Ratings and Reviews by mr.jones

The Axolotl Project tells a very interesting and often gripping SF story. I especially liked the action scene and the descriptions of the aliens. There is also a final decision to be made, which, even though a bit foreseeable, draws the player right in. There are no real puzzles, and the amount of thinking required is just right as to not distract from the story but still keeping this interactive fiction as opposed to just fiction.

I have a few nibbles, though, which put this closer to a three star game then a five star game for me. For one, some technology seems rather old fashioned for a moon base. Sure, there are fully automatic cleaning robots, but also password authentication and (Spoiler - click to show)old fashioned secret doors. Also, some texts are rather long-winded, especially compared to the generally very dense and to the point writing in most parts of the game.

Still, all in all a satisfying SF game and a good example of what can be achieved with Twine.

The best part of this CYOA game is its dark superhero story. The prose is evocative and tense. The second person writing is strengthened by the possibility to customize it: Some words are clickable and clicking them adds additional details. Sometimes you can choose a part of the text, for example a name or an action without impact on the further story. This really draws you in.

However, true choices are rare in Cape and often their impact feels weak. I have only played through the game once, but from what happened in that playthrough there seem to be only one or two handful of truly meaningful choices.

Still, superhero fans should find Cape to their liking.

The Pawn's most distinguishing feature, at the time of its release, was (as far as I remember it) the use of graphics for some of the locations. While a few non-animated graphics can hardly impress players nowadays, the images, vaguely reminiscent of "ligne claire" comics, offer a different view on the locations and add to the atmosphere of the game without distracting from the text.

The text itself is well written, with some irony and a small dose of British (black) humor. It tells a rather traditional fantasy story, which still manages to surprise once or twice and kept me entertained till the end. The parser is powerful and has a big vocabulary. I stumbled over a few oddities, but this might also be caused by English not being my maternal language.

The puzzles are interesting and well interweaved with the story. At least for a beginner like me some were quite difficult and I had to consult a walkthrough a few times. I did not encounter a single bug.

All in all a polished and entertaining experience.