distinct characters, representing a broad spectrum of sexuality and identity, interwoven with contemporary themes and a strong vein of magical realism.

If you played Birdland, you're familiar with Hennessy's oeuvre: unrequited or unrealized young love, the surreal and supernatural, and a free mixing of reality and fantasy.

Anime conventions, hyperbole, self-awareness, and irony run throughout the dialogues and settings, and a memorable scene includes the use of emoji instead of words.

This piece could stand on its own, although the ending would be unsatisfying as the finale. Thankfully it's part one of a planned four part series. I'm interested to see where it goes, and am looking forward to the next installment.

Emotionally powerful writing that lightens the mood with the humorous concept of putting you in the story as an anthropomorphised bear who communicates via gestures.

The story is linear, but the choices feel meaningful and deliver a sense of agency. My only negative feeling towards the work is that the UI forces pauses between sections of text, and prevents you from advancing, which slowed down my sense of pacing and urgency. I suspect the plot plays a part too, as it is predicated on moving back and forth through time in a way that usually works, but sometimes feels like it could use a little more attention.

While a few of the implementations were a little foggy, this is an incredibly satisfying and enjoyable piece with fun writing, laugh-out-loud scenes, and a great deal of variety.

I enjoyed finding ways to kill the vampire--and occasionally get killed--and while a few of the solutions were a little obtuse, it always became clear what I should have done without any real head scratching.

Overall a rewarding and enjoyable piece which holds up through several playthroughs.

This piece transported me to my own confused teenage years. Trying to sort out my future, scared of adulthood, pushed by forces beyond my control, I desperately could have used two close friends, a road trip, and a magical motel.

Strengths include fantastic writing throughout, a sense of place, strong characters, and a powerful voice from a talented writer.

Weaknesses: Where is my soundtrack? What is the url for the motel website? How can I visit here? Why isn't there more? Will you write more? Can I subscribe to your email list?

OK, so maybe those aren't actually 'weaknesses' in the commonly accepted meaning of the word, but come on, let me visit the Cactus Blue! :)

Sharp, well-written, and packed with humorous moments. I didn't finish this game due to time constraints, but enjoyed it very much; I will pick it up again when I get the chance.

I found the actual mechanics of capturing pokemon--and seeing my medals, trophies, and XP go up--as engaging as trying to follow the narrative and plot.

This piece begins with a sense of leisure and time: the day is ending for you, a docent who provides tours of a historical home for the rare visitor. The sense of place and setting are excellent--this could easily be modeled after any of a dozen small historical museums from New England.

Tension builds quickly (especially with the recommended background audio), and continues to a satisfyingly creepy and unsettling finish. The pacing and plotting are both well done.

The one area I wish Veeder had spent more time on was in fleshing out the protagonist and giving us a greater sense of who we are, and what the stakes mean to us, although I suppose some of this is done in the implications. I do wish there was a little more characterization, typically a stronger point in his work.

This is a short Twine piece which uses the experimental format of a checklist of tasks which must be performed before you miss your chance to go off-world and avoid the apocalypse.

It's moving and surprising, and lends itself to multiple replays. The writing is engaging and human, and the voice authentic. The UI and design function well and make it easy to read on a computer screen.

Highly recommended.

A tight little mystery game, but I'm not sure how I feel about it: I enjoyed the story and the red herrings, but the limited scope combined with the notebook feature made it feel a little constrained. I would not have been able to solve it without the 'write' feature, but that felt a bit like a hint/cheat system, as it gave me the answer.

In a way, these games feel a little bit like a distillation of IF mystery: search all the objects, talk to all the people, and the case is solved. Part of me thinks this would make a better Twine game, as Talk/Ask isn't particularly well implemented, and seems mostly a linear experience. "Talk to" character will accomplish most of what you need.

This is a fine game for a newcomer to IF, but the mystery doesn't unravel in a way that makes me feel particularly clever; the writing is good, but the actual experience of solving and finishing the game feels a bit loose.

There doesn't seem to be a game here, rather, just page after page of poetry generation. By design or by chance, some of the passages become memorable or significant: I felt awkward dragging Montaigne through Stein, particularly with the text above referencing a man dragging his own father and the German word 'mann'.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys fridge poetry and philosophy, perhaps a small group, but we can hope a dedicated one.