Ratings and Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car
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It's snowy outside. A great opportunity to drink tea and play a mysterious video game!
I am a big fan of games that present a mundane narrative only to peel it all back to expose something sinister underneath. Violent Delight is that kind of game. But unlike some games that simply strive to horrify their audiences, the gristle in Violent Delight is also embodied in societal issues that are their own kind of horror.
To get to the meat of this review, go to the Story section.
Remember: Violent Delight is a game about a protagonist playing another game called “The Playground.” A game within a game. Don’t get them mixed up.
Gameplay
Violent Delight begins with the protagonist buying a cartridge game off an online auction site and having it shipped to their home to play on their computer. Our screen is organized into three columns: The left for messages we choose to save, the middle for the protagonist’s thoughts, while the right column represents the protagonist’s own computer screen.
“The Playground” is explored in levels. Each level features a small, illustrated map that we navigate with arrows. The illustrations are clickable. Clicking on signs, screens, and faces brings up a black text box with white text that shares a character’s thoughts or displays readable content. There is also a DOWN and UP button below the protagonist’s computer screen that allows you to visit the levels as they become available.
When you turn on “The Playground” you have a limited amount of time to play until it shorts out. There are probably technical details that went over my head, but the jist is that the game’s cartridge can be opened and tinkered with to allow us to access more levels. Tinkering with it takes time, though.
Speaking of time, here’s a quality of the gameplay that may drive some players away:
It.
Takes.
So.
Long.
For things to load.
Each portion of gameplay is interspaced by wait periods in the form of a loading-in-progress bar. The bar is meant to mark the passage of time in the game, only allowing you to move forward once the bar has filled. Except this can take a while. Now, I understand the narrative merit of this. If the protagonist must wait for a package to be delivered, so do you.
…but for a whole hour?
Maybe not exactly a full hour, but pretty darn close. And no, demanding efficiency of the postal service has no result. I was amused to find that if you wait too long to answer the door the delivery man just leaves it on your doorstep instead having you sign for it.
I don’t necessarily see these waiting periods as a bad thing since they are tied to the story. It also helps that the other waiting periods are only a few minutes each at most. However, having to wait at all will likely be a turnoff for some. Yes, it fits with the story, but I don’t know if this is worth losing potential players. At least most segments can be managed by opening another tab and doing other things while you wait.
Answer the door.
Finally!
Of course, if I overlooked an obvious feature that circumvents this inconvenience, someone let me know.
A convenient feature of the gameplay is a “Print” button that saves any text from “The Playground” that sparks your interest. You can then read it while the game makes you wait.
Ultimately, I’m glad I stuck it out. In fact, I ended up playing this game more than once.
Story/Characters
Game within the game
“The Playground” begins in a place called “Park.” It predominantly features child characters, and while there seems to be no sole protagonist, it does give a lot of attention to a boy named Rupert. Rupert is quite fond of his duck toy Duckie and has an innocent whimsical view of the world. Soon that innocence gets chiseled away.
please Read our manifesto!!! The world isn't what it seems!!! We have to save our reality!!!
Even the characters know something is up.
Each level becomes darker and edgier, though this is expressed in different ways.
(Spoiler - click to show)Conventionally, “Hell” (the third level) is the worse, though not nearly as intense as one would image since it is conveyed through goofy artwork and rambling text. In fact, it’s unclear is “Hell” is meant to be interpreted literally or if the scenes describing children being eaten are a mere fantasy of a character dealing with inner turmoil.
As a horror work, much of the scariness stems from its mundanity. The seventh layer is “Office.” After what I just told you about “Hell,” you’re probably thinking “No! Not an office, anything but that!” since, hey, at least Rupert and Duckie aren’t being prepped for a blood processing machine. But with “Office,” there is an overwhelming sense of existentialism, drudgery of daily life, and a feeling of inadequacy amongst one’s peers. The characters there seem just as miserable.
The most interesting level for me was “Laboratory,” the fifth level. No, not the kind containing flasks of chemicals and safety goggles. Rather, it appears to be a standardized testing center, the kind with paper-and-pencil tests familiar in most schools. Sit down. No talking. Here’s your paper. This is the time limit. Good luck, etc.
Except “The Playground” takes a more cynical stance on testing. In ALL-CAPS, the game talks down to the test takers, saying things like,
COMPLETE THIS PAPER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE ON THE STREET.
And,
IF YOUR ABILITIES AREN'T UP TO SNUFF THEN NEITHER ARE YOU.
The term “Laboratory” is used because the children taking the tests serve as test subjects in more than one way. In another room, several people are watching the test takers via video and making comments on subjects’ performances.
LIVE RESULTS
Rupert: FAILURE (could not sit still without familiar object)
Carla: SUCCESS (transfer recommended)
A trend we’ve seen throughout the game is Rupert being reprimanded for small things that slowly chip away his confidence. He’s chastised for his grammar and belittled for seeking companionship with Duckie. This comes to fruition in the testing center where he fails to meet the performance standards set by people watching behind a screen.
And Rupert is not the only person struggling. One observer cynically notes that another test taker is probably going to flounder before the test even begins:
I'LL GIVE YOU ELEVENTY TO ONE ODDS SHE'LL HAVE A PANIC ATTACK AND VOMIT BEFORE SHE FINISHES READING THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL
“Laboratory” comments on how standardized testing fails to accommodate individuals like Rupert who might need additional support or overlooks- and even makes light of- the anxiety that comes with test-taking. A failure to perform is automatically seen as failure of the individual without taking a step back and considering the framework itself as a potential problem.
These sentiments can be found in other parts of “The Playground.” In “Hell” we are told that “children are animals with behavioral issues,” illustrating how one’s own inner struggles and personal circumstances combined with a need for support can result in being labeled as problematic, uncooperative, and disruptive.
Unfortunately for Rupert and the other characters in “The Playground,” these tests appear to be a major determining factor of each subject’s worth. Things don’t get better for them in the remaining levels.
Blurring realities
Major spoilers in this section. Please play the game first for the full experience.
As we explore more levels in “The Playground,” our protagonist begins to reflect on their own life, hinting that the cartridge game might have some wider relevance. In fact, when the protagonist first receives the game cartridge, they ponder, "It's like downloading a real-life object. Is my house a P.C.? Am I an Interface?" I believe this is foreshadowing.
You see, the final level is “Bedroom.” It features a character standing by their computer. Clicking on the computer breaks it… causing “The Playground” to crash. The protagonist then thinks:
That's... odd. The picture's gone, but the screen isn't black, it's... see-through. Just the inside of the set.
Have we been inside “The Playground” the entire time? Is their house a P.C.? Suddenly they feel inspired to visit their house’s basement, something they’ve never done before. This is where the creepiness factor is an all-time high in Violent Delight. What do we find in the basement?
A boy.
Just standing there.
All we can do is listen as the boy expresses surprise upon our arrival. It seems that the boy is a younger version of the protagonist. The boy notes how "adults can get away with anything,” and ponders if he could be considered one given how much horrors he has seen. He then turns to the protagonist and asks them if they want to know the truth. There’s a shovel in the corner of room. We are told to take the shovel and start digging.
Then the game ends with a blank screen. I will say I am frustrated by games that do this. I’m not asking for a “The End,” but when they end like this my reaction is huh? Is this thing broken? Am I supposed to wait for something to happen? It’s also unclear about what we just witnessed, but maybe that’s the point.
Despite the abruptness of the ending, I liked how Violent Delight reveals “The Playground” to be more than just a game. Is the “truth” referring to everything we saw in “The Playground,” or is it something more that the protagonist has yet to find?
Recurring elements
Throughout “The Playground” we see recurring elements: Duckie, (Spoiler - click to show) wanting to play on the roof, a fearfulness of doors, someone named Carla. But the most common one is a ball. Somehow, things circle back to wanting a ball or having a ball and then losing it.
The significance of these is not entirely clear, but the ball and Duckie could be tied to the overarching theme of innocence lost, something that steadily occurs as Rupert and his peers move through each level.
“Park” is interesting because it is the rare level that allows us to alter the scenes themselves. There is a child in the upper left corner of the map with a ball, and a child in the lower right corner lamenting about not having a ball. You can actually take the ball from the first child and give it to the second child. Yay!
But then the second child loses it.
the ball's gone down there somewhere... isn't it amazing up here? you can see for miles.
I didn’t give this much thought at first, but (Spoiler - click to show)the phrase “gone down there somewhere” may- and this is just wild speculation- refer to the basement.
I would love to hear the author’s insights on making this game.
Visuals
I really like the game’s art. It’s crude in an appealing way. Reminds me of the art in the Quest game Space Punk Moon Tour but with less detail.
As I’ve mentioned, the game has three columns. They are colour-coded: red, bluish grey, and yellowish grey in that order. Font is stylized while also being easy to read.
Conclusion
Violent Delight is a potent example of surreal horror. Its cozy premise of playing video games amid snowy winter weather is flipped upside down as we’re drawn into the world of “The Playground” and (Spoiler - click to show)forced to witness it bleed over into reality.
I’m taking off a star because I think, for an IFComp game, the waiting periods (at least the wait time for the package) may be a lot to ask for players. But other than that, Violent Delight is one of my favorite games in this year’s IFComp.
Was I engrossed? Yes.
Wow. This is a seriously cool game.
I figured that I'd spend this month focused on reviewing IFComp games, but I saw this listed on the front page and, well, had to talk about it. It’s about joining an exclusive group that searches for cryptids on the internet.
Gameplay
Gameplay takes place on a computer interface. My jaw dropped when I saw it for the first time. It really does look like a computer desktop and has the interactivity of one as well. You navigate the game via the “computer” icons. Some of these icons are just for show, but even they contribute to the immersive effect.
The player will spend their time with the Concord chat messaging application and the Water Otter internet browser. You receive a message from a stranger who seems to think that you are a user named @deepdiver, which you are not.
There is a link to join a server. Being a perceptive internet-savvy person who knows the dangers of clicking on seedy links, you do the sensible thing:
You click on it, obviously.
Only to find that the link has expired. And that the server is for a group named The 404 Society. Same as the game’s title. Luckily, there is a button that allows us to request a new link. You click on it, naturally, and are contacted by someone named Bytegeist. They ask:
Have you ever seen something strange on the internet?
This phrase is a running theme in the gameplay. You get multiple chat responses to choose from, but eventually the discussion leads to them giving us a task. To track down a cryptid on the internet, forming the backbone of the game.
Story
What is a cryptid? A cryptid is a creature that is rumored to exist but has not actually been officially documented and categorized. Like Bigfoot. Robb Sherwin’s Cryptozookeeper (a stellar game) is filled to the brim with such creatures. But The 404 Society focuses on cryptids in the virtual realm. Entities that exist on the internet and even cause bizarre phenomena. The Society’s goal is to record their existence and observe them from afar.
Here’s why I’m giving this brilliant game 4 stars instead of 5. It describes itself as a “Twine game about discovering these mysterious creatures of the web,” emphasizing how such creatures can manifest in weird ways. We don’t actually see much of this.
(Spoiler - click to show)Bytegeist sends us to a website with a convincingly realistic article on tomatoes. If we find the cryptid hiding there, we get to join the Society. The cryptid isn’t earthshattering but the method of finding it is still kinda cool. Surely, this is a warmup cryptid, and we’ll see some cooler ones later. After finding it, Bytegeist grants us access to the Society’s server.
You’re a member now! Time for the adventure to start. Then the screen goes black and says:
Thank you for playing
The game is over?!?!?!?
I don’t see any mention of this game being a demo or an introduction of a larger game. If it’s meant to stand alone, I think it’s throwing away a lot of its potential by ending so quickly. At least gives us one more cryptid now that we’re a member. Plus, we never see anything weird. Except maybe a cluster of small dots hiding in an article about tomatoes. Neat, but not enough to live up to the game’s catchphrase of Have you ever seen something strange on the internet?
Now if it is a demo or introduction, it functions well as such. Still, does it need to end so quickly? I know I’m asking for a lot. It’s just that this game is such a gem and has a lot going for it. The fun gets cut short before the party even begins.
Characters
At first, I wasn’t sure if the characters were animals or humans. Everything is related to animals. The internet browser is called Water Otter, the protagonist is named Pigeon (and has a pigeon for a profile picture), and the icons on the desktop are vaguely animal themed. I imagined a world like Zootopia or something reminiscent of Goat Game, a Twine game from the 2021 IFComp.
Then I figured it was more like Animal Crossing which features human PCs in an animal-run world. On the game’s itch.io page, there is a picture above the comment section that looks a lot like Animal Crossing with cartoonish humanoids. But a closer look at the photographs on the gardening website reveals regular humans. So maybe not like Animal Crossing. Nonetheless, I love its animal-themed aesthetic.
Visuals
The 404 Society nails its visual design. As I’ve already mentioned, the game mimics the appearance and functionality of a real-life computer. Countless IF works have surprised me with innovative usage of Twine's visual possibilities. Trigaea, whoami, Overrun, With Those We Love Alive, You are SpamZapper 3.1., and many more.
And right when I think it's all been done, bam. This game shows up, proving that the sky's the limit when it comes to harnessing Twine’s visual storytelling potential.
When I first played this game, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia because the desktop background of the protagonist’s computer may be familiar for some players: A perfect green hillside under a calm blue sky. Also known as Bliss, the default wallpaper for Windows XP. I’ve always loved it. You look at it and feel like everything is going to be okay. Brings me back to that clunky desktop computer with the fan that was always too loud...
All my life, choosing the desktop image for my computer is something I take seriously. And screensavers. So, I was especially excited to discover that the game lets you choose from two additional backgrounds to customize your experience! Great stuff, although I ultimately chose to remain with Bliss.
There’s plenty of other elements that I could go on about. Such as the pop-up boxes that appear at the screen’s bottom right corner when you have new chat messages. But go check the game out if you’re curious.
Conclusion
The 404 Society is a gem overfilling with promise. The concept. The visuals! Seeing how it ends so quickly gave me the bittersweet feeling of I knew it was too good to be true...
Or it might mark the beginning of something great. I really hope that this is a Twine game that takes itself further.
One last thing: I'm not sure if anyone has dabbled in the SCP Foundation website, but it has many interpretations since the foundation has no official canon. The 404 Society reminded me of the critter profiles on the Wilson’s Wildlife Solutions page- it’ll make sense if you visit it. The cutesiness of the site paired with its documentation of anomalies strikes a similar tone as a lighthearted search for cryptids on an internet browser called Water Otter.
In fact, now that I think of it...
The 404 Society is a group that studies these internet cryptids—anomalous digital entities that arise spontaneously in forgotten corners of the web.
We locate, observe, and catalog.
...it is kind of reminiscent of the SCP Foundation whose principles are We Secure, We Contain, We Protect. Hm…
You Cannot Speak opens with an ambiguous dream sequence. You dream that Claudia- the game seems to think you know her- is trying to save someone from drowning. She is failing. She is incapable of speaking...
You wake up. She's you. You are Claudia. Time to start your day.
So, yeah. You Cannot Speak is a brief sci-fi Ink game about a protagonist named Claudia waking up for her first day at a new job. On Mars. But for some reason, she is incapable of speaking. It's as if her ability was switched off.
The player begins in a high-tech bedroom to prepare for Claudia’s first day at work. Gameplay choices center around taking in your surroundings and trying to use futuristic technologies such as a “GOERRING RESOURCE-CONSCIOUS BATHING APPARATUS,” also known as a shower.
Overall, I enjoyed the descriptive writing.
Outside the window is a totally untouched red wasteland, a ruby-tinted desert landscape with red dust and rocks as far as the eye can see. In the distance, you see a great craggy wall of red land.
The canyon is a breathtaking natural beauty, with all the timeless qualities of a MacOS desktop image.
Such vivid imagery. And then of course (Spoiler - click to show)it's revealed to be a screen. Suddenly, your high-tech room feels more like a closet. The wearable TORUS device was also cool.
Claudia has a backstory shrouded in mystery. (Spoiler - click to show)Once, she had bright dreams of a career in Earth’s Space Force. Something happened. Now, she is stuck working in the private sector at a Martian facility called Ares-622. Her official role is “Wellness Director.” We don’t get a chance to see what this entails.
You Cannot Speak seems to embrace the debate of dwelling on the past vs. focusing on the future, though the game is too short to really explore these concepts.
It's better to know
Forget about it
We can, however, prompt Claudia to do some deep thinking about herself.
As much as I love the author’s vision for You Cannot Speak, it needs refinement. I understand that it is an introduction for a larger game. Such kind of games have been submitted to IFComp in the past and have done quite well. That’s not the issue.
My main problem with this game is how abrupt and clunky the game ends. When Claudia (Spoiler - click to show)leaves her room, a scraggly man tells her in vague terms that she... I'm not even sure. Something about how her actions will affect everyone. And when a guard shows up the man starts yelling. Game ends.
As an IFComp game, this stands out like a sore thumb. The sharp edges of a promising game should have been sanded off first. Also, in one playthrough the game ran into a dead end.
It’s frustrating because there is a certain magnetism to You Cannot Speak. The title piqued my curiosity. Even the cover art- a single red square- made me think what could this be about?
Nonetheless, I wish this game well, and hopefully we will get to see more of Claudia’s story in the future.
Fires blooming everywhere, September 10, 2025“Good morning, dear. Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?”
Penthesileia begins with Penny, our protagonist, informing her husband, Achilles, of his good looks before seeing him off to work. It’s a wholesome life.
But the next day, she falters. And he notices.
Gameplay
The gameplay is centered around Penny investigating funky moments where she acts out of turn, forgetting her lines in a script that she doesn’t remember reading. Things like pausing before telling her husband- who is hated by many- about his handsomeness or muddling up his coffee or asking questions. There are no puzzles, only a compelling narrative to sink into.
The author has such a precise, effective way of writing, at leaving the player transfixed about what would happen next without lengthy paragraphs. Some scenes are like being doused in ice cold water. The wham moment in the game is when (Spoiler - click to show)a dinner party is held for high-ranking officials. I won’t spoil it, but the characters did something that made my blood go cold. And then you are asked to participate. Do you? Or will you refuse in a room full of powerful people?
Eventually, you are required to choose between (Spoiler - click to show)sticking with the repetitive luxury of your current life or biting the hand that feeds you.
While the gameplay is mostly linear, you must dig around to reach each ending. I found five total with two of them being nearly identical.
Story
But onto the story.
Penthesileia is a dystopian thriller with political undertones. And perhaps even science fiction since it takes place in the 2060s. Every aspect of daily life revolves around the existence of a Prefect and the Regime. High-ranking officials clamber over each other to gain favor, and restaurants have names such as “In Honor of Our Everlasting Prefect.” And of course, a resistance, named only as “the opposition.”
(Spoiler - click to show)When Achilles takes Penny to a fancy restaurant, she notices a staff member staring at her in shock and recognition, kickstarting her doubts about the world. He later introduces himself as Cal and provides backstory… and the awful truth. He tells Penny about her death. Her death?
He once worked at a restaurant that was a hotspot for opposition members. The Prefect conducted a raid of the restaurant to wipe out potential members along with any witnesses. An important-looking man walked in- Achilles- to oversee the raid. But then Achilles saw Penny’s dead body, an unfortunate witness. Despite being a stranger, he falls in love and goes to great lengths to make her his wife. But for Cal, who also saw Penny’s body, seeing her reappear is a surprise.
This is where Penthesileia leans into the science fiction genre. It doesn’t focus on the technicalities because it’s not necessary to tell the story. But there is room for curiosity.
(Spoiler - click to show)Initially, I thought Penny was an android.
Achilles found a doctor named Antiope who could bring Penny back to life. We meet Antiope at a surgical facility to correct Penny’s behavior. Antiope is… unsettling. She gleefully notes that Penny has been “gaining independence from my original programming,” referring to the mistakes Penny made with her interactions with Achilles. There is also a path in the gameplay that shows Achilles using his watch to “deactivate” Penny, almost like an android (whether he succeeds depends on the player’s previous choices).
Does this mean she’s an android? Ultimately, I don’t think so. I speculate that Penny's body is one she’s always had, but her brain has been rebuilt or copied to replace the one that would be nonviable from brain death. The programming? Implanted memories that command her to speak and act the same way every day. Erasing her original identity meant Penny wouldn’t notice or give these changes any thought. Until she noticed.
Oddly enough, Antiope does not care if Penny knows the truth, only that Penny behaves. She doesn’t seem to even “fix” Penny, though she warns her that if she acts out, Antiope will not hesitate to end Penny’s second life. In fact, the “Antiope ending” is terrifying.
The story of Penthesileia ultimately explores the idea of second chances.
(Spoiler - click to show)Both Penny and Cal received a second chance. Cal managed to escape the raid without being killed as a witness. Meanwhile, Penny’s second chance is the literal second life she receives at the hands of Antiope.
Cal wants to use his second chance to hold the Regime accountable. Penny lives a life of luxury as a member of society’s elite. But the truth of her existence and the Regime’s lack of humanity shatter the illusion of a perfect life. Her husband’s high-ranking status means he has access to the Public Dissemination Network. She’s just what Cal needs. All she must do is upload a flash drive of evidence where it would be broadcast everywhere. This action is left up to the player.
So: Are second chances something we’re given or something we make for ourselves?
Characters
The game’s characters are borrowed from figures in Greek mythology. Even if you are familiar with Greek mythology- Achilles being a more recognizable name- you may not make the connection right away. Let’s look at Achilles first.
Some may recognize the name Achilles from “Achilles’ heel,” which refers to a single weakness capable of bringing down something difficult to destroy. A fatal flaw. In the game, Achilles laments how the Prefect isn’t giving him the recognition he deserves. To him, the Prefect and its Regime are invincible, all-knowing, powerful, and immovable. Unflawed. Except (Spoiler - click to show)he unwittingly becomes the Regime’s “heel” through Penny, if she chooses to bring down the Regime with the flash drive.
The title, Penthesileia, is a slight misspelling of Penthesilea. Penthesilea was an Amazonian queen who brought her army to Troy and fought the Greeks. It’s said that she killed Achilles only for him to be resuscitated by Zeus to allow him to kill her in return- and this act greatly saddened him because he also loved her. Despite this tragedy she is seen as a symbol of triumph amid conflict and great loss. To exhibit strength as a female in a realm dominated by men and encountering love- in a twisted way- while participating in war. In subtle ways, we see this in Penny.
Penny’s connection to Penthesilea is only clear once you start digging for details. The misspelling of Penthesileia and Penthesilea appears to be deliberate. We do get opportunities to learn about Penny’s (Spoiler - click to show)previous life. Examining the photo in the office drawer reveals that Penny’s name was originally Leia. Take a closer look at the title again: PenthesiLEIA. And in the ending where she leaves and takes on a new identity, she tells a customs officer that her name is “Penthesileia,” quietly regaining her past identity as she reaches for a brighter future.
I was curious as to why the author chose to (Spoiler - click to show)model the doctor on Antiope, an Amazon and sister of Penthesilea. There are other Greek figures including Theseus and Diomedes, though they are featured more superficially.
Visuals
Penthesileia uses a basic Twine appearance. Black screen, white text, blue links. Text is easy to read and is gradually revealed as the player clicks on the screen, creating suspense as the player waits for what's next.
Conclusion
In case you read this far, I apologize for the length. I was excited to review this game because it left such a memorable impression.
Penthesileia is a chilling narrative about finding choice while living inside an oppressive system. Penny is a protagonist full of poise and quiet determination. We feel the fragility of her existence as the wife of a powerful man- a man who lives with a target on his back. Her despair at the knowledge that those who create you can destroy you in equal measure. And her exhilaration at discovering the impact, or perhaps chaos, she can make.
If you like dystopian stories that are character focused and force the player to question said character’s status quo, play Penthesileia. It has potent writing mixed in with Greek mythology symbolism. With several endings, it is worth multiple playthroughs.
Maybe there’s more than one way for this to end.
who i am., September 5, 2025*(Reader note: If you don’t feel inspired to read this entire review- and I don’t blame you- please check out the Visual design section to see one of the main reasons to check out this game.)
This game made me feel so slick. For an hour or so I felt like a quantum computing genius. Well, at least you play as one.
Also, I remember this game being released in Spanish in 2022, and I was always curious about it even if I couldn’t play it. So, I was thrilled to see it in this year's competition!
Gameplay
This review- like many of my reviews- is longer than I anticipated, so I’m going to break the gameplay part into sections.
Overview
You play as L. Garcia, a researcher who works for the Quantum Model and Simulation Laboratory, a department of the European Centre for Computational Research (ECCR) that specializes in quantum computing. The gameplay is also narrated in first-person.
For context, advances in quantum computing have opened the door to modeling a person's consciousness and developing highly realistic simulations of real-world environments. My understanding is that a personality “snapshot,” or image, can be paired with a model of how people interact, which is then added to a simulated world.
The player’s task is to create a personality image through brain scans and then train a social model before compiling everything into a simulation. Gameplay consists of navigating a menu of locations on a computer to create the files needed for the simulation. For instance, “bin/” contains links that lead to emails, a saved web page, and other content.
Once the player has everything, they start the simulation and prepare for the end game. The result? Life- or at least existence- after death for the protagonist. Hopefully.
Thoughts on gameplay
I realized that the game’s difficulty does not stem from implementation challenges or flawed design. Rather the difficulty came from my unfamiliarity with the game’s concepts. During my first try, I had a vague sense of what I was doing. Surprisingly, the ambiguity did not frustrate me because I was having fun running scans to see what would happen, reading emails, and simply exploring the game's content.
And I actually did get quite far on my own. The main obstacle was needing help with (Spoiler - click to show) running the high intensity scan, and even then, I came close to figuring it out. So, the walkthrough was more of a useful guide to keep you on track and inform the story rather than being a resource you cling to desperately because the game has led you astray.
I will say that the walkthrough does a poor job with the (Spoiler - click to show) compilation puzzle. It made no sense. I knew that I needed to stack the numbers in the right order, but I couldn’t figure out how the arrows worked. The walkthrough does not mention the arrows. Then, it finally clicked! I figured out the arrows and the puzzle ended up being a lot of fun (and much easier than it seemed on my first try).
It was a bit intimidating at first, but I picked things up as I went along. Just a little bit of context and most of the technical jargon made sense. The README.md file made me think "Of course! It's so simple!" even if that was not the case when I first picked up the game. I think this gives whoami good replay value. You go back and revisit how the gameplay merges with the story now that you’ve played it at least once.
First time around, I tinkered with the game for about an hour before completing it with the walkthrough. Once you know what to do you can zip through the game in about ten minutes. I noticed from the walkthrough that you only need to (Spoiler - click to show) complete the high intensity scan. The low and mid intensity ones are unnecessary. Fortunate, since performing the high scan fries your brain, killing you and making the electrodes inaccessible.
Story
whoami is ultimately a game about making desperate decisions, exploring what we are willing to do when you have nothing left to lose. Are you willing to put faith in technology that is still filled with unknowns? What can it offer? Do you even want what said technology has to offer?
The beginning of the game informs us that it is the year 2030 (five years from now!). Our protagonist, L. Garcia, has staked out in a remote research lab tucked away in a place called The Vault, located somewhere in Europe. The climate has taken a turn for the worse and now countries are in the midst of nuclear warfare. Chunks of Europe have been lost to nuclear weapons and Garcia is slowly dying from radiation and injury.
They can die... or attempt to create a virtual consciousness.
There are four endings based on (Spoiler - click to show) how you acquired fruit from the man in the social training simulation (I discuss this later). Out of the four endings, arguably only one is a "bad" one. I mean, why would you choose to live in a simulation of the same violence and human nonsense that destroyed the real world?
Both the emails and saved web page provide excellent exposition without overwhelming the player with details.
Additional thoughts on the story!
The emails offer a lot of foreshadowing.
For instance, Garcia notes in an email that high intensity scans have never been done before because they would kill the subject. Having nothing left to lose, they do exactly that and die. What's wild, though, is after you complete the scan and you check the date in the “/bin” section, we find ourselves in the year 2130.
2130
A hundred years have passed. Even if Mia (Garcia’s colleague) made it to the shelters, she and other survivors are long gone. Fortunately, the facility is powered by its own nuclear power plant, and no doubt The Vault is called The Vault for a good reason. The facility's computer systems that Garcia lives in will last for at least a few centuries. The final step for Garcia's new life is to activate the simulation.
Now that I think about it, there is something eerie about having developed a super advanced technology- quantum computing- only for the world to fall apart from human conflict. It’s not clear if humanity has been wiped out or if everyone has been knocked back into the stone age, but there is something chilling about picturing an Earth in ruins while an advanced, self-sufficient facility is tucked away in the Swiss Alps, quietly idling away. No one gets to marvel at what Garcia managed to pull off.
Oh, and when the protagonist sees their own dead body on the facility’s cameras. The facility used mind-machine interfaces that allowed personnel to access the lab’s systems, explaining how the protagonist could access the camera feeds via the electrodes on their head as they were dying. That was also chilling.
Characters
L. Garcia
We never learn the protagonist’s full name. Even the web page only lists them as L. Garcia, and emails show that people would refer to them as “L.” I’ve already shared most of what I know about them. It seems that they are meant to be a PC that the player can step into without being distracted by a complex backstory.
I do have one question. I don’t think the game explains why (Spoiler - click to show)Garcia went back to the lab rather than take shelter with everyone else. Was it because they wanted to take a chance with uploading themselves, or was it something else?
Despite limited information, I still found them to be a compelling character.
Mia Gerdes
The arc with Mia added dimension.
Mia is (or was) the protagonist’s colleague and potential love interest. We know little about her other than the fact that her full name is Mia Gerdes, that she was headed to a shelter following a nuclear attack, and that Garcia attempted to send her an email admitting their feelings towards her. An email that failed to be sent, making this character dynamic bittersweet.
(Spoiler - click to show)In an email with Mia, we learn that it's possible to create an "image of your personality” consisting of your memories and emotions. But is this the same as capturing a human experience? Neither character knows for sure.
I liked that you could import her data into your simulation, even if we never get the chance to interact with her directly.
We know that Mia’s mind and body- if she was still alive at the time- existed while the protagonist uploaded themselves. The personality image we can use is a “digital clone” of Mia, but not of a Mia who sat with electrodes on her head and underwent the high intensity scan like the one Garcia completes in the game.
So, is the Mia in the final simulation still Mia? If so, is her digitized being of a lower caliber than the protagonist who underwent the high intensity scan? It gives one a lot to think about.
I see her sitting on a rock. She is gazing at the sky, seemingly absorbed in her thoughts. I fill two tin cups with campfire coffee and walk over to give her one.
Given all that has happened, it’s not a bad conclusion.
Visual design
This is one of the coolest uses of Twine I have ever seen. It's visually diverse and uses various design elements to illustrate the game's narrative.
The main gameplay uses a basic black screen with primarily white text and blue links. Animated text is often used to give the illusion of a computer “processing.” For some reason, the upper right corner of the screen has a faint yellow/white glow (although, I'm not sure what that's supposed to convey). But things get cooler.
The “dev/” section allows you to “access” the facility’s cameras. This is illustrated with a white text box containing the protagonist’s thoughts set against an image of static. Then there is also a “web page” that seriously looks like a web page. It provides an overview of the Quantum Model and Research Laboratory.
All this pales in comparison to when you train a social model. Surely, it’s going to be another black screen, right? Or maybe some boxes with an interesting background?
Wrong.
(Spoiler - click to show)QSIM Trainer
A social training utility for QSIM by I. Schellenberg
Release 3 / Serial number 300826 / QSIM 0.5 build 8L63 (VR Toolkit v12.01 lib 2/16N)
This special simulation scenario is designed to calibrate the parameters of the QSIM social system depending on the user's actions.
[Type HELP for more information]
Beach
I'm on a beach. The sky is clear and the sunlight draws out sparkles from the sea. A path of white sand runs through the palm trees.
That's right. We get to experience a parser simulation. Mind blown.
I was floored. (Spoiler - click to show)The screen turns white with black text, and you actually type commands. It was the last thing I was expecting. It’s that feeling of Woah. That was my reaction. You go from a Twine game to this. Somehow. I don’t know what kind of Twine wizardry the author used but it is one of the most novel and unique uses of the Twine format I have encountered.
(Spoiler - click to show)Now the parser does not have a lot of depth- and that’s the point. It does not need a lot of depth to serve its purpose: to model a social interaction to be used in your final simulation. I especially liked how the simulation acknowledges its own sparse implementation.
x jellyfish
The sea creatures are background graphics. They aren't programmed for interactivity.
The simulation also notes that the palm trees are perfectly identical and that the sun casts no shadow. This painted such vivid imagery in my head.
Anyway, you need to acquire some fruit from a man sitting by the palm trees. There are four ways of doing this, each of which leads to its own ending. This interaction shapes the social interactions that occur in the final simulation that you create. Also, if you go back and revisit the emails, you realize that the simulation is the one from Schellenberg’s email. That was a neat connection.
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun with whoami. As I’ve already said, it offers a novel use of Twine and demonstrates its potential in visual storytelling. The game gives players a compelling glimpse into a future where human innovation is paired with human destruction. I would definitely be interested in knowing more about the story and its characters.
At one point, Garcia gives us the following reflection:
This machine is my prison and perhaps my salvation.
I think that is meant to be left up to the player. Garcia seems to take the stance that it is salvation, but even they reserve space for doubt. Perhaps we will have to do the same within our lifetimes as quantum computing and other technologies loom on the horizon.
Until then, whoami provides a thrilling sci-fi experience if you are willing to brave the gameplay’s mechanics.
(edit: formatting cleanup/grammar.)
You've been fired.
Your boss is a jerk. And has committed acts of fraud, embezzlement, harassment and other crimes. Fortunately, you've been collecting proof. Proof that you can take and hand off to the authorities! You have a printed stack of emails ready to go and....
Wait, where did the stack go?
Someone has taken your stack of evidence. Will you search for it, or leave your ex-job behind empty-handed?
Gameplay
The player navigates a small-sized map of an office building, starting in the protagonist’s crummy “office.” Using a meager box of belongings, the player must gain access to areas deemed off-limits to the average corporate employee. You know you’re getting somewhere when the all-purpose industrial grade floors become carpet.
The game has a max score of 20 points. Points are generally earned through sneaky actions and/or destructive sabotage. It was satisfying to get a full score. Ironically, it requires you to do some (Spoiler - click to show)highly illegal things.
I ran into some guess-the-verb issues, primarily when (Spoiler - click to show)exploring the basement for the first time. It’s dark in there, so you need a light source. You have your lighter (and your 5th anniversary “gift” from your boss) which you drop, leaving you in darkness. I figured that "Find lighter" or "Search floor" would have worked, but they are not implemented. Instead, the solution is “Take lighter” which made less sense since we can’t see where the lighter fell. That said, the game has a helpful hint system to nudge the player in the right direction.
Story/Characters
Fired embraces the familiar premise of an office employee (or in this case, an ex-employee) getting revenge on their immoral boss. It does not offer anything new, however. Does it need to? Arguably not. I’m just left with some questions. (Spoiler - click to show)Why is there a key in the microwave? Was the protagonist fired because of the evidence gathering, or was it unrelated and the printouts merely taken after their desk was emptied out?
Nonetheless, there is still a strong sense of satisfaction at undermining a self-centered and immoral boss. The player strongly feels like they are on the protagonist’s side.
There are multiple endings. You can leave the building at any time to end the game, but the outcome will depend on the actions you took. Your main objective is to retrieve the printouts, but secondary goals such as (Spoiler - click to show)covering your tracks are highly encouraged. That, and getting your poster back. You can take additional steps to gain revenge on your boss, but it's not required to get a decent ending.
Conclusion
Well-rounded, consistent, but not a lot of depth. And implementation could be a bit smoother. That said, its well-roundedness balances out its lack of exposition. I am pleased with my experience.
If you enjoy office settings and/or want a parser game with fairly easy puzzles that is light on story, Fired might be a good fit for you.
The syrup rain drifts down as a heavy mist, making sticky the just and the unjust alike. It is nighttime. But then, it's always nighttime in Sugar City.
You play as Private Eye Bubble Gumshoe, tasked with solving the murder of Jimmy Piñata, a- you guessed it- piñata found in a garage at the outskirts of the city, bashed open and hanging from the ceiling.
But first…
Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata? (WWJP) was the first game I decided to play for this year’s IFComp because I recognized it immediately. It is the third installment of a series that started with Who Shot Gum E. Bear? (WSGEB) back in 2022.
As someone who enjoyed but felt frustrated by the first game, WWJP was a treat to play because it showed clear improvement and dimension. WSGEB featured a lot of seemingly important details that ultimately had little to no function. This included (Spoiler - click to show) visiting the VIP room, buying a newspaper, and utilizing the pack of candy cigarettes. So, imagine my delight when I saw these details being given a purpose in WWJP!
As a fan of WSGEB, I was happy to run around visiting recognizable characters, re-reading the books in the bookstore, seeing if someone was still doing candy in the bathroom stall (blue crystal this time instead of sherbet), and exploring the expanded map*. It also feels a bit edgier and more cynical, heightening the mystery.
And… Easter Eggs! I loved finding subtle references to the previous two games. The walkthrough even has a section dedicated to it.
(*I think it’s neat that you can overlap the map for all three games. Some locations may be inaccessible depending on the game, but the fact that it’s the same landscape builds an established setting.)
Gameplay
Like many detective stories, the game has the player explore the city, gather evidence, and interview people of interest before making your accusation. Relevant topics, objects, characters, and scenery are shown in bold, something I did not see in the previous two games. It made gameplay much smoother.
In comparison to WSGEB, WWJP is stronger in every way, especially with the ACCUSE command, a central mechanic. A complaint I had with WSGEB (spoilers!) was (Spoiler - click to show) that you could accuse anyone and solve the mystery by randomly guessing without any investigation. That’s not the case with WWJP. You want to accuse someone? You need to present evidence to back up your claims.
Plus, WWJP is generally more well-rounded. The map is larger, the streets have names, characters are more responsive, you can dance (as long as no one is watching), and additional verbs are added.
However, for a while, WWJP was cruising at 5 stars, but lost traction following (Spoiler - click to show) our rescue by Battenberg. She’s not the issue, though I do wish she was more responsive to your questions. It has to do with the remaining puzzles. Specifically, INSERT [object]. The game needs to be clearer when inserting objects has any relevance.
This tripped me up twice: (Spoiler - click to show) trapping Father Wafer and getting the keys to the boat. The boat especially was difficult. I knew where the keys were but there were no scenery clues about inserting items. And licking the taffy to make it softer didn’t occur to me, despite me tasting everything in sight just for fun. These were the only two cases where I needed outside help.
There is room for improvement, but the foundation is there, the story is catchy, and the characters are a lot of fun. It is easily the strongest game in the Bubble Gumshoe series.
Story
The author does a great job at combining the grittiness of an urban landscape with the cheerful innocence of different types of candy, all while incorporating themes about poverty, murder, drugs, sex, and crime without being too explicit. You may laugh at the idea of a piñata being a murder victim, but for the characters of Sugar City, this is serious business.
There is plenty of world-building if you know where to look. Occasionally, examining scenery- like businesses at the docks- provides exposition on Sugar City. Especially regarding the highly influential taffy factory that now lies derelict. Even though it’s not a focus in this game, its presence is still heavily felt. So much to see! And taste. And smell.
I won’t spoil who the mastermind is. I am, however, curious about why the game allows us to (Spoiler - click to show) decide if police arrest [name redacted] or not. It’s a yes or no decision that you make right at the end. Both lead to the same outcome of victory but I suppose it lets you pick the flavor of justice.
Characters
Sugar City’s inhabitants are creatively designed, and Bubble Gumshoe is as awesome as ever. Some are recognizable, others are new.
Speaking of new characters, the coolest part of the game for me is this heartwarming scene outside Gumshoe’s 1973 Fudge Challenger:
(Spoiler - click to show)...wait. Big Red???
Your old mentor is standing by the car. He runs a finger along the bonnet, then tests the tackiness of the sugar-rain residue against his thumb.
"You ever think about getting this thing washed?" he asks.
"I thought you were retiring!" you say, too surprised to come up with a riposte to the dig about your ride.
"Still a couple of days left to go." Big Red shrugs. "I thought you might want to sit down and chat about this new case of yours." He tugs at the car door - locked, naturally. "Or we could just keep standing out here in the rain."
Smiling, you unlock the driver's side and squeeze inside. Leaning over, you pop the passenger door open for him.
Big Red has joined the story! I loved the comfortable team dynamic between the main character and her mentor. It was conveyed so well in this single interaction.
And we lose him far too soon. Soon after, in fact. Maybe I was naïve to think that he was going to stick around and be an integrated part of the story.
Nonetheless, he leaves a strong impression during scenes we do have with him. What’s especially sad is that during the brief window of opportunity where you can talk to him, you can ask about his retirement plans. And we never hear his final words before he dies. What felt odd is that he is quickly forgotten. It would have been nice if he was mentioned or acknowledged in the end, especially since it’s implied that he had a role in shaping Bubble Gumshoe into who she is.
Also, I know this is besides the point, but Jawbreaker is such an underrated character.
You hold the roll of cash up for Jawbreaker to see.
"That's a roll of cash," says Jawbreaker. He stares at you dimly. "Did I get it? Did I do a evidence?"
The way he says this made me laugh. He brings a lot of unexpected humor.
Conclusion
To wrap this up, WWJP is a delicious story with a light-hearted yet gritty world and a likable female protagonist. Some parts were sweeter than others due to implementation but is otherwise a strong game that shows a lot of refinement. Plus, the author provides a generous walkthrough/hint (available separately) guide, even if its Jolly Rancher imagery made my mouth water.
I hope this isn't the last we see of Private Eye Bubble Gumshoe.
(edit: grammar fix I missed)
So, you want to collect stamps, huh?
The protagonist (told in first-person) is an EXTREME STAMP COLLECTOR, a title worthy of all-caps. An exclusive club of collectors who pride themselves on collecting stamps in only the most extreme of circumstances. Unfortunately, it is going out of fashion in favor of IMPOSSIBLE STAMP COLLECTING.
At least according to Alex. So much so that it has become merely (lower-caps!) extreme stamp collecting. You need to prove that IMPOSSIBLE STAMP COLLECTING is not too difficult for you to handle. Even if it's just to prove Alex wrong.
Gameplay
Philateloids is a looping time travel adventure that doesn’t think too hard about logistics. Gameplay is centered around exploring four paths that potentially have IMPOSSIBLE STAMPS for you to find.
Time dilate into the far future
Astral project into a higher plane of existence
Infiltrate the mega-yacht of that gajillionaire
Just walk off into the fourth dimension
These paths have their own branching possibilities. Do you wear the sexy maid outfit or the general maid uniform? Do you study the ants or flush them into the vacuum of space? Regardless of what you choose, it will end in (Spoiler - click to show)death. There are many, many ways to die in this game.
But being (Spoiler - click to show)DEAD doesn’t stop you. You end up in the afterlife where you Inevitably make the wrong choice and/or tick off the wrong person, and you become DOUBLE DEAD, ending up in the meta-afterlife. You and Alex then wander about in search of IMPOSSIBLE STAMPS until Alex starts to annoy you, prompting you to KILL ALEX. After back-and-forth fighting you flip the tables and kiss Alex instead.
And then? You wake up in your apartment (aka “Next Morning: My Crappy Flat”), ready to go in a different direction. A good design feature of the game is how (Spoiler - click to show)you have options for fooling around in the afterlife, keeping things from getting repetitive every time you die.
I spent the better part of one hour trying to reach every branch I could find. I have no idea if there is an ending or an outcome that recognizes the player’s efforts, but if there isn’t, playing this game was still time well spent. It offers enough surprises and humor to not need a “Congratulations, Game Over!”
That said, an indicator of whether the game actually ends may be nice once the player has been at it for a while. If there is something I missed, I would be more than happy to revisit.
Characters/Story
Who’s Alex? Alex is the supporting protagonist in this game. Right off the bat, there is noticeable tension and unfinished business.
Check out Alex
Try not to check out Alex
Alex has a complicated relationship with our protagonist. In many ways this game is more about this relationship than it is about stamps. On the surface it seems to consist of petty rivalry about stamp collecting superiority, but this is underscored by the fact that they have feelings for each other.
While there is no explicit storyline, the game’s humor is a light-hearted playful gem. It’s effective because it often catches you off-guard.
So there's two ways to dilate time, as I understand it:
Go near an extremely massive object.
Travel extremely fast.
The sensible thing to do would be to find a black hole, the densest object known to science (denser subjects mean more time distortion). But no.
It was a funny moment for me.
Visuals
Philateloids ops to keep things simple and easy to read: Basic black screen with white text but also has fun with text effects and transitions. Keeping track of branches is manageable thanks to colour-coded links and the “undo” button available at the side of the screen.
Conclusion
I’ve been a fan of the author’s work for a while, and I found Philateloids to be a delight to play. C.E.J. Pacian has a talent for humor and descriptive imagery, and Philateloids exhibits both qualities. The game is also a shift from the author’s typical parser format, making it a nice change.
Initially, the game may seem overly silly, but that changes when you see how fearlessly it commits to its sense of humor. It is bold, unashamed, and that's what makes it work.
Your own bafflement at the game’s circumstances is mirrored by how NPCs’ take in the protagonist and Alex’s shenanigans. It illustrates the complicated dynamics between the two characters quite effectively.
At the end of the day, stamps aren’t the only thing that matters.
~ ~💖~ ~
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