Ratings and Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

You are a housecat hungry- no, ravenous- for soft cat food. Usually, you turn to your owner for such things, but he has not been himself recently. It seems like everything annoys him and when he does feed you it is mostly boring dry food. Instead of waiting for him you decide to take initiative and acquire some soft food.

Gameplay
You start the day curled up on the windowsill inside a one-story cottage. Your Provider* is asleep but will move about independently as the day moves on. He is one of a handful of independent NPCs that you will encounter. The initial goal is to satisfy your immediate hunger before addressing your hankering for soft food. The gameplay consists of tiptoeing around the cottage and surrounding forest in search of ways to reach this goal.

The puzzles are not always intuitive. In fact, some of them left me scratching my head. (Spoiler - click to show) Rolling in ash to disguise yourself so you pounce on a bird makes sense. And I liked the puzzle where you wake up the Provider without him knowing that you are trying to do so. But (Spoiler - click to show) tying the shiny egg* to the balloon and releasing it from the roof of the cottage so it could float down to the little boy was something I needed the walkthrough for.

I like how there are (Spoiler - click to show) two solutions for removing the Rival when he comes back for revenge. You can lure him into the road where he gets hit by a car or, and I prefer this one, dump the sack of dry cat food on him so he leaves. Perhaps that way someone will find him and give him a home. But I must say that the author really replicates the finicky nature of cats squabbling over territory (and the preposterousness of sharing a food bowl). Similarly, (Spoiler - click to show) I am glad that it is possible to reach a peaceful resolution with the Provider. He goes from throwing the cat outside to cuddling the cat during excursions in the forest. Both cat and Provider reach a sense of contentedness which made for a satisfying ending.

Story/Writing
Though the puzzles can sometimes muddle up the pacing, the game makes up for it by capturing the player's attention with humor and descriptiveness. Take the description of the beast* in the garage as an example: "You've heard such beasts rumble, sigh, bleat, and stampede. This one is quiet, and perhaps ill. He appears to be bleeding from his underside." Through the cat's perspective it takes a cold and static piece of human technology and turns it into something living. A car leaking away in a garage is suddenly a wounded creature biding its time. This formed a more vivid image in my head than if the game simply said, "a human vehicle is in a garage. It is leaking fluid." It adds extra dimension.

This game really does give a cat's-eye-view of a hungry feline in a forest setting. There are so many scents and things to climb. The alarm of encountering a strange cat, the surprise of an unexpected human, and the enticing allure of capturing feathered wildlife. And yet the house is the focal point of your world with its heated rooms and Providers who give you food (Obviously this is not the case for all cats, but the protagonist seems to be a well-adjusted housecat). I think my favorite slice of writing is when (Spoiler - click to show) the cat finally gets to eat the soft food:

A blend of tuna and chicken livers, your entire consciousness swims in its taste, texture, and smell. You lap up its succulent juices, and slaver down every delectable mouthful. After a moment of complete rapture, you find yourself staring into an empty shell, grease dripping from your whiskers.

I can almost image chowing down in bliss the delicious food I waited forever to find. The obsession with soft food is a familiar one for me. I know what it is like to have a cat meowing at you for food and when you put down dry kibble, they look at you as if to say, "what is this garbage? I wanted the stuff from the can."

Final thoughts
If you are bored of playing as human protagonists A Day for Soft Food offers a refreshing change in perspective. I recommend it if you want to play a game with an animal protagonist or is you are just looking for something lighthearted and humorous.

...
Oh, and one last thing...
What is up with (Spoiler - click to show) riding down the river in the basket? Who is that saucy cat? The game describes her as "the most beautiful feline you've ever seen lies languorously on an unreachable limb." Is this a love interest? Apparently, this just earns you a bonus point, but it is certainly a memorable one.

Cat Glossary* (Spoiler - click to show)
-Beast: Car
-Beast's Cave: Garage
-Billowy wall: Window blinds
-Confusing box: TV
-Food Room: Kitchen
-Jangly ring: Keyring
-Lumpy mountain: Sofa
-Provider: Cat owner
-Shiny metal egg: Can of soft cat food
-Shiny stool: Wheelchair
-Silvery leaves: Keys
-Small white box: Garage opener

Dead Meat in the Pit is a game based off a Grimm fairy tale called "Going a-Traveling.”

Grimm story background
In the Grimm story a mother and her son live in a simple cottage. The son is becoming more independent and wants to journey out into the world. Because the family is poor his mother teaches him to say "not much" to strangers so they would understand his situation. The game follows the Grimm storyline quite closely. Note: The game does not clarify the gender of the protagonist. I am not sure of the author intended for the protagonist to be gender neutral or a son, like in the story.

Gameplay
The main gameplay mechanic is that the player learns sayings from each character and passes them on to the next character they encounter to advance the game. Right before the game begins the protagonist’s mother, as is the case in the Grimm story, instructs them to say, “Not much” to the first person on their journey.

To demonstrate this mechanic here is a sample of the gameplay: (Spoiler - click to show) The first character the player meets is a fisherman. When the player says, "Not much" the fisherman introduces them to the phrase "Get it full." The player repeats “Get it full” back to the fisherman who then gives them a boat ride to their next destination. When the player reaches the next character, a hangman, they say, “Get it full” and learn another new phrase that they repeat to the next character after that (in fact one of these sayings is connected to the game’s title). This is a simple but clever way of incorporating the structure of the original story into an interactive parser format. In that regard the game closely replicates the original. I was hoping that the game would last a little longer although it seems that the Grimm story itself is about the same length.

Story
There is only one ending but three ways of achieving it. The ending uses the same language as the Grimm story. It goes: (Spoiler - click to show)

*** And you never went travelling again. ***

The three variations are: (Spoiler - click to show) 1, you are chased by farmers who beat you up and leave you to crawl home. 2, the fisherman rescues you and takes you home. And 3, you uncover a shallow grave and are handsomely rewarded by the mayor, allowing you and your mother to live comfortably. This third ending was a nice surprise. In the Grimm story the protagonist is beaten, returns home, and decides to never go traveling again. Though this is the case for variation 1 (which is also the easiest ending to reach) at least the player can influence the circumstances behind the outcome of never travelling again.

Design
There are bugs that reduce the game’s quality. For instance, you can hear the mob even after the fisherman boats the protagonist away to escape safely. Later in the game the “Not much” phrase is no longer usable. If you try “talk” and the select it from the menu the game does not even acknowledge that the player is trying to use it.

The game is also poorly implemented. The description of Lake Shore is “A fisherman is standing in a poor boat not many paces from the shore, pulling in a net. Only a few fish are twitching in the net.” But if you try to examine the net or the fish the game says, “You can’t see any such thing.” Another case is when you come across the road where farmers are trying to move their cart. The game has no response if you try to examine the farmers which is surprising since (Spoiler - click to show) they are the ones that mob you. If the game were to fix these it would make a huge difference for the gameplay experience.

That said, the game’s listing explains that it was made in one hour for a jam so I will cut the game some slack. Even if it is rough around the edges it does strive to capture the Grimm version’s storyline.

Conclusion
After some light reading on the Grimm fairy tale, I can say that the game follows the story quite closely. Unfortunately, it is an interesting premise weakened by bugs and poor implementation. Nonetheless, if you like retellings of fairy tales than I recommend checking this one out, especially if you have never heard of “Going a-Traveling.” I certainty never heard of it until I played this game. If anything, it is a nice way of expanding your knowledge of Grimm stories.

The premise is a familiar one: You find yourself in an unfamiliar room with no clear exit. Using the resources in your surroundings you must puzzle your way out. And yet, this game has a refreshing take on the concept by focusing more on brain teaser type puzzles.

Gameplay
Rather than having the urgency of a desperate escape the gameplay feels more casual with its use of riddles, sudoku, and trivia-like activities. The objective is to find the combination to the door that will presumably allow you to escape. The formula (this part is not really a spoiler, but I will tag it anyway) (Spoiler - click to show) is scribbled on a tissue in the waste bin. It reads:

sudoku(5,5) * 1000 + sudoku(5,6)^2 + riddle(sara) - song(beatles)

This formula presents an enticing challenge but not one I managed to complete. The section of the formula that I DID solve (Spoiler - click to show) was for “riddle(sara).” The answer is 5.

Inside the (Spoiler - click to show) desk is an iPhone that allows you to call Crafty, the person who decided to stick you in the basement. This functions as an amazing hint system because you can ask for help with any of the puzzles. I do wish he had more graded assistance. With the sudoku puzzle I was expecting him to provide guidance on how to solve a sudoku puzzle, maybe providing an answer for a few of the squares. Instead, he only offers to give you (Spoiler - click to show) the solution which is "For the Sudoku solution, bring up the puzzle and then click just to the right of the help icon at the top." When you click on the icon if gives a brief overview of sudoku but not enough to be helpful (nor does it provide a solution).

When I finally managed to hack out a finished sudoku puzzle I was unable to incorporate it into the formula. I must admit, this is not my strongest area of expertise. Sudoku fiends out there can probably run laps around me. If you are one of them, I would love to hear your take on the puzzle. Eventually, this is where I ended. I had already (Spoiler - click to show) searched the room, found the Walkman and the cassette tape, but had no other points to work from.

A fun note is that you can ask Crafty about a LOT of things. Even things that have nothing to do with this game or interactive fiction. Dolphins, carrots, all sorts of topics. If I am being perfectly honest, I probably spent almost as much time trying out different queries than playing the game itself.

Visuals
The game is custom parser and has an extremely simple yet polished appearance. The screen space is a white rectangle with rounded corners, outlined in blue. The text is easy to read and is sometimes uses in game links to click on. This simple design is then punctuated with some nice visuals that incorporate a choice-based format. First there is a decryption puzzle with boxes and stylized buttons that you click on to input each letter. Solving this gives you instructions on how to unlock the iPhone. Then there is a spiffy sudoku puzzle that lets you “erase” and keep track of your answers as you play. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, these features make the “game inside a game” mechanic incredibly user friendly.

The visual design also shines through the game’s hint system. When you call Crafty, the game makes it look like you are having a text message conversation. You then “hang up” to return to the game.

Story
I only scraped the surface of the story. Crafty is not some villain keen on tormenting the player into solving his puzzles. When you first call him, he introduces himself as Crafty the Puzzle Master, and his reason for trapping you in the basement is because he thinks that you like puzzles. Playful fun. Then again, I never made it to the end. Perhaps there is a plot twist that I am not aware of.

Final thoughts
This is a new game and even though I did not complete the entire thing I just wanted to throw my thoughts out there. Normally single room games are not a huge draw for me, but this game made an impression. If there are any updates or new developments, I would be eager to replay it.

This is surreal Twine game about wandering a seaside landscape in quiet contemplation. The world is infused with cat motifs and underlying feelings of loneliness, serenity, and self-reflection. There are no puzzles or plot twists, and yet, there is plenty to see and do in this game’s world.

Gameplay
The game really captures the feel of wandering aimlessly in a seaside setting. Its design is simple: clicking on links to navigate your environment. But there is an underlying complexity. It heavily uses cycling links, just small ones within each location but also ones that are strung together across locations. It is how you find yourself slowing moving from the waterfront to the lighthouse to the open sea and onwards. You might click on a link that takes you to a previous direction, but you can easily retrace your progress. The writing and the way the links are imbedded in each other really create a smooth effect. It feels less linear and more adaptive to the player's choices. It also creates the excitement of stumbling across a new location that you overlooked.

There is a sense that you are the only person there- well, technically you are. You are not ambushed by cuddle piles of cats. In fact, there are no cats you can directly interact with. You only see hints of them here and there in the corner of your eye. But paying close attention to these details almost creates a meditative experience. One of my favorite details is (Spoiler - click to show) in the larger boat, The Flying Fish. It is empty, but you cannot help but notice that the furniture has traces of cat hair.

Story
The author has such vivid imagination that shines in this game. Rather than a broad story that encases the entire game, the story lies in bits and pieces throughout the setting. Different areas are infused with memories and small narratives that help you form your own idea of the history of the seaside setting and the locations connected to it. Besides, the world is just so fascinating to explore. At the waterfront there is a warehouse called "Feline Industries Recycling Center." It is not exactly clear as to what type of facility it is, only that when you explore it you catch hints of cats scampering about the rafters. You get a taste of the story’s world without really knowing what it is.

One of my favorite bits of writing is part of the location description for Feline Industries Waterfront:

Far to the north, beyond a barren expanse, pale light reveals a small town. The sign pointing that way says: “To Centaur Square”. It looks like a short trip.

When you click on “It looks like a short trip” it changes to:

Trying to follow its directions however makes the town appear more distant with every step. Only a solitary line of paw prints marks the way.

There is something about that writing that really resonated with me. Just think about it...

Is there an ending? I believe the answer is no. I certainly did not reach an ending, nor did I find one while digging through the source code that the author posted. But this feels like a game that needs no ending. It ends when you feel like ending the experience.

Visuals
I applaud the visual design. It is crisp and simple. Main appearance of the game is a white square against a second off-white background. The text is spaced within the square with black lines and accents. The text is well-organized and easy to read, and the name of each location is neatly printed at the top. Occasionally, the writing is augmented with basic but pretty artwork of the setting. All of this created a polished look.

In case you want to compare notes, I found (Spoiler - click to show) five pieces of artwork in the game. The locations are Engine room, Feline bedroom, Ground Floor, In a boat at sea, Round Chamber.

Final thoughts?
So, what is it like playing Kitty and the Sea? Imagine this: It is past noon, and you are playing a Twine game, one that lets you roam around, almost like a parser game, but also one that is heavily based on writing. You are groggy and tired. It is tempting to take a nap, but you convince yourself not to since you want to break the bad habit of sleeping late in the day. You are not really reading; you are just clicking. Whenever you try to focus on the writing, as if someone asked you to read it and then summarize it at the drop of a hat, you just feel so tired. But then slowly your brain starts to focus on the text on and suddenly it does not seem so vast. You go from being in a mid-afternoon dazed to suddenly super-focused on this game that you suddenly realize "wow, this game is actually quite captivating!" THAT was my experience (and this is not the only game where this has happened to me). That was my personal experience. Go see where it takes you.