Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

Horror with a bite. Poor you.

You share a flat/apartment with friends Kayleigh, Sam, and Meghane. The four of you are discussing plans for later via group chat. Meghane's cousin Chloé is supposed to meet up to join the festivities. Tonight. Her cousin is meeting up with everyone tonight. Problem: Everyone forgot. Exasperated, Meghane goes to add Chloé to the chat...

Gameplay
The mechanics of gameplay are simple. It takes place in a chat group environment where you tap/click the screen to see each text message as they appear in the chat. Sometimes you have opportunities to respond. For these, a menu will appear at the bottom of the screen with a list of responses.

At first all you see is causal, crowded banter. Tap, tap, tap. You are just skimming through the messages while your flatmates argue about cleaning out the fridge. Throughout the game, NPCs will switch between being on and off the chat as they do other things, triggering notifications. It really creates a chat room vibe. Soon, things kick off when Meghane’s cousin is added to the group.

In Chloe Is Home, you are a clueless little player who gets sucked right in the mess. Stay far, far away from this review until you give the game a playthrough. I’m always touchy about “preserving” the suspense, but it’s true. Want the full horror experience that comes with not knowing what is in store for you? Play it first. Otherwise, it will ruin the fun. Don't be all, "oh, reading this review will help me be more informed when I play it." NO. Play the game first.

(Spoiler - click to show) But Meghane's cousin is not the one who joins the chat... Someone else does. Technically, I think the game’s description is a super light spoiler, “A flatmate group chat unknowingly welcomes an uninvited guest into their midst,” although only a stickler will probably feel the same way. No matter. There’s still lots to discover.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I'll just refer to fake-Chloe as the Stranger or “Chloe” under these spoiler tags. This is the crucial detail: If you take a closer look at the user, it is shown as Chloe not Chloé. See it? It's that little line about the “e.” If you totally missed it, you're not alone. For the first playthrough I assumed it was Meghane’s cousin, although it does not take long for you to have doubts.

Story + Characters
I’m going to use this section to look closer at the story’s pacing and structure which is critical for a horror game. It’s going to be one big spoiler-fest (which I’ll tag), so again, browse wisely.

Pacing is excellent. Mechanically, the game skips pause effects. The rate of text messages is based on however fast the player chooses to tap or click on the screen. And yet, there is a feel of everything speeding up. You feel out of control. The effectiveness of the pacing is achieved through staggering story events.

It closely resembles a horror movie sequence where you know what’s going to happen but see separate shots of Character A being resourceful, Character B cluelessly walking into a trap, the culprit going up the stairs where Character D has just managed to put two and two together. These shots (with other elements) are then woven together to leave you at the edge of the seat in a nervous wreck because you know exactlywhatisgoingtohappen.

Obviously, a Twine game is not going to harness the cinematic techniques used in film, but it manages to recreate this concept closely. (Spoiler - click to show)

The Stranger just keeps getting more unnerving. They inquire about you being home alone and start a game of 20 questions with prompts on your personal information or how you want to die (if you were to, that is). The zinger is when you ask a question about either their pet peeves or whether they are an introvert or extravert. Their act as Meghane’s cousin completely falls apart and they go on a rant of why they hate about people. Then, bam. “Chloe” again.

Oh, and they have your address. You gave it to them, remember?

Chloe:
I'm literally 5 minutes away.

Ha. Ha. Oh no.

The reason behind the Stranger’s presence in the group chat is revealed when Meghane notices that she mistyped Chloé’s (the real Chloé- again, fancy é) number. Which confirms that yes, you’ve been talking to the wrong person, and you warn your flatmates. Meghane adds the real Chloé (whom we briefly meet) and starts searching to kick out “Chloe.” And then:

Chloe changed their name to Chloé.

The Stranger won’t go down so easily. This is where the staggering of events really starts to shine.

It kicks off with the Stranger sending you a picture of the flat before asking Meghane for the code to the door. Now, your friends are a tad sluggish about your warnings because they’ve been on and off the chat for the past half hour. They don’t realize the extent of this mix-up, yet. So, seeing the fancy “e” in the altered username, Meghane assumes that the Stranger was removed from the chat. She happily shares the code.

Meghane:
The code is 3042! 💋

Naturally, she realizes this mistake afterwards. The entire time the player keeps yelling, “don’t do it, don’t do it, just don’t!!!” The suspense is sharpened to a point. The sluggishness of the NPCs only heightens the urgency. Like watching characters in a horror film as they make clueless blunders right when it matters.

Meghane, Kayleigh, and Sam finally get with the program. Pacing intensifies. The Stranger narrates their movements toward the door. Everyone is panicking. One friend is calling the police. One friend is rushing home. One friend is alerting the neighbors. But despite this, you are still the only one at the flat. Then you hear a knocking sound.

An actual knocking sound effect. Followed by someone fidgeting with the door. I often forget/fail to turn on the audio for games. Half the time I don’t even notice they come with sound. But I managed to get the memo this time. It is a basic sound snippet that serves as the finishing atmospheric touch to a chilling horror game.

I’m going to switch things up and chew the fat about the story a little more. Again, more spoilers.

I was hoping for (Spoiler - click to show) more than one ending. After experimenting with multiple playthroughs, I could not find any alternatives. What frustrated me was that there is a pivotal moment in the gameplay that railroads the player into making one choice that ultimately determines the ending. This moment is when “Chloe” asks for the address to the shared flat, claiming that they lost Meghane’s instructions somewhere back in the chat. No matter what, you give it to them. And now they know where you live.

Given the dialog leading up to this point, all (or at least most) of your nerves are whispering stranger danger. Something’s off. The player feels it, and the PC feels it. You can lie about the address, dodge the question, or drag your heels, but this only leads to you having to send the address. Eventually you will.

🗨 Choose a reply
Sure
(Send it)

Throughout the game are dialog options that allow the player to tread lightly and approach this “Chloe” with skepticism. The responses involve refusing to dole out information, giving vague answers, or calling out inappropriate statements. The gameplay enables you to read between the lines. So why is it that you are ultimately forced to give out the home address?

What type of ending would I be asking for? It does not have to be a positive ending, just one that recognizes when the player goes the extra mile in assessing the Stranger’s identity. It was clever how you can catch their bluff by claiming that Meghane mentioned that they were going through a tough time without going into specifics. “Chloe” assumes that Meghane was talking about the real cousin and goes along with the charade by making something up. You then respond with skepticism that chips away at their act. I thought that if you pestered them enough, they may reveal their true colours or admit to being someone else. That would probably put the story on a different trajectory.

So… What happens? I think the PC’s chances of survival are not that dire. Then again, a character in a horror movie might say the same thing. The opening words of this game are rather ominous.

Kayleigh:
Omg, guys kill me. Shanon wants another meeting...

Visuals
I have always enjoyed Twine or choice-based games that mimic a digital interface, especially personal devices. The idea is cool both visually and in terms of functionality. Sometimes though, there is the risk of this functionality being hindered by design elements like wide margins or awkward scrollbars that do not prevent you from playing but do detract from the polish. Chloe Is Home avoid this. It uses the phone interface idea without overwhelming the player with its features. Note: I love it when authors go wild as long as functionality is preserved.

This game keeps it relatively simple while adding some flair. It tastefully replicates the appearance of a smartphone device with tall but narrow screen dimensions. The borders are purple with shadowed edges that give it a more 3D resemblance. Character text bubbles are colour-coded and set against an off-white screen. A general, strong look.

Plus, some embellishments. Emojis, symbols, and even the occasional GIF!

Final thoughts
Yes, I really enjoyed Chloe Is Home. It has a lot of strengths. Pacing, suspense, clever visual design. Players, I think, will get a rush playing it. There is enough variation in the gameplay to encourage multiple playthroughs (plus, it’s a short game), but when it becomes apparent that (Spoiler - click to show) there is only one ending, players may leave it at that. Regardless, it is a high-quality piece that offers an urgency that is hard to capture in a Twine format. Highly recommended for horror fans (especially choice-based horror).

I hope the author(s) continue to produce more work. This was a great first piece.

If you are interested in any more horror chat room stories, I suggest Disharmony, a Twine game about investigating the absence of a member from your friend group via an online messenger platform by the same name. Worth playing with the lights off.

When I first sat down to play A1RL0CK, I made a prediction based on the opening scene: The protagonist is a girl whose parents work in an ocean lab. After an accident damaging the base, her parents managed to leave a recording that tells her to seek safety with the hope to reunite with them. After playing the game straight through, I am amazed at how naïve I was.

Sure, I was in the ballpark for a few parts. But most of it? Not at all.

Gameplay
We do play as a young girl named Chloe. It’s clear that we are in a research base- Oceanus Prime- at the bottom of some unknown ocean. It is also clear that damage to the base has occurred… and that no one else is around. What really baffles us, however, is the sporadic intercom announcement system shouting instructions in ALL CAPS at random intervals. Something seems off. These messages are chaotic and keep telling us to listen to waterfalls, odd instructions for the situation. We do not understand the meaning of this until later.

At first, I felt like I was playing Chlorophyll where you are a humanoid plant girl exploring an unpopulated research station to save your mom after a vehicle accident. Due to these reasons, the protagonist justifies breaking station rules to enter areas that would otherwise be "adults only" out of necessity and/or just because she wants to. When she does something bad, the station's computer responds by informing her IN ALL CAPITALS THAT SHE IS MISBEHAVING. It is considerably more light-hearted than A1RL0CK but there is a similar sense of endangerment and freedom to break the rules.

The gameplay feels like it is split into two parts. The part when you are on the north side of the door, and the part when you reach the south side. If you have tried the game already, you probably know what I mean by “the door.” And I needed hints, available outside the game, for the first half.

Puzzles
This was a game where when I looked at the hints, I saw that I was on the right track most of the time but failed to make the key connections that would translate into progress. Sure, I may have gotten close to opening the door, but ultimately, I never did. That was the general sentiment if you look at my performance in the first half of my first playthrough.

The two bits that I figured out on my own was that the (Spoiler - click to show) disc was magnetic (after I tried to reattach the disc to the value), and that I (Spoiler - click to show) needed some kind of force to fix the dumbwaiter (after shooting it with the stapler). I also had a bunch of half-ideas (shaking the can to build pressure?) that failed to be productive.

Similarly, the game did not let me put the (Spoiler - click to show) meat in the water since that would be feeding the monster. Best save it for when you need to lure out some other creature later in the game. That last part was me overthinking things. I do that a lot. The real answer was much simpler. As nice as these partial insights were, I was stuck.

Everything about the puzzles seems so obvious now, but it felt more confusing than it should have been the first time through. I could be flimsy at solving puzzles, and I recognize that as a factor. Still, I think that the puzzle mechanics could be more polished for clarity and context. For instance, (Spoiler - click to show) the meat in the kitchen seems a little too perfectly placed. As if it were left there solely for the player rather than as a component of the game’s world.

But once I reached the second half of the gameplay, everything was smooth sailing. I did not need hints afterward.

Setting
I want to make a note on setting. In this game, we orbit Saturn on Titan, one of its moons. I get excited about these things, so please excuse this tangent.

Titan is the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere, one that is so thick that we did not have a visual of what existed underneath until we clunked a probe, called Huygens, down onto its surface. It does in fact have oceans. Oceans of liquid methane. Well, lakes of liquid methane that you would see if you were standing on the surface.

That said, Cassini, Huygens’ spacecraft counterpart, did scans that suggested the presence of large bodies of liquid- oceans- under the icier parts of the moon. Could it be water? If so, the probability of life flourishes. As the sentiment typically goes: Where there is water, there is life. Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is a similar candidate for finding life-sustaining environments. Neat stuff if you like astronomy.

Anyway, I’m assuming that the Titan in A1RL0CK is an alternative or at least speculative version of the moon since it features deep and seemingly Earth-like oceans with whales. Now, that would be wild. Complex life in our own solar system. And I thoroughly love the author’s depiction of Titan. Usually when solar system planets get recognized in interactive fiction, Mars gets all the attention. I like how A1RL0CK expands to the other planets, or in this case, a moon.

Who knows, maybe there is life that can be sustained on liquid methane instead of water.

Story
To clarify, Chloe (Spoiler - click to show) is a test subject. Oceanus Prime is a research facility built for the experimentation of (Spoiler - click to show) splicing human biology with aquatic alien DNA. The project is managed by an entity called BioFarm, which seems to be a corporation. It certainly follows the corporate-unethical-research-at-all-costs trope.

BioFarm is messing with serious stuff. Apparently, the result of this research is (Spoiler - click to show) telekinesis: the ability to move objects with your mind. Chloe hardly realizes the extent of her abilities. She’s just tired of the tests and being knocked out when some scientist gets too nervous. Fortunately, she has the added benefit of a (Spoiler - click to show) close psychic connection to the ocean’s whales who sing to her from a distance. Which is a good thing since this (Spoiler - click to show) reckless research on whale-human hybrids is also what dooms Oceanus Prime.

There is talk about proteins. I am not entirely sure of its significance, but it gets a mention in the game’s description, so it must be important. We do get some protein action in the form of computer screens and paperwork.

Something to do with... protein? And other: estrogen, progesterone and testosterone appear often in lists and comparisons.

I do wonder: Are they (Spoiler - click to show) testing proteins on Chloe, or are they seeking to extract them from her body? Or something different altogether?

Themes
The story brings up an interesting point: do ethical standards for research on Earth apply to when conducting science on a non-Earth world? You can’t even see the Earth from the moon you are on. Suddenly, Earth protocols seem distant. I thought this was interesting.

This theme is found in (I know it’s a cliché reference, don’t roll your eyes at me) Babel. One of the defining qualities of the research base in Babel is its isolation in the Arctic and how it allows ethical standards to peel away. The base is staffed by a select few, has virtually no contact with the outside world, and was constructed with the unspoken sentiment that any science prohibited elsewhere due to ethical reasons is perfectly fine here.

No rules, regulations, or legal tape. The characters do not even try to dance around that fact. If you’ve reached the point to where you were assigned to this work, you've already learned to not ask questions.

All of this came to mind when the (Spoiler - click to show) “OOJ, A” abbreviation cropped up in A1RL0CK. It stands for (Spoiler - click to show) OUT OF JURISDTICTION, ALLOW. That is, allow for these insane experiments to occur since this place is halfway across the solar system, not on Earth. As Chloe is starting to realize. If being in the Arctic is isolating, imagine what it would be like as a researcher and/or (Spoiler - click to show) test subject on Titan.

You can find this theme across the sci-fi genre, and yet the type of research that occurs can be quite different between games. It always leaves room for interesting discussions.

Ambience
There is no denying that the game has atmosphere. It has some seriously creepy moments. The big one for me is when you (Spoiler - click to show) make it into the southern complex and go east into the eerie interrogation room (from Chloe’s perspective, “interrogation” would be the right word). The room description reads:

The condensation makes it inscrutable but, through it, it's easy to guess the shape of a human figure. It appears to be levitating, its long arms holding it in mid-air.

I just stopped for a moment. Many things went through my mind. So far, I knew that the base was messing around with life forms, including human life. Clearly this was one of them. Some sort of human hybrid who was probably watching us through the glass.

On the other side of it thick condensation prevents you from seeing through. But the figure that stands out behind it, albeit out of focus, is clear and monstrous: a being of the wrong proportions, with long flaccid arms that whirls sinisterly.

Yeah. I was genuinely afraid to (Spoiler - click to show) cut the glass and see what was on the other side. Would this person attack me? So many unknowns. Turns out, the truth was much different, and sadder: (Spoiler - click to show) Nurse Nelly.

Characters
Nelly
Chloe is the star of the game, but I want to discuss this NPC first. One tidbit I liked in the first half of the gameplay is the foreshadowing of a person named Nelly.

> break mirror
Nelly told you what happens when a mirror breaks.

> drink water
It's salty. Nelly told you what happens if you drink salt water.

> spray can
Nelly has always been clear about what happens to little ones who waste food. Especially cream.

If you found these descriptions like I did, the name “Nelly” circulates through your mind as you play. We sense that she may have a closer, and perhaps positive, relationship to Chloe, but all we have is a name and a few shreds of memory. Sadly, the extent of that memory is revealed when we (Spoiler - click to show) see her strung up by her own life support cables (how did that happen?) on the other side of the glass.

The memories we get are a mix of different things. (Spoiler - click to show) We see the happier- or at least happier given Chloe’s circumstances- moments of Nelly comforting her and treating her like a real human being, but these memories soon tilt to being experimented on by the other scientists and being contained for “safety” reasons. We also learn about Nelly’s death, but I’m not going to spoil everything.

I am at least grateful that the author gives us this:
(Spoiler - click to show)
Doing your best to ignore the massive gash that bisects her face, you give Nelly one last kiss.

It’s a bittersweet outcome.

And on that note, is there a consensus about the (Spoiler - click to show) SUPPOSED INTERCOM ALL CAPS ANOUNCEMENTS that we hear throughout the gameplay? Is that… Nelly’s voice? I would assume the dialog is in Chloe’s head, but given everything that has gone on so far, perhaps the voices are an external extension of her mind. Almost like how we can sense states of existence/awareness in Coloratura that are invisible to the human characters. That’s just me speculating, of course.

Chloe
When it comes to child protagonists in interactive fiction- and I don’t mean teens- the genre tends to be slice-of-life, sometimes with a mix of fantasy or other genres. But predominantly sci-fi paired with horror undertones? Less common. For me, at least. If anything, the more you play A1RL0CK, the more it slides towards a horror piece. Especially after you (Spoiler - click to show) break the glass wall in the strange room or visit the quarantine area.

One of the strongest aspects of A1RL0CK is that Chloe still feels like Chloe at any part of the gameplay. While we learn some startling things about her, you still feel like you are playing the same character. In other games, you can feel detached from the protagonist after a big reveal, but that was never the case here. What we learn about her feels like a leap in insight rather than a shift in identity. Not Chl03. Chloe.

Even though Chloe’s (Spoiler - click to show) connection with the whales has proven to be dangerous, or at least to Oceanus Prime, she still views all the invasive research and lab coated scientists through a childlike perspective. Of course, it is also refreshing to see her take survival into her own hands.

(Spoiler - click to show) At the same instant you aim the stapler at her. "O-O-J-A, Miss Celyne," you grin, and shoot.

Yep. Chloe is still Chloe.

Also: When you (Spoiler - click to show) win, there's a strong sense of victory that your biology is what saves you in the end. Perhaps a little bit of "I could breathe underwater this entire time?" but you feel thankful for that.

Final thoughts
I came extremely close to giving this game five stars. A huge fact is that the game kept urging me to play it again and again. I was not expecting to feel that way, but several times I would be combing through IFDB and suddenly have the urge to revisit A1RL0CK for its atmosphere and unique protagonist.

Still, it has some parts that are not as streamlined as the rest of the game. Particularly the earlier puzzles. Hence the four stars, but it easily has the potential to be worth five. It is a great game with a strong emotional impact. For me, that was its main strength.

Chloe’s predicament as a (Spoiler - click to show) test subject combined with her relatable mannerisms (like goofing around with items clearly not meant for play) make her character one with a distinct sense of identity even as her memory remains murky.

The setting was also memorable. Oceanic research bases are a familiar concept, but A1RL0CK distinguishes Oceanus Prime by placing it on Titan. It does an effective job in increasing the isolation that is already present when the game begins.

I would totally play more games featuring Chloe. She is quite an individual.

(In case anyone wants to humor me: I do have two random questions out of sheer curiosity. (Spoiler - click to show) First, is Chloe really wearing a clothing garment or is the suit fused onto her body? Or is it her skin, skin as part of her genetic cross with the whales? Second, when Celyne stabs you with the needle, the game gives you the *** You have died *** ending. Did that needle kill you right away, or is the game suggesting that in the end, you find death later as a captive?)

Oh, how embarrassing: You're carrying a suit (worn). That answers my question.

For this game, we jump ahead to the year 2055. You are part of a team sent to investigate Neptune Base, a research and mining station at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that has been the recent site of accidents among its personnel. During the investigation an explosion shakes the base and knocks you unconscious. You wake up in a medical bed with the confirmation that foul play has occurred.

Now that I think about it, Neptune Base does not give the impression of being a mining station. Only for conducting classified research.

Gameplay
Gameplay has nice atmosphere. Escape from the Deep follows the trope of exploring a compromised near NPC-less structure after an unknown accident. You wake up in the medical bay and see carnage but no explanations. Finding answers and survival are intertwined. I have reviewed games like this from the past, and I find them to be tons of fun. Particularly with science fiction.

One thing I really liked is the “use [item]” structure in the gameplay. No need for “unlock door with key,” or- well, I shouldn’t spoil the solutions. Usually, two words is all you need. If you are stuck, you can go room to room using things at random, but the game is designed to still retain a sense of problem solving. After all, you must acquire the item first. There are occasional technicalities that dent the player-friendliness, but ultimately it is designed to keep the player moving forward.

Also: the game sometimes discards items that you no longer need. That was helpful. Especially since there is an inventory limit. Aside from the crowbar, diving attire, and keycards, everything only has one application in the gameplay. The evidence being priceless, of course.

There is a small in-game help system. It provided much appreciated assistance for (Spoiler - click to show) luring out the monster with the food pack. I needed help, and the game provided just that. However, there are puzzles that are equally/if not more technical that have no guidance. It seems like the support system is randomly scattered across the game, as if the author intended to provide an in-depth one but gave up on it halfway through. I am still grateful for it.

Challenges
The puzzles are fun! Most are intuitive. They felt satisfying and rewarding to solve. However, some could use smoother implementation. Please consider this part as a critique. I hope this does not deter you from playing. If anything, it might guide you.

It took FOREVER figure out how to (Spoiler - click to show) deactivate the laser grid around the strange artifact in the lab. The in-game help system had nothing to say about it. This was the puzzle that was keeping me from finishing the game. I wanted to review this game ever since it appeared on IFDB but could not get past this puzzle. I had to set the game aside and return to it several times before succeeding.

I had the right idea early on. (Spoiler - click to show) The only functioning generator in the other room kept glitching as the water level regularly spilled into its vents. This glitch kept the laser grid from shutting off due to security controls. Covering the vents seemed liked the answer, and it was. But with what? That is where the gameplay stalled for me.

The game needs to make it clearer that you can take a tray from the kitchen. After opening the fridge, "take all" results in picking up the small kettle and food pack.

You can see: Metal Trays, a Small Fridge, an Instruction Sign, a Kitchen Sink, a Small Kettle and a Food Pack.

Attempting the command again results in "There is nothing you can take at the moment." However, the game still responds to "take tray." I understand that it is up to the player to examine the room carefully, but this was one detail that could have been better implemented.

(Spoiler - click to show) To use the metal tray on the generator, you must also have the box of screws and screwdriver in your inventory. Otherwise, "use tray" will simply result in "not right now." No indicator that the player in on the right track. No "the vent is in the way," or "you need to remove the vent, first." Just "not right now." Sometimes, “no need right now.” And that is frustrating since it is a prompt that the game uses every time you try to experiment with your surroundings.

“Not right now” was the bane of this gameplay. In this case, “Not right now” makes sense since you just do not have the materials to complete the task. Generally, however, there is little way of knowing if what you are doing is productive or if you are wasting time because “Not right now” can be either. Sometimes the game will let you know if you are one the right track while messing around, but more often or not it was “Not right now,” when it came to experimentation.

An example of when I wasted time through experimentation was finding a battery for the wetsuit. This occurred when I first tried the game. The description of wetsuit is:

You notice however, the Thermal battery pack is EMPTY! Which makes it uselss in sub-zero waters.

I wondered if the kettle had something to do with it. The description reads:

It's a small kettle...It's cordless with a battery and built in boil function. Handy if there's a power cut or you want to be portable with it.

I figured that I could use the battery in the kettle- which is used for heating purposes- for the wetsuit. Playing around with the kettle to extract or examine the battery was a mix of “not right now” and “no need right now.” The solution lies elsewhere, but in those early stages I could not gauge if I was on the right path.

Stickler technicalities
There are technicalities. Bugs or things that do not hinder the gameplay but make it less immersive.

For example, when you look at the mirror in the crew bathroom for the first time, you catch a glimpse of the creature scampering down the hallway. However, this occurs if you do this after you (Spoiler - click to show) kill it with the expired food.

Or juggling the evidence on your person. Attempting to read the file after assembling and wearing your dive suit, swimming outside, and then returning indoors results in this response:

That is in a secure water proof pounch in you suit. Pulling them out in water will render them useless and any evidence may have had. (There are typos in the game.)

The game insists that you cannot reread materials even if you are nice and dry inside the base. Meanwhile, you can drop the item while swimming around. But that causes them no damage despite that dropping them means separating them from your waterproof pockets.

Story
The story sparks curiosity and offers a nice amount of suspense. The medical bay that you wake up in is trashed. A dead nurse is lying nearby. You have no idea of what happened, and yet it does not resort to the amnesia trope. Clearly something has happened on Neptune Base. Something that is still alive and lurking. And there are signs of it.

You call out, there's no response. You do hear a scurrying movement coming from somewhere. That's unnerving.

With Escape from the Deep, you can kind of see the story coming a mile away, the secrecy behind the research project. It consists of (Spoiler - click to show) sea monster experimentation where a fellow staff member takes one for the team and agrees (the level of consent behind this agreement is never clarified) to become a test subject for unethical science. Or “science” depending on how you look at it.

Escape from the Deep follows a familiar model found in some sci-fi and sci-fi/horror games. Its backstory can be recreated in a few easy steps:
(Spoiler - click to show)
Step 1: Scientists find DNA from an unexplainable life form. Especially one with dangerous attributes.

Step 2: Scientists ask themselves, “what could possibly go wrong?”

Step 3: Scientists combine said strange DNA/alien biology with that of a human. Bonus points if the human is a fellow scientist.

Step 4: You can probably fill in the blanks for this one. Things go wild. Scientists do not stand a chance against their own creation. The PC, regardless, if they are a test subject or a surviving scientist, now has run of the place. Gameplay begins.

This is just a general model. I can tell you now that the protagonist in Escape from the Deep is neither test subject nor scientist. I enjoyed exploring Neptune Base as an outside party. But the science-gone-wrong trope is obvious. That said, even if you have a feeling that you know what is going to happen, you cannot say for sure until you have played the game.

So, what exactly happened? My understanding is that (Spoiler - click to show) researchers found a bizarre creature and merged its DNA with a person- staff member, I assume- named Erik Stratton. The creature, whom we encounter in the first half of the gameplay, was contained in a laboratory tank but somehow escaped and chowed down on your investigation team. As for Stratton… Anyway.

I still want to know more about the explosion that damaged Neptune Base. And where does the (Spoiler - click to show) neolithic doorway fit in with all this? Furthermore, there are additional signs of (Spoiler - click to show) sabotage as you explore. Wide-spread sabotage. Based on the carnage, it seems like it would have required several people to have participated. Surely it wasn’t just Stratton and that other creature skittering around. Hm.

It would been helpful to be able to read the contents on the USB drive after you download them. In sci-fi games I half expect to have story context conveyed through computer files or logs (although games can also overuse it), but some, like Escape from the Deep, chose not to.

Current Drive has 243 Files - 42 Video Clips
Experiment 002 - May 15th 2052
Experiment 003 - June 3rd 2052

(No way would I expect to see 243 individual entries for the player to read. That would be overkill.)

In this case, it would have been an opportunity to fill in any knowledge gaps, though that would mean extra work on top of an already detailed game.

Endings
I have a bone to pick with the endings. The game informs you that the ending is graded based on how much evidence you bring back to civilization.

One can imagine what this would entail: Bring back one, people raise their eyebrows but admit something funky must have occurred. Two, people sort of believe you but still have unanswered questions. Three, people believe you but still don’t understand the full story. And if you bring back all four, you change the field of science and become a legend.

That’s not what happens. Not exactly. (Spoiler - click to show) You either get “Fortune and Glory and Fame,” or “A small house in nowhere's ville.” Bringing back 3-4 gets you the former. 1-2, the latter. It is not possible to have 0 since you cannot drop the strange artefact once you pick it up. This made no sense to me. The gradient part, that is. You definitely want to keep the strange artefact.

People act like you have no proof even if you cart back the strange artifact and, say, the vial of the creature’s blood. Seriously? Are you telling me that none of it has any merit? Or the USB flash drive with all the files? If you tack on the flimsy personnel file, suddenly everyone believes you. Any single piece of evidence, I feel, would have merit. The optimal ending conveys that scientists were wowed by the strange artifact. How come that’s not the case when it’s the only thing you bring back?

Also, while Neptune Base is falling apart, it is in the same condition as when you left. With the proper precautions, you can always send people back down there. Is it safe? Heck no. But still feasible. I think the (Spoiler - click to show) creature’s corpse in the lab says a lot about the shenanigans that took place.

(Spoiler - click to show) These two ending outcomes consist of two small paragraphs. In a way, it seemed like the author did not bother or want to write individual outcomes. I know that’s a harsh criticism, but if the player spent all this time carefully collecting this evidence, it would have been nice to see a payoff. Plus, I’m a little curious to know more about society’s reaction to these highly unethical science experiments at the bottom of the ocean.

You did it, you escaped the base and have the evidence to show what happened to you and the crew of that doomed station.

A brief overview to summarize all that we have learned would have also helped in wrapping up an otherwise fun sci-fi horror adventure.

And yet, it was still an exciting story.

Characters
This is essentially an NPC-less game. The PC is featureless aside from being a member of the investigation team sent to check out Neptune Base.

The fact that you cannot “x me” struck me as a missed opportunity for character context. If you examine the mirror in the crew quarters, you get a description of the mirror rather than of your appearance. Because of this, I thought something weird may have happened to them after they were knocked out and later brought to the medical bay. What’s the game hiding? Looking back, there is not really anything to suggest that, but that was the state of my brain when I first started playing.

I do like how the protagonist has reactions towards gruesome events, particularly ones having to do with the other people from the investigation team. This adds depth to the scene since its contents are acknowledged and connects back to the protagonist’s ultimate reason for being at Neptune Base to begin with.

Speaking of gruesome: There is gore, but not a lot. A reasonable amount given the circumstances. Instead, the game focuses on a sense of dread which is spiked when you see how “everyone else” died. If the visuals become too much, you can just turn them off.

Visuals
Not all Adventuron games have graphics, but it seems like most do and Escape from the Deep is one of them. They function as a nice visual aid, particularly for building atmosphere.

I liked how some action scenes had their own brief graphic, such as when you (Spoiler - click to show) poison the creature. When you glance at the monitors the game shows the “image” on the screen of the creature breaking open the vent.

The graphics for the (Spoiler - click to show) inside of moon pool scene were a bit cheesy. The moon pool itself was cool. Overall, the visuals were nicely paired with the gameplay.

Final thoughts
Despite some rough areas, this Escape from the Deep is one of the most entertaining Adventuron games I have played so far. You are probably reading this with skepticism given how much I complained, but I say it with productive intentions. I hope it is used that way.

I genuinely had fun with Escape from the Deep. It was one of those games that just comes along at random and appeals to your interests, mine being science fiction. The puzzles in particular offered a stimulating challenge, most being well-clued with creative solutions.

In case you are interested…
If you like the idea of galloping around a failing oceanic research base- especially one with questionable research projects- all (for the most part) by yourself, try A1RL0CK. Chloe, the protagonist, wakes up after an earthquake and gets to go wherever she wants, permitting that there is no locked door in the way. If I recall, the two games were released at around the same time on IFDB and complement each other in certain ways with sci-fi horror themes.

Escape from the Deep also shares similar vibes with The Pool, a Twine game about a marine research center that discarded its ethics for the sake of experimentation. To be frank, The Pool is not a quality game. It’s unpolished. That said, it has some merits, particularly with its distinct atmosphere and sea monster horror movie trope ambience. If you love this aquatic horror genre (a genre I just made up while writing this), The Pool might make a nice excursion.

So warm. How lovely.

Welcome to your cabin.
Please, take a look around.

You find yourself in a cozy cabin surrounded by a winter wonderland. It belongs to you, and only you. It can be customized if you should wish. Just don’t mind me.

(wait a minute…)

Gameplay
Despite the surreal dreaminess that pervades the cabin, you can sense that someone is pulling the strings. And for good reason. I think the game's title gives it away, but I'll put it under spoiler tag anyway: (Spoiler - click to show) Your comfy cozy cabin is a simulation. None of it is real!

The gameplay follows an inconspicuous structure. There is a growing list of activities in the cabin for you to choose from. After three, you grow tired and fall asleep, unless you prolong your energy by drinking coffee (a clever little hack).

What would you like to do?

Drink something
Watch the fire
Read a book

Each time (or every other time) you wake up, a new activity is listed. Cozy activities. And. Activities that seem a little… out of context for this serene winter setting. For instance, the first new activity added to the list is "Watch the holoscreen." Huh. Seems a bit out of place. Things get weirder.

You also notice that the narrator has a habit of speaking directly to the protagonist. It is obvious that this entity controls the (Spoiler - click to show) simulation (again, I feel compelled to put that under spoilers), but the player feels powerless at interfering with the narrator’s soothing prattle. However, if there is a will there is a way. You have options.

Is possible to get under reality’s skin. The trigger to underscoring the (Spoiler - click to show) simulation is hard to find, and yet so cleverly hidden that I can hardly complain about its difficulty. I was too busy admiring this innovative way of using Twine’s visual features. Some players may find it too well-hidden, which is understandable, but it worked for me. Creativity like that pleases me in choice-based games.

I absolutely love the idea of a surreal game with unreliable layers of reality. That said, it could use a little more structure in its gameplay. There is no real sense of discovery where you are chugging along and stumble across something that tells you hm, this is different. A game that captures this subtly is The Twine Fishing Simulator. It strings you along but ultimately leaves it up to you when making the big discoveries. In COZY SIMULATION 2999, the narrator directly feeds the reveal to you. In fact, the narrator gives the impression of I’m totally not narrating the story! This is still effective, and even humorous, but much of the mystery is lost in the process.

So. How exciting can a winter wonderland be? Well, the story takes off when you fall asleep.

Story
When you fall asleep, the (Spoiler - click to show) simulation reveals its flimsiness. You have memories of (Spoiler - click to show) running through an industrial complex, being chased by unknown pursuers. Contrary to the safeness of your cabin, these dreams are a world of machinery, corridors, sharp edges, grime, and pain. The opposite of soft rugs and hot chocolate. The best part is when the game swaps out a new set of visuals that are FANTASTIC at conveying this change in tone. I’ll discuss that in the next section. FYI: (Spoiler - click to show) Memories can surface elsewhere in the game, but mostly through sleep sequences. That’s why it is important to explore every feature.

You want the truth? (Spoiler - click to show) After stubbornly refusing the help of the narrator, I realized that reality meant an industrial surgical ward operated by angels reminiscent of a Porpentine game. Turns out the angel- the narrator- attached to your body is the one pumping the simulation through your mind. And it means well, too. It was never, “ha-ha, you’re mine!” It wants to help you (sort of), but you can only live in a simulation for so long. Or maybe you can. The choice is yours.

I don’t know if I could go back to having pillow fights in the cabin while knowing that- I’ve spoiled too much. Please play the game for the full experience. There are three endings, and the author has kindly provided a built-in guide for reaching them. The author also says that neither are good or bad, but I suppose depends on your interpretation of quality of existence. Do you (Spoiler - click to show) want to know the truth and suffer or exist blissfully as external reality falls apart?

For those who have played the game: (Spoiler - click to show) What does everyone think? The narrator does not seem maliciously deceptive, only wanting to conceal the truth. Which I assume is that 2999 is a horrible year to live in. I thought the clementine description was an eerie indicator.

Sweet and juicy. A little remainder of what they once called summer.

Think about it.

There is some vagueness about being reborn. It’s something that appears in all three endings that I assume has to do with the shenanigans going on outside of the simulation. My guess is that the shenanigan in question is to integrate people into a hive mind as painfully and soothingly as possible. I suppose that is one way of being reborn.

Visuals
At first glance, even the game’s appearance oozes coziness.

The tan text is set in an off-white cream text box with a thick tan border. The font is small and delicate, with light tan links. Graphics are included along the text to depict cozy cabin imagery that adds nice polish. Finally, all of this is set against a white backdrop of a snowy tree, blurred enough to minimize distractions while finalizing the appear of a winter landscape.

Imagine my surprise when that changed. (Spoiler - click to show) Once dream-mode kicks in, the entire background goes black with thick dark-grey rounded borders crammed against the edges of the screen. The text is white, and the links are red. If you seek out the truth, some extra background visuals are added. They make you wonder if maybe staying in that warm winter cabin would have been a better idea than look too closely.

This change in atmosphere was perfect. The use of visual elements to signal (Spoiler - click to show) shifts in reality is one of the strongest parts of the game. Visuals have a lot of potential in storytelling, and I am glad that the author tapped into that. Going from a tranquil cabin to a (Spoiler - click to show) dystopian nightmare moment was powerful. That surprise of the screen going (Spoiler - click to show) dark with anxious-looking white and red text replacing the cabin paradise just had the feeling of Whoa. I love that sort of thing in interactive fiction.

The game uses visual effects in other ways to mess with reality. When text tears through the (Spoiler - click to show) simulation, it is shown in different text that makes it clear that you are straying from the program. For instance, consider (Spoiler - click to show) watching the holoscreen.

The new mental rewiring manufactory has reached 300% efficiency levels, according to StrexCo's fourth quarter and fiscal year 2999 financial results—

No, wait. That's not supposed to happen.

Just ignore that. I'm sorry.

Right. Just ignore it.

The first sentence uses a darker, bold text that is a sharp contrast to the rest of the writing. It represents a break from the façade where fragments of the past creep in. Clearly the narrator did not want the protagonist to see this. Naturally, this only makes it more obvious that the narrator is covering up the truth. The bottom two sentences are the standard text associated with cozy cabin land.

Through visuals you can clearly see the tug of war between the (Spoiler - click to show) simulated reality of the cabin and the nightmarish reality of the “outside” world.

Final thoughts
COZY SIMULATION 2999 is a great blend of sci-fi + horror hidden behind a seemingly innocent slice-of-life premise. There is a bit of everything! While I wish we could explore the backstory a little more (what is going on in 2999?), it feels like a complete game with a strong atmosphere and lots to offer.

It is also a strong first interactive fiction game. I know the author expressed in the game that they were not particularly confident with it, but heck, I had fun! Part of it does appeal to my love of sci-fi surrealness, but it really does demonstrate creative thinking while integrating story, gameplay mechanics, and visual design to create a piece that leaves you wanting more. And I want more.

(Note for the author: There is one small bug with the (Spoiler - click to show) holoscreen and the artwork activities. If you watch the holoscreen enough times, you run out of prompts and only see “lovely colours.” Similarly, if you keep making artwork, the option to do so is eventually replaced by “I don't like your art anymore.” I thought this was hilarious. The problem is that these remain unchanging when you start a new game. You can never revisit the interesting holoscreen channels or the cool artwork that you can “create.”)

...and found drama instead.

You are BG Jackson, a smuggler in search of valuables. Your next target is an exploration vessel called the Achilles that went missing months ago, and you finally managed to track it down. Signs indicate that it has been abandoned, but experience knows that it is never quite that simple.

Gameplay
Fall of the Achilles features a gameplay structure that I call “free range of movement.” The term is when a Twine game (or other choice-based format) mimics a parser by allowing the player to move throughout a map and interact with items within it at their leisure. In other words, freedom to navigate a space. This game is a perfect example.

It begins upon your arrival at the Achilles. You are in the Corvus, a personal ship run by an AI named Sahil. After docking the two vessels, you explore the abandoned ship while communicating with Sahil. He does everything from friendly reminders to disabling locked doors. The objective is to acquire the code to the massive warp engines aboard the Achilles. Apparently, the code is worth a lot.

The screen is organized so that a list of actions and a list of exits are always neatly displayed on the lower left which enhances the feeling of a parser. You are still clicking on links, but the links are organized to feel like an arsenal of commands that you would otherwise type into a parser game.

—— ACTIONS ——
Look at the bootprints.
Talk to Sahil.
Use your blaster.

——— EXITS ———
North is the Achilles' bridge.
South is your ship, the Corvus.

The room title is listed at the top of the screen while inventory items and health points are shown on the left-side panel. These features create a parser-like Twine game with notable user-friendliness.

Be prepared: There are moments where you must make a judgement call. For example, (Spoiler - click to show) whether to kill Trace so she never poses a threat, or to spare her with the possibility that she will provide help later. I feel that this weighing of the pros and cons is a defining feature of the gameplay.

Puzzles
This game is full of puzzles but not quite a puzzle-fest. I never "needed" a walkthrough (I don't think there is one at this time), but there is enough in-game help to work around parts where I did get stuck. Sahil may not be a fancy AI, but he is quite helpful.

Generally, the puzzles are well-designed with a few exceptions. The puzzles for (Spoiler - click to show) filling the jug* in the mess hall and reaching the console in the warp drive were a bit tedious. You get injured at random and scurry back to the medical bay to heal yourself before trying again. The puzzle in the science lab was cool, though. The goal is to reach the end of the room while the space is influenced by deadly time warping properties. In truth, a mistake only gets you sent back to the front of the room where you started. A reasonably tame “red-light, green-light” game. The warp drive puzzle was a shadow to that.
*But the joke was on me instead: I could have just filled it in my own ship! I did not figure that out until the game lightly suggested that there was an alternate solution.

Also: There was one bug in the gameplay. (Spoiler - click to show) In one case, after I restarted the game, I was able to open the science lab door immediately after defeating Trace. It still had me punch in the password, which I remembered from the previous playthrough, but I don't think that was supposed to happen. I recall only having the password input box appear after you speak with Luisa. A similar thing happened again in another playthrough. Besides that, I did not run into any issues.

Story
About the drama… (Spoiler - click to show) There are two (human) survivors on the ship: Luisa Romero and Elias Zeres. They are on opposite sides of the big controversy that went down on the Achilles months prior. They also control the remaining ship systems. Since the protagonist insists on getting the warp drive code, you must choose to help either Luisa or Elias. Each character functions as a “quest” that shapes the gameplay which adds incentive for replays.

No matter how many questions you ask, there are unknowns about the story. The Achilles was an exploration ship where the crew members lived with their families. (Spoiler - click to show) Upon receiving a strange signal, the ship sent out a probe which came back carrying a strange sphere called the Crux. Everyone on the Achilles split into two factions and- as indicated by the carnage we find- waged war with each other. Embrace the Crux or reject it, those were the sides.

I’m not entirely sure of the dynamics between these two groups. Where did all the violence originate? Dead bodies are everywhere. Were people dragging each other to be thrown into the Crux? Who shot who? We see bodies of Star Patrol officers on the bridge who likely came to investigate. At least we know that they were shot by Trace after she was reprogrammed. The title is Fall of the Achilles. I want more info on the “fall” part. Plus, the ship’s name carries nice symbolism.

Everything accumulates to one key moment: (Spoiler - click to show) Deep in the storage bay, you see a weird probe carrying a sphere, from which voices- people- ask you to join them. There are people in there. Moving closer activates a hologram of someone kneeling before the device only to have their brain lasered in half.

I have to admit, the Crux is not doing a particularly good job at selling itself. Can you trust the voices?

Kneeling before a strange device surrounded by corpses sounds like the most obvious insta-death you-have-lost-in-the-worst-way-possible ending that you just have to be a sucker to fall for… but you'd be surprised……

Someone takes your hand.

......that's all I'm going to say.
(Except that I wish the game gave us long enough to hear what Sahil had to say. I really wanted to hear him finish his sentence. Shame he couldn't come with.)

If anyone is interested in further discussion, see the section after the end of this review.

Endings
Fall of the Achilles does not have endings in the form of "Ending 1," "Ending 2," etc. Rather they are general outcomes underscored with secondary events and objectives. These general outcomes are determined by (Spoiler - click to show) whether you sided with Luisa or Elias, of which there are variations. Secondary parts range from (Spoiler - click to show) your success in acquiring the warp drive codes to whether you depart alone. All of this creates additional incentive for multiple playthroughs, especially since it is enticing to mix and match different outcomes.

Now I don’t mean to be morbid, (Spoiler - click to show) but there is a technicality about the fate of Captain Yamashita that kept bothering me. Her body is in a medical capsule designed to heal the patient inside. By default, the end of the game says, “You failed to (mercifully) end Captain Yamashita's life.”

She’s already dead. The medical console reports that "The patient's prognosis is terminal. Brain functions have been inactive for 63 days and are unrecoverable." Sahil summarizes this as brain dead. And therefore, incompatible for the Crux. The capsule is trying to heal a corpse. Opening the capsule to reveal her body (it is not graphic, just sad) is the equivalent to giving her a merciful death, but that seems to have occurred before we even arrive on the ship. A little more explanation would add clarity to this scenario.

Writing
I want to quickly acknowledge the writing. Fall of the Achilles is not an eloquent masterpiece, but it has the occasional descriptiveness that enriches the gameplay. My favorite was when (Spoiler - click to show) you are searching the captain’s quarters for a DNA sample.

A quick search seems to turn up nothing—until you find an oiled wooden brush with large, thick tines like a comb’s. A long strand of black hair weaves through it like the solution to a maze.

It’s not, “oh, you found a brush with a strand of hair in it. DNA.” Instead, the captain’s quarters are personalized and goes the extra mile to make the action more meaningful.

Finally, the genre is science fiction, but there are horror elements that come to life partly thanks to the writing. Arguably, the biggest horror moment is (Spoiler - click to show) the cramped (at least in my mind, it is a cramped space) storage bay. It contains stacks of bodies and a weird object. Everything reeks of death. It's probably really hot in there, I imagine. See how easy it is to visualize this scene? "Stacks of bodies" may not impress you, but this scene was genuinely creepy. There's gore in this game, but mild gore that occasionally turns it up a notch for scenes like this. It always felt like there was thought put into it.

Characters
The game is not crawling with NPCs, but there are some interesting ones. Let’s explore a few.

Sahil
Sahil feels like a concrete NPC, although the game keeps his personality mostly neutral. What I love about his character is the convenience he provides for solving puzzles. Some form, a lot of function. He speaks up when something is worth noting and automatically incorporates bits of accumulated info from the gameplay into his explanations. It’s like having a polite notetaker following you around.

The AI’s assistance is streamlined and avoids feeling like, “talk to me for a hint!” I value games that use that approach, I really do, but I sometimes feel like the character is judging me a little when I ask for the answers. Sahil tells me what I need to know without making me feel lame. (But truthfully, I am thankful when authors incorporate in-game hint systems.)

Trace
Our first main obstacle in the gameplay is when we tangle with an android named Trace. She is referred to as the "universe's only sentient android.” That surprised me.

Sahil seems sentient. He may be a ship AI, but I feel like an AI could be dumped into an android body, or something to that extent. If the game's world possesses sentient AI technology, I'd think that sentient androids would be more common. I am drawing broad conclusions, but that leads to my next point: I wish there were a little more worldbuilding, particularly with the story’s technology.

I especially want to know more about Trace’s backstory as a sentient android. It is brief. (Spoiler - click to show) Trace was created by the “Sisters of Infinity,” a group of exiled scientists whom she refers to as her “mothers.” Cool! I’d love to explore that character feature. She is also a member of the *Interstellar Patrol with superhuman abilities for combat. We get a glimpse of that firsthand.

When you first try to access the main deck, Trace stands in your way in battle mode. There are two solutions. If you want to skip the frequency puzzle, you can just battle it out. However, the combat mechanics could be a little tighter. It follows a rock-paper-scissors style of combat where you choose between shooting, activating a force shield, or using a physical attack while managing health points. That was cool.

The issue was with trying to gain an advantage. She has more health points than you, although you have the option of sneaking off mid-combat to heal yourself in your ship before running back to resume the fight. That felt comical, and Trace was really testing my rock-paper-scissors abilities. Fight a few turns, run to the bridge, run to my ship, heal, run all the way back. She’s literally standing there saying, “do you want to resume this fight?” She can do this all day long. And she knows it.

I only did this approach to see what outcome it would lead to. I learned this: stick with the frequency puzzle. It'll take her out the same way. Then, you can decide whether to kill her. I don’t see a reason not to spare her, but you will have to see why. Even though the combat was not a highlight of this gameplay, it is always interesting to see how authors implement combat into the Twine format.

(*Just what is the extent of humanity’s space-faring capabilities and technological advances? For instance, the “Interstellar Patrol” implies that humanity has branched out of our solar system. When the game uses phrases akin to “bring the Crux back to human civilization,” I think of Earth. A few extra sentences for context would be welcome.)

Anyway, this section was longer than I planned.

Visuals
In a nutshell: Ergonomic, standard issue visuals that consist of a black background, white text, and blue links. But slightly different from the “default” Twine appearance of black background, white text, and blue links. I hope readers know which style I am talking about.

It is a super simple look that functions just fine. I want to make a special note about the text which is always well organized. That may seem like a trivial detail, but when text placement is a mess, that’s all you notice. Fortunately, that’s not an issue here. If anything, it sets a good example for text organization in Twine when you have a moderate word count.

The only flair is the helpful map on the panel at the left side of the screen. It’s a nice reference point.

Final thoughts
In conclusion, Fall of the Achilles is a potent sci-fi experience about a smuggler who found more than they bargained for. The trope of wandering a spaceship after it was purged of life from an incident is common but never one that grows old for me. I have a feeling that fans of the genre will feel the same way. It’s not perfect, but it is certainly a polished and high-quality piece worth playing multiple times.

I approach it partly as an example of the flexibility of Twine to create parser inspired gameplay even though it is ultimately a choice-based experience. If there are any readers skeptical about Twine’s potential with sci-fi adventures, consider Fall of the Achilles.

If you like the theme of exploring a lost and seemingly lifeless spaceship with a story wrapped around the ethics of mind-blowing technology in the hands of humanity, consider Reclamation. It's an Adventuron game where your task (as a corporate employee, not a smuggler) is to investigate a research vessel that went missing amid a vital experiment. You even get your own AI although he is definitely a different character from Sahil.

Discussion corner
(Spoiler - click to show) Time to bring out the big question: The game assumes that the death and violence aboard the Achilles will only spread if Luisa brings the Crux to humanity. Would that happen?

It's not the Crux itself that is dangerous (unless you kneel in front of it, of course). It just sits there. It's not a weapon. What caused all those deaths were the fighting between people about what to do with it. Ideally, if you had it in a nice little area in a garden where people could join if they wanted to or otherwise carry on with their day, things would be fine. But the likelihood of that occurring- if the ship is any indicator- would probably be miniscule. Plus, Luisa does not field this subject well.

Captain Tomomi Yamashita authorized Elias to be the acting captain if something were to happen to everyone in command. Her final instructions are for him to make sure that the Crux never reaches human civilization. Meanwhile, Luisa managed to weasel her way into becoming the acting captain instead, forcing Elias to camp out in the corner of the ship. She also (poorly) preprogrammed Trace against her will. It is kind of established that Luisa is the “villain” in the game. But does that sentiment apply to the Crux as well? Does it bias the player? There is no easy answer.

On a brief side note as I wrap this up: One of the voices coming from the Crux is Elias’ parents wanting you to tell Elias that they want him to join them. It’s painful. I really, really, really wish the player could do that. He probably would not agree, but that’s understandable. When you go back up through the morgue, Elias is waiting in the medical bay. I just wish there were a way of saying, “your parents asked for you, specifically,” and then leave it up to him. Oddly enough, if you join the Crux instead, you have no way of talking to Elias’ mother about him even though she is your tour guide for the rest of the game.

Thank you for reading!

I figured that Fervency would take inspiration from the black plague epidemic during the 14th century in Europe and neighboring areas. It was so devastating that the timespan was called the Black Death. Still exists, but that’s another discussion.

Malignant miasmas have been assaulting your village for almost two weeks now. Pestilent toxins, noxious fluids. Even as you hole yourself up in your own home, you barely dare to breathe, lest the plague is airborne.

The game starts with an intro, during which I made some snap judgements based on what I saw: miasmas/humours + villagers + the dead being carted away + plague + bloodletting = plague years in the Middle Ages. I was hoping for a grimmer and serious game in a loose historical context like that of Vespers and Pilgrimage. I can tell you now that Fervency departs from that.

For a game of this subject matter, it is surprisingly cheery. Has the doom but minimal gloom. Messy but not quite as much (sort of) as the cover art and description suggest. Personally, it did not resonate with me, but it is good that the author decided to take an alternate route with the plague story concept. In terms of quality, Fervency needs some work, though it has strong potential to engage target audiences.

The game, already
The premise is that a plague is ravaging your home village. This is the realm of bird shaped protective masks, shaky beliefs on the origin of disease, and bloodletting. Every medical expert has tried and failed to stop the growing death toll. Daily life is isolation and fear, and you are dying.

Then, from nowhere, a visitor.

A strange woman appears before your deathbed with the promise that she can cure you.

Behind the fog of your dried-out eyes and dried-out mind, she stands there, like the Grim Reaper, or perhaps the Angel of Death. You weren't aware that you had neglected to lock your door - or perhaps you hadn't. Reapers and angels can probably pass through doors with no trouble.

That’s a potent introduction and an intriguing development when you are dying from the plague. Even though it does not explicitly say that she is an angel or reaper, the supernatural- or at least otherworldly- associations are there. Separate from the reality of a dying mortal, especially since she succeeds where all mortals have failed when curing this disease. Meanwhile, I was still glued to my Black Death + Middle Ages impression.

Even though she leaves a note saying she wants to help* the village, I felt that her skill at curing the incurable would not go over well with the village because of how it was conducted. She sneaks in, tells you the game plan, knocks you out, and cures you with some unknown method. Her entrance as a vague embodiment of the Angel of Death still lingered too, adding to the sense that she may have an otherworldliness that would leave the village a little uneasy. *(Spoiler - click to show)No.

The next day, two groups of people have gathered in the village. Healthy-looking ones, and gaunt ones that have been miraculously cured. I was expecting the former to call witchcraft and shun and/or be wary of those revived by some stranger wielding unexplainable magic in the night. Quite the opposite. Instead, everyone was all, “hi how are you?” which set the game into perspective. The final wakeup call that said, “you’re not playing Vespers, so get over it.” But there is more in store when the intro ends.

Kicking off the main gameplay, there is now an understanding that the village population falls into two categories: villagers who never got sick and anemics. Anyone cured by the Physician is an anemic. It is unclear of whether this was a good thing. Upside is that you survived the plague. Downside is that your sense of thirst and appetite are heightened. The game has you choose your type of craving.

I'm famished. A large slab of meat would do me good.

My throat is parched. I'm so thirsty I'm about to swoon.

Hunger or thirst? This decision will sculpt parts of the gameplay later. The big event in the main gameplay is that two nobles in the area are throwing a lavish costume party, inviting a mix of guests.

Now, the villagers and anemics get along quite well. This slowly changes as the anemics realize that the finest food and wine does nothing to dent their appetite. Civilized behavior goes out the window. It is not until (Spoiler - click to show) everyone gets wasted that they stop and ask, “what exactly did the Physician do to us?” Until then, party time.

The gameplay is heavily based on character interactions, mostly dialog for the first part. It follows the structure of talk to Character A about a list of prompts, then talk to Character B about a list of prompts, and so forth. Most of the prompts are the same aside from a few unique to the character. Later, you can choose to dance or interact further with an NPC.

This is not necessarily a negative feature. It is a great choice for players interested in that intimate character one-on-one at a group setting dynamic. Not so much for me, or at least with the writing. I do appreciate how it is not required to go through every prompt or interact with every character, which adds flexibility for players.

On that note, prompts could stand to be refined. Some were just back and forth banter. Are you looking forward to dinner? I’m looking forward to dinner. Do you have cravings? Same here. I like your scent. I skipped past those parts. Consensus: We hunger. If anything, I think the dialog is meant to pave the way for some romance later.

Fervency is not a romance game, but the traits emerge as the party goes on. No means a dating simulator. Just ways of indulging with that casual ooh la la your-costume-is-delectable flirtatiousness at a decadent party without pressuring the player to commit to anything. Again, did not dazzle me personally, but I could see this being a smash hit with some players. Especially the achievements.

I must admit, Fervency does a nice job of conveying the realistic longevity of a polite, refined party when everyone is trying to manage their symptoms while smiling and engaging in idle chatter. Almost like in Finding Nemo where the sharks are having a civilized conversation until someone gets a bloody nose. It is a scenario where (Spoiler - click to show) if one person loses it, everyone loses it as well. Chow down, quench your thirst, it's all on the menu.

An all-you-can-eat menu. Sooner or later, it does gets repetitive. It starts as an interesting ecstasy-ridden snacking free-for-all that drones on as the writing loses its eloquence. It gets to the point where they are devouring each other and I’m skimming through the text looking for something new. It’s more interesting to eat/drink nothing, go home, pat yourself on the back for not caving into your cravings, fall asleep, return to the manor, and see the absolute chaos caused by the previous night’s activities.

This brings us the question: (Spoiler - click to show) Is this really what the Physician intended when she game to “cure” of the plague? First off, the mysteriousness of her character decreases when she (Spoiler - click to show) casually shows up at the party dressed as a swan. Nothing ever she was not a mortal, but she seems more like an average sack of skin, bones, and organs than when she saved you from the plague. And second, (Spoiler - click to show) yes, she did intend for this happen.

To avoid ruining the entire game, I won’t hash out the details behind her healing (or “healing,” depending on your perspective) abilities. All I will say is that it turns people into proto vampires (my words, not the game’s). I’m not against that, but it currently feels undeveloped. This is meant to be feedback, rather than ridicule.

Errors
There are some bugs that tripped up the gameplay.

Sometimes the game would keep loading (indicated by an animated status bar appeared at the lower right side of the screen flickering in a universal "loading" message) but would not go to the next scene. I could not do anything else to the game. I ended up refreshing the page and starting over. Oh: The save files would not work either.

Then there are pop-up messages that freeze the game. Messages like “startup line 2518: increasing indent not allowed, expected 0 was 1” or “startup line 125: Achievement fuhrrvent already defined on line 93” that would render the game unresponsive when you clicked on the blue “okay” button to close the box. Again, I had to restart.

I applaud the author for allowing the player to jump ahead in the game to different sections. At the start of the game you can opt for the full meal (starting right from the beginning), the actual feast (party begins), or dessert (things get heated), the last of which is broken into four paths for you to choose from. And no, I’m not being cute with the eating analogies. I took it right from the game.

Point is the game can be buggy, but the author makes a point of accommodating this with ease of accessibility.

Conclusion
I was not sure of how to rate this game. As I’ve said, it did not exactly reach my interests, but I am confident that it will attract an eager audience. Tightening up the writing and pacing would make a difference. Plus, some (just some) bugs are sprinkled about here and there.

However, the game begins with a disclaimer saying that it is still a work in progress. That had a large influence in my rating since I did not want to take everything at face value. I hope this review functions partly as feedback even if reviewing was the main objective of my lengthy (lengthy) discussion.

While some parts, such as the party dialog options, were lengthy and lackluster, they serve as a solid outline. I am glad to see simply that content is there. What matters is that there is structure. The concept is on paper, and that is the first step. In this regard, Fervency is far more than a “first draft.” It is developed but would go further if it were developed a little more.

If you liked Fervency, I highly recommend that you sample The Lady’s Book of Decency. It’s a Twine game about an upper-class girl (and recently turned werewolf) who must prepare to attend a fancy ball during a full moon. It has stats, including one for hunger which matches perfectly with Fervency.

In The Lookout, you play as a man named Adam Katz. Following a major personal tragedy, you have volunteered to staff a fire lookout tower called the North Butte Fire Lookout Tower, smack in the middle of nowhere without electricity or basic modern luxuries. Just enough to survive and do your job. Maybe this will give you a new outlook on life. Maybe.

Believe it or not, this is one of the more suspensful and scary interactive fiction games I have played, making it a perfect entry for EctoComp. By "scary" I mean it gets your heart racing. Horror movie mode. It forces you to deal with the unknown. You slowly find yourself gingerly typing on the keyboard while second guessing whether you truly are prepared to (Spoiler - click to show) tackle the thing stalking your tower. Oh yes. In this game, you are prey. If that last part made you shiver, The Lookout may provide a thrilling experience for you. If not, play it anyway.

Gameplay
I’ll cut to the chase. The gameplay follows your daily upkeep schedule, but it becomes apparent that (Spoiler - click to show) some unknown creature is attacking the fire towers. Initially, we only get little tidbits of what is going on, but by day 3, things start to get extremely dire. Though the story takes place over five days, the gameplay is relatively short.

The gameplay’s map is restricted to the fire tower and nearby surrounding areas. I was partly hoping for more exploration of the landscape, but it does not take long before a (Spoiler - click to show) plot twist limits the player to the first five locations. The goal was probably to further the sense of isolation, of which it does an effective job. This is not a puzzle intensive game. In fact, there is only (Spoiler - click to show) one serious puzzle (making a weapon).

There is some unevenness. The gameplay is richly implemented- I liked the wildflower patch- in some areas, but sparsely in others which can detract from the atmosphere. One of the room locations is “Middle of Ladder” where you are climb up and but if you try “x ladder” you get: You can’t see any such thing. It breaks the moment. You are on the ladder! Or how you cannot examine the tower from the outside. There are also occasional spelling errors.

Story
What exactly makes this adventure so suspensful? It’s a survival story, sure, but the delivery is what gives it potency. I feel that The Lookout is a great example. Note: Part of the magic with suspense is that you have no idea of what will happen, so I encourage you to read the spoilers in this section AFTER you play the game for yourself.

Generally, it uses a familiar feature of horror storytelling: Subtle descriptive details and pacing that keep you second guessing. Half the time, it’s your brain telling the story.

But then you heard it again. A scraping sound.

It’s hard to match the potency of this phrase (shown above) in a review since I am discussing it out of context but understand that its placement was effective at making the player feel cornered. While I would not label this part as “scary,” it sure does a heck of a job at establishing atmosphere.

Horror is gradual and peels off in layers. This is where the suspense (and spoilers) manifests.

First, it starts with inherent vulnerability. You are a lone human in the middle of nowhere. Then, it emphasizes our dependency on single sources technology. The only means of communication is the close-circuit radio used to contact two other towers in the distance. But even then, at least you have a tower with some tech, right? Correct.

(Spoiler - click to show) Until Chester fails to restock your supply cache. Or later when the radio no longer picks up messages, taking the closest thing you have to a human interaction: another human’s voice. What footholds we had are gone. Layers. Peeling away. The game dangles suspenseful bits of information that forces the player to make assumptions, some of which are never fully explained.

On your catwalk stroll you see the familiar light from Mia's lookout, but you notice that there's no light coming from Chester's lookout tonight.

You have all these practical reasons why he failed to restock it. Ran out of time? Forget? Well, then why is his tower dark? This suggests he never made it back. Suddenly those practical reasons slide towards I wonder if that vanishing mangled deer corpse had anything to do with it....

One of the two scariest (= chill inducing) moments for me is when you are forced to talk to Mia via morse code by using a mirror to flash signals. The first thing she says is SOS. And then, ATTACKED. If you ask her about the attacker, the answer is UNKNOWN. Something about that really gave me the chills.

On one hand, you are not alone in the sense that your comrade is also being messed with by some unknown entity. On the other hand, you are being messed with by some unknown entity. The only thing we know about UNKNOWN is that it did a number on a deer corpse like no normal animal could. Morse code is great, but help is a world away.... You are dealing with this alone.

The other case that got me is when you are looking through the cracks between the window shutters and then:

Just as you are about to turn away, a dark figure moves directly in front of the window your face was pressed up against.

Yeesh. Imagine if that were you. Your face mere inches away from this creature scuttling around your tower. It sounds tame in this review, but in the game, you are camped in your tower waiting for night to fall. Stakes are a bit higher here. I really hope you played the game before reading this.

Oddly enough, the fight scene was a smidge underwhelming compared to the suspensful horror experienced up until that point, but I think that demonstrates the potency of its building atmosphere.

Either I’m a chicken, or the horror in this game has something going for it.

Characters
The entire experience revolves around Adam Katz’s trauma as revealed in nightmares. Six months ago, (Spoiler - click to show) he was in a car accident with his family and was the only survivor. His passion for writing has waned and being around other humans is just too painful. Powerlessness is a major theme. He feels powerless about the (Spoiler - click to show) semitruck that caused the accident and now he is powerless against (Spoiler - click to show) whatever unknown savage is trying to kill him. Or at least at first.

Fear of the unknown also is a factor. We definitely experience that part in the gameplay. The pinnacle is when Adam feels emboldened to (Spoiler - click to show) not succumb to the creature and to fend it off by any means necessary, especially since it seems to be taunting him by leaving the hiker’s mangled jacket on the ladder.

The game only calls the monster "The Demon." In fact, that's the name of the chapter at the end of day four. Perhaps I'm falling back on clichés, but it seems to embody the notion of "battling one’s own demons," but I argue that it has a point. The violent experience of being hunted by a mutant beast seems to adjust the protagonist’s relationship with his tragedy.

We don’t have the opportunity to see this effect in long run since the game ends when (Spoiler - click to show) a rescue helicopter lands nearby. There are some unanswered questions. Was Chester killed? How about the hiker? Yes, you find her mangled jacket with blood on it, but technically there is no body to confirm- it does it again. Makes you speculate. Hm…

I guess the takeaway message is that sometimes survival is enough.

Final thoughts
In a nutshell, The Lookout is a survival horror game that focuses on suspense and pacing. It puts story over puzzles while also providing opportunities to interact with your surroundings. If you are looking for more action you may find the game less exciting, but in terms of atmosphere it excels. Paired with the protagonist’s backstory it becomes a catharsis that makes it more interesting.

This is a tough game to play. And I don't mean the forgiveness rating, which is Merciful, thank you.

This morning I go on IFDB and see that some new games were posted, two of which are made with a development system that I had never heard before, Construct 3. So, I gave this one a try. You play as Tamsyn Snyder, a god-like being (I think) set on a rampage during a pro-choice rally. Right off the bat, this game heaps on the violence. I was not even sure if I should review it, but I also don’t want to shy away from controversial (I have a feeling this will be a controversial game, not that I am trying to make it as such) games either. I am stepping out of my comfort zone, here.

This is probably the most violent interactive fiction game I have ever played in both written content AND visuals. Especially visuals. I’m used to violence in the text, you know, parser, but Knight of the Living God embraces visual elements to tell this story. The game uses animated pixelated artwork that provide an engaging gameplay experience. I liked the bright colours. The result is a visually interesting game. In this regard, I’d say it showcases the technical potential of Construct 3.

It is straightforward to play. You are traveling down a street with a lot of people walking along the sidewalk. You click and select a person to learn more about them and choose to either spare or kill them by swiping the screen. The only way to make progress is to kill. After enough people have died (I did say this game was violent), the game moves to the next stage which only increases the violence. Just when you think it can’t get more violent, it does.

Knight of the Living God is offensive, gory, and shocking. Hateful, even. But also compelling, bold, with lots to think about. I think. I really don't know how to process it. There is no deny that it is unique. I always try to leave a star rating for my reviews, but quite frankly, I don't know how to rate it. Honestly, my impulse was to give it one star because it seems to be violent for the sake of being violent without a strong structure. At the same time, I wonder if I overlooked any smaller, more meaningful details. I just don’t know. After playing it three times, I have more questions than answers. And I don’t feel like playing it anymore.

Is this supposed to be satire? I can't even pinpoint the author's stance on the subject or the intended audience for this piece. If I were to guess, I’d say that the author is promoting (or at least depicting, which seems clear enough) an anti-abortion perspective. I want to be careful because you don’t want to assume that content in a game is an automatic reflection of the author’s perspectives, but this game seems to be heavily skewered towards one side of a debate. The final stretch of gameplay turns into an (Spoiler - click to show) active shooter with violent statements about religion. In fact, religion is probably the dominant topic. Themes about abortion take center stage, but the gameplay is all over the place.

Do I recommend this game? No. But I would not discourage you from playing it either. That is, unless you are sensitive to its subject matter (abortion, gun violence, depictions of blood, etc.) This game could really use a trigger warning at the beginning. It is an intense game where you have to know your own boundaries. That said, it is always good to see authors who are unafraid of making bold choices in their work. Just... proceed with caution, okay?

From the yellowed plastic windows of Borok Singh's penthouse at the top of the Gardeners' citadel, I can see the whole arc of it. The shanty streets. The corpse-processing factories. The sagging footings of the geodesic dome.

This is the first game published in 2023 that I am reviewing. In The Green, you play as a Gardener named Imrik Tso who lives in the city of Klay. Something happened that made all plant life deadly, a phenomenon simply known as the “Green.” Humanity is left huddled in a barricaded city while scientists and firefighters work to keep the lethal greenery out of city limits.

Lately, Imrik feels like this has all been a band aid. He thinks he may have discovered a real piece of hope: a cure. But this means leaving the city.

Gameplay
The gameplay is ultimately a perilous journey out of the city and into the unknown. The first half is about gathering supplies and finding a discreet way to exit the city, of which there are multiple paths. Some choices are tagged as "risky” or “chancy” which can lead to different outcomes. Saving is advised.

There is some resource management woven in. You begin the game mildly infected. Supplies are meant to stave of the infection’s spread, so it does not kill you before you reach the three towers. Even then, you will be crawling across the finish line. And for good reason. Life is deadly outside of the city. Peach trees and daffodils are replaced by venom roses, choke apples, butcher's bloom, and other botanical monstrosities.

At the top of the text space is a circle depicting a diseased handprint. The circle’s outline gives a quick assessment of your health. As you become more infected, the longer the green border grows. Physical injuries are shown with a red border. Clicking on the handprint provides a description of your state.

Not bad. A few small stains. A tinge of green on the webbing between my fingers.

It's not pretty. This function reminds me of playing Vespers where your body is slowly infected by the plague. Beholding the physical transformation of the PC is all part of the experience.

The stain on my left arm is getting worse.
(Oh dear.)

Every time you move, the green border creeps forward. There’s no stopping it (right?), only delaying the inevitable. It gets the player neurotically checking for increased signs of infection, emphasizing the touchiness of the protagonist's situation.

In the second half, the gameplay gets a little repetitive. When you finally leave the city and enter the wild (Green) yonder, everything is about survival and rationing your supplies when you encounter toxic plant life. Hint: It’s everywhere. In a nutshell it consists of ouch, ouch, ouch, don’t step here, don’t step there, ouch. Do I dodge this field of deadly vines or run right through it?

I liked doing battle with killer shrubbery. But it feels like the game is repeating what we already know: The plants are deadly dangerous. Meanwhile, drastic plot elements are handed to the player, detracting from the more investigative themes we see at the start of the game. I’ll discuss this in the next section.

Story
As you can see, I opened this review with the first passage from the game. It is descriptive, atmospheric. It immediately makes you curious to know more about the game’s world which is a powerful trait to have. For some additional context, Klay is run by Borok Singh- or the High Reaper- who orders Gardeners to develop new ways of combating the Green. Imrik managed to hack together a cure but needs to take it to three towers several miles out of Klay. It is thought that those towers are the origin and source of the Green. Because Singh would never agree to this, Imrik must be sneaky.

No living thing (besides deadly plants) survived the Green. Surviving life resides within the walls of Klay. The turning point is when (Spoiler - click to show) Imrik encounters moths flittering casually amongst the plant life and realizes that he was misled. Instead, the Green appeared to be selective, not this all-encompassing beast that sterilized every ecosystem it touches. He concludes that the Green was a human engineered weapon designed to kill specific targets. Human targets. Seems like it got out of hand. There is some ambiguity here. While (Spoiler - click to show) discovering the moths were a surreal moment and a good opportunity to build the story, the scene lays out the plot twist in one go without the subtlety of the earlier gameplay.

Before, you would learn exposition through small choices, whether it would be opting to go through the tunnels to leave the city or to spend some optional time talking to another Gardener. With this, bits and pieces trickle down to form the post-apocalyptic story. But now, the game gives you the big reveal all in one paragraph that feels like the plot twist is being told instead of shown. It’s a tough balance to explain. I think my reaction is partly towards the differences between the first and second halves of the game. It goes from a light investigative piece to a more linear one.

There are still plenty of subtleties to appreciate. A thoughtful perspective emerges with the protagonist’s observations of the Green as he travels. It appears that the Green becomes (Spoiler - click to show) less aggressive the further you are from Klay. There is a perimeter around the city called the burn-back that marks where humans combat the Green with fire, herbicides, and other weapons. Terse, bitter plant life appear to be chopping at the bit to infiltrate the city. But this becomes more mellow, though still dangerous, as you leave the war zone behind. I feel like this offer commentary on our relationship with the natural world, on how our trying to “control” and refine a landscape can only make it more resilient towards our efforts. While The Green takes this to the extreme, it draws similarities with real-life scenarios.

I only found two endings, not including when you die prematurely from the infection (Spoiler - click to show)(although you ultimately die at the end of the game anyway). I’m still not entirely sure of how the cure works, and honestly, I was left with some unanswered questions about the Green and city of Klay.

For instance, the game is nebulous about Klay. Remind me, is Klay the three towers or the city where the game begins? Both? No one knows? All I know is that I found the two endings. (Spoiler - click to show) One is where you use the cure against the Green, and the other is where you decide not to use the cure and let the Green run its natural course. I was hoping for more answers, but these endings suffice.

Visuals
This game gets high marks for visual design. It is also another strong example of visual storytelling. I am glad to see Twine authors going the extra mile to offer something new.

Now, go outside and find a dense patch of moss, trace a circle, and then clear away the moss inside of it. That's what the artwork looks like: a slab of moss with a circle for text in the center of the screen. The text margins and scroll feature was a bit of a hindrance, but that can be expected when trying to fit chunks of text into a circular text-"box" space.

The circle is a cream colour that turns pale green when you leave the city and enter the Green. Around it is a faint green shadow that turns red when you are severely injured. The text will sometimes blur to replicate the protagonist’s blurred vision as he is further infected or injured. These surprise splashes of red added nice contrast. The result is an effective visual experience that makes the gameplay more vivid.

Generally, the colour palette for this game is- big surprise- green! Everything in meant to conjure up plants, plants, and more plants. There are also illustrations of your supplies which are shown on the left half of your screen. The game experiments with clickable icons, such as the journal icon that opens to pop-up window with journal entries. This really gave the game a professional look. Even the save menu has greenery growing on it!

These quality visuals make up for some of the gameplay’s deficiencies. Without them, the experience would be less potent. Yes, this sentiment could apply to any Twine game, but some can hold their own with or without special designs. While the overarching story in The Green is strong, there is a lull in the later gameplay. If this game stuck with the generic black screen + white text look, it would not command the effect that it does. Part of what I like about The Green is how it demonstrates the extent visuals can go to make a completed piece into a polished one. All the power to it. Visuals can go a long way.

Final thoughts
The Green is a unique and compelling game about sacrificing everything to undo the apocalypse. A one-way trip, so make it count. The gameplay combines two cool elements- survival and resource management- which will likely be a draw for players. If post-apocalyptic games interest you, The Green is worth checking out. Plus, the visuals are fantastic.

If you liked the themes in this game, I highly encourage you to check out the game Calm. It’s an Inform game about apocalyptic spores that, when inhaled, kill people if they fail to remain calm. Calm is not the most polished work out there, but it has a unique appeal. I know I played it longer than I expected to. For more subtle plant dystopian Twine games I recommend Defrosted and The Soft Rumor of Spreading Weeds.

Everyone is on edge aboard the CSS Jonas Salk, a spaceship tasked with astrobiology research to acquire alien life forms and substances to be used in pharmaceuticals on Earth. But the most recent mission has brought some troubling developments. Weird bruises have appeared on the crew’s bodies and, well, two already killed each other in a (Spoiler - click to show) cannibalistic outrage. By the way, you are the captain. Soon, that will mean little.

Gameplay
This is one of those gameplay stories where an infectious agent appears in a closed off area filled with people (ex. spaceship smack in the middle of deep space). The game begins by an inner airlock door where you and two crew members are observing the carnage through the airlock window- no, the SmartGlass* airlock window. You do not have many choices beyond calling for a meeting of all surviving crew. *Corporate (fictional) product placement! Hey, it’s a reoccurring theme in this game.

Gameplay is linear with some flexibility. A notable choice is when deciding to what to grab from your locker. It will be important for resolving (or maybe I should say “resolving” since teamwork has pretty much gone out the window) crew tensions during the meeting.

You hold up the crew manual. Everyone falls silent at the sight of this mystic totem.
(Surely this will work)

The crew rushes you from all sides.
(Tip: (Spoiler - click to show) Pick the gun instead.)

Later, choices boil down to two or three options at a time with fight or flight decision making. Do I try to reason with this crew member who is (Spoiler - click to show) eating his friend, or do I run for it?

A clever design feature for these choices were timed pages that kick in if the player takes too long to respond. The outcome is not favorable. It’s not obvious which ones are timed, and they last for about ten seconds, a reasonable length. Indecisive? This will catch you off-guard, contributing to the chaotic ambience in the gameplay. The message: Stop dawdling while the infection eats through your crew.

Story
There is gore in this story. Not exactly One Eye Open (a personal favorite of mine) gore, but still gore. The gist is that the expedition’s recent target was a planet inhabited by primate-like alien creatures that were deemed perfect for science. The only catch is that the creatures (Spoiler - click to show) were all torn up and mangled. The crew assumed it was a territorial dispute, not some highly infectious pathogen that causes life forms to turn on each other. Needless to say, everyone gets infected, or at least exposed to the infection.

This is where moral decisions come into play: Are you going to return to Earth and risk infecting the planet with, essentially, a (Spoiler - click to show) zombie-like disease? Or are you going to land on a nearby planet and use its resources to address the problem first? Neither are ideal, but the crew 110% wants to return to Earth and deal with it there whereas the protagonist seems inclined to take a cautious route. Sadly, (Spoiler - click to show) the crew is willing to kill to get their way.

There are multiple endings, some of which go on longer that you anticipate which was a nice surprise. You will find some unexpected outcomes that encourage multiple playthroughs.

Characters
The weaker part of The Virulence Protocol is, oddly enough, the characters. I don’t mean their change into (Spoiler - click to show) cannibalistic rebels. Instead, their motivations for contradicting the player’s orders seem inconsistent. If anything, only the protagonist has their head on straight, even though they too show signs of the infection.

Everyone wants to go back to Earth to be home again (predominantly for medical care), but there is a segment where their demeanors change to embrace the corporate themes underlying the game. The whole mission is backed by corporations seeking to harvest resources for commodities. This is subtly conveyed through descriptive writing. But its brief manifestation among the crew was awkward.

For a brief moment all the NPCs care about is profit and making money, not whether their infection is going to spread in their bodies and kill them. At the start of the game some characters have distinct personas. It makes sense that they would all succumb to (Spoiler - click to show) zombie-like symptoms from the infection, but I feel like the game dissolves the NPCs’ individual identities for a single scene.

“The only thing we got to protect is our pay day! The gig is to find some alien plant or monkey with mojo that can be turned into medicine with serious worth!”

Next thing you know, it’s all about biolabs and seeing Earth again. There could have been a smoother transition here.

Visuals
Game uses a default Twine appearance that many players will recognize. Black screen, easy to read white text, blue links that turn purple when you click on them. The game will occasionally throw around different text colours paired with blinking or delayed text effects. A few spelling/dialog formatting issues but otherwise this game feels like a finished piece.

Final thoughts
It’s not the best plague-on-a-spaceship game I’ve played but it was certainly intriguing enough to play for several rounds. While characters were meekly implemented, it has its strengths. The horror element was especially well done because it takes an already precarious situation and slowly unfolds it to reveal a horrendous truth about the botched mission: The crew has discovered an infection that turns people into aggressive (Spoiler - click to show) sort-of zombies.

It’s a story where humanity found more than what it bargained for, and The Virulence Protocol conveys that idea with great enthusiasm.

You are a becoming young lady in an affluent family. Your household is staffed, you have a governess, and are at the age when you should be making appearances at formal balls. Handwriting, piano practice, dance lessons, flipping through folios of suitors. And one more thing. Last night, you turned into a werewolf.

Gameplay
The game begins with a short intro. You are wandering unbecomingly in a forest during a full moon and undergo a transformation into a werewolf. Next thing you know, you wake up in your bedroom. A dream perhaps? A quick glance at the paper suggests otherwise: a monstrous wolf-like person attacked livestock during the night. Yeah. That was definitely you.

As you try to come to terms with this new development, another piece of news is thrown your way. In four weeks, a grand ball will be held. During another full moon. Do the math: Lycanthropy + Full moon + Prominent social setting = Disaster

The gameplay consists of making weekly decisions. Each week (four weeks total) you decide between researching your condition at the library or attending to family manners. Family matters are things like writing letters or attending church. There is some strategy thrown in. Each week has its own activity. If you choose to go to the library instead, you skip (Except for (Spoiler - click to show) writing letters. That opportunity is available twice). Every decision affects your stats which influence game’s trajectory.

Gameplay follows a play, fail, play again structure. Failure (or "failure," depending on how you interpret it) results in you caving into your werewolf urges and devouring the nearest person. Typically, this (Spoiler - click to show) occurs at the ball, but can occur earlier if you become too hangry.

The Lady’s Book of Decency features a simple stat system set on the right side of the screen. It uses bars as a visual marker. If you have ever played a ChoiceScript game and seen a stats table that has two values on either side, and colour coded to show which value is higher- that’s what it looks like. In this game, the stat values use abbreviations that ultimately come down to Health, Hunger, Humanity, Social status, and Intellect. I’m taking a guess at the social status part because I could not figure out what SOP vs FOP meant. Probably something obvious.

Stats are not really meant to be quantitative in this game. Just to give you a general sense of your progress. I like how the game summarizes your standing for each stat. My favorite was, “More wolf than woman.” One of the best parts is weighing whether to hide symptoms of your affliction around others. No one ask any questions, aside from what you want to eat, but it is humorous to see NPC responses.

You recall your hunger from the previous night, and consider asking for something bloody, though it would be more fitting to go with something light.

It’s probably a good idea to hide it, but you are so hungry!

You eat well that morning. [+FED]

Now we’re talking.

Story
The Lady’s Book of Decency is a riveting story because it is a clash of two worlds: mundane high-class life during the Victorian era, and the (secret) supernatural. What disappointed me was how (Spoiler - click to show) the protagonist's investigation for answers does not go anywhere. You visit the library three times, and on the fourth, a strange woman catches your eye. This was a cool surprise. You cannot help but notice that she is reading the same books as you. Perhaps she has insights on your case of lycanthropy. If you want to, you can talk to her and make plans to meet again. You end up seeing her at the ball. The end.

This did not feel like a resolution. The start of the game shows the surprising and unexplained event of a protagonist turning into a werewolf followed by her determination to get to the bottom of this issue. I was not expecting to find a cure or an elaborate explanation, just something more conclusive. Unless there is something I overlooked, how did the protagonist go from an unassuming girl to an unassuming-girl-werewolf-mix?

I thought that I found an ideal outcome where you can turn into a werewolf without anyone knowing, but then I ran into a bug that prevented the game from ending. (Spoiler - click to show) If your reputation is poor enough, you can convince your governess to stay home from the ball. After convincing her, I got this: This shows up when a passage failed to parse, or doesn't even exist. Try checking the link for spelling errors or the console logs for more detail on the error. When I clicked on the "back" link, it went to the previous passage with no way of circumventing the encounter. I had to start over.

Characters
The protagonist is a fun combination of social obligation and rebellion. We do not know her name but see has a strong personality. She sees the merit of upholding one’s family reputation and submits to her governess’ teachings. But she does this mostly because she was asked to. She is not deterred from bending the rules. Ironically, her family’s affluence arguably works against her problem. Her upper-class, I would assume, status means that she is expected at social events. Like a fancy ball.

Also, if you liked the character themes in this game, try playing Social Lycanthropy Disorder. It features a female (werewolf) protagonist who is obligated to attend a Halloween party during a full moon.

Visuals
Beige background with a black border in the shape of a fraying rope intertwined with flowers. Its visual elements have a familiar look that suits the theme well. Functionality is also smooth. When I first saw the game I thought, "oh no, scrolling text!" If you double tap the screen the text appears instantly which I appreciate. Scrolling text is great but can be frustrating with replays.

Final thoughts
This is NOT a tidy etiquette simulator about juggling suitors. Not at all. Come on, the main theme is lycanthropy! Do not let the title discourage you from giving it a try. It was made for a Gothic Novel Jam which is pretty cool. While I was hoping to have a little more payoff with your (Spoiler - click to show) investigation, there is plenty of content to explore with multiple endings.

This game is NOT for kids.

Page 1: This is Jo. Jo wants to go on an adventure!

You are reading a storybook about a boy named Jo who seeks to overcome adversary to reach a mountain and climb it. The narration depicts a fun adventure but inserted text on each page reveals how Jo really feels about the story.

Gameplay
Gameplay structure follows the concept of reading a storybook from start to finish. You click on a link at the bottom of the screen to flip to pages in the "book.” On the screen are additional links that allow you to explore Jo’s perspective as the protagonist of a storybook.

(It's almost over. Stop reading. Please.)

Turn to page 10...

There is more to this game than clicking on links to read a story in a picture book.

"Stop reading" and "Turn to page 10..." are both links that places Jo's predicament into the player’s hands. One hears what Jo has to say about the scene while the other simply moves forward with the story. This opens new avenues for the player to explore which then changes the gameplay.

Story
The main plot element is that (Spoiler - click to show) characters recognize that they are cartoon characters in a storybook and that there are countless copies of the book that feature the same characters with the same struggles. As for Jo, he has experienced the same linear story of climbing the mountain repeatedly. Every time someone picks up the book to read it, he must relive the whole thing.

If you dutifully follow the page sequences straight to the end, (Spoiler - click to show) Jo manages to make an appeal when you reach the final page. He wants you to free him by ripping out the page to ensure the story never ends. That way he no longer endures the pattern of traveling to the mountain and climbing it.

The player has two choices. (Spoiler - click to show) They can rip out the page like Jo requested or close the book. Both led to lackluster endings consisting of a few words on the screen. I was expecting them to have a little more substance. Fortunately, it is possible to (Spoiler - click to show) reach an alternate conclusion by diving deeper. If you ignore the page sequences and explore the links on the screen you reach hidden content that takes the game in a whole new direction. That’s when the story starts to take off.

Clicking on other links reveal (Spoiler - click to show) Jo’s daydreams and idle thoughts of what he would do if he had free agency over the storybook that he is trapped within. These scenes depict violence, self-harm, and other subjects that depart from the picture book’s cheerful story. It also details the frustrations he endured and outlines his plan for vengeance on the author of the picture book if he had a chance to escape. If you explore these grievances enough, you can reach an alternate ending. It is similar to an ending that I previously mentioned but feels more like a solid outcome that ties the story together with no loose ends.

Characters
There is some cynical humor to the story and its protagonist. A (Spoiler - click to show) “children’s book” that jumps off the deep end with a dramatic shift in story tone. One minute a good-natured boy meets a friendly bear, and the next thing we see is the boy killing the bear instead. However, not all of it is a laughing matter. There are themes that make the humor less lighthearted and the story’s content more serious. But different elements can add dimension.

This is a PC who feels trapped. Jo often looks (Spoiler - click to show) for ways of committing suicide to escape the story but fails every time. The difficult part is that once Jo shares his grievances in an alternate scene the game then launches us back into the main storybook gameplay so that Jo can go through the exact thing he was talking about. At least I can say that it is possible for Jo to be free and seek vengeance. Closure, if you will.

Visuals
A white section of page is used for the picture book which is then set against a pale blue backdrop. As a picture book it naturally features cartoon artwork. If this were a book for kids, I would say that the artwork’s style is a tad mediocre, but it has a crude quality that suggests a dissonance (or maybe it’s just the parts with the (Spoiler - click to show) blood). I have no idea if this is what the author intended but it pairs perfectly with the story and gameplay.

I like choice-based games that reveal a sinister truth and convey it with an abrupt change in visuals that tells the player in unveiled terms that they overstepped or disobeyed and should get with the program. The player has no choice but to follow the game’s orders, infusing the remaining gameplay a sense of dread. The game i love gardening comes to mind. If you refuse to garden, well…

This Is A Picture Book is a bit different in that the player is not being herded into making one specific decision. They still have choices even if Jo does not, but the change in the game’s appearance still indicates that there is a darker layer underneath this sunshiny story book. Things escalate.

The shock value comes in when you first encounter Joe’s (Spoiler - click to show) alternative narratives that dispose of the bright colours and outdoor scenery. Disturbing imagery is used. For instance, a friendly bear frolics on the green grass next to a clear blue lake. Next, the bear is dead on a stretch of concrete with red blood pooling from its neck. A noticeable transition that packs a punch.

Final thoughts
Right from the start you know that there is something wrong with Jo’s situation, but you do not know the extent of it until you go off the beaten path to explore the links that reveal the story underneath. I liked how the game rewarded the player interacting with more links by adding an ending that felt cohesive, humorous, and a place to finish playing. Hidden cynical horror with a catchy concept. I feel like people are either going to like it or dislike it. If you are comfortable with its graphic themes (Spoiler - click to show) (violence, self-harm, mentions of suicide, blood) then try it.

You are fourteen-year-old Kyle, a Boy Scout looking to earn a Community Service badge. Peanut the cat has run off, and this is your chance to show initiative. Time to investigate the local neighborhood.

Gameplay
When the game began my first impression was that a Boy Scout troop was out looking for a cat (does that occur in real-life?) which immediately creates a cool ambience. A closer look soon showed that Kyle is the only Boy Scout around. Meanwhile, a group of middle-school aged kids, are running about and talking about a kid named Max. Naturally, the player is roped into participating in Max’s plans.

I really, really, like the (Spoiler - click to show) occult twist. Yes, you heard that right. The start of the game sounds like a light, wholesome game about a youth trying to save a cat (which also sounds like fun) to earn a badge only to surprise the player with an unexpected thrill. Eerie ten-year-old Max (Spoiler - click to show) wants to hold a ritual in the groundwater tunnels. Sounds cool! Max needs three Native American artifacts for the ritual. He has one and wants you to find the other two. By now, finding the cat falls to the wayside as you pursue this new objective.

This is not a puzzle heavy game but there is a lot of exploring. The gameplay has a moderate sized map consisting of a suburban area. You will probably want to make a light map of the underground tunnels. Nothing too fancy, but you may find it helpful.

There is one bug/issue that made the game unwinnable. (UPDATE: I've received feedback that this is NOT an unwinnable state. I'm leaving this paragraph in as a formality but understand that my calling it unwinnable was an incorrect assessment on my part). (Spoiler - click to show) Max wants Clem to solder the three artifacts together. Clem follows you around for most of the gameplay. You are supposed to retrieve the hand-held generator from his garage, fill it with gas, and give it to him so he can use his solder iron. I put the game in an unwinnable state by giving him the generator before Max has all three artifacts.

He looks at you, “Give me the hand-held generator.”

I already gave it to him at the garage. I tried to take it back, but…

That seems to belong to Clem.

I restarted the game because I could see no way of soldering the artifacts together to start the ritual. CORRECTION: While Clem may still ask for the generator even after you give it to him, he will solder the artifacts together once everyone arrives.

Story
I was expecting the story to have more focus on the protagonist’s goal of earning a badge, perhaps incorporating themes of “character building.” Maybe I am misinterpreting the process of earning a Community Service badge. Point is, Kyle obviously takes this seriously, and as a game, the idea of earning a badge takes center stage. This is the first Boy Scout PC I have played in interactive fiction, and I was excited to see where it would go. Ultimately, this part of Kyle’s identity was not showcased as much as I thought it would be.

The setting is intriguing. After snooping around you come across some newspaper clippings that outline two main controversies in the area. The first follows the development of a (Spoiler - click to show) new museum on Native American culture that has been delayed over conflicts of the museum’s focus. There is also mention of Native American artifacts being discovered while the neighborhood was being developed. The second controversy looks at a trend of (Spoiler - click to show) health issues in residents that seem to be connected to the water supply. Plans were made to re-design the water drainage system, but those plans were brought to a halt. The story focuses more on the former issue.

The storyline reminded me of an element in Anchorhead where a (semi-spoilers for Anchorhead coming right up!) (Spoiler - click to show) specific tribe- I believe it was a fictional tribe- of indigenous people who worshiped celestial entities that were of interest to the Verlac family because it was connected to a vast ritual that had been planned for generations. The player, lucky you, gets to deal with the impending doom of this ritual. Right near the center of town is a big obelisk that covers the tribe’s ancient burial ground that also seals off a hell-dimension on the other side of mortal existence. You learn about this through newspaper clippings and content from the library. It’s wild. I mean, it’s Anchorhead, obviously.

Max (Spoiler - click to show) speaks of a monster in the southernmost tunnels that had been sealed off by Native Americans. This can be unsealed with a ritual using the three artifacts. Max himself also seems to be possessed. Disturbing, but not disturbing enough to dissuade the other neighborhood kids, including Kyle, from helping. Don’t get me wrong, (Spoiler - click to show) suburban Boy Scout cat search + occult ritual hosted by a ten-year-old named Max is novel as it brushes on Anchorhead themes. My complaint is this: there is hardly any story (or gameplay) about (Spoiler - click to show) finding Peanut the cat.

Start of game: You have been tasked to find the missing cat, Peanut. You're hoping this simple mission will earn you your Community Service merit badge. You head into the woods where the cat was last seen.

We’ve seen Peanut at the start of game. She’s behind a storm tunnel grating and runs off when you open it. Onwards, you try to run and chase her. Throughout the gameplay are cues such as, “You hear the tinkling of a small bell,” and “You hear a cat meowing,” amongst NPCs’ advice to look in the tunnels! And from there on, the cat takes a back seat as the gameplay shifts to finding artifacts.

When you save your friends from the monster and win the game, Peanut decides to appear and jump into your arms. Great resolution, but I just sat there realizing how much time I wasted trying to corner the cat into one of tunnels, using the dead rat as bait (probably not as appealing to cats as I thought), and experimenting with the various exits and entrances in the tunnel maze to map out her movements. The kid doesn’t even get his badge at the end of the game!

Characters
NPCs wander independently. I always enjoy seeing this in interactive fiction because it feels more dynamic. That said, their behavior does not have much substance. When you first meet them, they introduce themselves to you which is a strong start. Then they wander around until aimlessly until you make progress towards the (Spoiler - click to show) ritual. To be fair, designing seven (plus Peanut) independent NPCs is probably not an easy task. And you will find moments where NPC behavior triggers a surprising effect, such as when they all (Spoiler - click to show) suddenly gather in the meeting room to start the ritual. That was cool.

I have criticism about the dialog. The game uses the “topics” command to offer a list of topics to ask other characters. I thought this was smart because it keeps the player close to relevant subject matters. The issue is that A, topics do not acknowledge the player’s progress, and B, the “topics” feature lack subjects relevant to the situation. To use an example for the first case, (Spoiler - click to show) if you ask Max about the artifacts after the ritual, he still acts as if you have not found them yet. This put a dent in the interaction.

The other concern become more apparent as the story developed. Characters were limited in their responses to these events. The topics list never expands. In Clem’s introduction he says, "'I'm Clem. I'm in charge of the reconstruction effort.'" But asking him about it (I wanted to know if this had any connection to the (Spoiler - click to show) water quality controversy) results in, "Clem doesn't have anything useful to say about that." Alright, maybe I am being a stickler on this one. Still, subjects about the (Spoiler - click to show) ritual, the Andelmans’ house, and characters’ immediate surroundings are excluded from conversation. (Spoiler - click to show)

Guarding the room is a fearsome pitbull. He eyes you while growling.

Clem comes up from below.

>ask Clem about pitbull
Clem doesn't have anything useful to say about that.

I was expecting some response.

Also, who are the Andelmans'? It’s in the title. First impression was when I tried to enter the basement before meeting with the NPCs in the meeting place near the start of the game.

You begin to head west when suddenly you hear a girl's voice scold you, "We don't go in there. We think it's the Andelman House."

There you go. Mystery. It creates a chilling, sinister vibe to the gameplay. A hint that there is more to this maze of storm drain tunnels than what meets the eye. Right away you think, Who are the Andelmans? Sounds like a neighborhood legend. Your curiosity is spiked because this suburban adventure just got a whole lot interesting. This never went anywhere. We explore the house, almost abandoned, if not for the (Spoiler - click to show) guard dog in the kitchen. I kept wondering what the big secret was. Turns out, I was on the wrong path. I was thinking of this in terms of character names. Andelmans' Yard is (Spoiler - click to show) apparently named after a song of the same title. I would never have known that if I had not looked up the game’s title on a hunch. The song’s lyrics details exploring tunnels and themes that are seen in the gameplay. That was the connection I was missing.

Final thoughts
This game has a good start. While character interactions could use more polish, the game has been tested and it feels like completed piece. I enjoyed the surprises. Especially (Spoiler - click to show) Max’s surprises. The author does a nice job in mixing the everyday with the (Spoiler - click to show) paranormal. Even though I was expecting the gameplay to go through with its (Spoiler - click to show) original plot of searching for Peanut, I am glad that, in the end, we find her anyway. If there are any more games about Kyle trying to earn a badge, I would be interested in playing them. An enjoyable slice of life game mystery with a horror twist.

In a nutshell: Slasher horror + Reality TV + Dating sim = Blood Island

This is the only ChoiceScript game in the 2022 IFComp. Blood Island begins with a great start. You are watching a video of a contestant from the previous season of a reality TV show being stabbed by someone wearing a Barbie mask. The video ends and Chloe, a manager, enters the room. That’s because you are a contestant for the upcoming season of Passion in Paradise!

Blood Island cleverly replicates the qualities we recognize in romance-oriented reality TV shows but adds a unique and gruesome twist while maintaining an underlying light-heartedness. Even if you do not typically like horror or romance, Blood Island may surprise you.

Gameplay
Scenes usually focus on character interaction. A chunk of gameplay choices is reserved for discussing the nature of horror and reality TV with the other characters. While I would have liked to have a few more action-oriented choices about doing instead of talking (both are valuable), I like how the gameplay introduces the player to key ideas about popular culture and then pitches the concept of a Final Girl as part of the discussion.

We learn that a Final Girl (or Final Guy/equivalent) is more than just someone who is the sole person standing when the smoke clears. It is also a series of designated characteristics packaged by social expectations, often with gender norms. The traditional idea of a Final Girl has qualities ranging from drinking habits (or lack of), expectations about purity, graciousness, beauty, all the way to having the right name. Interestingly enough, the player can pursue an inverted version of a Final Girl to challenge the tried-and-true mold.

There are stats although they are only shown at the end of the game which I usually do not see in ChoiceScript games. I guess the point to use it in a more reflective manner since (Spoiler - click to show) the game wraps up with the player being interviewed about their whole experience.

Some encounters have a measure for endurance. If a player has a high enough stat more choices are available. If it is lower, some of the choices will be greyed out and unavailable. For example, (Spoiler - click to show) when the player is swimming from the shark as fast as they can, their choices are about having enough endurance to out swim the shark. These choices look like:

Keep swimming.

Keep swimming!

Swim harder!

Swim like hell!

Swim, damn it!

Don't. Stop. Swimming!!!

If you are in good shape, most of these options will be available. Otherwise, the faster options are greyed out. The game seemed to take your previous gameplay choices into consideration. If you partake in less healthy habits the game will say, “You're not exactly out of shape, but you also haven't been making the healthiest choices since you joined the show,” whereas healthy choices result in, “You take care of yourself, and it's paying off.” I thought that if I played my cards right and increased my performance, I could out swim the shark. But no matter what I did the last choice of, “Don’t. Stop. Swimming!!!” would always be greyed out. The outcome of the scene remained the same.

If there is any underlying content, I am more than ready to go digging for it, but so far, the game sticks to the same course no matter what I do.

Story
I was hoping that the game would indulge the reality TV show premise for a little longer because it is not often that I see this envisioned in interactive fiction. Passion in Paradise tasks contestants to entering a relationship by the end of each week to avoid from being disqualified. Now that I think of it, if this were a real TV show it would probably have more than eight contestants total, but this size works perfectly for this game. Contestants also receive date cards that details a fun excursion they can go on with another contestant. The gameplay never goes past round 1, nor does it reach the point where a contestant is eliminated- (Spoiler - click to show) that is, eliminated according to the show’s rules. By other means? Watch out. The stranger with the Barbie mask makes several appearances in this game.

Spoilers! (Spoiler - click to show) I thought it was sad at how the person you choose for the one and only date on the show dies but if you think about it most of the contestants (and even some non-contestants) get slaughtered in the last scene as well. Takes the idea of Final Girl literally. After all, this is a moment for slasher horror. In the epilogue the player receives a phone call about returning to Passion in Paradise. Considering how many contestants died, I am surprised that the show still manages to continue for another season.

Characters
There are seven romanceable contestants, and their introduction to the show is spot-on in creating a reality TV opening montage effect. What frustrated me about these intriguing contestants was how interchangeable the dialog and character interactions were after the opening chapters. They respond the exact same way for everything without any consideration of their unique characteristics that are portrayed when they are introduced at the start of the game reality TV-style. There are certain situations where I figured that Nick would have a different response than, let’s say, Mona, but the writing is almost always the same aside from their names. I am being a bit unreasonable since it is a lot of work to write content for seven separate contestants but please understand that the writing is well done, and it will take time before you exhaust the content.

Now, I know the game is playing around with stereotypical concepts, particularly with the trope of an ideal character that the audience adores, but it also seems like all the NPCs are equally enamored by the player, which feels flimsy. The relationship between a Final Girl/Guy PC and NPCs almost skims the Mary Sue trope which is partly the point in Blood Island. Afterall, you are the package deal. I feel that just because a contestant wins the hearts and minds of viewers does not mean their fellow contestants automatically feel the same way. The NPCs are also competitive contestants who, unlike a TV audience, directly interact with the protagonist and have a chance to form a deeper opinion of them.

Final Girl or not, even if you try stir up drama, and there are opportunities to do so, they forget about it a scene later. It makes me wonder, (Spoiler - click to show) is it even possible to get them to reject me when I choose them for the date card activity?

Also, just for the heck of it, I decided to try an alternate path. The game almost hints at a (Spoiler - click to show) possible Chloe, although I cannot say that I like her character, route. Is it possible to go through with it?

Final (get it? Fine.) thoughts
I have played two of the author's games and I noticed a skill for taking a potentially seedy premises and making it work. Horror game in a retirement home? Slasher horror on a reality TV show? The author pulls it off. (By the way, consider playing The Waiting Room from last year’s competition. Horror with a human touch.)

I was similarly impressed with Blood Island. This game offers a wild time. Your first playthrough is exhilarating and will likely leave you reaching for seconds. After some experimentation the allure fades, but there is enough content to sustain the player for a while. Its discussion of the Final Girl concept is especially memorable.

Question: If someone (Spoiler - click to show) stabs you with a cake knife in your stomach all the way to the hilt, would you survive that? It is surprising at how the human body can withstand major injuries but that sounds like it would test the limits. Then again, perfect for a slasher story.

In the far future, climate change has done a number on planet Earth. Glaciers are melting. After a particularly large melt scientists found a strange strain of fungi with incredible resilience to extreme conditions and sentient properties. After tinkering around with genetic engineering, the military winds up with humanoid plant-based beings called Hyphaens.

Upside: They make great soldiers. Downside: Without social interaction they cannibalize each other.

Gameplay
The game starts with heavy exposition before launching into gameplay. The protagonist is desperate to secure a job after being dishonorably discharged from the military and manages to find employment as a companion for a Hyphaen. Here, character customization is cleverly woven into an application form that allows you to edit the protagonist's gender, height, and other characteristics. The gameplay then consists of preparing and traveling to meet your assigned Hyphaen.

One thing I disliked was how the protagonist makes informed decisions while the player is left in the dark. The main example is if you decide to (Spoiler - click to show) explore the mall. The protagonist automatically starts buying all this stuff that is later used to create a makeshift weapon for self-defense. A brief mention of the protagonist’s intent for buying would suffice. Something like, “hm, these substances may be useful in repelling Hyphaens,” would have been helpful for context.

Story
The turning point is a gnarly scene where (Spoiler - click to show) the protagonist is being devoured by their assigned Hyphaen up arriving at the apartment. There are three endings, two bad, one good. So far, I reached (Spoiler - click to show) BAD END 1 and (Spoiler - click to show) GOOD END but not the third outcome. The good ending involves (Spoiler - click to show) fighting off the Hyphaen. It leaves the player on a bit of a cliff hanger since it just ends with the protagonist leaving, although there is the implication that the protagonist is now on the run from killing military property. I do appreciate how the author provides some additional exposition on what happened before ending it.

I spent a chunk of time trying to find a way to (Spoiler - click to show) avoid being attacked by the Hyphaen but I do not think that is possible. There are some mixed messages that I tried to decipher. The Hyphaen’s dialog after you successfully defend yourself suggests that the Hyphaen merely wanted a connection. That said, there is no kidding the fact that such a connection would result in the death of the protagonist. It was only after re-reading the concluding text about "separation-induced aggravation" that I started to hammer together an explanation.

I’m just going to take a whack at it. (Spoiler - click to show) There is some hive mind plant entity in the arctic that is connected to the Hyphaens that function as a "fungal network." This entity(s?) is referred to as Mother and Father, or at least some translation of it. An expedition went down there but was ordered to return when things started getting weird. We learn about this from one of the protagonist’s memories, but it is cut short.

Naturally, Hyphaens' central impulse is to communicate with themselves and a parent hive. But when humans decide to cultivate (or grow?) them in a civilization in a sad dome on a tundra, that living connection is lost. They still have social interactions with nearby Hyphaen and humans, but it is not the same as a hive. Without this link their mental state falls apart and aggression occurs when they socialize. Hence why the Hyphaen attacks the protagonist. Human companion programs were meant to stave off aggressive tendencies through regular mild interactions, but in this case, it was not adequate. That scene was intense.

Visuals
The game has a stylized appearance and colour scheme that adds a nice ambience. Black text box with wide margins and rounded corners that casts a shadow against a green background. This is paired with thick white text and yellow links. Also, there are these black rectangular boxes that briefly appear at the top of the screen throughout the gameplay that say things like (Spoiler - click to show) “TERMINAL: Dome Termed,” almost as if they were achievements before vanishing (see note).

Cover art is weird, terrifying, but cool. I assume that’s a Hyphaen?

Final thoughts
At first, I was not sure if I liked this game. I felt that the game was too short (though by no means incomplete) and that it left me with too many questions. But during my first playthrough I glossed over the large amount of exposition and backstory that the gameplay provides. When I went back to absorb the details, the story became more potent.

While I would have gladly played Defrosted if it were longer, I do think it is reasonable in length to keep players from being burned out. Its length is best described as compact. A lot of thoughtfulness has been put into this game and I am curious to see the author’s future work.

NOTE: Just as I was finishing this review my usual unobservant self suddenly made a big discovery. There is an arrow button at the top left corner of the screen (I know, it’s obvious) that opens to a menu with some useful features.

It has a dictionary of terms that are updated throughout the gameplay, and stat levels for the player’s strength and pheromone levels. The popup boxes that I mentioned earlier are meant to inform you that new terms have been added to the dictionary. I cannot believe I missed that.

The protagonist of Something Blue is Helen, a young woman recently married to an affluent man named Henry Compton. Great match. The story is told through letters that she writes to her sister Anne. But each letter gradually reveals a sinister truth.

Gameplay
Gameplay is simple enough. For each of Helen’s letters you choose several passages by clicking on a link that cycles through your options. There are three options per passage, and options seem to feature three different tones:

(1) Helen assumes the best of her husband and never speculates about suspicious things.
(2) Helen admits that she is not enjoying being married and that her husband gets super touchy about certain topics but otherwise plays ball. For a while, at least.
(3) Helen is sure that that something weird and explainable is going on. This last one sits on a fence between working yourself into imaging things and knowing Exactly What You Saw.

I was half expecting, half hoping that the player could determine Helen’s actions based on your choices while writing her letter. If Helen writes to Anne that she will (Spoiler - click to show) explore the attic when Henry leaves, she will explore the attic. If she opts to stay out of it, she stays out of it. Instead, it she goes to the (Spoiler - click to show) attic every time, and honestly, I cannot fault her for that. Ultimately my issue is that gameplay choices seem superficial when finding the possible outcomes for the story. I would mix and match choices to see how it shaped the gameplay, but it ended up being rather linear.

Story
Helen is told she get go wherever she wants in the house except (Spoiler - click to show) the attic. I will just rip off the band-aid. (Spoiler - click to show) Helen sneaks into the attic and discovers the dead bodies of Henry’s previous six wives. Her final letter to Anne shares her findings. The game ends with Helen’s husband sending a letter to Anne with bad news. He explains that Helen’s previous letter surely must have been the result of a high fever that gave her delusions that her husband had murdered his former wives. Haha. No, the player is not going to buy into that too easily.

I found the ending to be ambiguous. We know he is trying to cover his tracks. We do not know if Helen tried to run away or asked him about what she saw. I am assuming that at some point he figured out that she explored the attic. The implications of this are disturbing but we are left with a bit of a cliffhanger. Is she dead? He offers to allow Anne and her parents to come visit, so I take it that she is still alive. But if gameplay has any merit, she will probably end up like the other wives. Implied horror can work tremendously, but Something Blue ends a bit too soon for the story to click.

Henry’s writing about a fever feels like the default ending, but there is an alternate ending that ends in a similar fashion. If you choose gameplay prompts that seem a little, for the lack of a better word, “hysterical,” Henry writes that she was sent to a sanatorium instead. Historically, the notion of hysteria been used as a way of diagnosing women, which opens a can of worms about sexism and other issues. But it appears that Henry is going to use that to his advantage. Like the other ending, things are a little ambiguous about the outcome. Is he really sending her to a sanatorium or is he just going to kill her in the attic?

In case you are curious, the game’s title is based off a wedding rhyme that says, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." Each part of the rhyme details something the bride should wear while tying the knot to ensure certain blessings throughout the marriage. The "something blue" is meant to defend against evil superstition but (Spoiler - click to show) having a husband who chops up his wives also counts. If Helen followed the rhyme at all, it clearly failed. Especially with "something blue." The sad thing too is that her first letter in the game suggests that she married at her parents’ insistence. She probably had little say on not just who she married, but also on how she was married.

Visuals
The visuals only tinker with basic effects but they are effectively polished. The text is on a yellowish-white square against a dark blue background with matching links. It draws attention to the colour in the game’s title. I thought it was a nice look.

Final thoughts
This was one of the first games I played for this year’s EctoComp, and I fun reading the story. Definitely a horror game. It could have been more fleshed-out, but it is still a quality piece suitable for a few rounds. If you like interactive fiction with gameplay that exclusively takes place through letters that you modify, consider Something Blue.

This is an EctoComp game. Had I not known that when I first saw the swirly bleeding-heart cover art, I would have guessed that I was about to play a twisted Valentine's Day game. Actually, it could probably double for Halloween (why am I still talking about Halloween?) and Valentine's Day if you are in the mood for horror. Potentially versatile option.

Anyway, MARTYR ME is a candid game about a murderer- a serial killer- dicing up a victim. You play as the murderer, but the narration is second person as told from the victim's perspective (Technically, the dialog is made up in the PC's mind, but they pretend that they are being addressed directly). I am not even sure if the victim is still alive. The start of the game sort of gives the impression that they are already dead, and that the murderer is merely playing around with a corpse.

The pivotal choice you make at the start of the game is whether you want to take your time or jump right in. The goal is to perform a ritual to martyr the victim by carrying out specific “steps” while butchering them. It is almost humorous at how offended the murder victim is if you decide to rush through this process. How dare you cleave me like that? Make it pretty. I know this sounds morbid- I mean, a game about gory murder embodies that concept perfectly- but the author presents it with a concise concept and consistent tone.

As a Twine game the visuals only dabble with a colour scheme, but it looks nice. It uses a pink not-quite-red background that later changes to shades of red and fuchsia. This is paired with white text, and pink/dark red links. The player is not sure if the colour makes them think of blood or candy. Or punch.

Reading my review will probably make you think, “!?!?!?? What is this game?” Well, it pulls the subject matter off better than you would expect. Yes, it is gory, and you may or may not like it. But it is also a horror game and a submission to EctoComp, of which it fairs quite nicely.

(It sometimes has faint vibes from PaperBlurt's The Urge, but much shorter and with a different storyline and gameplay POV. Don’t let that scare you away.)

You are a zombie reviewing a meal.

I was not anticipating an undead connoisseur penning comprehensive reviews after sampling a smorgasbord of brains. Based on the words “Yelp Reviewer” I figured that the game would put the player in the role of someone who wants to write an earnest review about their dining experience, the catch being that they are a zombie eating brains. But above all I was expecting the game to take things a little more seriously.

Instead, the game opts for an ALL-CAPS approach to everything. Zombies are not going to be the most eloquent of review writers (although the PC is obviously tech-savvy enough to use a smartphone and an app) but having, "SO ME STUMBLE AROUND LOOKING FOR BRAINS" the entire time felt like it was trying to get the player to laugh.

Nor does it really “review” brains. It barely feels like a Yelp review. My guess is that the author wanted to include some backstory, which is great, but ends up cramming it into the zombie’s review to the point where it becomes a ramble of how the man was slaughtered. Critiquing the quality of the brains occurs in the last choice in the gameplay. It reminds me of Yelp reviews of restaurants that focus on how they found the place rather than their experience inside of it.

I must say, the title of the game is pretty cool. Yelp reviewing + Zombie is a creative idea that drew me in. The final product, however, did not sell. Geoffrey Golden is a talented author. If you have played Use Your Psychic Powers at Applebee’s, you can see his knack for humor and novel ideas, and I encourage you to do so. But You Are a Zombie Yelp Reviewer is a clever concept that needs more development for it to be palatable.

I am in IFComp mode right now, so please excuse this brief intermission. I also encourage you to put this on your Halloween play list. Preferably with the lights off.

The premise of Disharmony is that you and your friends live in the same country, but far enough away from each other to make daily face-to-face in-person interaction impractical. Everyone uses a messaging and streaming app called Harmony to keep in touch. However, Reina has been unresponsive to anyone’s messages. As more of your friends keep speculating about what to do next, you get a feeling that there is something more beneath the surface.

Gameplay
Disharmony follows the investigation-via-online-messaging trope, a trope that is usually exciting even if it you have seen it before. This game is no exception. It cultivates an investigative ambience for a story that is a mix mystery and horror elements.

A main mechanic is tracing contradictions in character dialog. It is a balance of knowing when to take things with a grain of salt, and when to pick out clues that are a solid indicator. How you respond to characters is as equally important. Here is a scenario:

If you think Character 1 seems suspicious, the game may have you discuss it with Character 2 or Character 3 for answers. But it is also possible that it has nothing to do with Character 1, that instead it is Character 2 or 3 (or neither?) who is at the root of your suspicions. You must follow closely or end up sharing the right findings with the wrong person. If a character thinks you are on to them, they will be less responsive as you try to piece everything together.

While your friends continue to talk, you notice something suspicious.
Who do you contact about it?

Sometimes characters will message you privately to share their own thoughts and suspicions, which only amplifies as the game continues. A helpful feature is how the game summarizes characters’ perspectives akin to, "[Character name] thinks that [spoiler] is being [spoiler] by-" (and so forth) when the player needs to make an important decision.

In the last half of the game the player runs in to a moral choice. This is where another (Spoiler - click to show) horror movie trend enters: The “group vote.” In these cases, everyone is eyeing each other suspiciously and, in the face of strife, decides to “vote” to either pin the blame on someone or to assign someone to complete an unsavory task for the benefit of the group. Something like that happens in Disharmony.

By now, some creepypasta themes are also introduced. (Spoiler - click to show) Reina claims to be trapped somewhere called, “Never,” and one of the NPCs goes diving into the internet to search for an explanation. They find a secluded article that matches the content in Reina’s messages, and the solution in the article- you know what? Play the game. But expect to make a tough moral decision regarding one of the NPCs. It will keep you busy for a while.

Story
I am not going to hash out the ins and outs of the endings because they will be 150% more enjoyable if you experience them for yourself. But I still want to share some findings. This is where I caution you to play the game before you read this section of my review. It is so easy to click on the spoiler tag to see what’s underneath, but the spoilers here will dampen the thrill of reaching your first ending.
(Spoiler - click to show)
I found out who was responsible for Reina's disappearance, but when the ritual (spoilers, I warned you) was complete, Reina was not returned while the person responsible was returned instead. In the next playthrough the same happened except the person responsible did not return. Finally, I managed to get Reina back at the expense of the person responsible. And then much later I managed to bring them both back. Win? Not really.

Now, I am giving the game four stars instead of five because of its weak ending. This is not me wishing for a happy fairytale where everyone wins. Instead, I did not like how dismissive the game was when the player fulfills the objective of returning Reina.

If you fail, the game informs you that, “Reina is offline,” and then everyone glumly logs off. The screen then says, "The events of the night have left everyone shaken and disturbed. Your friends begin to sign off, no doubt to report the circumstances, or contact one another in some way, or sit and process what has happened." Makes sense. Now, when I first succeeded, this is what I got:

Reina is online.

Check Harmony.

Presumably the goal of checking Harmony is to have a chit chat with Reina about her disappearance, right? No, the game still wraps up the same way, first with everyone logging off, and second with the game giving you the exact message that you get when you fail. Is everyone seriously going to log off after successfully bringing her back? Now, she is online and probably wondering where everyone went. No one acknowledges the victory of saving her. If a group chat with Reina is not possible, I was hoping that the player could at least have a private chat with her. Instead, you can only log off.

The game puts so much effort into creating a complex and choice-sensitive gameplay experience only to reduce it to a generalized outcome that ignores the player’s choices. To be clear, there are multiple endings in the sense where a major decision that you make at the end is evaluated and then weighed to determine your success in bringing back Reina. But the ending text and the NPCs’ behavior stays the same regardless.

Anyway, that is my take on the story. I am not entirely convinced that I found the ultimate best ending, but I do know what else it could be. Despite my feelings about the endings, it still makes me want to revisit it (and I have). It is an excellent game.

Characters
Zero, Amelia, Jae, and Ravi are the NCPs whom you interact with to figure out what happened to Reina. As the game moves on you get a sense of their relationships with each other. It is not necessarily a tight group where everyone are close pals, but there is a general sense of familiarity. Of course, this dynamic takes on new forms as the mystery grows.

Visuals
Disharmony has simple but stylized look. It uses a dark grey background with lightly coloured text. The author does not try to replicate a chat room look with message bubbles or interface. The only indicator are the colour-coded character names and the occasional @ symbol, which works perfectly well. Fancy chat room designs in Twine games are awesome, but this game shows that a basic look is just as effective at conveying the idea of chat space. Also: The cover art is pretty.

The game’s use of delayed pauses is spot on. I have seen so many Twine games that overuse pauses to point where the suspenseful/dramatic effect is canceled out since everything seems to be drawing (pause) out (pause) the (you get the idea) suspense. Plus, it slows progress. Disharmony uses them whenever Reina sends messages which builds suspense because there is a feeling of anticipation as she slowly doles out shards of information about her circumstances. (Spoiler - click to show) A creepy moment is when she suddenly floods the screen with messages.

Final thoughts
Disharmony is creepier than I thought it would be, and I had a lot of fun. The tropes were nicely done. A mystery conducted through chat messaging paired with horror movie character group dynamics. There is some creepypasta thrown in as well. This is all combined with an intriguing storyline, consistent pacing, and a mix of NPC personalities.

I especially liked its investigative nature of the gameplay. (Spoiler - click to show) Winning is not a simple matter of identifying a culprit. It involves identifying a culprit and then going the extra mile so that Reina is brought back. Even though I have (Spoiler - click to show) mixed feelings about the rather lackluster winning ending, reaching it still felt rewarding. There is still the possibility that I missed some things. For this game, it is quite possible. I highly recommend this game to anyone in the mood for a horror Twine game.

(Actually, (Spoiler - click to show) the only trope that made me roll my eyes a little was how everyone’s phones die when they consider calling emergency services. Then again, it functions fine enough.)

All it took were the words, "research institute that studies aquatic life," in the game's description for me to tell myself, "I have to play this." Plus, it sounds like an unusual setting for a horror story. I was excited. But when it came to sink or swim, the game unfortunately could not hold its own.

Gameplay
The Pool begins at a casual staff party at the institute (we never learn its specific name), which is an attention-grabbing way of starting the game. But tension is in the air. Casual conversation informs us that the protagonist's boss had been missing for several days. People are working overtime to compensate. As the party wraps up, chaos breaks loose. Turns out (Spoiler - click to show) former friends and coworkers are looking to turn their colleagues into fish food. Not goldfish. Something worse.

The gameplay essentially features the protagonist trying to get out of desperate situations with the threat of death lurking around every corner. It becomes a stampede for survival. You are usually presented with two choices at a time, either having to do with character dialog or a generalized decision making. Stay or leave. Help or hide. Go with Ada or go with Marcus. A downside to this game is that everything feels a bit scattered. There are large passages of text with a mix of dialog, sudden changes in scenery, swearing, sea monsters, and other developments that can be hard to follow. But if you stick it out and trudge through, you will find an interesting story.

The redeeming quality in this game is its use of branching gameplay. In fact, the number of paths were fairly impressive. The branching begins at the start of the game where the player chooses who to mingle with at the staff party, and that branches off as well. What I like about this is how paths each have different ways of informing the player about the nightmare that unfolds because they determine where you are in the facility and who you are with when disaster strikes. For example, (Spoiler - click to show) in one path you directly see Ada betray everyone, but in another you may only learn about it second hand. A memorable case of the former is when nearly everyone from the party is chained to a rig that Ada slowly lowers into the pool. This occurs if you choose to hang out with Ada after the party. Sounds gnarly, but it conjures memories of renting horror movies from those Redbox stations for slumber parties. It occurs early in the game, and that is only one path.

The author makes a notable effort at diversifying what you see in each playthrough. If you play the game and think that you have seen everything, then you are probably wrong. Because of this, I played the game multiple times despite its lack of organization.

Story
If you read the previous section, you already know that there is lots of branching to play with, and how it gives you different ways of experiencing certain events. Another upside is that it provides some exposition on the overreaching story, one broader than what we usually see in each playthrough. Common knowledge is that (Spoiler - click to show) the aquatic monsters bite humans to turn them into new monsters, almost like zombies. We also know that Ada and Marcus were involved. But there is more to it. You really have to dig* to find it all, (Spoiler - click to show) but the gist is a conspiracy between the institute and another lab about developing a new form of organism capable of unheard-of morphing abilities for “research.” Dr. Chamber’s phone even mentions a vague business deal. Feel free to play the game to learn more.
*(Did (Spoiler - click to show) you know that there are TWO locked door password-puzzles in this game?)

Endings. It depends (Spoiler - click to show) on whether you include the countless ways of dying as endings or merely premature ones. I found two endings where you walk away alive, only one of which truly feels like a “win.” (Oddly enough, there are two paths that lead to this same ending). Strangely, the winning ending is the most lackluster since it features the protagonist going home and carrying on with their life without any mention of the aftermath of the whole incident. I take it that they no long work at the institute. If you feel like exploring every outcome in this game, it will keep you busy for a while.

Characters
Characters fall into familiar horror movie tropes, but that can be part of the charm. If you are looking for complex characters with multi-dimensional relationships with the protagonist, you should look elsewhere. But if you want tried and true character molds, The Pool is a decent example. You have the (Spoiler - click to show) lively acquaintance (Ada) who betrays everyone for personal gain. The spritely action-oriented character (Zara) who expertly pulls the protagonist out of danger and teams up with them. The best friend (or in this case the deceitful "best friend") Marcus. And other NPCs. But instead of chewing the fat I will just encourage you to test the game for yourself.

There is also some attempted character development about the protagonist who has always been timid about stepping outside of their comfort zone and making friends with people without worrying if they share the same interests. The gameplay often features segments where the protagonist has a chance to “break” out and become a new person. It is rather formulaic approach but fits in with the trope-ness seen throughout the game.

Visuals
The game uses a basic Twine visual appearance: blue links, black screen, white text (with occasional animation). However, this is overrun by numerous spelling and punctuation errors that stick out everywhere. Instead of separating the text into paragraphs the author just crams everything together to create one big mass of unformatted text, especially for scenes with lots of dialog. Occasionally, some areas are a bit smoother. But overall, it looks unpolished and unorganized, and it is obvious.

Also, three links lead to a blank screen (frustrating since I was waiting to see what would happen next), whereas a few others lead to a screen with text but no link to move forward. A little proof-reading and testing would go a long way.

Final thoughts
The author has a lot of promising ideas but right now it is simply not a polished piece. Not incomplete- it is playable and possible to reach endings- but more like a draft.

I would recommend The Pool to anyone interested in a creature horror story that conjures up familiar vibes of the "creature horror story" genre while adding a unique touch here and there. Plus, it is short enough for a few rounds. It is best enjoyed if you experiment with the gameplay paths. For me, each playthrough lasted about 15 minutes or less. Otherwise, this game needs some work before I would recommend it to all players.

(Oh, one more thing. I see we are getting close to Halloween. If you feel like burning through horror games while guzzling candy, The Pool has a little more appeal.)

The onset of the zombie apocalypse begins right as you are watching TV. With the world thrown into chaos, fellow neighbors become fellow zombie survivors. A house is transformed into a survival base, and you are nominated as leader. But, in the distance there is a whole horde of zombies coming your way. You will have to prepare.

Gameplay
This is a stat/resource management game where you assign tasks to other characters. After a short intro you are given ten survivors to order about. It was intimidating at first to see all the elements that you need to manage, but the implementation becomes nicely streamlined.

In the center of the screen is a big grey chart. The first left hand chunk of the chart organizes survivors into six groups: Farmers, Guards, Builders, Researchers, Hunters, and Scavengers. You choose how many survivors are in each group and specify their task. Statistics for each group are on the right side of the chart along with additional stats such as the group's happiness levels. Seeing all that was the overwhelming part for me. Numbers, percentages, the whole thing. But this soon changed.

The left side of the screen has a column of status bars that show the completion of the tasks assigned to each group, providing a nice visual indicator of your progress. Interestingly enough, the gameplay also takes place in real time. The game conveniently lists updates in timestamped orange text below the chart to summarize the impacts of your choices. It did not take long for me to familiarize myself with everything. Then things became fun.

I like how the author adds a little touch of atmosphere. There is a section of text at the bottom of the screen that lets you “visit” each area of your base, such as a radio tower or underground tunnel. There is not much to do in them. For the most part, they are just cosmetic. But being able to lightly interact with them as you expand your hideout was a nice detail. The author seems to have a lot of creative ideas.

A challenge, perhaps?
This game has adjustable difficulty. Easy mode, normal mode, hard mode.

Hard mode is considerably trickier because it is challenging to recruit survivors. In the first two modes if you send out a party to look for them you always manage to find at least one. But in hard mode they are more likely to come back empty handed. Survivors are critical to getting things done. The more survivors assigned to a task, the faster the task is completed. What should you do? Use your current survivors to find recruits at the expense of completing immediate tasks, or devote them to immediate tasks without increasing population size? You can try both but at the end of the day, those zombies seem outpace you. It took forever to beat hard mode, but I eventually did.

Story
Approaching Horde! is not a particularly grim zombie game. Its tone maintains a light heartedness that presents the zombie apocalypse in a more comic light without sacrificing the urgency of the situation. You go from channel surfing on your couch to commanding a group of zombie survivors. At the end of the game, (Spoiler - click to show) you are presented with a journal that the PC wrote about the experience with surprisingly cheerful entries. Even the bad endings, where you get zombified, are meant to be a bit humorous. I thought that the intro was especially funny and starts the game off on a strong note.

Your spouse has ran towards you so quickly, that you're knocked to the ground and your spouse is literally on top of you!

Normally this would be a good thing, but in this case your spouse has already turned and joined the ranks of the undead.

I feel that most interactive fiction games about zombies try to add a dash of humor. In this case, I do not mean games that take play in an apocalypse setting where people are turned into zombie-like beings by a fictious pathogen designed by an author. Those games are also awesome. I highly recommend playing Alone, another IFComp game that came out in 2020 (but made with Inform, not Twine). Some argue that Alone is a zombie game, and with solid reasoning. I can see why. Agreed. But it does not quite fit with what I have in mind here.

When I say zombie games, I mean games that blatantly advertise the fact that it is a zombie story where everything in the gameplay screams, we-are-living-in-a-zombie-apocalypse apocalypse. Out of every game that I have played that fits this category they all seem to instill some underlying humor or irony rather than 110% doomsday destruction. This is not a bad thing. Just something I did not realize until I played Approaching Horde! Then again, I am only basing this off the games I have seen so far. Feel free to share recommendations.

Characters
There are hardly any specific characters. There is Phil, your former neighbor, but he only gets a small mention. But no complaints. That works just fine with this storyline and format.

This is one of those stories where every survivor possesses the skills to become a biomedical researcher or farmer at the drop of the hat. Realistic? Probably not, it is a management game where you do not need to look too closely.

Visuals
I already gave an overview of some of the visuals, so here is a deeper analysis. The design is not flashy, but simple and functional. Basic colours are used for drop-down menus, numbers, and other details while the status bars have some bright colours that change as they increase or decrease. All of this is set against a black background. Basic but attractive. Most importantly though, above all else, the text is large and easy to read.

Fancy effects are fun and encouraged, but detailed management games that go wild with visual effects can make it difficult to read and, you know, manage the content. This game keeps it easy to look at, and simple to use. There are some spelling errors that were noticeable but ultimately it has a polished and clear-cut look.

Final thoughts
This game has already roped me into playing about a dozen times. The gameplay is moderate in length, and it is fun to experiment. You may like this game if you are into zombies or resource management, or both. I suggest giving it a test run in easy mode to get acquainted to the gameplay mechanics, but there is a good chance that you will be reaching to play it again, perhaps in other modes. And if you feel otherwise, that is fine. It is just worth a try.

Your best friend has a change in plans for Friday night. Instead of watching movies like usual you are going to a party hosted by Henry, a former classmate. Henry... Vaguely familiar. No one fully knows why he stopped going to your high school but hey, a party is a party. Everyone will be there.

Gameplay
The player first customizes their best friend with a name and pronouns before the game begins. There is a brief intro that is skippable after your first playthrough. On the drive to the party your friend hits a pale and gangly creature unlike any animal you know. You can then choose (and this is where the gameplay begins when you skip the intro) to either step out of the car to look around or to continue driving to the party. This choice is relatively trivial, but its effects will worm its way into the rest of the gameplay in the form of tiny details.

At the party the player can roam around in three main areas: the barn, the yard, and the house. The game gives the player some free range of moment where it feels like they are strolling from each location. In these areas are some partygoers and light scenery, some of which the player can directly interact with. This is not a puzzle-oriented game, but it does require the player to use creative thinking to find every ending. Its combination of ten endings and short playthroughs make it a game with great replay value. At the time of this review, I managed to reach all but the fifth ending.

There are some rough areas that stood out. If you talk to Henry in the loft, he climbs down the ladder but leaves his thermos and key behind. You can then choose to take either item or simply leave. However, if you (Spoiler - click to show) do the latter and then return to the loft, the game repeats the encounter as if the player never visited with Henry in the first place. This did not give the impression of being purposely designed to cultivate a surreal effect for an otherworldly party. It just seemed like rough implementation. He can also be in different places at once. If you wear the mask, he will be telling a story around the bonfire while waiting in the loft at the same time (unless you previously took the key or the thermos).

Someone is sitting with his legs dangling over the edge, his back to you. It's Henry.

Say hello.

Climb back down to the barn.

The other rough edge that stood out is when content seem to replace each other. If you (Spoiler - click to show) eat five cookies in the kitchen you hear your friend calling you from the basement (and in fact, they are there when you open the door) but if you go to the cornfield instead of opening the door you find them under the suspiciously UFO-looking light in the field which defaults to either ending 8 or ending 7. It is as if the game suddenly rewrote the fact that the NPC was in the basement. This is not commonplace but still dulled the shine a little while I experimented with the gameplay. Nonetheless, it still offered immersive and compelling playthroughs.

Story
One of the strongest aspects of this game is its atmosphere and familiar spooky themes. People telling unsettling stories around a fire, seances, a strange host, mystery beverages, etc. Then there is the odd fact that, when asked, none of the guests can say they know Henry at all. Intriguing. All of this sets a stage for the story.

But the storyline laced through it all almost stops short. The player does not quite feel like they are peeling back a mystery or some deeper layer. Some of the endings have a bit of cliche horror, such as the (Spoiler - click to show) Skin Suit ending. Others are more contemplative or make the player blink and say, “what just happened?” I liked all of these. It is tough to put into words. I sometimes felt like I was just skimming the surface of something more. Then again, horror games do not always need ultra-complex and detailed stories to be effective. Regardless, I still greatly enjoyed this game.

If I were to piece everything together to find the underlying story this is what I think it would be. Also: mega spoilers with yuck factor. (Spoiler - click to show) An evil (perhaps alien considering the UFO over the cornfield) entity killed Henry a while ago- explaining why Henry left high school- and stole his skin as a suit. If you go into the attic you see “Henry” slip out of his skin next to a clothing rack of, you guessed it, other human skins. Of course, the game ends with the entity claiming the protagonist as a new wardrobe piece. The game is not (particularly) graphic. Mostly implied horror (Halloween, anyone?). (Spoiler - click to show) These themes are only explored in endings 3 and 9. The other endings take a more generalized approach to the story. Does anyone have a different take on it?

Visuals
The game sticks to a black screen, blue links, and (almost exclusively) white text. A strength is that the text is evenly spaced and easy to read. I know you are probably thinking, "So? Why are you rambling about this?" Well, text formatting can leave a dent in the game or enhance it. This game, I think, is a good example of a polished but basic look. It has a slightly distinctive look.

The game will occasionally incorporate some text effects to convey an effective atmosphere. This includes light animation and colours. It even dabbles with different font here and there. My favorite effect is when the lights in the den go out and the player has to "search" for the light switch by sweeping their mouse/cursor across the screen until the link appears. This demonstrates how special effects can be used to tell the story.

Final thoughts
That Night at Henry’s Place is a solid and well-fleshed horror Twine game. Despite some rough areas the game effectively draws the player in with its dawning sense of horror and flexibility in free range of movement. The player can stroll freely from location to location but leaving the party entirely is another matter! I enjoyed the atmosphere and was motivated to try for every ending.

Right now, we are getting close to the end of September which means Halloween is coming up. If you are thinking about compiling a personal Halloween IF playlist for October, consider That Night at Henry’s Place. In fact, there are some Halloween references in the game!

The zombie apocalypse came and killed your parents. Then it killed your spouse. The only person left is your baby. Using a shack as shelter you will fight tooth and nail to keep the zombies at bay. Hopefully the two of you will survive the night.

Gameplay
This is an incredibly creative use of ChoiceScript. Currently it is the first one that I have encountered where the player has free range of movement to roam around with north, south, east, and west directions. Rather than presenting the player with list of story options such as "Choose to defend the baby" or "Ambush the zombies from the north" the game has the player actively fight the zombies each step of the way. It instead uses “Go north,” “East some food,” or “Fire shotgun” options that require the player to strategize as they defend against each zombie that approaches the house. While the player cannot examine individual things in each area they can scavenge for supplies, rest, or eat. This is such a unique gameplay approach for this story format.

There are four rooms in the house, one room (randomly chosen) containing the baby. The gameplay’s core objective is to protect the baby from the zombies. You go from room to room killing zombies with an axe or shotgun before they can shuffle to the baby’s crib. There is a stats page that tells lists your energy levels, inventory, and number of zombies remaining in the wave. The player "Levels Up" after defeating each wave of zombies. Between each wave you can scavenge for shotgun shells and cans of food. I had fun coordinating these different aspects of gameplay.

There is no way of saving the game nor are there checkpoints that let you return to the previous level. It would have been helpful if these features were available because the gameplay can become repetitive. My initial strategy (Spoiler - click to show) was to shoot zombies when they were three to two steps outside of the house and axe those that entered the house or were right outside the window. I found it helpful that the game alerts the player to the number of steps a zombie has before it enters the house. Each time I cleared a room I would immediately return to the baby’s room to see if any zombies snuck in.

At one point I ran out of energy and could no longer move to other rooms. I also had no food. The only thing I could do was rest. My strategy was to wait in the baby’s room and simply wait for the zombies to come to me. This allowed me to alternate between attacking a zombie with the axe and resting. This was so effective that I continued to do this even when my energy levels were no longer an issue.

Story
The story is your standard zombie apocalypse narrative about a nondescript virus turning people into zombies which results in survivors having to constantly fend off wave of zombie attacks. This familiar storyline in zombie games does not necessarily need too many details to feel like a finished piece, especially if you enjoy the classic elements of the genre but it certainly does not hurt when authors choose to incorporate a more complex story. Zombie Blast 2023 sticks to the basics which is just fine.

The only story is about the protagonist’s desire to protect their baby after losing everyone else. The entire gameplay spans over one night. Once you (Spoiler - click to show) complete Level 9 the game declares that you made it to morning and awards you the “Survive the night” achievement worth 25 points. The game then asks if you want to continue playing or just to end it right there. I believe that this achievement means that you have “won” the game. It definitely felt like an achievement!

Visuals
This is a nicely stylized ChoiceScript game. The top portion for the story text is light orange while the menu choices are shown in black with an orange border. All of this is set against a black background. I liked this look because the colours make it stand out from other ChoiceScript games that I have played. ChoiceScript games are something that can be enjoyed with or without fancy visual effects, but it is always fun to see when authors experiment. The game also uses fun icons to illustrate player choices such as a cereal bowl next to the “Eat some food” option. It adds just a little bit of pizzazz without being distracting.

Final thoughts
This game is a great concept with some novel features but has characteristics that might frustrate players, particularly not being able to save or return to checkpoints. But at the same note it is incredibly entertaining and gives the player a chance to strategize. I recommend Zombie Blast 2023 if you are interested in the zombie genre, looking for gameplay with combat, or curious to see a creative application of ChoiceScript.

This is a story about an unusual and awkward dinner date. Actually, “unusual” and “awkward” are grave understatements. A woman named Marcia has roped you into a dinner date with Angie, a recent acquaintance. You just hope that things will not be too weird.

Gameplay
Marcia is introduced as "the host." She gives the impression of setting up two acquaintances on a date in her home and trying to walk them step-by-step through having a good time. Marcia's dialog is shown in extra-large all-caps text in bold to CONVEY THAT MARCIA HAS A STRONG, OVERBEARING, AND OVERLY ENTHUSIASTIC VOICE. Otherwise, things seem normal if tense. The gameplay consists of following Marcia’s cues and shuffling through generic conversation topics. This was not particularly interesting, but gradually new developments arise.

About halfway through the game it becomes apparent that something weird is going on, but it is not until after the date that we get a full explanation. We learn that (Spoiler - click to show) Marcia personally bathes the protagonist and Angie and sews them clothes, with Angie wearing a dress that was "tailored for a doll several inches taller than her." Now you know that these circumstances were abnormal. (Spoiler - click to show) An eyedropper descended to the table, silently offering refills for our glasses, but we both politely declined. Yep, definitely abnormal.

Story + Characters
Here is the twist that had me thinking "whoa, where did THAT come from?" Get ready. After the dinner date, the twist is that (Spoiler - click to show) Marcia's hobby is to sneak around collecting DNA from people to make mini clones that serve as her dolls. The clones manage to retain basic memories of their originals, but the originals are unaware that this is happening. As for the clones, all they can do is suck it up make a life out of their situation. Marcia builds dollhouses for her clones, seven total. The protagonist is a clone. So is Angie. I realized that the appearance of Marcia's dialog was not just to suggest that she has a loud voice. It is to (Spoiler - click to show) highlight the fact that she is a standard sized human (I think) whereas the protagonist and Angie are the dolls dwarfed by Marcia. It almost reminds me of Finding Nemo (random film spoiler) where (Spoiler - click to show) the fish are overwhelmed when children bang on the aquarium glass in the dentist’s office. This added a sci-fi horror element to the story that motivated me replay the game for new insights on details that I overlooked. Sure enough, the implications of (Spoiler - click to show) what goes on during the dinner date are intensified now that you now that the protagonist and Angie are clones designed for Marcia’s entertainment.

The story also throws one last twist at the player: The protagonist is (Spoiler - click to show) secretly in love with Marcia. Obsessed, even. This was not obvious in the gameplay and is only revealed right at the end. The game also says that (Spoiler - click to show) Marcia is planning on making a clone of herself for the other clones to interact with, but the protagonist knows that only the original will do. And on that note, the game ends a bit abruptly. I felt like this was a big development to reveal in the story, but the gameplay stretches just long enough to entertain these thoughts before the protagonist falls asleep. I was almost expecting a “chapter two” to explore this new development. Furthermore, like other Twine games I have encountered, it just ends with a (Spoiler - click to show) frozen screen. There is no "the end" or "credits" that affirm that the game is over. It just ends by saying, "And dream of vast dancing hands and quivering hills of hair until the morning." When this occurs in Twine games I sometimes wonder if I merely stumbled across a broken link. With Dining Table, it is clear enough to determine that the game is finished but this made it feel rough around the edges.

Visual design
The backdrop is an ornamental pattern that reminds me of a cross between outdated wallpaper and elaborately patterned napkins that people only use for special occasions. In this case, perfect for a dinner date. The text is placed on a light cream coloured square through which you can barely see the patterned background, providing a nice contrast. This was a good look for this game that added polish and made it more memorable than if it were just a plain background. It gives the game an extra boost that makes up for weaker areas of the game.

Final thoughts
The gameplay is nothing exceptional. The dinner date is delightfully weird yet lackluster in content. But the underlying horror sci-fi theme of (Spoiler - click to show) secret clones being made into demented Polly Pocket dolls add a dimension that I was not expecting when I went to play this game. I feel that this twist is the strongest part of the game. I also liked how the author conveys (Spoiler - click to show) a story about two characters trying to make a normal situation (going on a dinner date) out of an extremely abnormal one (being observed by a giant woman who controls every interaction). The downside is that the game ends just as the plot thickens. Nonetheless, playing this game has been an interesting experience and I think players out there may appreciate its surreal humor.

It is the midst of an ongoing zombie apocalypse. Night has fallen and your best option for shelter is a small hotel, perhaps one with resources that you can salvage. But surely it is not empty. You know that everyone you expect to encounter will either be long dead or undead.

Gameplay
After a brief intro the game begins on the second-floor hallway of the hotel, right outside of Rooms 207 and 208. The objective is to quietly go from room-to-room, scavenging for items that will ensure your survival once you leave.

Each room is organized as a grid within which the player shuffles around with a flashlight. Imagine being at the top of the ceiling in a dark room while pointing a medium-powered flashlight at the floor so that a few feet of floor is illuminated. That is what the gameplay looks like. What makes this unique is that the game never says, “you see a coatrack and window.” Instead, objects are represented by single letters such as “C” for coatrack or “W” for window. If someone opened a pack of magnetic letter magnets and spilled them across the floor that would describe how they look in the game.

When you click on a letter, a popup box appears with more information. Within it are links to learn more about the object or to take it and add it to your inventory. The player begins with an empty backpack at the start of the game with a status of 0%. Each time an item is added the percentage increases. If this exceeds 97% the game requires that you lighten the load. To resolve this the player can open their backpack to drop* items. When they are finished with a room they return to the hallway. The game (Spoiler - click to show) ends when you visit Room 202. If you try to enter this room right away the game will say that you need to visit the other rooms first, but in truth all you need is to step into Room 201 for this requirement to be satisfied.

At first the game gives the impression of having puzzles. There are items in every room just waiting for the player to snatch up, and the management of items in the backpack adds a fun challenge. However, (Spoiler - click to show) you do not need a single thing to complete the game. While the protagonist’s identity as an apocalypse survivor provides a reason for ransacking the place, none of the items that you collect have any application. I did not realize this during my first playthrough and I had a great time. Afterwards, however, I was surprised that the game turned out to be mostly puzzle-less. Nonetheless, the game is still worth replaying for its visual effects and atmosphere. Even if objects seem like mere props, the writing and setting carry it through.

Story
There is no backstory about the protagonist or the overarching zombie apocalypse which the game gets away with. Normally I like it when games include background information that explains why their world is in an apocalyptic state, but this game manages to fit into the vaguely-described-zombie-apocalypse trope where you assume it builds from the same mold: an outbreak occurred, zombies attacked, and daily life is now a matter of survival. While I certainly would not have minded if this game were built on an elaborate backstory, it does not seem to be lacking without it. As a zombie piece I enjoyed it.

The final (Spoiler - click to show) segment of gameplay is effectively thrilling and the highlight of the story. When you step into Room 202 there is nothing to click on but a shoe rack. The popup box says,

No shoes by the door. An acrid smell stings through the staleness of the room.

You barely have enough time to read this when the text changes to:

Something in the room just moved.

Then a zombie ambushes you. These pauses were incredibly effective in creating a sense of horror. Furthermore, the game (Spoiler - click to show) implements a mild jump-scare of angry, quivering descriptions of the zombie as it lunges at you. There are no pictures, just text, but it effectively adds an element of surprise.

The only real criticism I have about the game’s story is that (Spoiler - click to show) there is only one ending and that the gameplay choices have no sway over it. During this final encounter with the zombie a link appears telling the player to “RUN!” I wondered if stalling would result in being eaten but there was no difference. I even deliberately weighed my backpack down to see if that would slow the protagonist down, but that had no effect either. No matter what you do it seems like you always escape the hotel and win the game. Then again, perhaps that is not such a bad thing. I wonder how other players will feel.

Characters
While the game does not say so outright it is suggested that the protagonist is male when the player goes digging through the clothes in the dressers and coatracks in each room. In every other aspect the protagonist is neutral in description and identity.

This is not a zombie hunter game or one with combat. Instead, most of the content on zombies is suggestive. For instance, (Spoiler - click to show) if you try to open Room 205 you will hear a zombie try to break the door down. Even though you never see the zombie from the room the atmosphere and writing convey the horror in this scene. The only time (Spoiler - click to show) you see a zombie is near the end of the game. Otherwise, the player only encounters corpses during the gameplay (speaking of which, be prepared for such things).

Visuals
The visual effects make The Second Floor a bit of a gem because it shows how special effects can be used in a Twine game to tell a story. For this game these effects are notably used to establish setting. Shapes, patterns, colours, and timed pauses work together to portray a grungy and powerless hotel during a zombie apocalypse.

For me the most memorable visual element in this game is the hallway: simple and effective at establishing the setting as a hotel. The hallway consists of a strip of bloodstained carpet running vertically across the screen. On each left and right side is a door that allows access into a room, and at the top and bottom of the screen are arrows that lead to other sections of hallway.

Typically, the game’s screen is black, but the author adds more details for the hotel rooms. There is a thick boarder that creates the illusion of a room’s perimeter. At the bottom of the screen is a backpack icon that keeps track of the player’s inventory percentage levels.

The floorspace is explored in sections with arrows that the player uses to move through the room. Your location is marked with a faint box-shaped yellow that replicates the beam of a flashlight. This block of light provides only a few feet of visibility which really makes it feel as if the protagonist is exploring a room with nothing but a flashlight to guide them. Paired with the player’s freedom to roam around the space, these special effects make everything feel more immersive.

Final thoughts
Most zombie games that I have played are parser games, but this Twine format brings something new to the table. It you like zombie games in general then I highly recommend The Second Floor. It may also be of interest if you are seeking out gameplay where scavenging is a central feature. It is also a great example of a Twine game with free range of movement, allowing the player to navigate the game’s world like a parser game. On top of that it has great atmosphere and successfully incorporates horror elements, especially with its (Spoiler - click to show) text version of a (sort of) jump-scare. I can see myself returning to this game in the future.

Also: If you enjoyed this game, consider playing my father's long, long legs. It is also made with Twine and has similar horror vibes. Both games share the visual technique of navigating a space with a flashlight but successfully use this concept in a unique way that sets each game apart.

*Rather than (Spoiler - click to show) dropping the food it would be nice if the protagonist could at least eat some off it. This is the zombie apocalypse, after all. Wasting food probably is not the best idea.

You are a health inspector conducting your rounds in the city’s dining establishments. Today on the list is Nikolai’s Bar and Grill, an unsavory restaurant with some not-so-hidden secrets. Will you finish your inspection and leave, or will you dig deeper?

Gameplay
The player jots down citations with their notepad. The immediate goal is to gather enough citations to condemn the restaurant. But simply getting in your car and driving away feels like a premature ending. The game has the player to look beyond their health inspector duties and rewards them, rather gruesomely, for it by advancing the story. And another detail: Even though the game has the time listed at the top of the screen (Spoiler - click to show) time does not seem to matter. You can wait until 2:00 am and nothing changes. I am not sure if there is anything significant about it.

Yes, there is gore but much of the grossness is atmospheric. Things like mold and cockroaches. It focuses on what is needed to tell the story. The content is woven into the protagonist's reason for being at the restaurant. As a health inspector, the protagonist is required to conduct a thorough investigation of the restaurant, giving the player a reason to go digging in the trash where moldy leftovers and (Spoiler - click to show) severed body parts are found. That said, this game has its moments. (Spoiler - click to show) Reaching inside the meat grinder was probably the worst part. Even more so than the vampire-body-part-scavenger game. Play the game a bit to see if it is to your liking.

For a health inspector the protagonist does not seem terribly worried about finding (Spoiler - click to show) human body parts hidden in Nikolai’s restaurant. A (Spoiler - click to show) human foot in the soup cauldron sounds like a notable health code violation, but the protagonist does not bother with jotting it down (although the game does add it to your score). And then there is this: (Spoiler - click to show)

>note corpse
You see nothing noteworthy about the mutilated corpse.

Why is it that you can (Spoiler - click to show) note the mold on the floor in your notebook of health violations but not the corpse in the crypt? This sounds noteworthy. If anyone is interested my record for the lowest sanitation score is (Spoiler - click to show) -119.

My only real criticism is that the game sometimes glosses over gameplay details in the endings. If you (Spoiler - click to show) discover the corpse, finish your inspection, and leave by car the game says, "You enter your car and drive away, satisfied that you have gathered enough observations to have Nikolai's Bar and Grill condemned. And yet, you feel as if there is still some mystery in that building which you left unsolved." Perhaps that corpse you found in the crypt? It does not acknowledge that the protagonist saw the corpse and/or the body parts scattered in the restaurant. Also, if the player (Spoiler - click to show) breaks a window and waits in the crypt for the police to arrive, they still somehow manage to miss the corpse.

Story
The blurb gives the impression that this is a murder mystery about a missing woman. Not exactly. It is not a mystery game where you (Spoiler - click to show) try to uncover the story behind the missing woman by talking to suspects and investigating different leads. There is no “mystery” to solve, at least not in the classic sense. Once you notice the body parts hidden in the restaurant you have pretty good idea of what is going on, and it does not take long to match the missing woman in the newspaper with the corpse in the crypt. But that is what gives the game a unique twist. Rather than solving a murder this game is about weathering a territory dispute between two ruthless vampires. There are tiny little hints that suggest “vampire” even before the player finds Sofia such as the vampire book in Nikolai’s office, the anemic waitress, and Angela and Nikolai’s unease when you ask them about vampires. It does not take long for the story to reveal itself.

I thought it was interesting how the author incorporated some (Spoiler - click to show) vampire lore into the story. According to the (Spoiler - click to show) handy guidebook in Nikolai’s office there are different groups of vampires with unique behaviors, specifically Bratislavan and Transylvanian vampires. Bratislavan vampires are always engaged in territorial disputes, whereas Transylvanian vampires prefer to fly solo. Sofia Kozyar and Nikolai are Bratislavan vampires, and the protagonist gets caught up in their mess. For a while Nikolai was the dominant vampire in the area but that changed as his health deteriorated due to diabetes. This weakened him until Sofia became a serious threat, so he had her abducted and killed. But killing a vampire is easier said than done. As the player knows, all it takes is (Spoiler - click to show) some neutral party to gather up the scattered remains to reform a “dead” vampire.

This has one of the highest replay values for a parser interactive fiction game. It is short with light puzzles and has a lot of endings. Finding new endings was exciting because you had to strategize, and that is where the replay value comes in. The game's hint section says, "The game features about seventeen distinct endings." SEVENTEEN! So far, I only managed to find twelve. I would love to know if anyone finds all of them.

Characters
What does it mean to be afflicted? According to Angela, Nikolai’s affliction is (Spoiler - click to show) diabetes. For the protagonist it is (Spoiler - click to show) being bitten by Sofia and turned into a vampire. The protagonist is unnamed and is only cynically described as Mr. Health Inspector by Nikolai. The protagonist’s background is an unusual one. I cannot recall ever playing any other game where the protagonist works for city sanitation, but this background only Afflicted more memorable. There are also other small details, such as a nostalgic love for disco, that make the protagonist more multi-dimensional.

Nikolai’s character is bold but also stagnates. He (Spoiler - click to show) denies the existence of vampires and Sofia’s corpse in the crypt but continues doing so even when the player catches him drinking Angela dry. Even when Sofia confirms that he is a vampire after her voice is restored. At this point Nikolai does not seem to bother (Spoiler - click to show) hiding the fact that he is a vampire. He locks the door and tells the player that they are next to be eaten. Sofia tells us about the territorial dispute between her and Nikolai, I thought this would be an opportunity to hear his side of the story. But instead, he keeps denying it. I wish there was a way to (Spoiler - click to show) stop Nikolai AND save Angela.

Final thoughts
This is one of my favorite (Spoiler - click to show) vampire games (not sure if this counts as a spoiler but I will mark it anyway). It is short with a high replay value and has an icky atmosphere (perhaps an option during Halloween) yet retains a sense of humor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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