Ratings and Reviews by Stian

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View this member's reviews by tag: ectocomp 2020 IFComp 2019 ifcomp 2020 Spring Thing 2018 Spring Thing 2019
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Toadstools, by Bitter Karella
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A mythical-scientific trip through the forest, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

Excellently written and very peculiar, Toadstools takes you on a mythical-scientific trip through the forest. A good amount of thoughtful world-building seems to lie behind it, part satirical and part wondrous, providing enjoyment, engagement and immersion. As a choice IF, it certainly feels like a puzzle, like you could get rich, crazy or die of hunger, depending on your choices. Still, I was not able to ascertain if this actually is the case, nor whether a good ending exists, during my play. As a horror game, it’s not particularly scary, at least not in a brutal way, though I guess one would have to be of some age to enjoy it.

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A Very Dangerous Criminal, by C.C. Hill
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A pretty good horror story, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

Despite some lack of polish, this is actually a pretty good horror story. I’m mostly impressed by its narrative arc, which is well grounded in classic storytelling while also offering a few well placed extensions in just the right places. On the other hand, there is no interesting interactivity here; you get to choose a few traits for the protagonist, which I don’t think has any bearing on the story, and a few details that appears to be completely arbitrary. I think A Very Dangerous Criminal easily could be a great novella, but a lot of work would be needed to turn it into a good piece of IF.

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Ebony & Ivory's Halloween Party, by M. Nite Chamberlain
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A puzzle of sorts, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

A choice IF set at a Halloween party, this one has only minimal amounts of dialogue. Here you are tasked with a puzzle of sorts, which involves going back and forth a bit. I’m not entirely sure what to take from this story, but the writing was pretty decent, and the cover art was nice.

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Cabin in the Forest, by willitchio
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A truly horrifying experience, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

Playing this game was a truly horrifying experience. I’m afraid I can’t say more; the memories are too painful…

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The Curse of the Scarab, by Nils Fagerburg
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent optimisation parser IF, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

Not particularly scary, but hilariously funny, The Curse of the Scarab is an optimisation parser IF inspired by Captain Verdeterre’s Plunder and Sugarlawn. Here, you are attempting to loot an Egyptian tomb, which is not only filled with treasures but also deadly traps and flesh eating creatures. I have never used UNDO so many times in an adventure, and never had so much fun doing it. The Egyptian lore and hieroglyphs present in The Curse of the Scarab may be meaningless or fake, I don’t know, but they are perfectly convincing and really contributes to the immersion. I also don’t know what authoring system Fagerburg has used for this game; while there was no download link, the online interface was really lovely, with tasteful fonts and adorned by subtle decorations. All in all an excellent game!

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Several Other Tales from Castle Balderstone, by Ryan Veeder
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Another perfectly framed horror anthology, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

It’s hard not to love Veeder’s Balderstone series of parser IF – perfectly framed horror anthologies where each tale has its own style, both literary and in terms of play. This latest instalment may be the most impressive yet, if only for the second of the evening’s tales, one which gives a whole new meaning to the term interactive fiction. Although I’m not sure I can vouch for the literary quality of that particular story, it was certainly a delightful experience. The other several other tales here are as elegantly written as I have come to expect from Veeder, although I do sense a slight shift to a more humoristic approach than the previous tales offered. Puzzlewise, all the stories here are very straightforward and you’ll hardly be stuck for more than a minute, leaving you to enjoy the imaginative descriptions from Veeder’s dark side.

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The Imposter, by Carter Gwertzman
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Eerie on a spaceship, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

Capturing some of the same eeriness as Alien (the film), The Imposter is a very short story set in a spaceship. It’s hardly interactive though; the only choices you make is the order in which you visit the different locations. The little text there is is well written; the only issue is that it did not always feel coherent with the spectacularly creepy ending.

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Rat Chasm, by Hatless
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A gruesome story, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

Not really interactive, Rat Chasm features a single link that takes you to a news article on which the story is based. Apart from that, it simply consists of scrollable text. The story behind it is gruesome enough. Here, it has received a subjective treatment of the accounts, and a truly hellish one at that. The ending was a bit abrupt though, with a message that may be a bug of sorts. Perhaps there should be more to it.

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RED FAST BENT, by B Minus Seven
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
I have no idea what is going on here, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

I have no idea what is going on here.

It really doesn’t seem to be randomly generated.

The sentences are cool and coherent.

It’s very, very short.

I played it ten times in a few minutes.

But I have no idea what is going on here.

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Social Lycanthropy Disorder, by Emery Joyce
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Not for me, December 2, 2020
Related reviews: ectocomp 2020

This is a choice IF with lots of endings and achievements, presumably a mechanism designed to have you replay again and again, to discover all there is. I’m afraid it did not grip me enough to motivate more than one play. The foremost reason for this, I guess, is the stereotypical American party setting that the game takes place in. The choices are to a large part dialogue options that lets you choose between fake sincerity and disinterested excuses to shift your focus elsewhere, and there is a discomfort number that represents your feeling of awkwardness. Suffice to say I have never attended an American party, and the situation described in Social Lycanthropy Disorder is so far from my reality that it was impossible to feel any involvement with the story. The writing is decent enough, however, and although it was low on spookiness, it does fit the Halloween theme well.

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