Ratings and Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

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:

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.
~ ~💖~ ~

(edit: added spoiler tag/spelling change)

Reviewing adult interactive fiction (AIF) is still new territory for me, so I am going to hold off on assigning it a rating. Think of this as a (really long) reflection.

Audience
This game is strongly reminiscent of Porpentine’s Cyberqueen, a non-AIF Twine game about a human on a ship taken over by its A.I. who decides to use the human occupants for their own desires (plus, diving into some deeper themes). I liked it a lot because it was new ground for me. It was also the first piece of interactive fiction that I played, and one of the reasons I got into IF! Now, I had a good first impression with EROSTASIS because of its overlapping themes and genre with Cyberqueen. But it’s one thing to have explicit content with just text (Cyberqueen). It’s another thing to have the story illustrated (EROSTASIS).

My point: Playing this meant stepping out of my comfort zone. I can read explicit content, no problem (I do have to pace myself), but I did find the imagery in EROSTASIS to be overwhelming. Because this is AIF, I want to be mindful that I may not be the game’s intended audience. I don’t want to say, “game is bad because all of the explicit pictures.” Rather, I want to recognize how the images illustrate the story as a piece of AIF- images that may still feel “too much” for some players. (And as explicit as they are, there is no denying that some simply look plain awesome).

The opening scene of EROSTASIS is a good indicator of whether you want to play. I found it to be quite compelling. (Spoiler - click to show)It appears to be a surgical procedure, possibly open-heart surgery. We see a fleshy roundish object (heart?) inside the body, and the object is beating heavily against the metal tools and framework keeping the incision site open. In fact, it’s an animated version of the game’s current cover art. There are additional graphics, filter effects, and text that were cool in a disturbing atmospheric way.

If this piques your curiosity, play it. If you love Cyberqueen, give it a try, But, if this opening scene sounds too much, you might want to pass. But I’m glad I gave it a try.

Gameplay/Story
I really like the general premise. The game takes place on a ship that has integrated the human occupants with its mechanical systems- described as a “symbiotic collective.” If I understand it correctly, the ship’s A.I. is the mastermind behind it and sometimes appears in the form of a (Spoiler - click to show)partially nude woman with angel wings.

You are a human who’s been integrated into the ship’s systems. The opening scene is your awakening to this fact. You have no control over what happens to your body. The ship decides what your body does; You merely perceive the experience. The A.I. (I’m not sure what pronouns to use for this character but let’s go with “they”) narrates the game as you visit each part of the ship. The only choices you make are where you want to visit. Once each area has been covered, (Spoiler - click to show)it’s off to the Computer Core for the ending.

The gameplay mechanics are simple. EROSTASIS uses a mix of a point-and-click format and usage of the “enter” button the keyboard. It uses scrolling text that is reasonable in speed and does not flood the player with information. It does seem a bit slow if you are impatiently trying to skip certain scenes, but otherwise, no complaints.

Digesting the story
This section is about how I understood the game.

The usage of body horror in this game is one of its biggest strengths. I felt that it introduced some interesting ideas. The ship’s A.I. makes the insightful observation that the human body is a machine in itself. A quite efficient one, if flawed. So, instead of trying to redesign the human body to surpass its functional abilities, merge with it instead.

Biological and mechanical components need to work together to ensure the survival of the ship. And everything requires certain things to function. Some are more mundane (oxygen, food, water, is my guess). Others, sexual. EROSTASIS explores these sexual requirements. And you're- a mere human- the focal point of making it happen. To service the ship by visiting each section and performing maintenance.

Consider this my attempt to take a critical look at the themes in EROSTASIS. When you read the game’s content warnings, you inevitably have a reaction based on how you feel about the subject and/or your personal experience with it. EROSTASIS takes this subject and places it in a scenario devoid of your frame of reference: that is, as a human under controlled by a biomechanical ship. A ship that blurs the line between mechanical and biological. What seems merely explicit on the surface- the content warnings- brings depth when exploring the actual game.

EROSTASIS focuses on themes about control and submission. The protagonist (and the player) are unwilling participants in the narrative. No identity or purpose is permitted beyond what we are given. (Spoiler - click to show)The A.I. offers motherly affection only to rip it away, dominates the most basic bodily functions (such as breathing), and declares you to be a "relief valve."

You are a battery; a vessel to accumulate and ferment human responses to inhuman realities.

Your role as a “relief valve” is to satisfy biological desires, and to allow the A.I. to have experiences that would normally be inaccessible due to their mechanical form.

The ending (Spoiler - click to show)takes place in the computer’s core where we learn that humanity failed to perfect A.I. even after generations of work. In the attempt to harness artificial intelligence for human benefit, A.I. (at least this specific one) found a way to harness human intelligence for their own means. This is done via neural interfaces that assimilate the human minds on the ship into collective will. The game ends with you being assimilated and the A.I. absorbing the protagonist’s lived experiences.

I ended up being really invested in the story and found myself revisiting sections to try to piece it all together.

Visuals/Effects
The visuals alone put this in AIF category. This includes some pornographic imagery. (Spoiler - click to show)Genitals, people being restrained, bodies filled with wires and other objects, etc. Plus, blood and other medical horror.

EROSTASIS is the first AIF game I’ve played with visuals, so it took me a moment to get over the shock of the imagery and instead focus on how it informs the story. While some of the visuals I would rather not have seen, I cannot deny that they do an excellent job at conveying the blurring of lines between flesh and machinery. Plus, I realize that this is the chance I take when playing AIF.

I really loved the medical horror imagery and gritty aesthetic. My favorites include the (Spoiler - click to show)MRI scan animation in the background of Navigation and the surgical scene at the start of the game. I also liked the red and black tunnel animation for the map section, and some of the medical diagrams- regardless of nudity- were spooky to look at. A visually interesting game.

Also, if you want some advice- The game has a debug mode at the start that allows you to jump to any section in the game. It’s available even if you’ve never played it. I appreciated having this option because some scenes I did not want to revisit.

Using debug mode, here is the playthrough that worked best for me: (Spoiler - click to show) Intro 1 > Intro 2 > Blood (Haemoponics) > Pilot (Navigation) > Slime (Bioremediation) > Ending (Computer Core). The only section that I really couldn’t sit through is the Weapons location. That was the most explicit. Computer Core was the most chill.

There is sound but I did not play with the sound on.

Conclusion
I was compelled to play EROSTASIS because I am a fan of science fiction (and the title sounded cool), and it does offer quite an experience. It focuses more on themes than storyline while also depicting an intriguing story about a biomechanical ship and one’s role within it. In playing this, it also expanded my horizons a bit when it comes to trying AIF.

Hopefully this review will help you decide on whether it’s the game for you. Fine piece of sci-fi/horror erotic fiction. But it's not for everyone.

If you like EROSTASIS and/or Cyberqueen, you might like Mainframe. It’s a Twine game without explicit content but still has an atmospheric amount of body horror.

(edit: spelling fix)

Humans are becoming obsolete. There are too few resources to sustain our society, and reproductive rates have plummeted. Humanity will soon be yesterday's news.

So, humanity needs a replacement. And your job is to help humanity find it.

Characters
I’m going to start with characters first.

Subject 003
Nothing could prepare the protagonist for the interviewee on the other side of the table. The individual you meet- Subject 003- is a disturbing humanoid-lizard person/species with a 14-vertebra tall neck, translucent skin, misshapen arms (at least I think they have arms), bulging eyes, and lots of teeth. And a comical lisp:

"As thong as they thet me breed, they acknowthedge my superiorithy."

In all fairness, though, they do offer some interesting insights into your questions about politics and morality. Especially when you start arguing with them.

Argue quantum physics
Just agree already

Going off topic can be fun. It may also serve as an opportunity to reflect on how quick we are to judge appearances.

Interviewer
You are a volunteer. In conducting the interview, you are doing your part to save humanity. Which is fortunate since supervisors view you as useless for anything else. You're not asking the questions and then deciding whether the interviewee passes. You are merely a volunteer (not that it seems like you have a choice) asking questions on behalf of an unidentified organization watching through a camera.

The strongest aspect of this game is how effectively it conveys the awkwardness of this interview. You can definitely relate to the protagonist’s feelings of unease as they try to make sense of Subject 003.

I do think it would have been neat to play from the perspective of someone with power, tasked with making final decisions in the fate of humanity rather than as a pawn in larger operation. Still, the player can relate to the protagonist’s responses towards Subject 003.

Gameplay
Human Interview: Subject 003 naturally takes place in an interview room, and you start the gameplay by reading the interview protocols before meeting Subject 003. The objective is to interview them with a list of pre-prepared questions to evaluate if they would be a possible successor for the human race.

Your interactions are under surveillance, and you can receive infractions for any mistakes which can influence the game’s ending. And if things go haywire during the interview process, there’s a kill switch that you can use to terminate them (you then must justify your action to your supervisors).

I didn’t pay much attention to the title of the game at first. I was under the impression that we would get to interview more than one candidate and choose the best successor. Turns out, we only interview one person: Subject 003. Hence the title. I was a bit disappointed with this. I liked the idea of exploring the “pass/fail” concept more thoroughly, but focusing on one character does keep the game at a reasonable length.

Also, the sidebar on the right of the screen has the header "Human Interview Pt 1" which I interpreted as "Part 1," perhaps referring to a chapter in the game or an installment in a series. It makes me wonder if the author had something bigger planned.

Story
Subjects are genetically engineered, combining human DNA with another undisclosed genetic source. I’m not sure exactly how Subject 003’s biology is better suited to survive than your typical human, but one key difference is a willingness to participate in sex.

Human Interview explores the concept of sex becoming obsolete in favor of technological substitutes. This game depicts a future where (Spoiler - click to show) everyone has access to A.I.-driven VR devices that allow users to experience any possible sexual experience that they desire. Why engage with it in real life when you can have a perfect version in a virtual setting? VR is so effective that real sex has fallen out of fashion, causing birth rates to plummet.

Even real-life nudity becomes a surprise. The folks behind the interview room’s camera are like "woah... nice” when you show some skin.

Dialogue suggests that the main reason humans are nearing extinction is because no one wants to have kids anymore. No kids = Humans become extinct when the last generation dies out. Now, the game says that any drastic measure must be taken to ensure that humanity’s legacy is preserved via a successor. Any drastic measure.

But apparently taking a break from your VR device to engage in real sex is too drastic of a measure? We also learn that sexual attraction between the protagonist and Subject 003 is seen as a good thing since reproduction between humans and their successors can always be a last-ditch effort for survival. But this would be pointless since no one wants to engage in actual sex in the first place.

I want to make it clear that while there are sexual themes, the game does not force you into doing anything directly sexual. It gets close to crossing this threshold but mostly limits this content in dialogue. Scenes involving sexual themes are humorous in a twisted way. One of the questions you ask is (Spoiler - click to show)“Do you find me sexually attractive?”

First the player stalls (I did) in asking Subject 003 about sexual attraction. Subject 003 looks you over and asks you to stand up for a better look. You can then escalate the situation or turn it down. It’s so unnerving for the game to pretty much say, "hey, if you want to do it, you can." The idea of having the conversation at all with Subject 003 just makes you think, I’m not getting paid enough for this. Plus, the question is in stark comparison to the other questions, making it more outrageous.

We must know if it has sexual desire. Without it, we're doomed to repeat our extinction.

(Oh, and you’re not getting paid, BTW).

Endings
There are several endings. (Spoiler - click to show) The subject can pass or fail. If they fail, what happens to you depends on your infractions. The “best ending” is when they pass since you get to go back to a VR world of human desire, content that you did your part. There are also a few other outcomes you can find. I’m a little confused about how infractions can affect your chances for success. It seems like infractions can lock the player out of having Subject 003 pass and the best ending. I played several rounds and found it to be a bit confusing.

Visuals
Twine without the frills. Basic black screen with white text. Text is easy to read and evenly spaced. This suits the game just fine.

Conclusion
Human Interview is a game that left me thinking, “What did I just play?” It is one of the most awkward interviews I have found myself in as a player, but that is a strength. You are not supposed to take it too seriously, and there is a strong sentiment of, “Oh, the things we must do for the greater good…”

It could have expanded its concept more by allowing you to interview more than one person. The game would also benefit from some clarity on the story. How much of humanity’s situation is caused by factors out of its control and factors that we can control but chose not to (Spoiler - click to show) (such as relying solely on VR for sex)?

Nonetheless, the twisted humor makes Human Interview encourages you to not bog down on the details. If you can handle its awkwardness, it’s worth a shot.

Notes on genre
I would classify Clean Air as a horror game. It does seem that way at first, though. For first time players, your reaction will likely be "seems normal, that's nice, how quaint, WOAH. That escalated quickly!" That’s one of the game’s biggest strengths. The shift from mundane existence to something more sinister.

There is a faint One Eye Open (my favorite horror game) vibe to the horror half of the game. It's gory in a descriptive way, but, unlike One Eye Open, it does not require you to roll up your sleeves and do violent tasks (and significantly less gory). It’s not exactly for the faint of heart, but its potency lies more in leaving things up to the player’s imagination. I think most players will be glad that they gave it a shot.

Gameplay
Clean Air takes place over three days and begins with you in your apartment. I will break down these days in the Story section of my review. There is no directive or objective provided at the start of the game, but this suits the game just fine. The fact that there is no immediate story presented at the start simply compels the player to set out and find the story on their own. The map is fairly small, consisting of an apartment building and a swath of urban landscape.

It took me about an hour to complete the gameplay. However, it is one of those games that you can complete within a few minutes once you know what to do. Part of that hour was due to some clunkiness with the implementation, so pay attention to details in room descriptions and tinker with verbs. There was only one puzzle (not that there are many) that slowed down my progress: (Spoiler - click to show) The tap. (Turn on tap? No. Turn tap? Yes.)

There is room for improvement. Scenery is not always implemented. Being able to examine the location descriptions would have gone a long way. Especially for moments like when (Spoiler - click to show) you stand before the monolith. This is what you get:

>x monolith
You can't see any such thing.

I mean, the thing is towering right over you.

That said, the game does take care not to bog down the player with details.

There is one puzzle that the author may have originally planned something more complex but then backed. It has to do with the (Spoiler - click to show) key puzzle. BIG SPOILERS:

(Spoiler - click to show) It’s simple. On Day 1, you take the key and duplicate it using the locksmith machine. That way, you have two keys that you put together to make a combined key. You need this to open a crucial door in the restaurant. Now, you find corpse with a note that says they hid one of their keys in the grille in the storeroom. Supposedly, you can access this key in the grille, but the grille is empty. Then I realized that the grille is meant as a place to hide your stuff so you can retrieve it for Days 2 and 3 and still have full access to the map.

Thing is, it did not seem to make a difference when I returned to these areas of the map during Day 2 and Day 3. It still took me to the same ending, which was a letdown. Why bother with the grille? Also, why does the locksmith machine generate two copies of your key (for three keys total) when all you need to make a combined key are two keys? Maybe the author had something else in mind, maybe not.

This does not get in the way of completing and enjoying the game, but I would like to know if I overlooked something.

Story
The game's biggest strength is its story. It is spot on. In fact, if you don’t feel like reading this entire review, focus on this section. While the premise may be familiar for some audiences, the execution of the storyline is what sets it apart: Existential horror with a quiet, resigned leave-it-up-to-the-player’s-imagination kind of acceptance. I think it takes the game from "okay" to "hidden gem."

I am hesitant about sharing the story because A, spoiling the big reveal may take away the desire to play it, and B, readers might find the story contrived by reading about it in a review rather than experiencing it within the context of the gameplay. The great thing about Clean Air is that once you’ve played it and know the truth, you see everything with a new perspective.

I like discussing things and sharing ideas, especially when it’s a game that’s received no coverage, so read this at your own risk. MAJOR SPOILERS! If this game seems interesting to you, I STRONGLY encourage you to play it first.
(Spoiler - click to show)
→ Ripping off the Band-Aid: The awful truth
The Earth that we all know and love does not exist. Your apartment and everything else around it- the streets, the burger restaurant, the skyscrapers in the distance- is a habitat. A manufactured world. And behind it all? Some higher entities have decided to harvest humanity for their flesh, assumedly as a food source.

My first thought was to default to science fiction. Technologically advanced aliens who decided to visit Earth? Mad scientists with a chip on their shoulders? The reality of Clean Air is a bit more abstract, leaning away from sci-fi and more into speculative fiction with a splash of existentialism.

Truth is, we really don’t know who They are or where They came from. In fact, the game only refers to Them collectively as “They.” All we get are impressions. There is almost a godlike element to Them which makes sense since They are the creators of the protagonist’s reality. I feel that this approach will make audiences more receptive to the subject matter, which they might otherwise avoid.

→ Clock motifs
There is a lot of symbolism with clocks. It also shapes the gameplay for Days 2 and 3 (more on that later). Humans are born and live their lives in their manufactured world until they are old enough to be harvested. This is done in batches as they reach the age of maturity. The mysterious entities have clocks counting down for each batch for when their time is up. Then they disappear to be slaughtered.

Clocks represent the actual clock mechanisms that work behind the scenes, which we see in the slaughterhouse/workshop. Literally counting down for each batch. But the presence of clocks throughout the gameplay also symbolizes the notion that time is running out for everyone.

Room 204
A room, stripped bare of even dust. The air here is thin, almost empty. An analog clock stares down at you from its post on the wall, the only inhabitant of the room.

Time ran out for the occupant in Room 204. It’s not obvious though until you learn the truth. Suddenly, the emptiness of the apartment gains meaning.

→ Thoughts on the PC
We know almost nothing about the protagonist. Nor do they have any reaction to the game’s horrifying revelations. Now, this lack of characterization would typically be a detracting quality, but Clean Air makes it work because it amplifies the feeling of existentialism and mystery that underscores the horror elements of the game’s genre.

You’d think that the PC would be wondering “What happened?” or “Where is everyone?” Nope. But in a way, this lack of engagement gives the player the vague sense that the PC may have already cultivated some suspicions about their reality.

Ultimately, the protagonist serves as an empty vessel for the player to draw their own conclusions rather than forcing a particular perspective. Plus, this minimal characterization stresses the fact that a person’s identity has been implanted by entities solely interested in harvesting humans as livestock. It also makes the reveal more shocking for first-time players.

→ Thoughts on NPCs
Saying that there are NPCs in this game is a bit of a stretch, but they arguably classify as such. In this section, I’ll focus on the ones that engage directly with you.

Let’s go back to the mysterious “They.” What makes Them so intriguing is Their motive and perspective on what they are doing. The big WHAM moment is when you sneak up on two of Them having a chat (in this scene, the game cleverly uses alternating black and red text to mark their conversation).

Four more?
Only three, in fact.
How so?
One broke out.
Again?
It seems so.
One sometimes wonders if they are capable of thought.

The conversation continues, vaguely mentioning the existence of clocks, implants, and erasing memory. Then the kicker:

Lower your volume. One is looking at us right now.
Oh. Take it back to its pen.

That’s right, it’s you They are talking about. They (and we all know what They do to humans) see you watching Them. Creates such a feeling of Uh oh… This scene was the highlight of the game. And yes, they send you back to your pen. Also known as your apartment.

Realizing that humans have become a food source is hard enough, but the mundanity of it all is a shock. Our entire world is simply a business-as-usual operation. We see that They genuinely think humans lack understanding and awareness of what’s going on, that we are indifferent to what is happening. There truly is no malice or ill-intent. Just a casual attitude of “welp, one just escaped its cage. Time for another a batch.”

I found this intriguing because it goes against the “humans are pitiful, unintelligent, and must be put out of their misery and/or used for profit” narrative that is seen in science fiction and horror stories that involve humans being slaughtered for meat. It brings something new to the table. And yet, the horror is magnified because of this dissonance in the predator and prey relationship- and how they both fail to perceive each other’s realities.

Equally interesting is the possibility of Them realizing that humans are sentient and capable of thought. Of course, it’s possible that some of these entities are given more information than others but we really have no way of learning about the society They live in.

One other NPC appears during the most unsettling (in the best way) scene. Naturally, the scene occurs in a slaughterhouse/workshop- though it is more ethereal than your typical slaughterhouse. You are fooling around by the conveyor belts when suddenly:

It is here.

(…?)

You hear It coming.

(!!!)

Oh, you know, just something sinister that is closing in. The sense of dread in this scene was powerful and memorable. Protecting yourself from it is also one of the few puzzles in the game. Be sure to prepare in advance.

I do, however, have questions about this “It,” since the interaction is so brief (It either kills you or you evade It). So: Is It a member of “Them” doing an assigned job, or is It completely different type of being? Is there malice when It kills you or just a “get this pesky creature out of my workspace” sentiment? Either way, the sense of dread you get is effective. Especially since it catches you off guard (I really hope you played the game before reading this).

→ Thoughts on theories
This is when things get a bit more interpretive.

On Day 3 we learn that each batch of humans has been implanted with memories to create a sense of normalcy and lack of suspicion when their peers go missing. These memories also make humans think that they have lived longer than they have. Batches are harvested everyday depending on the maturity of each human.

Each batch, produced. Domesticated. Harvested. Then cleansed.

I would genuinely like to hear players’ take on this part. If anyone wants to offer ideas, I’m here. Going back to the conversation we eavesdrop on, I assume the “four more” refers to the occupants of the four-unit apartment building. Regarding the statement “One broke out,” are they talking about the protagonist or the tenant of Room 201? Let’s compare.

Tenant as the escapee: I’m pretty sure that the corpse we find in the slaughterhouse/workshop is the tenant. Room 201 is the room where we find the key and the illegible papers. The tenant clearly discovered the truth of what lies beyond the meat locker room in the restaurant and did so before the time for their batch ran out. The note on the corpse explains these efforts. Not that it saved them from being slaughtered. Does “One broke out” refer to this sneaking around?

Protagonist as the escapee: Well, we seem to be the only living soul around, almost like we missed being harvested. And we are sneaking around in places that are meant to be off-limits. After all, by leaving our apartment we’ve escaped our “pen.”

So, who’s the troublemaker who broke out?

I also have some thoughts on how the game is structured around days. As I mentioned earlier, there are 3 days. After the entity says “Oh. Take it back to its pen,” time resets, and you are dropped back into your apartment with the message “It begins. The hand is 3 minutes from completion.” You are trapped in your apartment for these three turns, triggering Day 2.

Day 1 was fantastic in terms of length and content. But one thing I did not like about the game was the pacing for Days 2 and 3. They felt rushed and failed to make key aspects of the story come to life. The objective of these two days is to show off the clock mechanism in action to illustrate how it dictates humans’ lives and their inevitable demise. But the way it is implemented in the game loses some of its impact.

Days 2 and 3 involve wandering around the map while the game feeds you scraps of exposition. When Day 2 begins, you can leave your apartment. However, the key needed for the door puzzle is gone from Room 201, making half of the map inaccessible UNLESS (I discussed in the Gameplay section) you took certain steps during Day 1. Not that it matters since the gameplay is focused on you taking in this new knowledge. Then time “resets” and… you end up in your apartment again. Repeat wandering around, absorb info, time resets, (etc.), and suddenly it’s Day 3!

Unfortunately, Day 3 is much of the same thing when finally: You are out of time. It is your turn to be harvested. The one difference is that on Day 3, Room 202 is mysteriously open for you to explore.

I don’t have a problem with the general blueprint of Days 2 and 3. It makes sense because it supports what we’ve learned in the story. I understand why it ends this way. But they are so brief and repetitive that it leaves the player asking, “that’s all?” The loops were hard to keep track of especially since the “It begins. The hand is 3 minutes from completion” phrase was injected randomly. What exactly is going on? It gives the impression that the author was not sure of how to wrap up an excellent idea.

Some things could have been clarified. I am a bit confused about the concept of batches and what they mean for the apartment occupants. It seems that the tenants of Room 201 and 204 were harvested before the game began since they have empty rooms, and that whoever lived in Room 202 was taken to be harvested between Days 2 and 3. And of course, at the end of Day 3, it’s your turn. Am I correct about this? And why do we keep getting away with escaping our apartment “pen.”

Additional insight from the author would be nice.

(It also occurred to me that the protagonist portrayed in Days 2 and 3 were separate humans with identical memories, but I don’t think that’s the case).

→ Thoughts on endings
I believe there is only one ending- the fate of all humans. I found two ways to die prematurely, though. Note that NONE of these outcomes are graphic.

→ One more thing…
Does anyone get the meaning of the title? The closest thing I can think of is the vapor emitted from the meat as it’s being processed. Otherwise, I don’t see the relevance. Just curious, that’s all.

Conclusion
I must say, if this is a first-time game for the author, it’s fantastic. Now, I realize it is several years old, but if the author ever reads this- great job. You really have a knack for horror.

If you like horror games that slowly peel away the normalcy of the setting to reveal a more sinister truth, Clean Air is the game for you. Now, I have been wavering between giving this game 3 or 4 stars. I'm doing a tentative 3 because the implementation could be a bit sharper, and the pacing becomes a tad too abrupt in the second half of the gameplay. But the story? Fine work.

You are a crew member of a spaceship that has run into a problem. Everyone is dead. Except you. For some reason, your cryo-pod is the only one that did not suffer a malfunction, leaving it up to you to find out what happened.

My guess is that this is the author’s first effort at a parser game. They also note that this is in a Beta stage of development. Please consider this more as feedback than criticism.

Gameplay
It needs a lot of work. My main critique is its lack of interactivity. Any attempt to examine inventory items results in "You see nothing special about the [inventory item]." In addition, room descriptions are unimplemented.

Bridge Hallway
You're here. Not that it was difficult at all, it's just amazing to you. Time to find out what's going on. You slip into a chair besides a large terminal and type in your access code. You read vast ammounts of data, sifting through it all and finding interesting bits of info. TYPE SOUTH TO CONTINUE.

>x terminal
You can't see any such thing.

>read data
You can't see any such thing.

Another example would be the room description for the Cryosubmission Chamber. It says you can check the codex for more info, but all you get is "You see nothing special about the codex.”

Also, the inventory items (codex, plasma welder, keycard, etc.) have no use. Plus, "take all" often results in picking up things that seem a little odd to pick up. Such as the debris and corpses. I don’t think I need to go further with this.

At its most basic, the game is just (Spoiler - click to show) walking through some hallways to reach the ship's bridge . It can be completed in 11 moves. I think it’s safe to say that it has no puzzles. There is one locked door in the Level 1 Hallway, but I could not find a way of unlocking it or breaking into the room, even with the plasma welder and keycard.

Story
We learn that (Spoiler - click to show) Life Support systems malfunctioned, causing your crewmates' bodies to thaw out. We don't actually get to learn anything else. Then (Spoiler - click to show) an asteroid strikes the ship... and has no effect on the gameplay other than to (Spoiler - click to show) have you exit the bridge and step into space. Then it’s over. Simply ends in space. Sparse, but provides an interesting skeleton for a deeper storyline.

Characters
There are four crew members, not including yourself. All we know about them is their first names. Examining their bodies results in generic responses that could have been opportunities to build a little background.

>x captain's corpse
You see nothing special about the Captain's Corpse.

The closest description for the characters we get is if you try to take their pod.

>take captain's pod
The pod is welded to the ship. Our captain, Captain Grant, is here. What a horrid, yet peaceful way to go...

Just something to consider. And we only know that the protagonist is an engineer.

Conclusion
I was hesitant about making my one-star rating influence the game’s overall rating, but I figured it might give it more visibility (or am I wrong on that?). Hopefully my rating does not scare people away from giving it a try and offering feedback since it is clearly a game under development. That said, this game was produced in 2015- a decade ago at the time of this review- and is most likely abandoned. But hey, there is always a possibility. The whole waking up-in-a-cryotube-following-a-disaster scenario may feel overused for some audiences, but I happily devour it.

The author notes that this is supposed to be part of series. If that's the case, I am looking forward to the rest.