Ratings and Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car
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You are an A.I. of a maternity ward. You’ve calculated that humanity is on the verge of being wiped out by human-driven climate collapse. But today, a child was born. Somehow you just know that this child will be the one to save the human race.
Tabula Rasa is a Twine game that revolves around a single action: inputting numerical values to create the “perfect” family for the child. If the child is going to save the world they need an adequate family, right? It’s all up to you!
Gameplay
The child’s family is defined by four qualities, such as wealth, that you set by typing a number from one to five into a text box. Then you press enter.
(…25 years go by…)
The game then reveals if the child- now an adult- succeeded in saving the planet. The end.
There’s not a lot going on here. It begins and ends in a matter of seconds.
Characters
Despite the child’s status as the “Chosen One,” we don’t know anything about them. As for us… Look, I realize that this game most likely isn’t meant to be taken seriously. Even so, I found the A.I.’s entitlement to be extremely off-putting.
Never mind the child's biological parents.
Wait a minute. There’s no moral consideration to this whatsoever. No acknowledgement of what the parents may think. No follow up, nothing. (But humanity is on the line!) Nope, it still bugs me.
Story
I don’t even know where to start. The game is too short to truly have a story.
By your calculations, this child is the absolute last chance for humanity.
Out of all the A.I.s on the planet, the one that steps up to save the day is some random A.I. in a hospital that (somehow) has the foresight to know that this specific child will be the Chosen One to save humanity? The logistics of it all. Make. No. Sense.
??? You’re an A.I. who took a child from their parents because you thought you knew what was best for everyone. What makes you the expert on what the “right” family would be for this child? Everything in the game is underscored by this outrageous fact.
Perhaps the author intends this to be a silly game. If so, it misses the target. The player is more inclined to fuss over the details than to find it humorous. And if the goal is to share a message about saving the planet, the endings have no basis for discussion.
Your child grew up happy, healthy, and well-adjusted! And also uninclined to do anything about global warming.
What kind of message is this? Being well-adjusted means you won’t do anything about global warming?
Endings
I will say, I was motivated to find all six endings. The column on the left side of the screen keeps track of the endings you’ve reached. For example, if you reach Ending 2, a “2” lights on the column. Something about this really made me want to see all six numbers light up. No gaps between numbers. I had to find all six.
And I did. (Spoiler - click to show)Ending 1 is the “win” ending.
Visuals
I appreciate that Tabula Rasa offers more than Twine’s default appearance. A black and white image of a forest is used as a backdrop. The image does look a bit like something you might find in a horror game. However, it does an excellent job at making the white text stand out. It’s noticeable enough to keep things interesting. And yet, you hardly notice it’s there. The seafoam blue links were also well-chosen.
Final thoughts
Do I give Tabula Rasa one or two stars? The gameplay is non-existent, and the story is pretty much the same way. I really can’t tell what kind of experience the author had in mind for the player. Everything about it seems to fall short.
What gets me (aside from the child-snatching A.I.) is that the central gameplay mechanic is reduced to the player punching in numbers to see what sticks rather than engaging the player in any meaningful way.
On the other hand, it did have enough of a draw for me to want to find every ending. And I must admit that the design choices elevate the overall quality. There are plenty of ways it could be worse…
What the heck. Two stars.
You were only a courier until you agreed to run deliveries for the resistance and even then, you had no further involvement.
And yet, here you are, trapped in a lab with law enforcement closing in…
Masks is a short Twine game about protest and defiance in the face of brute force. You play as a courier in the middle of a delivery gone sideways. It brought you to a university campus lab, but the recipients have vanished. Meanwhile, city-wide protests prevent you from leaving.
Gameplay
Gameplay is linear and involves waiting for the inevitable raid by law enforcement. It begins in the lab where we've been hiding for several days. Equipment in the lab monitors the air quality and sound levels in the room. We soon learn why: law enforcement’s go-to tactic against dissenters is tear gas and loud noise.
Every night the police blast a playlist of weaponized sound through the streets below.
There's not much for us to do than to look out the window and wait. The turning point occurs when (Spoiler - click to show)we decide to open the package we were tasked to deliver. Inside are some masks. The player selects a mask to wear and waits as the door is torn down. Game ends.
I’ve got mixed feelings about this. While it’s a suspenseful way to end the game, it also leaves the player wanting more from their experience.
Story/Themes
While details are kept at a minimum, it portrays a society undergoing a spike in violence against civilian protesters. Most of these protestors appear to be students. Aside from that, all we know is that something is happening. The game was inspired by the Hong Kong 2019 protests but leaves the game’s story open-ended for the player.
The futility of the protagonist’s situation is underscored by the resilience they feel when they discover the masks in the package.
It’s just a mask. But it’ll have to do.
In this case, a single mask is not going to save you from what's coming. But it does allow you to face it on your own terms. The game ends before we see what happens next.
There is only one ending. However, the game always ends with a choice: “Once more or give up?” Choosing “once more” restarts the game. But if you choose to give up, the game does not let you.
You cannot give up.
The game then begins again, reinforcing its point about not giving up.
Design
Overall appearance consists of a basic white screen, large grey text, and blue links. Word-count is kept to a minimum. A creative feature is the use of colour-coded icons on the left side of the screen that depicts air quality and sound levels. This allows us to see when these levels become unbearable for our character.
An acoustic cannon perforates your bones.
It doesn’t take long for the levels to go from green to red.
Masks also demonstrates how timed text can build suspense at key moments. Here, text automatically changes as the situation escalates, emphasizing the inevitable descent of police forces on your hiding spot.
An explosion out in the hallway rocks the lab. They’re here.
The game ends with (Spoiler - click to show)a ten second countdown as the barricaded door- your only exit- is torn down. This is effective in making the player feel just as helpless as the protagonist.
Final thoughts
As an overall concept, Masks is a well-rounded game especially being only 2-3 minutes long. However, the content’s depth is surface-deep. I understand the game limits its exposition to be more open-ended. The downside of this sparseness is loss of the subtly behind the protagonist’s situation, making it difficult to find deeper insights.
Nonetheless, Masks is a game that stands out for both its meaningful subject matter and creative implementation. The author knows how to build a suspenseful scene with a smaller word-count. If you’re looking for an uncomplicated game with themes on protest, try Masks.
You are concerned about THE ENVIRONMENT, and want to do your part!
Individual Action Simulator is a brief Ink game that considers the impact an individual can make when trying to live more sustainably. Save the Earth one step at a time!
Gameplay is organized into days, and each day the player chooses an action from a list.
DAY 1
You decide to...
[Conserve electricity.]
[Take public transit to work.]
[Recycle.]
Points are awarded accordingly and indicate the difference you’ve made.
You gain 1 point(s)! Good job!
Later, this shifts to actions like donating to charity or switching to metal straws.
It doesn’t take long to realize that the game is a lesson in futility. Every few days, a random human-caused event occurs, harming the environment and overshadowing our progress.
Government environmental protection regulations were relaxed again after extensive lobbying.
You lose 1000000 point(s)...
By illustrating this imbalance of positive/negative impact, the point system highlights an important truth: As long as governments and corporations exploit the environment in drastic ways, recycling and going vegan, while sustainable, will not save the planet in the long term.
From here, the game loses traction. The only option we have is “protest.” Meanwhile, the point system falls apart.
You gain 1 point(s)
You gain 0 point(s)
You gain -1 point(s)
Next thing we know, the game is using random values like “??? points” or “0.5 points” that make no sense. The game then asks if we want to quit. Otherwise, we protest until the Earth is destroyed. I suppose the game is trying to send a message about the limitations of protest when saving the environment. However, this part of the gameplay is too sloppy and devoid of context for this message to have any platform to stand on.
Whether you choose to quit or protest until the Earth’s destroyed, a surprising twist is revealed: (Spoiler - click to show)Individual Action Simulator is a game within a game.
(Spoiler - click to show)The entire time, we’ve been playing as a character named Wei and hanging out with some friends and the game’s author, Noor. Having now played it, we’re asked about our thoughts on the game and its ideas. What follows is a short conversational segment where we choose responses to Noor’s questions. Then, everyone agrees to go get free trade coffee, and Individual Action Simulator ends for real.
The game is considerably stronger with this hidden twist at the end because it takes a self-reflective approach to the game’s content and has a more polished appearance. However, while the simulation’s crudeness is meant to reflect the fact that Noor created it on a whim, it still could have been more developed. The final product is a poorly implemented game that detracts from its own message-sharing potential.
Note on visuals: At first, I thought this was a Twine game. Turns out, it’s made with Ink. It uses a black screen, white text, and blue links, except for the (Spoiler - click to show)twist at the end which opts for a light grey screen, colour-coded character names, and cleaner formatting. This sudden change in appearance contributes to the player’s surprise at discovering the true nature of the game.
To conclude, Individual Action Simulator has the right idea but misses the mark in its overall execution. I’m glad that it challenges the view that recycling and other sustainable practices will not offset the ongoing destruction that humanity inflicts on the environment. Sustainable efforts must occur at both the individual and organizational level.
Unfortunately, the potency of this message is diminished by the sparse and sloppy gameplay implementation. The (Spoiler - click to show)twist at the end helps but is not enough to save the entire game. That said, if the author were to revisit this topic in a future game, I’d be interested.
thought-provoking, substantial, eerie, November 8, 2025*If you've played The Sims 2, odds are you have been freaked out by stories of how easy it is for the game to get corrupted, and the crazy things that can happen if it does.
I want to start by saying that I was greatly impressed with The Sims 2 Corruption Creepypasta (aka TS2CC). While it’s more of an essay than a conventional Twine game, it strikes a balance between the two by combining fascinating, in-depth analysis with surprising interactivity. It's also a submission to Bare-Bones Jam 2025.
The Sims is a popular life simulation series. There have been rumors that its second installment, The Sims 2, can be horribly corrupted if the player performs certain actions, with unsettling results. Ultimately, there is no basis for these rumors. A mere myth. TS2CC seeks to understand why this myth flourished so easily…
What is it about these myths that has convinced, and, in some sense, captivated people for so long? Why have they been shared, amplified, built upon, and believed?
…and why it manages to retain its allure even after being discredited. To answer these questions, TS2CC compares The Sims 2 corruption myth to creepypastas about technology-related fears.
PART A: Gameplay/Design
The execution of this game is fantastic. It’s what earns TS2CC its fifth star.
Gameplay
Despite being an essay, TS2CC makes good use of the Twine format to include interactive content, elevating the essay from merely something we read to something that provides an experience. Something playable.
Interactivity is surface-deep and does not affect the gameplay’s linearity. Its potency lies in building atmosphere and providing ways for the player to engage with passages while reading. What’s remarkable is how this interactivity injects a subtle weirdness that pairs well with the essay’s topic. For example, the section that discusses intentional corruption has a link that, when clicked on, causes a passage’s text to shift and distort.
Even the cover art is spooky.
My only complaint is that the game (Spoiler - click to show)simply ends with a link-less passage and no indicator that the game is over. The writing implies that it is, but at the same time, players are left wondering if they’ve landed on a broken passage. A small confirmation would be appreciated.
Design
The Bare-Bones Jam is a perfect fit for this game. Entries are required to stick to their system’s default format. As a Twine game, TS2CC has a black background, white text, and blue links: Twine’s default. Jam or no Jam, this appearance works well for an essay because it’s easy to read and avoids distractions. The simplicity of this also keeps the spotlight on the interactivity.
And yet, the game finds ways to keep things visually interesting. One of my favorite moments is (Spoiler - click to show)when the game explains how glitches alter the familiarity of a game… and a creepy face appears. It’s composed of dozens of periods (“.”) which adds a visual element without breaking the Jam’s rules.
PART B: Content
TS2CC takes an analytic approach to its subject matter. The author clearly did their research- literally. The in-game Reference page will take you to the sources that the author used for writing the essay.
The player is introduced to a range of ideas and concepts, which can initially feel overwhelming. I had to play the game multiple times before I could follow the main arguments. But I loved gaining new insight in the process.
I will now share some things that stood out to me. Consider this part of the review as how I understand the game's concepts. Input welcome.
General ideas
TS2CC contemplates the "game object" which refers to the game itself, not the gaming experience we get from playing it. By responding to the player’s choices, the game object grants that person agency over it. But when a glitch occurs, "it's something the game object does in spite of the player's intentions," resulting in the loss of this agency over something you previously controlled and thought you understood.
This dynamic is showcased in “glitch horror,” a genre of horror that capitalizes on these fears and anxieties about technology. An example of a glitch horror game is "Ben Drowned."
Creepypasta like Ben Drowned dramatize a fear of loss of agency before the machine. Not only that, but loss of agency over something that used to be deeply familiar.
Glitch horror is often used in creepypastas. Creepypasta refers to horror stories/legends that are posted and circulated around the internet, often inspiring new iterations. Slender Man is a popular example. The Sims 2 corruption myth also fits the bill given how it continues to lurk in the minds of players and online forums.
From the sound of it, content that preys on our fears fascinates us in equal measure.
Corruption myth
The author claims that while the magnetic draw of The Sims corruption myth is akin to the fascination around glitch horror creepypastas, the base fear factor- or what makes this corruption particularly frightening to the viewer- is different.
The scariness of corruption in The Sims is "because it speaks to the lack of mastery of the overwhelming majority of people who use computers." Less about losing control and more about finding yourself face-to-face with something too complex to understand.
This is where I start to lose focus.
It sounds like the author is saying that when a Sims game is corrupted, it forces the user to engage with the technical side of the simulation, and that the user’s inability to understand this side is what makes corruption in The Sims so unnerving (I assume the author is referring to the average person). Apparently, the fear of this happening is so strong that some players avoid the game altogether.
Regarding this argument, I don’t entirely see how the technical details of The Sims would trigger a fear of corruption. I could understand being disturbed if this corruption produced horrifying results, as is the case with the corruption myth.
…bizarre effects such as attaching furniture to Sims' heads, turning Mrs. Crumplebottom into a bald and barefoot stalker…
But not so much with being unable to understand the ins and outs of how the simulation works. In this sense, I would just find it frustrating because the game isn’t working and I don’t know how to fix it. Well, I suppose a glitch is the same way: a machine fails to work the way it should. Still, I have a harder time drawing a parallel between the two.
Besides, a quick look online shows people using mods and fooling around with the game’s settings. Your knowledge of how the game works may be limited, but that won’t necessarily stop you from finding ways to tinker with it beyond what the game was intended for.
Or is the fear of corruption in The Sims 2 because of how supposedly easy it is to trigger a corrupted state through basic actions? I’d love to hear more from the author on this!
Further discussion
Reading through the essay’s points on glitch horror, I couldn’t help but think of a Twine classic, the uncle who works for nintendo. Its premise is based on the urban legend that kids could gain early access to video games if they had a family member, often an uncle, employed by Nintendo.
I’m not sure if it can be fully categorized as glitch horror, but there are elements that elicit the nervousness of seeing a computer act in unexpected ways. SPOILERS.
(Spoiler - click to show)Those who’ve played it may remember the endings where your friend’s “uncle” arrives at the house to “eat” you. This scene is conveyed by rapidly filling the screen with red lines of corrupted code.
bad expression: HELLO CHILD
bad expression: $struggle = CEASE
bad expression: $screaming = CEASE
bad expression: I HAVE FRIENDS FOR YOU CHILD
bad expression: F̟R̎I͔E᷆N᷾D̔S̝͙̜ ᷿F̪O̷R͢ ̰Y̬O̾Ṳ
bad expression: I͍̓̓N̠̓̓ ̓̀̓T̓̊̓H̱̓̓Ẹ̺̓̓̓̓͝ ͍̓̓D̓̉̓A̱̓̓R̓᷀̓K̓̇̓
bad expression: Y͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̆̿O͈̠͈͈̠͈̞͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̿U͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿ͧ̿ ͈̠͈͈̠͈͔͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̿W͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿ͤ̿I͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̊̿͆̿̿͟L͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿͆̿L͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̆̿ ͈̠͈͈̠͈̹͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̿P̡͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̿L͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿ͩ̿A͈̠͈͈̠͈͕͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̿Y͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̿͢ ͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿͛̿F͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿ͪ̿O̡͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̿R͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̐̿E͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿ͭ̿V͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿᷀̿E͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿̈́̿R͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈͈̠͈̿ͨ̿
bad expression: I̴̢̬̘̟̬ͭ᷀ͭͭͫ̔ͭ̏̚N̬̬͌ͭ᷁ͫͭ̾́ͭͨ͡͏ͭ̈́ ̡̛̬̪̠᷂̬̱ͭͯͭ᷀ͭͭ͝T̶̟̬͚͉̬̊ͭ̔ͭ̓ͭͫ̐ͭ͏̸̸̸̨̞̬̩̬̬ͭͭ̽ͭͭ͟H̫̬̖͙̬̝ͭͭ᷀́̋ͭͭͩ͞Ě̬ͭͯ͏̦̞̬͍ͭ̆ͭ͆ͭ̉ ͎̬̲̪̬̓ͭͭ͒ͭ᷅̂ͭ͟͟D̴̛̬͕͇̬̼ͭͤͭ͗ͭͭ̂͞A̷̬̪̼̬̼ͣͭ͑ͭ᷆ͭ᷄ͭ͜R̬᷊̗̱̬᷊ͭ̆ͭͩ̒ͭͭ͒͜K̢̠̬̮̰̬ͭͭ̓̽ͭͥ̏ͭ͏
I have always found this deeply unsettling. (I love the game, btw).
However, the scariness stems from the game leaving it to the player’s imagination on what this scene entails for the PC rather than the fear of something actually being corrupted. In this case, corruption is portrayed superficially for storytelling purposes, and yet it makes me just as nervous as anything from the glitch horror genre.
Regardless of genre, the uncle who works for nintendo has plenty of relevant content to unpack. It even has unlockable author’s notes with a section on creepypasta. Playing TS2CC was a great excuse to revisit this!
Final thoughts
The Sims 2 Corruption Creepypasta is a stellar interactive essay made with Twine. It outlines the corruption myth and how it functions as a creepypasta. Fueled by our fear and fascination of corrupted technology, the myth lives on despite the consensus that it has no practical basis. I learned a lot.
Players may be turned off by the fact that it’s an essay, especially if the subject doesn’t interest them. But even if you merely skim the text, you can still appreciate the overall experience of its creepy interactivity.
I hope to see more of the author’s work in the future.
(edit: removed note after receiving clarification)
You open your eyes and slowly stand up. Trees surround you. It seems you woke up in a forest. You try to remember. Who are you and what are you doing here?
You wake up in a forest with no memory whatsoever. Not even your name. You have no other option than to get moving...
Gameplay
Following a brief intro in the forest, the gameplay takes place in a house. I can’t say much without spoiling it, but it’s clear that something happened inside this house. Gameplay is spent trying to find the truth.
There are only a handful of puzzles, and they are simple and intuitive. With one exception: (Spoiler - click to show)using the knife to enter the mirror portal. The command is “use knife on mirror.” However, there is nothing to suggest that the knife has any relevance to the mirror. I figured it out thanks to the comment section on the game’s website.
The implementation has room for improvement, particularly with verbs. That is, the game tends not to acknowledge them. Entering the house becomes needlessly frustrating.
> take key
You take the key.
> unlock front door
It is already unlocked.
> open front door
The front door is locked. You need a key to open it.
> unlock front door with key
That doesn't work.
The solution is: "Use key on front door." Because the game is made with Quest, I found it simpler to skip the keyboard and instead rely on the link-menu feature located at the top right corner of the screen.
Story/Characters
I was impressed with how the game builds the story in layers. Games featuring the amnesia trope run the risk of dumping major plot reveals on the player all at once. Texture does not do that. Its build-up is gradual… and then unexpectedly pulls a bait-and-switch that makes us reevaluate what we thought were established facts.
Often, my reviews provide heavy summaries because, A, I like discussing them, and B, it sets the stage for thoughts and analysis. PLEASE PLAY THE GAME FIRST.
(Spoiler - click to show)When you wake up in the middle of a forest with no memory, it’s usually an indicator that something drastic has happened. The truth lies inside the house. In the bedroom and bathroom, we find a bloody kitchen knife and an alarming amount of blood. Homicide. Could this be the work of a slasher serial killer? The truth is more mundane but just as tragic: domestic violence.
You're in the study of the house. Someone seems to have had a fight with a laptop and a lot of books.
A cursory glance around the house says it all. The interior has been smashed, and we find a discarded packet "that seems to have contained medication to treat chronic aggressive behaviour." We are clearly witnessing an aftermath. But right now, we only have questions.
What does all of this have to do with us? Why is there a bloodied portrait of a woman in the upstairs hallway?
The attic is where we start to find real answers. It contains a mirror and some lit candles. If you examine the mirror the game says, "Strangely enough, you can't see the image of yourself in it.” Players may come to the same conclusion as I did: we’re a ghost… of the person who was murdered, and we’ve returned because have unfinished business.
The mirror is a portal. A door. And the knife is the key. Stepping through the mirror takes us back to a moment after the murder but before the house was ransacked (no blood in the bedroom and bathroom, though). While we cannot leave the house, we can access the formerly smashed laptop. Its screen displays a chilling article: "Woman found dead in forest". That must be us! We are the ghost of the woman in the article and now have learned the awful truth.
…or have we? This is when the game pulls a nimble bait-and-switch: We’re not dead at all. We’re the dead woman’s husband, and we killed her.
This twist is revealed when we return to the present and recognize the woman in the hallway portrait as our dead wife. This jolts the protagonist’s memory of the murder, and the player is sent back to this exact moment: Bedroom. Wife is packing her bags. The game gives us little choice but to use the knife on her.
Cue the present, again. We’re in the bedroom, but we can only access the upstairs hallway because the staircase collapsed and there is rubble blocking the exits. The portrait has vanished, and in its place is a hole in the wall. We find a tree emblem that fits inside the hole. When we do this, we lose consciousness…
…and wake up in the forest with the police closing in to arrest us. Game ends.
Thoughts
What a ride. My speculation is this: (Spoiler - click to show)After the protagonist killed his wife and smashed everything in the house, he left and passed out in the forest. The entire gameplay was the protagonist dreaming/hallucinating about what happened only to be awakened by the arrival of law enforcement. Part of my guess is based on the inconsistencies between the mirror world and the timeline of the murder. If the mirror world takes place after the murder, why is there no blood where the murder happened? It couldn’t have been cleaned up because it’s there when we explore the house in the present.
I really like how the text at the end is reminiscent of the game’s opening.
(Spoiler - click to show)You open your eyes and slowly stand up. Trees surround you. It seems you woke up in a forest. A policeman shouts: "Police! Put your hands up!"
I am grateful that we got this ending. You see, the player spends most of the game thinking that they’re the ghost of a victim. Or at least I did. So, finding out that no, we’re the monster, elicits feelings of disgust. The murder scene is equally explicit and enraging. As a result, it is a relief to learn that the protagonist will ultimately be held accountable.
I know this is a small detail to complain about, but I don’t understand the (Spoiler - click to show)point of the tree emblem and the hole in the wall. What meaning does it have in the story? I suppose tree = forest, and we both start and end the game in a forest. Still, it felt like a weak attempt at incorporating one last puzzle before the game ended.
While I applaud the overall storytelling, there is space for growth. Room descriptions tend to be bare bones, and this is a missed opportunity to provide context on the story and give it more dimension. The layout of the house feels a bit odd, as if the author decided to only include the rooms that would have a purpose in the story. No living room?
Also, when you examine yourself, the game says, “Who are you and what are you doing here?” and “Your memory is gone.” Problem is, this stays the same after we regain our memories. It doesn’t make sense for the game to (Spoiler - click to show)force us into recreating the murder only to act like we have no memory of what is going on. It even would have been a perfect chance to elaborate on the protagonist and his history with his wife.
One last thing: I’m trying to figure out why the author chose “Texture” as the title. How does it fit into the game?
Visuals
As a Quest game, Texture uses background colours tailored to the player’s location. For example, when we’re in the forest, the background is green. (Spoiler - click to show)The bloodstained bedroom and bathroom? Dark red. And so forth.
Until (Spoiler - click to show)you enter the mirror portal (see Story section) where every location has a pure white background. I liked the storytelling merit of this. The mirror world is described as tidy and unsoiled, and the blankness of its background sharply contrasts with the blood, destruction, and ruin that is found in the house on the “real” side of the mirror portal.
Final thoughts
The amnesia trope is somewhat of a cliché, and you might roll your eyes upon learning that this game begins in the middle of a forest. But Texture really does offer something new. I did not see the ending coming. Right when I thought I had figured everything out, the game went and turned the tables on me. The use of the (Spoiler - click to show)mirror portal was especially memorable.
I would like to give Texture a higher rating, but the implementation needs refinement. Unlocking and opening a door shouldn’t be so confusing. The integration of the story with the gameplay sometimes wears thin. At least update the PC’s description once the amnesia goes away.
And yet, these rough edges did not prevent Texture from leaving me staring at the screen in stunned silence. Content-wise, this is a game with (Spoiler - click to show)explicit portrayals of sexual violence and murder. I was horrified to discover the PC’s identity. But his fate at the end allows us to part ways with the game on a more optimistic note.
If the author ever decides to make another game, I would definitely be interested.
The bloom is a submission to Bare-Bones Jam 2025.
Told in first person from the perspective of a former staff member, the game describes the aftermath of a plant-like organism, known only as "the bloom," escaping from a research facility and the transformation it had on humanity.
Gameplay
Gameplay is entirely linear and only takes 2-3 minutes. Progress is made by tapping the screen. Skip and auto-skip features are also provided for your convenience.
Story
The story is limited, but what we learn is that the bloom breached the facility and reached populated areas almost instantaneously. At first glance, the bloom’s effects on human biology appear to be devastating…
One moment you were stood in a tiled clean room, the other - your lungs were filled with sweetest spores, with tears of pollen falling from your eyes.
…until the narrator informs us that these changes were a positive transformation. It allowed everyone to form a symbiosis with each other and with nature. People possessed a newfound patience and appreciation of the world around them. Strife and other obstacles to coexistence became obsolete.
Woven in this narrative is the overarching theme of belonging. The bloom’s universal symbiosis guarantees belonging even if you haven’t found the place you’re looking for. The game ends (Spoiler - click to show)with the narrator addressing the viewer and inviting them to join. And no matter what kind of restrictions you have, the bloom will find a way to make space for you.
Out of curiosity, I couldn’t help but wonder: Did people willingly embrace these changes or was the bloom merely taking control over their minds and bodies? Ultimately, I think it was willingly embraced, both because of the game’s tone and the absence of red flag indicating otherwise.
Visuals
This is the first Ren'Py game I've played, so this format was new to me.
As a Bare-Bones Jam submission, the game has an unaltered appearance. The game’s main text is set in a gradient grey panel at the bottom of the screen while links appear in text boxes located in the center. All of this is set into a black background.
Final thoughts
This isn’t the first game I’ve played where human civilization is ambushed by spores that disrupt the status quo. Calm, an IFComp game, is one example. The bloom, however, takes a different approach. Rather than the spores’ arrival being an apocalyptic event that heralds the end of modern life, they signal the start of a new chapter for all of humanity.
I enjoyed the story’s premise but wasn’t wowed by it either because it only skims the surface of its thought-provoking concept (though this is partly due to the short gameplay and low word count). That said, if you like surreal, vaguely sci-fi, and story-driven games, The bloom may interest you.
Founded by Doctor Morben, Morben House was once a state-of-the-art establishment that could cure any mental illness, even insanity. Until patients disappeared and scandal forced the asylum to close its doors in 1930s. It’s been left abandoned- and the source of countless rumors- ever since.
Fast forward to the 21st century.
You’ve got bills to pay. And a theory: If it served wealthy patients who supposedly never left, could their valuable belongings be in there? Looting it is a gamble… but you’re desperate.
Desperate enough to sneak into this reportedly haunted (and surprisingly accessible) asylum and face whatever secrets lie within!
A submission to Ectocomp 2025 in the Le Grand Guignol category.
Gameplay
Our adventure begins outside the asylum’s entrance. The game features what I like to call “free range of movement” which is where the player navigates rooms and interacts with content like they would with a parser, except they click on links instead of type. As a Twine game Doctor Morben's Asylum has one of the largest maps I’ve seen.
You have full roam of the asylum and, for a limited time, the grounds outside it. There’s a lot to explore.
More signs: CONSERVATORY to the left, HALL to the right, and CONSULTING ROOMS pointing yet further down the passage.
>> Enter the greenhouse
>> Enter the hall
>> Follow the passage to the foyer
>> Follow the passage to the back of the house
Initially, the objective is to find valuable items until it becomes clear that (Spoiler - click to show)A, there’s not much worth taking, and B, there are ghosts who need your help (see Story section). The focus is then on finding the right item to appease each ghost and earn their support before facing the ghost of Doctor Morben and freeing the souls trapped in the asylum.
Despite the large map and long gameplay, this is not a puzzle-fest. Puzzles boil down to finding the right items to bypass doors and fulfill encounters with NPCs, but the game keeps things varied to avoid becoming stale. Players are encouraged to carefully examine their surroundings and revisit locations as they learn more secrets.
A central gameplay mechanic is a “Panic” stat that tracks the player’s fear levels. This adds an extra challenge to balance out the simplicity of the puzzles.
Panic: 6/14
You are on edge.
If you max out… (Spoiler - click to show)it’s not a good idea to max out here.
Three modes of difficulty: Gentle, Normal, and Hard, which can be toggled during gameplay. However, the game doesn’t explain what they entail. I tried them and didn’t notice much of a difference. The only thing that comes to mind is that (Spoiler - click to show)Gentle mode allows you to take Han’s photograph from the office and use it to appease his spirit in the secret downstairs area. Otherwise, he continues to be a threat.
Despite the slick interface, flexible gameplay, and spooky story, there are some noticeable snags. Several times I came across red error links (ex. Error: cannot find a closing tag for macro <<first>>), and the feature that keeps track of your endings is a mess.
There is also a bug involving (Spoiler - click to show)Beau Russell’s ghost. When appeased, ghosts disappear from their haunting spot. To do this with him, you hand over the cigar case. He thanks you and disappears. But if you revisit his location, the game acts as if this never happened. You get ambushed by an angry ghost but no longer have the cigar case.
Story
The game’s story is not exactly groundbreaking or innovative, and when it comes to the premise of exploring an abandoned (and often haunted) asylum, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Instead, its strength stems from a consistent and streamlined narrative, along with characters that we can care about. Topped off with the writing and suspenseful gameplay, the result is an immersive story that draws the player in.
Doctor Morben's Asylum never had a dull moment.
But what is going on?
(Spoiler - click to show)Doctor Morben’s work revolved around "Geisterextraktion," the theory that insanity can be separated from personality in the same clinical manner as any routine medical procedure. He had much confidence in this theory’s therapeutic potential.
This is the power of my elektrospirituskauterisation technique!
And a flair for the dramatic.
Unfortunately, no one shared his enthusiasm. He sought support from scientific institutions to further his vision, only to be turned away. He sent threats, saying that continued rejection of his ideas would leave him no choice but to demonstrate the legitimacy of his work through any means possible.
And so Morben House was born. Advertised as an exclusive clinic for wealthy clients with psychological conditions, he led with the claim that he could cure insanity. In reality, the asylum was a way of having easy access to test subjects because he hadn’t yet perfected his technique. His experiments involved trapping patients’ souls in a machine that he built, presumably killing them (the game glosses over this detail).
Ultimately, this meant that many patients who checked in never checked out. The public took notice, scandal resulted, and Morben House was shut down before he made his big breakthrough.
…and yet, the soul-containing machine is still running deep inside the asylum. It becomes your job to destroy it. Problem: Morben’s ghost is lurking about. He wants you to be his next test subject.
Subject matter
Despite its subject matter, Doctor Morben's Asylum is not as grim as its premise might suggest. It’s not a graphic game. No gore. It’s not One Eye Open. If anything, the most disturbing part is the mere fact that asylums like Morben House actually existed (even today there’s room for improvement- but that’s another discussion). Content-wise, the game taps into this history without trivializing it.
What we find in Morben house reflects some of the beliefs about mental illness that were present at its time. For example, female "hysteria" equating to mental illness.
(Spoiler - click to show)Name: Lola Stardust. Condition: Hysteria.
Hysteria? Wasn't that what they called any unhappy woman back then?
Or how certain behaviors, like wetting the bed, are viewed a matter of moral failure that requires “correction” (aka: child abuse).
I like that the game chooses to (Spoiler - click to show)humanize the ghosts rather than antagonizing them as “crazy patient” NPCs. Now, the ghosts, who are traumatized, will attack you out of confusion, until you bring an item, or “anchor”, that allows them to reclaim memories that were stripped away. They then reappear to help when you go to destroy the machine.
Endings
There are seven endings. At the end of the game there is a box listing the endings that you reached. Unfortunately, it is a tangled mess of red error links and can even misnumber the endings that are listed. As far as I’m aware, I found all but endings 2 and 3.
Endings I reached: (Spoiler - click to show)“Gave up and ran away, lived another day” (1), “The doctor’s next experiment” (4), “Greed beats charity” (5), “Lost to the device” (6), “An end to this horror” (7). I’ve played the game multiple times to find the others with no success. Does anyone have any ideas?
Characters
I discussed the NPCs. I'm a little curious about the protagonist.
An old aluminium torch. The battery isn't perfect.
You're about to ransack an infamous asylum… and all you bring is a pack of gum and a shoddy battery-powered torch? (I only mean this from a story standpoint.)
Visuals
A few years back, I played another game by the author called The Green, and I remember being impressed with its slick, atmospheric visual design. Doctor Morben's Asylum has the same level of quality.
The screen displays a generic wallpaper pattern as a backdrop; in the center is a dark translucent text box. Text is primarily white with green links, and other colours are used as accents. Readable content*, such as handwritten letters, is displayed in a textbox that mimics paper. Icons are also creatively used. For example, a notification with a green hand briefly appears when you add something to your inventory. The author goes the extra mile to enhance the player’s experience.
*(I appreciate that we can turn off the stylized fonts used for this content. Fancy cursive handwriting has a nice aesthetic but gets tiresome after a few sentences.)
Final thoughts
I was impressed with how much Doctor Morben's Asylum had to offer.
It stood out to me because while the story and gameplay are heavy on content, it is light on puzzles without sacrificing challenge. Overall, gameplay is intuitive and streamlined. I never needed a walkthrough or hints to “win” the game, though I’d still like help for two of the endings. These qualities will appeal to players who are intimidated by large Twine games.
As I mentioned, there are some error messages and a noticeable bug. But this feels minor in comparison to the game as a whole. Some players may hesitate to play the game due to its subject matter. However, it opts for atmosphere over explicit content, relying more on the idea of exploring a spooky building.
The best way to know if this game is for you is to give it a try!
It's another entirely normal day at the office. Time to sort through your emails.
You work at an office that processes print orders and provides services for online content. Everyone has their job. Jeff, for instance, covers printing. As for you, it’s implied that you work in Editing. So why does everyone seem to think that your job revolves around juggling emails?
Oh, and something odd may be happening with your coworkers…
Every day I get emails is a Twine game and an Ectocomp 2025 submission in the La Petite Mort category. (I love the cover art.)
Gameplay is linear and occurs over several days. It consists of forwarding a stack of emails to the right colleague, and these colleagues are spread across multiple departments. Sales. Tech. Accessibility. And so forth. Why do you even have these emails? No idea.
Send to Caroline
Send to Enrique
Send to Jeff
Send to Sushila
The act of forwarding emails to the right colleague is superficial. Forward a tech-related issue to Enrique? He’ll forward it to Sushila for you. Aside from feeling pleased at remembering who works in what department, your choices here don’t affect the gameplay’s trajectory.
Instead, emails are the mechanism through which the plot unfolds. Initially, forwarding emails is followed by the bliss of knowing that they’re no longer your problem.
You forward the email to Jeff. Now you don't have to think about that anymore.
(Spoiler - click to show)Until your coworkers vanish one by one. If you forward an email to them, the system acts as if they never existed. If you bring this up with your boss, he claims that he does not know who you’re talking about. In fact, he claims that these so-called coworkers’ jobs have always been your job ever since you were hired. You must be slacking off.
This kicks off a trend that continues for the rest of the game: Each day, a coworker vanishes without a trace, and each disappearance means more work for you. To top it off, you seem to be the only person who notices.
Now you don't have to think about that anymore.
Such irony.
And while you might consider the possibility that it’s all in the protagonist’s head, there are external signs that suggest otherwise.
…the fluorescent light flickers even more erratically. You wonder if the office chatter is quieter than usual today…
Will you be next?
After every coworker disappears, you visit your boss again. He dismisses you and recommends that you balance your responsibilities with Copilot. Because that’s going to help. And so, all you can do is return to processing emails and wait for your turn to disappear. The game then ends.
The way it ends could have been smoother. It simply ends with “Return to start” which felt abrupt. This clunkiness gives the feeling of, oh, the game’s over? ok then.
I must admit, I thought there was going to be a big twist where it’s revealed that your boss murdered or is behind the disappearance of your coworkers and is pretending not to know who you’re talking about. That said, I think the existentialism of endless office work and the protagonist’s quiet acceptance of their looming demise is just as horrifying.
Appearance-wise, the game uses a basic light blue background similar to the cover art. In fact, its cover art was initially what attracted me to the game in the first place. These multiple shades of blue make my spine tingle. There is also a cream text box with rounded corners, and this looks nice against the blue background.
To conclude, Every day I get emails is a blend of horror and humor set in an office. It has simple design, linear gameplay, and an uncomplicated story, and yet, it has suspense as (Spoiler - click to show)we slowly realize the implications for the protagonist as their coworkers steadily vanish.
However, while I enjoyed it, I didn’t find it to be particularly earthshattering, either. I think the ending could be more fleshed out. Then again, the author only had four hours to make it, and it definitely feels like a finished product. So, take my criticism with a grain of salt.
I've been a fan of the author's work ever since The Curse of the Scarab. Some authors have a signature style where if you play one of their games without knowing it was created by them, you still think, huh, this reminds me of so-and-so's work. That's how I feel about this author. I love the custom parser and scenery-oriented puzzles that reward the player for paying close attention to details in their surroundings.
And so, I was delighted to try The Horrible Escape Room of Horror. It's an Ectocomp 2025 entry in the La Petite Mort category, which means it was created under four hours.
"Well Rhoda", you think to yourself, "this is even worse than that time four years ago in Egypt."
You are Rhoda. As in Rhoda Tarcrew who may sound familiar to anyone who has played The Curse of the Scarab. But instead of exploring an entire tomb, this adventure involves escaping a room after snatching the Staff of the Owl. (Spoiler - click to show)Well, two rooms, technically.
In a corner is a deep pit. There's also a cabinet here with a papyrus laying on top.
Despite what (Spoiler - click to show)the title suggests, I was delighted to see that there are two rooms available to us. While I'm going to steer clear from outright spoiling the puzzles, I still suggest that you try the game first before continuing.
(Spoiler - click to show)Puzzles for the first room were intuitive and streamlined, and I solved them quickly. The subtly of Staff of the Owl was a highlight. Second room was more difficult, largely due to implementation. Examining the table and then examining each of the four notches felt tedious. Then again, this was made in four hours.
I'll be honest. I have no clue as to how the wall mosaics correlate with the owl statuettes and the table notches, or why tasting the statuettes is supposed to be useful. I solved it by making a chart of possible combinations and went down the list. Luckily, it didn't take as long as I thought it would.
That said, the application of the vials was one of my favorite parts of the game. If you drink the vial depicting the cocktail glass, you become slightly intoxicated. To illustrate this, the text temporality blurs! Clever use of visual storytelling. Also, I quickly solved the skull puzzle and initially thought it was optional- something amusing to do- since I managed to light them before I discovered the wheel. However, players may struggle with lighting all six.
You have an uncanny feeling as you leave.
Nothing to worry about, I’m sure.
Story is limited to our objective of escaping. Instead, it focuses on puzzle solving, and I think this is a good balance considering it’s a rather short game. In fact, the (Spoiler - click to show)table puzzle took up most of my time.
That’s about it! I had a lot of fun stepping into Rhoda’s shoes once again. I’m taking off a star because the implementation could be sharper and I saw some spelling errors, but I do so reluctantly because the game was created under four hours. I was quite impressed.
...except we have no choice...
You are on a road trip to start a new life. The plan is to move in with a friend and see where life takes you! Who knows, maybe you'll stop having those weird dreams. Then your car breaks down.
At night. In the middle of nowhere.
A man appears. A mechanic. He was just passing by. He wants to help.
Sparks Fly embraces a staple of the horror genre: Car breaks down, a stranger offers help. Main character has no other choice but to accept. We find ourselves in that exact position.
No choice left. You have to get out of the car.
The stranger is Andrew. A homely yet muscular man who informs us that he’s a mechanic with a shop at his house. He proposes that we come with him and, given how late it is, spend the night and figure things out in the morning. (Spoiler - click to show)It doesn’t take long for us to realize that this was a really, really, really bad idea.
I’m just going to rip off the band-aid.
(Spoiler - click to show)Andrew takes you to his home where he lives with his grandmother, Lydia. The bedroom they give you is oddly tailored to your personal tastes… but you’re tired and fall asleep. You have one of your recurring dreams.
…and wake up with Andrew laying on your chest. His skin is alarmingly hot, and as he continues to invade your personal space, you cannot help but notice that he has no pulse. He’s some sort of “automaton” of flesh and machinery, as is Lydia.
And their dog, Leo.
And a deer, resurrected after being killed by Andrew’s car.
All of this was accomplished through a twisted surgical procedure. Andrew reveals that he anticipated your road trip and prepared the bedroom because you’re going to be joining the family! Which means you only have a short amount of time left before Andrew puts you under the knife to make you one of them.
Now that you know what you’re in for, I’m going to deviate from how I usually structure my reviews.
Strengths
Opening scene
Sparks Fly makes a strong first impression with its opening scene by capturing our vulnerability and isolation of being stranded from human civilization. We can stall for time, but inevitably we must follow Andrew to his car.
My stranger danger alarm was running at full power. Has anyone experienced the sudden, quiet realization where a voice in the back of your mind says, hey, do you realize that you’re in a stranger’s car, they’re the one driving, and no knows where you are? This scene went and dug all of that up. He also asks to see your license, and this sharing of personal information only makes it more nerve-wracking.
Or maybe we’re assuming the worst because of our less-than-ideal circumstances. Jumping to conclusions, perhaps?
(Spoiler - click to show)However, any consideration that he might be genuine quickly evaporates when his car hits a deer, injuring it. He “consoles” us in manner that indicates his lack of regard for personal boundaries.
"Between you and anything that could pop up on the road," his hand, large and rough from years of work, rests on yours, thumb moving to rest on your inner wrist as gold brown eyes burn into yours, "I'll pick you."
(Is it too late to run?)
And then he runs over the deer to put it out of its misery. He’s oddly nonchalant about it.
You're left to sit with this for the rest of the drive.
Talk about an opening scene. (Spoiler - click to show)No one is fooled by Andrew. And yet, we don’t know what his intentions are. What’s going to happen to us? Nicely done.
Writing
The author has a talent for writing horror. The story’s premise is good, but it’s the writing that pulls it off. I would describe the writing as quiet, dawning horror.
This is because there’s a strong dissonance between your situation and how Andrew and Lydia act. If you lash out, they respond as if you are a child throwing a tantrum. The fact that their plan involves surgically altering you…
"Come on back inside now, dear. You have a long procedure ahead of you." She walks to towards you, unthreatened.
…only makes it worse.
My favorite is this scene:
(Spoiler - click to show)Grabbing a blood covered tool, you call, "fetch," and throw it as far as you can.
With a bark, Leo flies across the grass for it. Realizing it's coated in deer's blood, he sits with it, licking the treat.
"That's nice, it's been a while since he's had deer."
This scene deserves an award. I just burst out laughing. I love its casual morbidity.
Characters
Animals aside, the only NPCs are Andrew and (Spoiler - click to show)Lydia.
Lydia is unsettling, but Andrew? You don’t even want to be in the same room as him. His characterization makes every scene uncomfortable. He’s decided that you’re his soulmate and has no concept of personal space. You’re all his! In fact, the player can get kind of anxious just thinking about it. But for a horror game, this works well.
I think many players will be rattled by the scene where you wake up to find Leo sleeping on top of you. You go to stroke his fur only to realize it’s human hair.
This is hair, not dog fur.
Andrew, not Leo.
The player starts to panic. Are we really going to be trapped here? (Spoiler: There are four endings. Thankfully, one of them involves escaping all of this.)
As for the protagonist, we know little about them. However, their portrayal is heavily rooted in the notion of starting over and forging a life of your own choosing. This is partly what makes (Spoiler - click to show)Andrew and Lydia so infuriating: They want to choose your life for you by making you “part of the family” and surgically altering your body against your will. Ending 2 “Freedom” puts an emphasis on you regaining control over your life.
Visuals
The author also did a nice job with the game’s visual design. Set in the middle of the screen is the game’s text box. It’s stylized with rounded edges, a semi see-through black background, and casts a slight shadow on the screen. Text is white. Behind the box is a backdrop that changes with the scene. Half of the box’s border is light grey while the other half is darker, the latter of which disappears when the backdrop has little contrast, creating an off-kilter look.
This aesthetic reminds me of the earlier horror Twine games I’ve played. It has a similar vibe as the uncle who works for nintendo. Polished, but not too polished. There’s a slight roughness that reminds the player that there is something twisted going on underneath.
Sparks Fly demonstrates how simple design changes can elevate the player’s experience. Consider the scene where (Spoiler - click to show)you wake up to find Andrew pinning you down: black backdrop… until a closer look reveals two eyes staring back! Now, imagine this with Twine’s default appearance of a black screen, white text, and blue links. It wouldn’t be the same.
Weaknesses
Pacing
After the opening scene and the big reveal, the game begins to branch out and becomes less linear. Unfortunately, the gameplay snowballs and ends soon after.
Confident that we can’t escape, Lydia and Andrew allow us some freedom before our surgery. We can choose to go with Andrew or stay with Lydia.
You'll stay here.
Go to the shed.
This serves as a branching point for the gameplay. Between the two, Lydia offers slightly more content and flexibility. Either way, the player will find themselves at the end of the game after a few moves. Up until now, the narrative gradually unfolded. Ending it like this makes it all feel rushed.
Plus, we’re left with some loose ends. Notably, what is Andrew’s connection to our dreams? Is he causing them? Or are the dreams merely warning you?
You've been having that dream for months. How has he been sneaking into your room every night for a year?
“Sneaking into your room every night.” Is this still referring to dreams?
There are also moments where Andrew appears to read your mind. When you notice that your bedroom is suspiciously personalized, Andrew says, "'Really? Hope you feel at home then,'" even though we never said anything out loud. What’s going on?
Further clarification would be helpful.
Implementation
My main criticism. There were at least two instances in the gameplay where I ran into Twine’s red “Error: <<if>>: bad conditional expression in <<elseif>>” messages that spill across the screen. And while the game is generally well-formatted, there are still some spelling and formatting errors.
There is a rough patch that puts a dent into the game’s quality.
(Spoiler - click to show)It occurs when we choose to either wait with Lydia or go with Andrew to the shed. If you choose Lydia, Andrew leaves. The game then says,
The smell of oil and hot metal linger on you as he disappears behind the building.
However, this passage repeats itself anytime you make a dead-end choice while with Lydia. For example, if you immediately walk to the scrap pile, Leo pulls you back, leaving you at square one. And each time, you get the same message of Andrew walking away even though he already left.
Final thoughts
Sparks Fly is an Ectocomp 2025 submission for the Le Grand Guignol category. It was a game that I couldn’t put down before finding every ending. It’s an intriguing work of horror with excellent writing that builds atmosphere and places the player in some seriously terrifying situations. This is further enhanced by the visuals.
However, this is hindered by patchy implementation as well as how quickly the game ends just as it becomes less linear. If the author slowed down after (Spoiler - click to show)the scene where we receive our “welcome gift,” the game would be much stronger. The red error messages certainly don’t help either. All of this was factored into my rating.
Nonetheless, Sparks Fly is a memorable work of horror that is difficult to forget. I don’t know if it is the author’s first work, but if it is, this is a fantastic start.
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