Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

The story is one of finding a place in a welcoming community. You have been granted a cottage in a town on a new island and have access to a range of locations and townspeople. With this new start, you find ways of making the cottage your home.

There is one thing I want to say about content. When I first played this game on itchio it came with one of those “You must be 18+ to view this content” popup warnings but there is little explicit content to be worried about. The game’s content warning includes (Spoiler - click to show) language, violent events, and brief blood, which is true. However, after playing the game I sincerely feel that the content implemented is nowhere near an 18+ rating. I am only saying this because the +18 rating may discourage some players from even trying it which would mean missing out on an excellent and light-hearted game. That is my take on it. I would describe this game as not for kids but reasonable for most ages.

Gameplay
The gameplay is broken into days. Each day begins at the player’s cottage. At the start of each day the player can travel, harvest their garden, craft items, read books, and invite people over if they have a good enough relationship. Sometimes the player will get notifications in their mailbox about events and festivals held by the island community.

The travel locations are the town, forest, coast, and river, each having one main character that the player can build a relationship with (and possibly pursue romance). At each location the player can scavenge for raw materials and then craft items from them. You can then sell these creations at the market or give them to other characters as gifts. Sometimes new locations will briefly be available, such as (Spoiler - click to show) a shipwreck.

You can sell and buy things at the market which was exciting at first. However, it does not take long for you to buy out everything in the market. It also felt unrealistic that you can harvest a fresh crop from your garden every single day. Selling all that produce contributed to the excess of coins that I accumulated. I was surprised there was no way to customize your cottage beyond books and plants. A room extension or remodeling would burn off those extra coins.

One of the biggest strengths in this game is that quests are smoothly implemented. Quests usually involve finding and talking to new characters for information or crafting special items. Even though quests follow a similar model they avoid feeling repetitive. Sometimes they overlap which makes the game’s world more fluid.

Story
The ultimate goal is to become a happy member of the community but there is no variation in endings. The only ending is to (Spoiler - click to show) complete every task and achievement which is shown in a list. Because of this, players may not be compelled to replay it. I could see this as a game that you play again several months later when you stumble across it and decide to revisit it.

Characters
The game requires that the player become friends with the other characters. The only way to move forward in character interactions is to (Spoiler - click to show) alternate between giving them gifts and talking to them. It feels sort of awkward to have a heated interaction with a character and then earning points with them by giving them things out of nowhere. It is like in the Sims games where you give someone a high five until they become your best friend. Nonetheless, characters are richly implemented. They may be found strolling along in locations you normally would not find them, giving you an opportunity to chat. I also liked the idea of (Spoiler - click to show) recruiting the characters as teachers if you decide to turn the abandoned house into a school because it ties back to the theme of community building.

There is also a mild stat system that is used in character dialog. Gameplay choices affect your Sanguine, Melancholic, Choleric, and Phlegmatic levels. There is no way of checking your stat levels and it is not clear on what choices contribute to a particular stat, but it does add some extra depth. You might be presented with a list of options such as these: Here is an example of three links you could click on to respond to a character:

'Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude.'
'You left your door open.'
(Choleric) 'Looking around. Who are you?'

Each one of these would be a response to a character. If you did not have a high enough Choleric stat for the last option, it would be crossed out. Using stats in Twine games always adds a little complexity to the gameplay and Ataraxia is no exception.

Visuals
Game uses a simple colour scheme of teal background and orange text with occasional text effects in some of the quests. Everything is easy to read and navigate which is especially helpful in an RPG game where you are constantly flipping through inventories and stat statistics. I think its appearance is one of the game’s strongest points.

Final thoughts
Ataraxia is a nice ambient game with lighthearted themes of aspiration and productive community-building (along with just a touch of fantasy). Its gameplay is complex but not puzzle heavy and is an excellent example of a choice-based RPG.

Paid parental leave in Sweden has led to a change in parenting methods. Many fathers are now considered as "Stay-At-Home" dads, a concept that is rather novel in places like the U.S. In this game you are a father named Björn. The game begins in your kitchen where you are drinking juice and thinking about yourself as a parent. Note: This game came out in 2016. No doubt the landscape of childcare has evolved (for better or worse) since then.

Gameplay
The gameplay is shaped by your choice of perceiving the world with either a realist perspective or an optimist perspective that offer two separate paths. I liked how the game presents two simple but clearcut ways of experimenting with the story. Unfortunately, both paths end abruptly with the realist path being slightly longer.

Optimist path
In this first path Björn is reflecting on when he first met his wife Agatha at an office, thinking about how attractive she was. Then he moves on to when they bought their first house which has started to feel like a home. Suddenly (Spoiler - click to show) the game interjects with "WHAT COULD BE ANY BETTER THAN THAT?!" Then the credits appear. This path does nothing towards portraying the subject of paid parental leave. It is just feels like a brief fantasy trip.

Realist path
At least this path does briefly look at paid parental leave. It covers Björn’s daily routine with his daughter Abby. His wife, Agatha, works in finance in another area. He drives Abby to school tries to complete basic tasks such as grocery shopping. Before paid parental leave he worked in a nut processing factory. Because the factory is not particularly exciting, he decides to apply for a new job. (Spoiler - click to show) Unfortunately, the game randomly ends with him thinking about different types of nuts without further exploring the topics of childcare.

Discussion
The game describes itself as being about "Swedish fathers with a lot of time on their hands," which we never learn about. In both the optimist and realist paths the game never breaks down how fathers commit themselves to childcare or how they manage their free time, especially over longer time periods than the ones shown in the game. For instance, how have societal factors influenced fathers’ role in childcare that resulted in the wave of stay-at-home dads? At least the realist route skims the surface of the subject. It mentions grocery shopping and applying for jobs but discussion of the subject ends before it can begin. I was not expecting a vast Twine piece that covered every aspect of paid parental leave. But when I saw the game, I thought it would have gone into greater detail.

Visuals
The visual design is one of the strong points in this game. It features beautiful gradient backgrounds with large glowing text that is easy to read and creates a nicely stylized effect. The glowing text is subtle without being hard to read. The optimist and realist paths each have a unique gradient background that was aesthetically pleasing. If this were a blog, I would upload a screenshot of the background. Since that is not possible you will have to play the game to see them for yourself.

Final thoughts
Despite its incompleteness there are two reasons why I would recommend the game: A, it has information on parental paid leave in Sweden at the end of the game and B, shows some nice examples of gradient backgrounds used in Twine. This too is mentioned at the end.

Even though I have multiple criticisms about the game I am glad that the author chose this topic because parenting is always a relevant topic. Based on my experience (other players may feel otherwise) with interactive fiction I have encountered more games about motherhood than about fatherhood, and I think that this game is a nice addition to the mix.

(Note: If you click on the link to the article in the credits page, you may be hit with a paywall. But if you type in the name of the article "In Sweden, Men Can Have It All" into a search engine you will still find some interesting and relevant material on the subject.)

You are a passenger on a ship called the Space Cruiser DONTPANIC. It is just a basic business trip until an alarm goes off while you are asleep. One step outside of your quarters reveals that the ship is in a state of emergency, leaving you with no choice but to go to the control room to radio for help. But ground control has other plans.

In the control room you learn that ground control has gleefully nominated you to be the first human to enter a black hole. The player than can choose from a short list of outlandish survival options before they are swallowed by the event horizon (that is, the point of no return, where even light cannot escape). For atmosphere, consider looking up NASA’s first picture of a black hole. While I cannot claim that this game is an accurate depiction of what it would be like to fall into a black hole, the concept is still an interesting one to contemplate.

I am giving this game a rating of two stars because there not much substance to the gameplay. It is meant to be humorous and comical, but it does not offer much in terms of interactivity or variation. Initially, I thought it would have been one of those games where each time you die you learn something new that will let you get a litter farther in the next playthrough. However, the game usually results in the same outcome and the player’s choices do not seem to matter.

Most of the endings (Spoiler - click to show) lead to same thing: The player entering the event horizon and watching the first forms of life in the universe coming into creation. There is no explanation as to why ground control chose to sabotage the protagonist, nor is there any mention of any other characters on the ship because the layout of the ship suggests that this was a multi-person ship. There are only (Spoiler - click to show) two other endings: falling asleep after the alarm wakes you up and trying to teleport yourself out of the ship. The second one was probably the most interesting. I could not help but think that it would have been kind of cool to see a CerebroVat in action.

I often like to briefly acknowledge the visuals of Twine games. This one is basic but shows how a few style choices can add some uniqueness. Its appearance is a slightly more stylized than the typical white text and black screen. The text is set in a dark-grey rectangle with round corners against a black screen. Links are enclosed with a slightly lighter-gray rounded rectangle. I felt like this was a nice example of a basic Twine design.

In conclusion, the game may not be particularly substantial, but it still has merits. It is a brief and humorous diversion, and I recommend it to players who enjoy the disaster-in-space genre.

This is a surreal game about a branching train of thought inspired by field research in a rainforest. Everything is sensory. The smell of the forest, the moisture in the air, and the sound of the wildlife are all captured in succinct but vivid detail, which is why this game captured my attention.

You are an unnamed and undescribed (presumably human) protagonist who wanders the forest until you reach as group of researchers with a makeshift ecology lab. The researchers, unbothered by the fact that you are rummaging around in their equipment are studying plants, birds, insects, trees, the ocean, and other parts of the forest. Maybe they are even studying you.

Either way, the gameplay consists of clicking on links that lead to one
When the protagonist observes the scientists’ field work, they ponder the different forms of research that humans have conducted about life and proceeds to bounce between identities. (Spoiler - click to show) First, you are a scientist studying ecology in Biosphere 2, a real-world facility that studies closed ecosystems. Suddenly you are analyzing messages sent by a radio dish to another solar system with instructions on how to reach Earth. Then you are an alien landing on Earth for the first time. These rapid changes are all smoothly implemented so that it forms a blended narrative. Games with this structure run the risk of being tricky to follow but FIELD WORK was streamlined and easy to understand.

The end of the story is a slightly unexpected but interesting outcome. Eventually, (Spoiler - click to show) your mind snaps back to reality. Rather than merely collecting samples to ship off to a lab, the researchers explain that they are actually studying the forest to form a musical composition by using technology that takes microscopic samples and transfer their structure into sound. The game then ends with (Spoiler - click to show) the protagonist listening to the sounds in silent reflection which felt like a thoughtful conclusion.

The visuals are sleek and polished. For most of the game the text body is contained in a white square with rounded corners against a slightly darker white background. It uses black and white text with green links and symbols. The game uses basic visual effects in creative ways. For example, I like how (Spoiler - click to show) the text box darkened so that it was reduced to a white circle that simulated the view of looking through a microscope. The downside is that the box containing the text is incredibly small and is swallowed by the back screen. There are some cases where the black text is somewhat faded and difficult to read against the white screen. In addition, the text size may be hard to read which may discourage some players.

The cover art and title lured me in with the promise of an immersive sci-fi adventure and I am pleased to say that I found a unique Twine game that incorporates current areas of research into a short story. It is surreal but not too intensive or too long. It also has a cool trailer on its itchio page that contains some of the locations mentioned in the game. If you like the themes mentioned in the trailer (or this review) then this game may be of interest.

It is the near future. Earth’s population is nearly 10 billion and the old days of flying in gifts via reindeer have become obsolete. Instead, Santa has installed 3D printers in every household. At precisely Christmas Day the printers print gifts appropriate of each child's behavior with machine-learning software that determines if they were naughty or nice. But when the Neural Network malfunctions, Santa may have to reevaluate the way gift-giving is managed.

Gameplay
In this game, the traditional take on Santa Claus has turned cyberpunk. Instead of snowmen and polar bears the North Pole is now biometric scanners, DNA analyzers, and computer labs. And of course, the Neural Network. These themes are heavily portrayed the game. One of my favorite moments is (Spoiler - click to show) trying to bypass a door’s verification steps to enter the Ratings Department:

> PLEASE COMPLETE THIS CAPTCHA

"What. Ugh. Of all the times."

The display shows a grid of 4 kids in naughty or nice acts.

> SELECT THE NICE KIDS
(What follows is then a list of kids doing nice or naughty behavior)


You play as Santa watching as the first presents are being printed on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the nice kids are receiving coal while the naughty kids are getting the good presents. You soon realize that the Ratings Department has a faulty “Naughty or Nice Rater,” causing kids for getting the wrong presents. Fixing the faulty Network is only one step. You must figure out who is responsible for the error.

Story
Previously, elves would train the Neural Network by taking logged examples of kids’ behavior and assigning a rating, giving the Network an understanding of how a rating coincides with a behavior. But it is (Spoiler - click to show) soon revealed that raters were training the Network with intentionally false ratings to give it a skewed perspective. Few elves who trained the Network remain employed at the North Pole. One elf, Popeep O. Werbles, is summoned into your office for questioning.

Popeep explains that these raters were protesting the loss of elf worker jobs due to the installment of the Neural Network. Once it was trained and implemented, millions of elves were laid off. The player can then decide on how to (Spoiler - click to show) punish (if at all) the raters responsible for sabotaging the system. My only criticism is that the game (Spoiler - click to show) ends abruptly. Once Popeep leaves after your decision, that is it. It feels like there should be some implementation of your final choice or something other than just sitting in your office staring at screens.

Final thoughts
Nonetheless, this is a humorous and festive Ink game with a unique twist on the holiday season. It is about ten minutes long and is worth playing if you are looking for a Christmas game or a game that uses the concept of machine-learning in a creative way.

The school year is currently in the dead of winter. Most recesses have been spent indoors but today's sunshine changes that. Today will be an outdoor recess. Even better, this will be a much-anticipated chance to test out your brand-new pair of sneakers. But at the last minute the teacher calls you back, saying that you cannot go outside because of a missing assignment.

Gameplay
You play as a fourth-grade student named Jamie Nelson. You need to turn in an "Explorer worksheet" about Vasco da Gama. There are two paths to approach this. If you look at the (Spoiler - click to show) blue folder in your desk you will discover that you have Daniel’s (your younger brother) schoolwork folder. This means Daniel must have your schoolwork folder containing the Explorer worksheet that you had already completed. The gameplay then consists of tracking down this folder to retrieve the missing assignment.

The other path is to (Spoiler - click to show) ask the teacher for a blank copy of the worksheet and fill in the answers. With this path you can consult the library for help. Neither of these paths are particularly exciting but at least it allows you to choose. This is followed by a puzzle about (Spoiler - click to show) finding some mittens, a coat, and a hat so the teachers allow you to go outside. This too is lackluster but does not take long to complete.

Story
In the “about/introduction” section the game says, "The daily school routine of going out to recess, transformed into an epic quest." There is nothing epic about the gameplay although I like the author’s enthusiasm. The conflict is being unable to go outside because of a missing assignment but completing gameplay objectives does not reveal any plat developments or build upon the story. The result is that it does not always feel like a game. But, in all fairness, the game ensures that there are no lose ends or questions left unanswered. It may lack pizazz but at least it presents a consistent and laid-back story.

Characters
Jamie’s personality does shine a little bit. I liked the feeling of rebellion that occurs when he dares to open the door to the bus circle which is forbidden until the end of the school day. The rush and exhilaration of such an act is humorously described, especially since Jamie is normally well-behaved and would shy away from this behavior. The other characters are not particularly interesting, but Jamie’s descriptions of his teachers strongly convey the perspective of a young student.

Final thoughts
It is bland but has no bugs. Everything is smooth and reasonably short. But there are still some upsides. In the credits section the author explains that he based this game off childhood memories, and this earnestness shows. And it might appeal to you if you are looking for a realistic school setting with a younger protagonist.

Snowed In is a cat-and-mouse-get-eaten-by-a-grue game. While on vacation the protagonist visits a forest and becomes stuck in a blizzard on their way back to their hotel. In the forest they find a recently abandoned cabin that they take shelter in, although it becomes apparent that the blizzard is not the only threat that they need to hide from.

Gameplay
The game begins with the player already standing inside the cabin. The place has been ransacked and there are bullet holes in the walls and furniture. Almost immediately the player hears weird noises and the sound of something trying to bash its way in. A grue.

The player is safe from the grue if they have a light source. But when the power goes out the player must (Spoiler - click to show) fend off the grue with a lantern. The gameplay’s main mechanic consists of scavenging for light sources until you reach safety. Eventually (Spoiler - click to show) the lantern runs out of juice, which forces the player to leave the cabin and seek sanctuary before they are left in the dark.

There is a strong sense of urgency in the opening segment of the game. The player gathers as many resources as possible they can before they flee the compromised safety of the cabin, knowing that they are being hounded by a grue in the middle of a blizzard. Even more exciting is (Spoiler - click to show) the presence of an unknown figure in the distance who seems to be in leagues with the grue.

While trudging through the snow outside of the cabin (Spoiler - click to show) the game says, "Out of the corner of your eye, you spot a tall, shadowy figure lingering at the edge of your vision. When you turn to look at it directly, however, it disappears." Eerie. If you have your lantern on the figure will throw a rock at it to break it. With this, timing in everything. If the player (Spoiler - click to show) steps outside too early with the lantern, they are sabotaged when "somewhere off in the dark distance, far away from the light, a rock is hurled in your direction. It hits the lantern, breaking it, and putting it out of commission." Clearly this mysterious person is helping the grue but their identity is unknown.

After escaping the cabin, the player essentially wanders around the forest until (Spoiler - click to show) they find a hotel, fighting off darkness and the freezing cold along the way. The only (Spoiler - click to show) plot development in this part is "Out of the corner of your eye, you spot a tall, shadowy figure lingering at the edge of your vision. When you turn to look at it directly, however, it disappears." Sadly, that is all that we hear about this mysterious figure and their motives.

Story/Characters
Game hints at a complex story but does not go anywhere with it. The protagonist's backstory is simple and clean-cut: A tourist who wanders the wrong way in a forest after dark, which works fine. The compelling story is about the former occupant of the cabin because there are hints and clues in the cabin that paint a picture of what happened to them and why they deserted their cabin. These clues also indicate that the forces behind this are still lurking in the forest which adds to the gameplay's atmosphere.

The cabin owner (Spoiler - click to show) left a message on the office computer explaining that they were hunted by a grue outside their cabin for days until they ran low on supplies, prompting them to abandon their home in search of help. There is also a business card and receipt listing a company called Lasting Solutions which seems to be the cabin owner's employer. Initially I wondered if Lasting Solutions had something to do with the grue, especially due to the lurking figure in the forest who seemed to oversee the grue's assault. Even though the business card and receipt do not mention any explicit danger my guess was that the cabin owner did something to tick off their employer. However, there is no follow up on this possibility.

The player does learn about the cabin owner's (Spoiler - click to show) fate, but nothing about the grue, the figure in the forest, or Lasting Solutions. In the forest the player finds a blood-soaked backpack with the initials CE, the same initials on the snowsuit in the cabin. It is probably safe to say that they were eaten by a grue while trying to escape but there is nothing more to learn about their story. When the player staggers into their hotel staff rush to greet them and the game ends without further discussion.

Design
Snowed In reminded me of It is Pitch Black, a Twine game where the player also fends off a grue using failing light sources scavenged from their surroundings. The goal is to survive long enough until help arrives or until the player reaches safety. It is Pitch Black has a short but compelling story that creates a feeling of overwhelming suspense. It is also backed up by excellent gameplay, creating a strong piece. Snowed In has a similar gameplay concept of fending off a lurking threat but lacks in story structure and plot, especially near the end where there is no follow up on some of the key plot points that the player encountered. Despite this the game is still exciting to play and there is no denying its suspense. It just leaves the player wishing for more.

Final thoughts
This review strives to provides constructive criticism for a game that is flawed but built on a solid idea. The game has suspense. You hear something trying to break down the door. You only have a matter of time to escape. The light in your lantern is failing and if you try to turn it off to conserve power you hear the grue scrambling around nearby. (Spoiler - click to show) There is a mysterious figure in the distance. All these elements create a suspense ridden horror game. In fact, despite the bugs that trip up the gameplay Snowed In has some of the most suspenseful moments I have encountered in interactive fiction. It short enough that I would recommend it to anyone.

This game is about the feasibility of forging human connection during extreme and anonymity-strict reality with special attention on how connection can in fact bloom in unexpected ways.

Earth has been taken advantage of by an alien hive mind that makes life on the surface hostile for humans. A xeno-intellect, known as the Hive. No one knows its reasons, but the Hive detests human interaction. It does not want to see people gathered in groups socializing and forming connections. To protect themselves, people now spend their time in bunkers, hardly daring to leave at the risk of being killed by the Hive. People are scared to question it. But does that deter them from seeking connections anyway? No, it does not. Without any opportunities to meet with people face to face, interactions are now done through anonymous digital avenues.

Gameplay
But first, a quick note on content: The gameplay consists of (Spoiler - click to show) two characters engaging in roleplaying with kissing and similar activities. I would not call this a graphic game. Some of the content just starts to cross the threshold before the game reels it all in. There is language but it is often blotted out with the * symbol. While the game is more focused on the (Spoiler - click to show) Hive's control of interactions than of sexual content it would be safe to approach it with an 18+ rating.

The player first chooses from a list of callsigns is that is used to interact with users and assures anonymity. I experimented with all of them, and they did not have a noticeable effect on the gameplay. The conversation is always with Topaz, a user who has been having chats with the protagonist for some time.

The player usually has two to three dialog options for each turn, some of which upset the Hive. Your dialog options are shown in green text except for a few that are green and red. These (Spoiler - click to show) end the encounter with Topaz either because they terminate it, or you do. When this happens the Hive intervenes, its text appearing in red. It seems dismayed by the outcome of the conversation and inflects its will on it to reverse the player’s previous choice. Here is an example of a response that occurred when I clicked on one of those links (The player callsign I used in this playthrough is ICEBERG):
(Spoiler - click to show)
HIVE> WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND
HIVE> THIS WAS NOT THE DEMONSTRATION WE WERE PROMISED
HIVE> ICEBERG ABORTED THE ATTEMPT TO INTERFACE WITH TOPAZ
HIVE> DELIBERATE SABOTAGE POSSIBLE
HIVE> TEMPORAL REWIND...

Immediately afterwards (Spoiler - click to show) Topaz returns online and resumes as if the exchange never happened. The only thing Topaz says is, "sorry, connection dropped" or they blame it on a glitch. When I first played this game, I wondered if Topaz was a simulation or maybe even the player. But now after playing the game a few times (Spoiler - click to show) I think that these two characters are real and that the Hive simply possesses some serious capabilities that allow it to discretely influence human interaction, such as the ability to adjust time, further hinting at its omnipresence over Earth.

I still have questions about the (Spoiler - click to show) meaning behind the Hive’s response. The Hive seems to be analyzing the conversation with an expected outcome. The discontinuation of the conversation clearly goes against these expectations, prompting the Hive to intervene. But if the Hive is so against human interaction, why is it angry that such an interaction ended? It is almost as if the Hive makes a breakthrough on the nature of human connection without fully realizing it. My only complaint is that the game could have explored this development in greater detail.

Story
One reoccurring concept is what the game calls “digital hygiene,” which involves painstakingly avoiding sharing any sort of defining information about yourself, especially location. Your name, age, gender, religious beliefs, and even hobbies are all considered to be poor digital hygiene because it could catch the Hive’s attention. For instance, (Spoiler - click to show) when Topaz shares that they found a bottle of whiskey outside of an empty 7/11 the player can choose to remind them that even mentioning a 7/11 was risky because the Hive could choose to search every 7/11 in an area to narrow down Topaz’s location. This uncertainty is a reminder of the Hive’s ever-present influence on daily life. The practice of digital hygiene is a concept that we see throughout the game.

Near the end of the game Topaz asks the question of what is required to make a meaningful human connection and what happens when anonymity strips it away. It seems like the protagonist has successfully built a connection with Topaz and yet it manages to be both genuine and flimsy. Genuine because they enjoy engaging with each other. Flimsy because digital hygiene ensures that you never really get to know them. What surprises me is (Spoiler - click to show) that the game lists itself as a romance piece. While the game features romance-like activities, such as kissing, the gameplay did not give the impression of being about romance. I think that some of that is up to the player to interpret, especially since the game is not long enough to really dive into these ideas.

As the game ends the conversation draws to a close and both characters log off. Afterward (Spoiler - click to show) the Hive is stumped about the interaction that took place. It views the two characters as being small and insignificant and yet it is baffled that they are willing to spend time and energy into seeking a connection, even if that connection is only a shadow of what human interaction once looked like. This is followed by an archivist's note that adds an unexpected twist to the story. The end of the game portrays the characters’ dialog as an archived sample from the past by leaving an archivist’s note. The player realizes that the gameplay was a glimpse of a past conversation. It then raises the question of the fate of the characters and their society.

The archivist explains that “It is unlikely the events recorded contributed to the xeno-intellect's decision to withdraw their consciousness from this universe, but the possibility cannot be entirely discounted." What does one make of this? Were the contents of the conversation enough to sway the Hive’s decision to execute Topaz and the protagonist? Is withdrawing consciousness the same as execution? There is also the suggestion that the Hive was eradicated when the note says, “a dormant processing node retrieved from the husk of the xeno-intellect.” The word “husk” forms the image of it being a dead carcass rather than the beast that hear about in the gameplay. There are no clear answers but is interesting to contemplate.

Characters
We learn little about Topaz and the protagonist which falls in line with the themes of anonymity. The Hive, on the other hand, is the overshadowing antagonist, but we never learn much about it. The gist is that (Spoiler - click to show) it is an alien lifeform that supposedly invaded Earth and took up residence in the atmosphere. If someone decides to risk their life and explore the Earth’s surface they know better to glance up at the sky. Its history with humanity is not explained in detail, just that it has an iron grip on humanity and is responsible for many deaths. There are some suggestions on why it is opposed to the gathering of people. Topaz and the protagonist ponder if the Hive understands the notion of individuality and how unique connections can be formed between individuals that is not shared with the broader population. The game only brushes the ethical implications of such a being and does not elaborate on its physical and mental composition that causes these qualities.

Visuals
This is one of the most visually stylized Ink game I have played. It uses a black screen with mostly green and red text. It creates a “digital” look that adds atmosphere. The Hive’s text even trembles slightly to convey a charged and angry energy.

This game uses a lot of fade-in text effects but implements them well. Choice-based games sometimes fall into a trap with fade-ins, often when it is portraying chatrooms or similar forms of communication. Text fade-ins and pauses may be small, but they can slow the gameplay if it takes a full second and a half for the text to appear. That may not sound like much, but it adds up, especially with replays. This game manages to avoid that, using appropriate pauses to simulate conversation while also keeping a steady pace.

Final thoughts
The game is linear and takes about 15 minutes to play. Even though (Spoiler - click to show) it wraps up the same way the gameplay has enough variation to encourage multiple playthroughs. It is a fantastic use of Ink both visually and in gameplay quality. If you like chat interfaces in choice-based interactive fiction games or dystopian sci-fi settings than you might enjoy this game.

The story behind this game is that you are board of your cushy job. You work as a commodities trader at a bank. It pays well but the most action that you get is managing paperwork and spreadsheets in a cubicle. Now, you are inspired to seek out the adventure aspect of trading by renting a truck and hitting the road. Along the way you hope to experience Canadian geography.

Gameplay
You begin in Toronto Ontario with a million dollars and your truck. The game ends after 30 days unless you reach an earlier ending. In fact, 30 days lasts awhile in this game. At each main stop the player can sell or buy goods, rest at a hotel, refuel, and sightsee. Between destinations are smaller stops where the only options are to rest and refuel. The strategy comes in the form of managing these resources while you travel.
The gameplay is built consistently and is bug free (as far as I could tell). But it is also repetitive and bland and would have benefited from some variation. There are no surprise events or sub-storylines to build upon the game's portrayal of a cross-county journey. You just do the same action of shuffling from one location to another. The closest to a storyline is (Spoiler - click to show) if you pursue is the Iqaluit ending. In fact, you can skip trading all together because you have more than enough money to pay for gas and hotels. The Iqaluit ending is the most interesting one to pursue but also involves the most backtracking since it is tied to specific locations rather than the money you accumulate. You visit Fredericton and High Level to acquire a wooden nickel and Spider-Man comic book before traveling to Inuvik. With these items you can then drive to the Arctic Circle and end up in Iqaluit, ending the game.

The author provides a helpful map and "teacher's guide" walkthrough that I strongly recommend using. The walkthrough includes a chart of buyable and sellable items at each destination. You will find it helpful in deciding where to visit rather than hoping that the next stop will allow you to unload those excess engine pallets that you have been hauling around for the past ten days. The supplemental map drastically makes the game easy to play. Without it the player is stuck visualizing the location in their head. I would end up travelling in a circle without branching into the other areas. The map allows you to gauge your location and where you want to go. While it would have been cool if the game came with map graphics built into the gameplay the supplemental map is easy to read and adds a hint of realism.

Design
Desmos Activity Builder.... Never heard of that one before. I just had to play it. I love seeing how people can make interactive fiction in unexpected ways. Of course, no matter what format you choose the game should strive for quality. Let’s Explore Geography may be light on substance, but it does feel like a completed piece. The draw is its unique development system. Though the content is unremarkable playing a game made by “Desmos Activity Builder” software is its own memorable experience.

I played the post-comp version that opens when you click the “Play Me” button on the IFDB page. The competition version is nearly identical except for the class registration steps. It involves using a class code to access the game on the Desmos website. You do not actually have to sign up for anything, but the game’s instruction sheet gives you gives the impression that it is more than just an interactive fiction game. When I saw, “Thank you for purchasing Let's Explore Geography! Canadian Commodities Trader Simulation Exercise. We're certain your students will enjoy this engaging, interactive virtual activity,” I had to look twice since it really does look like a teacher email. I prefer the post-comp version because it is faster, but if you want to take advantage of the immersion than consider the original.

Its appearance is a simple beige (or white if you play the original) page with a multiple-choice format, just like taking a test. I am not sure about design limitations in Desmos software, but the game could have greatly benefitted with some visuals, particularly photographs of locations. This visual aid would alleviate some of the repetitiveness in the gameplay while also staying true to its focus on learning about Canadian geography.

Content
Is it educational? Sort of. Not in terms of understanding trade and economics, but it does sprinkle some Canadian history and culture into the gameplay. The education part comes from each main stop having a landmark of Canadian culture for the player to experience such as going fishing at Grand Rapids. This was a clever idea, though there is not much meat on the bones in terms of content. And if you use the handy supplemental map, it gives you a basic familiarity with geography. If anything, it is more of a sight-seeing simulator than an educational tool.

Final thoughts
The game does have strong points. There are multiple endings, and the gameplay is bug free. The author makes up for some deficiencies with genuinely helpful supplemental materials. The downside is that the gameplay is nothing remarkable. Nonetheless I still think it is worth a try. If anything, give it a go because it is something new.

You are CJ, a young man standing outside of the family house surveying the damage from a storm when a mysterious woman throws a paper airplane at your feet. Printed on it is a list of chores. Some of the chores seem a downright impossible, possible only in another timeline. Fortunately for you, the stairs in your house are far from being ordinary stairs. They will allow you to visit and influence different decades of family history so you can fulfill every task on the chores list.

This game is an authorized sequel to The Impossible Bottle by Linus Åkesson and uses a slightly different (but as equally creative) gameplay mechanic. To keep it brief, The Impossible Bottle had the player manipulate the setting through the protagonist's toys. Adjusting toys, such as a dollhouse, adjusted the house in response and the things within it. The Impossible Stairs also focuses on influencing the setting through small but direct adjustments made by the player. However, the cause and effect in The Impossible Stairs is spread across a temporal range. In other words, what sets it apart from The Impossible Bottle is its use of time travel to structure the gameplay.

Gameplay
When I think of a time travel game, I often get the impression that it will be filled with a lot of technical puzzles (even though I have played time travel games that are not like that). But this game does not have time machines or puzzles required to move to different time periods. Not at all. Time travel is as simple as walking up and down a set of stairs, and this concept is well-implemented. Each level is interspaced with 20 years, the earliest starting in 1961, then 1981, 2001, 2021, and 2041. The floorplan is the same along with most objects and characters. But the differences are there, and the player uses them to adjust parameters that change the timeline. This is then used to produce the circumstances needed to complete the chores.

For instance, the game begins in 2001. A hurricane has occurred, and a large tree had smashed the garage. The garage is (Spoiler - click to show) where Ada, CJ's cousin, works on her projects. In the timeline established at the start of the game, Ada left home because she was devastated that the accident destroyed her work. But if you go back to 1961 and ensure that the tree was never planted close to the house the garage will be intact in the future. Suddenly Ada will be in the 2001 garage and onwards.

The player also gets a nudge from the game when an action influences the timeline with notifications such as, "Your Grandma's future has slightly changed" or "You feel your future career slightly change" that guide the gameplay. It makes it easy to piece together the cause and effect while still maintaining a level of complexity for the player since the puzzles vary in length and subtlety.

The protagonist's (Spoiler - click to show) future career is determined by the object placed on the pedestal in the 2001 office while his grandmother's future is based on the TV channel that she is watching in the 1961 living room. The pedestal puzzle was fairly obvious because its description flat-out explains this, providing a clear way of experiencing cause and effect. For example, if you put the sapling on the pedestal in 2001 you are going to find some paintings of it in the office in 2021. This then ties in with another puzzle that requires a certain painting, moving the gameplay forward.

The puzzle for the (Spoiler - click to show) grandmother is more subtle. Changing the TV channel in 1961 influences her interests and the products she buys. This allows the player to alter the items found in the 1981 house. With the right TV channel, the player will find cinnamon in the pantry which is a needed ingredient for the baklava recipe. I felt that this puzzle was a little less obvious than the career puzzle (then again, that could be just my take on it) but they both demonstrate the same gameplay concept. This is just another example of how cause and effect can be incorporated as a puzzle, and this game has plenty of them.

Story/Characters
The characters are all memorable and likable, especially Ada. She is a fun vibrant character with an endearing relationship with the protagonist. While the Ada puzzle seemed lengthy in comparison to the rest of the game, it was also my favorite puzzle. In fact, my favorite moment in the entire game is when (Spoiler - click to show) she finally completes her robot, and you realize that she created Uncle Rob! It is an excellent conclusion to the puzzle especially since the player can interact with Uncle Rob as he follows you around.

Everything was thoughtful. The memory board changes as family members die (after all in 2041 CJ would have outlived everyone except Ada) but there is always the option of visiting them in earlier time periods. (Spoiler - click to show) His grandpa and mom are exceptions. The grandfather died before CJ was born, and his mom while he was young, but the game takes a lighthearted approach to remembering them. I liked finding the recipe card on the memory board because it is closely tied to the protagonist's memory with his mother. And at the end of the game all the family members come together for a party that makes a nice resolution.

Conclusion
If you enjoy this game, I strongly encourage you to check out The Impossible Bottle. It is just as fun and whimsical (both games are also made with Dialog). Likewise, if you are reading this and have only played The Impossible Bottle than I urge you to try The Impossible Stairs. They have similar strengths but with differences in the story and gameplay that make them unique. And the (Spoiler - click to show) crossover with The Impossible Bottle at the end was perfect.