Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

System Processing is a unique sci-fi Twine game that shows considerable potential.

Our protagonist, only referred to as "Ov," lived and died on Earth, but at one point their consciousness was digitized. Little else is known about them (so far) aside from the fact that the data containing their digitized mind managed to end up in an archive on a spaceship called the Alsion. A traveler named Sirit found this data and had the idea of giving the protagonist a new purpose as the ship's AI.

And now, the Alsion has discovered a planet named Kor. It is about to be the new home for everyone on board. It seems that Ov will be out of a job... and a purpose.

Perhaps it depends on one's outlook.

Oh, and Kor is not your typical planet. Nor is System Processing not your typical humans-colonize-the-alien-planet-game, but more on that part later.

Gameplay
Quick overview. There are two names that are thrown at the player that I want to clarify: Alsion (the spaceship) and Tegmen, an offshoot settlement built into the planet. I got them mixed up early on. I thought they were both spaceships. False. Just the Alsion. They are connected to each other by a long organic cable. Both are inhabited, but the current population on Alsion has never been to Tegmen.

Until today!

Ov must figure out what to do on their last day as a spaceship AI because soon the Alsion will be empty as everyone heads on down to Tegmen.

The gameplay is in first person and centers around the flow of Ov’s thoughts which overlap with NPC dialog. You basically hang out in the protagonist’s mind. There is a strong sense of idle contemplation mixed with frustration.

The absence of definitives preserves my sense of estrangement. If I had hard facts and figures, this would feel less surreal. More details might make it harder to think, "Hey, who knows? Maybe I'm not a digital ghost working for one of the far-flung descendants of humanity."

"Maybe I don't split my time between a spaceship and an alien planet."

Interactivity primarily consists of reading a line of text and clicking on a link to continue to Ov’s next train of thought or NPC dialog. There are also secondary links that you can click on to expand the text for additional content. And a really cool “notes” section that allows you to read memos from the travelers or look up information on the population.

We can’t talk about the gameplay without talking about Laðə, an omnipresent NPC who is your connection to all things Kor. Turns out, Kor is the collective hive mind of the planet (also called Kor). It is all joined together, and somewhere, Laðə fits in. They hear Ov’s thoughts, darting in and out of Ov’s internal thinking during the gameplay.

"Maybe I don't regularly converse with a giant psychic plant." (Hi, Laðə. I know you're listening. Yes, I am referring to you.)

(Is that a spelling error? “Plant.” Or is it supposed to be “planet?” I figured it was “plant,” as in Laðə is a psychic plant who is an individual living entity within the Kor hive mind.)

Their portrayal embodies a relatable inquisitiveness while still maintaining the mystery of an entity cut from a vastly different fabric than the protagonist. Laðə tries to maintain a teamwork mentality, but this only fatigues Ov.

For first playthroughs, I tend to zip through Twine games just to get a sense of what I am working with before approaching it again with more attention to detail. Playing System Processing for the first time was an underwhelming experience but replaying it- slowly this time- paid off.

If you are looking for a fast-paced sci-fi game, System Processing will feel sluggish though never boring. The gameplay is not all about sightseeing. You will have a handful of opportunities to make choices that matter, particularly the one at the end.

Challenges
For the sake of feedback, there are two things that dulled the gameplay’s slick finish.
(Spoiler - click to show)
If you open the (snazzy) folder section, when you return, all the text on the screen is reset to where it began. You must click the links again to return to your spot. The game functions in “checkpoints,” where only your progress from that point onwards is reset. No big deal, but inconvenient if you want to take a quick glance at the population report in the middle of a segment.

Sometimes between playthroughs I encountered a looping effect.

Ignore Laðə and begin an analysis of the ship
Ignore Laðə and begin an analysis of the settlement
Greet Laðə

I’m not sure what triggers it but ignoring Laðə and exploring either the Alsion or Tegmen results in a loop where you assess one population before moving to the other only to have the ability to revisit the one that you just completed. I could not find a way to move on. I figured I should mention this in case anyone else experiences this.

Setting
I’ve already mentioned the (fortunately friendly) hive mind wonder that is Kor, but the setting is so cool that it deserves extra recognition. Also, astronomy. Kor is tidally locked, which means one side of the planet always faces its star while the other side never sees the light of day, like our own planet Mercury. Unlike Mercury, Kor is teeming with life on every square inch of its surface. The game’s descriptions paint vivid imagery in your mind.

Story
While the storytelling revolves around Ov’s relationship with identity, the overarching story is spectacular for its own reasons.

This is not your classic let’s-land-the-ship-and-claim-the-planet storyline. Human (or a sentient species equivalent) exploitation of resources is a common theme in sci-fi stories about the colonization of other worlds, but System Processing goes for an alternative path.

I am so happy this is a case where the humanoid beings in their bulky ship arrive with the intent of joining this thriving ecosystem rather than trying to exploit it. The game introduced me to a cool new term called Solarpunk which takes a sci-fi/futuristic realm and merges modern societal infrastructure or technology with sustainability and environmental awareness. Kor fits that perfectly.

Besides embracing a refreshing take on co-existence, System Processing has a creative vision of how the colonization process can unfold on an alien planet. Rather than the travelers merely parking their spaceship on the planet’s surface and climbing out, the relationship between the tethered Alsion and Tegmen as two homes (one temporary, the other permanent) in transition offers something new to the portrayal of colonization in science fiction.

(Random note, if I was on a space station/ship, I would want real windows. I would demand real windows. Not screens simulating stars. Not when I’m in space. True, the only sight to behold would be pinpricks of light, but at least it’s real.)

Characters
Ov
Much of System Processing revolves around the protagonist’s grasp of their previous identity as a living human and the tradeoffs that come with being a digitized mind in the form of an AI.

If the player opts to (Spoiler - click to show) talk to Laðə after the scene with Tlan, the protagonist says, “’But that's just it! You're the alien. I'm the human.’” And it got me wondering. Alien. Human. Where does Ov fit in? First, let’s consider the travelers under Ov’s care. (Spoiler - click to show) I figured they were humans, the descendants of those who originally came from Earth. Until Laðə made an interesting comment:

Oh, fascinating. You were able to roll your eyes? Was this a biological feature the travelers no longer possess?

The travelers lost the ability for their eyes to move around in their eye sockets. Does this mean they are not human humans? When observing one traveler, Ov observes that, “Like all travelers, they appear human, even if travelers no longer describe themselves as much.” Neat.

I think we can agree that Kor/Laðə (the distinction between the two is kind of murky) is the “alien” part of the mix. As for the travelers, calling them outright humans would be incorrect. Something changed. I wonder if they dabbled with genetic engineering or biological modification that allowed this.

Regardless of what went down, these changes have interesting implications for Ov. If the travelers are not “true” humans in the sense that they diverged biologically and culturally from their human ancestors, the protagonist is truly the last of a kind, even if they are now an AI.

Though their physical body may have decomposed long ago on a distant Earth, they are still an “original” human in terms of memories and Earth-based lived experiences. They were digitized in, what, (Spoiler - click to show) 2068? Despite the immense passage of time that occurred since then, this human identity remains.

One way this identity manifests is with the in-game “alert” pop up messages for incidents on the ship that turn out to be an offshoot of the protagonist’s own emotions, such as a (Spoiler - click to show) sprinkler system activating when they feel like crying (clever use of the Twine format). But ultimately, it’s an identity that seems impossible for others, even the all-knowing Kor, to understand.

Ov + Everyone else
The NPCs, though expertly designed, did not leave much of an impression on me. Rather, it was their situation and the decision making within these circumstances that held my attention. I have a feeling though that I will be the outlier on this. Players will likely feel an immediate connection with the characters. Besides Laðə, the only NPC we engage with is (Spoiler - click to show) Tlan, a traveler on the Alsion.

First time around, the scene with Tlan left me feeling confused and indifferent. In it, Tlan (I’m sorry, Tlan) is crying while I was simply not following the conversation. It seemed almost melodramatic even though the scene is clearly a serious one. I was surprised with myself on my reaction. After all, the scene is carefully worded and paced for full impact.

Perhaps I don’t know Tlan well enough. To me, they are Traveler 127823. This game made me want to reexamine why I felt the way I did. I’m still breaking it down. I would absolutely be interested in learning more about their character (and that of Egravn).

Name: Tlan
Identification: 127823
Status: Alive (well)
Age: 32.3 cycles
Residence: Alsion
Location: Server Room (astral-side)

(Feedback: Tlan has a paragraph- be sure to approve their request- that uses the words “stay” and “leave” frequently when mentioning the Alsion and Tegmen. As a first-time player I was a bit confused on what they meant. Clarity would have helped.)

Second playthrough, I had the context needed to make sense of everything. Tlan is sad because Ov expresses the desire to stay on the Alsion after everyone leaves. Tlan sees no reason for Ov not to come with since A, it is perfectly feasible, and B, how the travelers may feel about Ov is irrelevant.

System Processing is tied to a secret I have.

The big secret is.......

(Spoiler - click to show) I kind of like being the AI who throws a tantrum.

Ov has a bitterness about feeling underappreciated and misunderstood.

People were more likely to show gratitude towards a sentient plant vine with lovely flowers carrying out their will than a robotic AI voice coming from a hidden speaker. Therefore, Ov thinks that “everyone” dislikes them and cannot wait to leave them behind.

Travelers smiling at and thanking the vines of Kor while my work goes unacknowledged (or simply critiqued).

It's not as if you can take out revenge on the ungrateful inhabitants. This is not a case of Vengeful AI vs. Organic Lifeforms. You can’t throw tantrums in this game.

Saying their names in reverent tones while mine is barked at the air.

I suppose that would be going a little far. Although I wish there were more options on how to… respond to said inhabitants.
…
Peacefully, of course. :)

Still, Ov stubbornly refuses to take part in the joyfulness everyone has about moving into a new, perfect home even though there is more than enough room for them as well. But these feelings of reservation are understandable.

"Ov, would you speak with us? Just for a moment."

Ignore Laðə, I've already made my decision
Speak with Laðə

...yeahwelltoobadnoonesgoingtochangemymindwhateveridontca...etc.

As you can see, this conjured up my inner irritated AI.

If a game is going to have a ticked-off AI, I rather it be the PC than the NPC (which seems to be more common), even though I will totally play both. There is also an interesting distinction between AI as a user fixture and AI as established authority, but that is a separate discussion.

After playing this game I finally understand at how pissed off Solis feels about the collective crew in A Long Way to the Nearest Star. Solis, I think I understand your pain now.

At least, I have this:

Maintenance Requests
Urgent Request (from: Eiro) – DENIED

Jokes aside, this grappling of identity takes front and center in this game. It’s a roller-coaster of ancient memories and immediate emotions. In fact, we see indicators that Ov’s blanket perception of the travelers is not an entirely accurate one. The memos in the notification box tell a different story: Ov has fan mail.

People are pouring their hearts out in gratitude, taking time out of their day to wish the ship AI a happy retirement. There is clearly more to this relationship between Ov and the travelers than what is presented in the gameplay. While they may not have been popular, the memos clearly indicate that some people do care. I would love to see this expanded.

Visuals
A Twine game does not need fancy visual effects to have a striking appearance. Sticking to a consistent colour scheme can do a lot in making the player wonder at how professional the game looks. Even more so if you throw in some matching decals or symbols. Take System Processing for an example.

In System Processing, the main colour is green (text, links, icons) which only furthers the player’s mental image of a planet brimming with alien flora and fauna. Hovering over links causes to slightly glow with a green tint that hints at bioluminescence. Aesthetically pleasing and effective at building atmosphere.

I applaud the author’s design choices for Laðə. Their (they?) dialog is shown in gold text that conjures the image of sunlight which is perfect for their character. Next to the text in the same colour is a small smiley face icon. At least, that is the first facial expression we see in the game. It changes. (Spoiler - click to show) There are four possibilities: Happy, super happy, neutral, and sad (not your typical emojis). Let me tell you, it is so unnerving to see this sunny face change during the gameplay.

The difference is miniscule: a line curved downwards to form a frown or the upturning of lines in the eyes to indicate delight. Extremely basic stuff and yet it conveys a startling shift in tone. Besides being a clear indicator of the character’s emotion, it adds tension and a fluidity that would be lost without the icon as a reference point. You feel yourself slowly sliding down your chair as that smile turns into a neutral stare and then a frown.

While this may seem like a trivial detail to spend two paragraphs on, I argue that it is the strongest point in the game’s visual design.

(That little beaker icon was also nice.)

Final thoughts
This game is actually a fragment of the author’s plans. System Processing is meant to be longer and more complex. Being only 30% of the entire vision, more development will hopefully follow.

I appreciate that the game is an abridged version of what clearly plans to be an ambitious project. If a meteor were to strike the Earth, the game can still stand on its own as a completed piece. Same goes if alien scavengers arrived a thousand years later and somehow salvaged it. I think they would be pleased.

I could totally envision System Processing as being a slick commercial Twine game. It has the uniqueness that sets it apart from sci-fi games with similar subject matter, it wields a simple but assertive visual design, and it shows a strong potential for characters who could resonate with a wider range of audiences. I can easily see this being a sci-fi game for players typically not interested in science fiction.

Here’s the tricky part. While several categories for the game earn 6/5 stars, some parts are not as refined. I tried to incorporate some feedback as to why. I hope it helps. The rating also accounts for my overall experience. I took off a star because I was not always engaged with the character interactions. Is that necessarily a fault? Maybe, maybe not. I am open to how other players feel. I desperately want to love this game. It’s just not quite there. Yet.

I highly encourage you to play System Processing to experience it for yourself. My review, while detailed, can’t do it justice.

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.

It is late morning and your mother texts you about going to a restaurant together. Spending time with your mother and eating food sounds like a great idea, but there is anxiety looming in the back of your mind as you agree to meet. Part of it has to do with language.

Gameplay
差异 // Disconnect uses a mix of Chinese characters and English. Occasionally, Chinese characters are substituted with phonetic spelling. The game begins with a short text message exchange between the protagonist and their mother.

11:05 AM MOM: I know a good restaurant, have 手拉面

The first Chinese characters, 手拉面, initially did not have the translation, prompting me to immediately reach for an online translator. I thought this was interesting because the protagonist did exactly just that after I did. It was a brief moment where I could relate to the protagonist, although less so since I lack any working knowledge on the Chinese language. I got "hand-pulled noodles," as did the protagonist when they used consulted Google. It was a neat moment.

The remainder of the gameplay takes place at the restaurant. This seems to be a story where the PC feels like they are messing up more than they are, but the awkwardness so, so real. A noteworthy scene is when the protagonist is trying to give the waitress their order. Their menu is written in Chinese with an English translation, and automatically find themselves reading the translation. But when a waitress comes over to the table, they feel pressured to order in Chinese.

You review the pinying over again in your head. Wǒ yào niúròu shǒu lāmiàn tāng. How hard can it be?

Trying to use perfect accent and pronunciation while on the spot, they trip over the words. You can either try again or bail out and switch to English. Either choice serves to serves to put the player in the protagonist’s shoes to show what it is like to sit on a fence between your closeness to the Chinese language as part of your heritage, and the everyday convenience of English that you rely on in daily life.

What I did not like was how quickly this game ends. It happens sort of out of nowhere. I would have easily given this a rating of five stars if it had more of a conclusion. When you sit down to eat, I thought the game was just getting started, that there would be a little more dialog or examination of other cultural norms. The game is far from incomplete. In fact, it’s excellent. However, I was invested in the story and looked forward to seeing more the protagonist’s experience.

Story + Characters
The story is told in second person, and it seems that your character is gender-neutral, although there is one section that slightly suggests that the protagonist is female. I’ve opted to use “they” instead. Yes, so they feel anxiety and regret about their broken Chinese and how it has shaped encounters with their mother and older family members. They especially remember being pressured into attending Chinese language school when they were younger, but now feels guilty about not making the most of what they learned. They are left as someone who understands Chinese but is unable to speak it with the same proficiency of their mother.

These differences go beyond spoken language. The protagonist has the urge to hug their mother when they see her at the restaurant but refrains from doing so since older members in their family typically did not do that. It was something "reserved for your friends and younger, Westernized relatives.” There are all sorts of subtleties that contribute to a feeling of disconnect. I have always liked games that show the inns and outs of cultural interactions that would otherwise go over your head. The point is not to be a crash course on culture, just a glimpse into a single story.

Visuals
The game keeps it simple but visually appealing. Links are a cheerful yellow. Most of the Chinese text is highlighted in yellow that, when clicked on, reveals the English translation. Text is a mix of black and grey against a white background. I liked the simplicity of the cover art.

Final thoughts
So, this game got me thinking about the title. Courtesy of online Chinese-to-English translate, 差异 means “difference.” Someone better correct me if I’m wrong. Difference // Disconnect. Based on what I learned from the gameplay, it seems the title means that linguistic differences- and other differences- have formed a disconnect between the protagonist and their mother. It is a caring relationship but not always a seamless one as we see in the game.

I really enjoyed this game and recommend it to anyone interested in a slice of life game about family dynamics and Chinese culture. As someone largely unfamiliar with the ins and outs of Chinese language/culture, I found this to be an insightful piece on a human experience.

BaoBao follows the trope* of a protagonist digging through a computer only to find a surprise AI. Our protagonist is Aiyo. Her mother recently passed away and she now needs to sort through the contents of her computer. Along the way she uncovers an AI.

Gameplay
Gameplay consists of the player rummaging through a directory system on a computer. There are several directories, such as recipes or notes, each of which contain a file named “baobao” and a string of numbers. The other files in the directories are of no interest. The player only makes progress by exploring the baobao files, but when they do an AI intervenes. The AI prevents the player from viewing the file’s contents but instead adds new commands to the home folder that expand the story.

The game also has the option making a cup of tea before returning to the computer. This added some ambience because the protagonist is trying to stay calm, and level minded in the aftermath of her mother’s death. It adds a nice self-reflective approach. And if the player wants to pause the game itself to make some tea, that is fine too.

The game's description is "A young woman is sorting through her deceased mother’s personal computer and finds an AI in her way." If I did not know otherwise, I would not have said to myself "oh wow, I found an AI!" It is more subtle than that. They only part that screamed AI was when (Spoiler - click to show) the game says, “Aiya, don’t try to hide your face. I can see you know. This computer got webcam. Aiyo. No make-up also,” implying that it is Aiyo’s mother, or at least a digital version of her, is present. These interactions are brief and sometimes it can be confusing to keep track of when the AI is addressing the player and when the player is merely experiencing the Aiyo’s thoughts, especially since they are both shown with the same white text formatting. It does not feel like you are interacting with an NPC. While I liked the subtly, this vagueness may disengage players.

Story
Game has some interesting themes on femininity, especially from traditional conventions. Aiyo has vivid memories of her mother and philosophies of beauty. Especially vivid ones are the smell of her mother's perfume or the fancy ornate patterns on her lipstick case the surface as she searches the computer. We learn that her mother was (Spoiler - click to show) always worried about her daughter's chances of finding a decent husband, one that would love her and never have affairs since her own husband had a beautiful girlfriend on the side. That was her main priority for Aiyo. She would often say that Aiyo was not pretty enough and that she should take things like makeup seriously. From the mother's perspective, this was not meant to be mean but to ensure that her daughter found a husband who would love and respect her. From Aiyo’s perspective this was stifling, and she was frustrated over her mother's attempts to find her the perfect lipstick shade colour or pressuring her to diet to maintain a feminine size and figure. These differences in ideologies come to light as the AI reveals more about the mother’s view of her daughter. They begin to come to an understanding.

I kept thinking that baobao is a pretty cool name for an AI until I found the translation. 宝宝 (baobao) is a word from the Chinese language that means baby or treasure and can be used as a term of endearment. The application of the word can vary, but this definition was the bulk of the results I found. So, is the (Spoiler - click to show) AI Aiyo’s mother or is it just a model of her personality and interests? Did her mother intentionally create the AI or was it accidentally formed from the clutter on the computer? There is a lot to consider with intriguing implications. The game ends with (Spoiler - click to show) the AI giving the player full access to every baobao titled file on the computer so that the Aiyo can finally see the parts of her mother that were always hidden, the parts where she genuinely loved her daughter but failed to convey it in life. In death it is as if Aiyo is relearning her mother. The game wraps this up on a graceful note that I found to be memorable.

Visuals
The game keeps it simple with the visuals but uses stylization to create the appearance of a computer screen. For these segments the game has a black screen with green text and blue links. Otherwise, it sticks to white text. The creative part was that the player could choose between clinking on links to navigate the computer or type them in. This added some nice interactivity to an otherwise basic Twine format.

Final thoughts
I really enjoyed this one. It is a thoughtful sci-fi game with a contemplative approach to death and memories. The dynamics between Aiyo and her mother were especially compelling and thoughtful. Throughout their lives they always seemed to clash in values but now Aiyo gets to see the possibility that she was closer to her mother than they both realized. Plus, I liked the cover art.

*Binary by Stephen Granade comes to mind, even though it has a different tone and subject matter.

It’s time for school but you’re not feeling it right now.
Or ever, really. But you and Hanna have no choice. School it is, then.
Oh, and Hanna is a ghost.

Gameplay
Contrary to what the game’s title suggests, Hanna is not the PC. You play as a high school girl named Jing who goes to an international school in Singapore called the American Independence School. Unlike Jing, Hanna expresses some excitement about going to school. Soon, though, we see that this excitement is masking underlying pain as we face the daily mundane and rocky reality that is school.

The start of the gameplay really sucks you in. It captures how Twine’s interactivity can be used to make a more dynamic scene. We begin in Jing’s bedroom.

You get up.

You are in your bedroom, which consists of a desk full of books, a desktop computer, a bed, and a cabinet.

Hanna eyes at your schoolbag.

Here, "books," "desktop computer," and "bed," are all links that expand the text to reveal more information about each item while clicking on the cabinet link moves the gameplay forward as Jing gets ready for school.

While the scene’s outcome is not impacted by your choice to examine the scenery, the links provide an extra sense of interaction that make it a little more interesting than if it were one big room description. It also engages the player with Twine’s choice-based format. Why read when you can click on links?

This structure continues for the rest of the game as we venture into Jing's school. After your first playthrough, the game allows you to skip ahead to crucial parts in the gameplay to save time. Much appreciated.

Characters
(I’m going to do characters first, then story.)

Jing
We do not learn as much about Jing as I hoped. After all, she is the starring PC. She’s Chinese, lives in an apartment, her parents both work (we never meet them), likes to use art and books as a portal for exploring sexuality, and has befriended a ghost named Hanna! Alright, we learn a fair amount. But her character is intriguing. More would be nice.

It would also be nice to have more context about Jing’s everyday school life. While I understand that school day structure differs across the globe, American Independent School has a somewhat bizarre (to me) daily schedule. (Spoiler - click to show) It offers cafeteria lunch twice and holds a separate student council-led karaoke party between Trigonometry and European History class. Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad. Ultimately, however, I felt out of touch. (If this really occurs in real life, thank you for diversifying my understanding of how teens go to school in today’s world.)

Clara
Clara. Ah yes. Clara does not censor what she says. She just says it without considering her surroundings. Or those nearby. She also thinks that she is doing you a favor by letting you know what she has to say.

Consider: a group of young people with that one peer who, to everyone’s delight and dismay, confidently and loudly talks about daring and explicit things in a causal social setting. Just when you think the conversation has leveled off, bam, the peer in question takes it up several more notches and everyone around is just, “oh wow.” That’s Clara. The scene in the (Spoiler - click to show) hallway after homeroom (and onwards) showcases this perfectly.

She embodies the “mature” girl persona who claims to have a resume of sexual experiences. She also comes off as trying to convince herself that she knows the ropes and that her confidence on the subject matter is unwavering. A bystander (Jing/player) is then used as a sounding board as she pelts them with a mix of "advice," tidbits of knowledge that demonstrate credibility, and personal experiences involving sex and other adult-like activities.

My favorite sentence in this game:

You pretend to agree and hope Clara's done with her TED Talk.

Clara gives some intense TED Talks.

When it comes to her relationship with Jing, Clara does not come off as being the classic High School Mean Girl who breaks out in hives at the mere sight of you. Maybe that is not what the author intended, but that’s the impression it left on me. If anything, Clara sees herself as friend rather than foe.

Clara reads more like a bossy, we’re-friends-since-we-see-each-other-daily type of “friend.” One who considers herself to be your friend in a self-serving manner or considers you to be a friend more so than you feel in return. She latches onto you like a leech while insisting that she knows what’s best for you. Especially when it comes to sexuality.

It gets uncomfortable. Clara reassures Jing about her dating desirability. Because Jing is Chinese, Clara keeps advising her to embrace “popular” stereotypes by acting more submissive and “pure-hearted” since that apparently is what attracts dudes. Clara may be trying to help in her own way, but ultimately this persistent fetishization overwhelms Jing. And most likely the player.

But as the story’s antagonist, she does not seem so bad after all… Until your final encounter with her where she (Spoiler - click to show) goes full homophobe and transphobe. Everyone’s (Jing/Hanna/hopefully the player) response to this is more, way more, than just, “oh wow.”

While Clara excels in her character role’s persona, there are some scenes that feel- even for her- more like an endless rant of shocking content that is independent from the scene itself. I wish we could explore her character in other ways than just sex-fueled rants.

And as for bringing an umbrella, (Spoiler - click to show) careful kids, you can poke an eye out. I applaud the implementation of Twine in this scene.

Hanna
Hanna is a neat character- she’s a ghost! - with a tragic past who still brings the perspective of a modern teen unimpressed by the school system and its expectations. She does not necessarily “haunt” the player. Instead, she tags along to offer commentary, friendship, and support without sugar coating your collective circumstances.

Before the game even begins, we are presented with a passage that leads to the game’s menu. The passage keeps it brief: (Spoiler - click to show) Hanna was a teen who jumped off a hospital rooftop to commit suicide. Later we learn that in life, she identified as transgender but never received support or understanding- quite the opposite.

Here’s the deal: The gameplay ultimately leads up to a (Spoiler - click to show) pivotal scene where Clara (as I mentioned earlier) starts rambling about an unnamed individual during which she unleashes homophobic/transphobic commentary. First time around, I struggled to piece it all together.

In this scene, Clara explains (claims?) that she was engaged to a young man her age since they were kids except that he expressed interest in dresses, dolls, and feminine self-expression. She mocks this which only further traumatizes Hanna who is also transgender.

Then it clicked.

Almost.

I need someone to spell it out for me so I can be sure: Was Clara engaged, in whatever form it may have been, to… Hanna? Before her death when people refused to recognize her identity? (Is it true that her previous- I hope I’m doing this properly- name was Alex? I only ask since Clara mentions the name once in her rant.) Talk about a plot twist. In fact, I initially failed to make the connection that Hanna knew both Jing and Clara as former classmates since middle school. Scatter-brained on my part.

Also, part of the reason Hanna transitioned was to avoid being drafted into the army since male Singaporeans are drafted into the National Service when they turn eighteen. This fact completely went over my head. It was not until I read the explanation in the content warning that I connected the dots- and it gives you some interesting things to think about since many international kids do not have to worry about this requirement. I just feel that this part of Hanna’s backstory could have been clearer.

There is one thing that I did not figure out. During Clara’s rant, we see a link that says, “Hanna’s wailing floods the whole room.” Clicking on it expands it into the following:

why am i not dead yet why am i not dead yet why am i not dead yet why am i not dead yet why am i not dead yet why am i not dead yet why am i not dead yet

Hanna is dead. There’s something I’m clearly missing.

NPCs (besides Hanna and Clara)
Finally, some of the remaining dialog almost seemed melodramatic in the sense that there is not much context around NPCs’ behavior. Like (Spoiler - click to show) Harold's outburst when you ask him what is wrong during homeroom. If I had not known better, I would have thought these characters were pre-teens who just entered middle school.

Nonetheless, they are still intriguing.

Story + Themes
The story takes place over one school day where we get a glimpse of daily life for Jing and Hanna, even if Hanna is not an actual student. She almost functions as an extension of Jing which is close enough. Besides Hanna’s backstory, Hanna We’re Going to School is largely character-oriented rather than wielding a complex storyline. There are, however, plenty of themes to go around.

There are several slice-of-life themes about youth and adulthood that could appeal to a wide range of players. However, the intended audience is relatively narrow since many of the themes are explored through brief, sudden romance-oriented encounters that may not appeal to everyone. This runs the risk of the player not absorbing the key themes showcased in a scene if they are skimming past certain parts.

For instance, (Spoiler - click to show) Clara's attempt to matchmake you with Dan was surreal and disjointed. Is she serious? It seemed like an unbelievable exchange… unless it’s set in reality more so than I realize. While this specific scene made me raise my eyebrows, I could see how it ties in with the game’s discussions on the intersecting expectations placed on young people.

Much of the game is focused on the idea of adult expectations of who you marry, the achievements of your parents, academic performance, job prospects, and your ability to look casually desirable the entire time. I feel like the (Spoiler - click to show) scene with Dan is meant to shine light on several of these issues, but from a gameplay standpoint it leaves you a bit bewildered. Because of this, players may find it less relatable.

Also: I'm not asking for more in that scene between (Spoiler - click to show) Clara and Dan in the school library, I'm really not (no shame if anyone feels otherwise), but it came out of nowhere and felt completely out of context. Even for this game. In the school library? I would say it is the only truly explicit scene in the game and is completely avoidable.

Visuals
The game uses a basic set of visuals that opt for something besides the typically default Twine appearance of a black screen, white text, and a standardize font (you'll know it when you see it). There is nothing wrong with using the default, but when authors choose to use a slightly different background colour or multiple font styles, I notice.

Hanna, We’re Going to School features a grey screen with white text and blue-purple links. There is also a wine-coloured panel on the left side of the text body. It contains the “under” arrow that lets you go back a passage. Basic stuff but looks good.

Final thoughts
Hanna, We’re Going to School is a bold, insightful game that bravely questions the intersecting issues that young people experience in the eyes of society and their fellow peers as they start to transition into adulthood. Jing witnesses this from a unique perspective.

She does not share the seemingly carefree lifestyle that her peers put on display, nor does she possess the social status wielded by peers from more influential families. But Clara’s attempts at “mentorship” provides a closer glimpse of the privilege differences within the student body. This slightly departs from the typical formula of popular girl vs unpopular girl while still showcasing the various forms of harassment that can occur, especially when it comes to gender expectations.

Meanwhile, Hanna’s own story raises implications of the harm done when one’s gender identity is mocked, especially if one is still trying to find themselves. As we see, Hanna (Spoiler - click to show) experiences some uncertainty about her motives for transitioning while simultaneously feeling at home with identifying as a girl. Her character is fun, quirky, and honest, making her a highlight of the game.

However, there are some drawbacks. The game could use more clarity for the plot along with additional worldbuilding shown in the gameplay. Right now, I feel like I know more about Clara than Hanna and Jing which is too bad since Hanna and Jing are a fantastic duo. The explicitness of some scenes may also drive some players away.

Otherwise, it is a strong slice of life piece about high school and teenage futures.

Further reading
These are NOT spoilers, but since my reviews are so darn long, I’m spoiler-tagging it to save screen space. I write a lot.
(Spoiler - click to show)
Hanna, We're Going to School reminds me of an unrelated graphic novel called Anya's Ghost. The premise is similar in the sense that it depicts a teenage girl who navigates life and high school while being followed around by a ghost of another teen girl. While that may sound like a carbon copy of Hanna, We’re Going to School, I can reassure you that they diverge in story and subject matter. But the way Hanna coasts along with Jing and offers commentary just reminded me so much of the duo in Anya’s Ghost. If you like this game, you may like the book, and vice versa.

Also, if you are interested in further exploring the social dynamics of an internationally oriented school setting, consider the ChoiceScript game Learning to Be Human. It is an educational game about bullying where you play as a humanoid robot tasked with making connections with middle/high school aged students from different countries. While it is not a particularly thrilling game, it is more interesting than it sounds. Just note that it is strongly character centered, so don’t expect an in-depth storyline. The game covers subjects on popularity, body image, bias on cultural heritage, and inclusion. Recommended if you were drawn in by the peer social interactions found in Hanna, We’re Going to School.

I must confess, my brain constructed an impression on what Signal Hill was going to be like when I first saw the listing on IFDB and itchio. It seemed really cool. I had a guess for the appearance and gameplay structure. If turned out that way, it still would have been a great game.

But what I found was far more innovative and creative than said impression. One that you can't really put a single genre on. There is an extra magic to Signal Hill. It is not the most innovative or complex Twine I have seen, but the author expertly balances gameplay mechanics with story and setting so everything enhances each other, creating a game with a deep and dynamic world.

Granted, this is a demo, but an incredibly strong one. This review will probably be longer than usual.

Overview
You lay there on the ground, bleeding into the ash from a hole in your side, staring up at the blazing red of the sunless sky.

And you’re off to a great start.

In the intro you are trekking across the wasteland in a caravan to the city of Signal Hill, same as the game’s title. You and your traveling companions are delivering cargo to the city when everyone is ambushed. Everyone dies… except you, although the bullet hole on your torso is on the verge of changing that.

Fortunately, you are found in time and brought to the Signal Hill Free Clinic where you are revived and saved by emergency surgery thanks to a man named Dr. Zhao and his coworker, Dr. Ellis.

Unfortunately, you confirm the worst: the cargo was stolen. This bad for your client. It also throws a wrench into your plans since the paycheck for the delivery was what you were going to use to make a new life in the city. Looks like you need a new plan of survival if you want to find answers and claim Signal Hill as your new home.

Gameplay
And it's a city. One you wander around in. There are districts. You talk to people, even buy things. Take on quests, be a nuisance, make friends, or just explore. That enticing Twine gameplay flexibility.

So yeah. The medical clinic serves as your temporary home, one where you can come and go freely. There are plenty of places to visit. The aim is to find “leads,” or quests that allow you to investigate the city and the forces behind the stolen cargo. Leads take all sort of forms and are introduced like this:

ZINE COLLECTOR
The lady at the bookstore offered rewards in exchange for zines. If you come across some, you should bring them back for her to photocopy.

Speaking of which, has anyone found any zines, yet? I haven't.

These leads shape the gameplay. You can start many but finish few due to the constraints in this demo. No more progress can be made on a lead when the (dreaded) message that reads, “This lead will be implemented in a later version,” appears next to its listing.

Since Signal Hill is a demo, I kept waiting for the game to use the “Congratulations, you have reached the end of the demo!” message, but that never happened. The demo never “ends.” Instead, there is a point where you exhaust every lead and undiscovered morsel of gameplay. And it takes a while. When I ran through it all again to clarify some things for this review, I still stumbled across missed content.

I made the most progress in the Red Light District. Yeah, stop smiling. It’s not (quite) what it sounds.

Let me back this up. When Dr. Zhao stitches you back together, he asks about your specialties. This results in him recommending one of three ways of finding more info about the cargo and ambush. These are mere starting points to get the player started. They consist of investigating the Red Light District, contacting the Lamplighters outside of the city, or get started on deciphering the documents uncovered about the cargo.

Out of these three general paths, the adventure in the Red Light District was the only one that seemed to “end” without any additional strings that were restricted by the demo in the sense that it would not result in a new lead that could not be pursued. It is called (Spoiler - click to show) RIDE THE WAVEFORM. I do have one question about it. While it wraps up neatly, (Spoiler - click to show) Yvette explains that you be contacted soon for more work. Does that occur in the demo? Because I’ve tried sleeping several times but doing so has no effect on the timeframe in the game’s world.

As an RPG, stats are part of the experience. In the intro, you choose a specific reason for arriving at Signal Hill. This increases one of four possible stats in this game: Glam, Savvy, Signal, Brawn.

WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Not much work back home for mechanical types. Here, though? Plenty of machines out here, maybe too many.

That old place? Got bored of it. This city has the excitement you really crave. Until you get bored of this, too.

You shoot things for a living. You just go where the money goes. Or more accurately, where the bullets need to go.

You're in tune enough with the universe to know where you're needed. You hear its signal. It's calling you here.

You also must choose one weakness that gives you a -1 for a stat. You can upgrade this back to 0 with 10 XP points. However, I have been able to get no more than 5 XP in this demo.

For certain gameplay choices, the game will roll two dice to determine the outcome.

Just give the man your name.
Give him a fake name, just in case.
Get him to put it on Yvette's tab.

The last option has an icon of two dice and a heart, which means there is an advantage if you have a higher “Glam” stat. You are sort of at the mercy of the game.

Sometimes it is not always clear if you succeeded with the dice rolls. For the most part you get the long-term outcome anyway (for example, if you (Spoiler - click to show) fail in your attempt to break up the fight in the Rose and Thorn, management still gives you a job). It can be vague.

But it can also mean an undeniable victorious win.

Success. Flawless execution.

It does happen, you know.

You sit back and wait for the questioning to begin. This is kind of exciting.

Not bad. I hope further updates will let us experience the combat component of the game.

Geography
It was a blast exploring the city. I have no complaints in the regard. However, I have feedback based on the game’s own description on itchio. It read, “Each area is a snapshot of city life, from the luxury of The Heights to the poverty-stricken slums of Skid Row.” I did not experience this.

My reaction is that while the city certainly had locational differences, it never felt like there was much contrast prosperity and/or social demographics between areas as suggested. Any contrasting information are more centered in locations’ descriptions rather than in immediate gameplay. They are well-written but long, meaning that players are not likely to read them each time they visit. The atmosphere is thus overlooked.

I agree that The Heights stands out as the snazziest place, Skid Row, the least in prosperity and glamour. The Stacks would fall between the two. Did they feel like separate “snapshots” when you go out exploring? Not really. The Red Light District is an interesting case. It too felt like the other areas of the city. If anything, like an extension of The Heights due to the high quantities of glitz, glamour, and luxury.

But while the district’s name may draw assumptions of what it entails, the author crafts a world that just may turn challenge that assumption. Tangent time.

Besides Signal Hill, I’ve played only one other IF game that depicts a red-light district setting that goes beyond a single establishment, such as a brothel: Gotomomi. Despite some roughness with the implementation, I really liked Gotomomi for its open-world atmosphere, one that I have never quite been able to find anywhere else. (Games that stick to a single location include Sense of Harmony, a custom choice-based game, and Desert Heat which is made with TADS).

Gotomomi is a parser game set in a fictional Japanese city of the same name. It stars Ayako, a teenager on the run from her wealthy and influential father. She loses her wallet and must hustle for money to buy a train ticket out of the city. While the game does not apply the term “red-light district,” to a designated area, a huge chunk of the city clearly fits the bill.

The nightlife is infused with a sense of vibrant possibility as we navigate it from Ayako’s perspective. But above all else, the city is coated in a garish sleaziness that permeates everything. This kind of seediness is not present in Signal Hill even if its own Red Light District strives to be unapologetically tacky (in a luxurious way, of course). The Rose and Thorn in Signal Hill is nothing like its equivalent in Gotomomi.

With Signal Hill, it was cool to see how it opts for a slightly different portrayal than a stereotypical (but still just as valid) vision of a nightlife district dedicated to “adult entertainment.” There is no mix of impoverishment and wealth (an unfortunate reality in today’s world, sadly) like that in Gotomomi or other games I’ve seen that depict sex work and similar activities. Sense of Harmony is another good exception. As an interactive fiction work, it was a refreshing contribution to the subject matter!

Finally, I am not saying that the Red Light District has to be seedy to stand out from the rest of Signal Hill city, only that it currently shares more or less of the same ambience as The Heights, The Stacks, and Skid Row. Perhaps even the Lamplighter HQ.

Story
Before we talk about the story, I must acknowledge the writing. The writing is bold, potent, humorous. Surprisingly daring and underscored by a brash, unashamed sexiness. Especially in the Red Light District. Everything about Signal Hill is over the top but narrowly dodges being overdone or contrived. It is not an easy balance, but that game navigates it with ease.

Between that and his usual silver screen-ready makeup, he was really rocking the 'rich widow who has no clue who shot her husband, officer' look.

Not sure I why I found it so funny. I just did. That happens a lot in the game.

Alright, story. I like to think of the story as having three layers. The immediate story about trying to recover the cargo, the overarching story surrounding the city, and the over-overarching story on the game’s universe. Presumably, they are all connected. Let’s dive into the last two.

Over-overarching story: Something has happened to modern civilization. An apocalypse that no one can remember or explain. All of this is underscored by background static, something that you can not only hear but reexperience past events. It depends on your affinity for sensing it. It has a sci-fi feel. Perhaps the universe runs on a computer. Probably not. There is also a spiritual, maybe even supernatural element interwoven in between. At this point, all I have are speculations.

Overarching story: I am still piecing everything together, but I’ll bounce some ideas around. (Spoiler - click to show) Signal Hill was transformed by a man named Nadir whose wealth came from the South and revitalized the city infrastructure, starting with an electric company. He was not the official owner of the city, but he also kind of was. Things were rocky. A month before the game begins, he was shot and killed. Things are still rocky.

I hope the game focuses more on the player’s ability to cross-examine story material from different parts of the gameplay. I love how the game overlaps information about (Spoiler - click to show) Nadir throughout the gameplay. We hear snippets of it on the radio and in conversation with other characters. This provides fantastic worldbuilding because it starts to feel like a separate fictional universe.

The most prominent example of story overlap is when (Spoiler - click to show) KC from the Lamplighter HQ shares her story about guarding a tent for Nadir and his daughter, Yvette, when they were camped out with some caravan. After that experience, Nadir had a chip on his shoulder about mercenaries. KC does not shy away when telling the story. At one point she says:

"You ever heard of this girl? She's pretty f****** important now that daddy got shot, so I guess you might know about her."

"I don't think so."

YES, WE DO. (I censored the quote by the way. The game itself does not hesitate.)

That’s the issue: I just waltzed out of the Waveform quest. The one where you curl up (as in, fall asleep) in the fancy back room in the Waveform club with Yasmine? The game acts like we are learning about this for the first time.

"Don't bother trying to meet her, I've heard she's gone off the deep end nowadays."

Yeah, already been done.

Yasmine mentions a little about this. Tidbits about her father’s will that left her the fortune but also required that she be hounded bodyguard/handlers (city militia, perhaps?) who “look after her,” to borrow her own words. Vague and intriguing. One thing is obvious: Beneath Yasmine’s superficial partygoer glamour, it is obvious that her father’s death deeply upsets her.

Not sure where your missing cargo comes in, though.

I would not expect the player to be able to interrupt (Spoiler - click to show) KC and say, “actually, I did… blah, blah, blah etc.” Blathering about everything you know seems like a bad idea in this environment. However, I was expecting the game to subtly acknowledge that the player has in fact heard about this before. Some way to connect these experiences together. And vice versa. You can visit (Spoiler - click to show) Lamplighter HQ before the Waveform club. That’s what I mean by cross-examining story material.

It would be interesting, though probably unwise, to show (Spoiler - click to show) Yvette the letter that he wrote on the hand drawn map that you receive from Dr. Zhao. Who’s Emil? Yeah, probably a bad idea. Still, it piques your curiosity.

Characters
I could ramble about the unique and interesting NPCs that fill the game, but Signal Hill is highly player centric (and this review already too long). Yes, it’s all about you. It features considerable character customization. Sculpting a persona is a main theme in this text adventure. It can be broken down into two fields: Personal identity and physical appearance. Especially the former.

Who am I?
Throughout the game you will have opportunities to accept certain identities as they arise. When you make certain choices or have a particular encounter, the game will present you with messages like this:

DEVOTEE
You venerate The Lady Death, whose loving embrace will bring us all into the end-times when our brains stop working and we succcumb to her will. While you're alive, offerings to her at your altar can perhaps grant you luck, love, and happiness- or skill bonuses.

Would you like to accept this identity?
--- YES / NO ---

The DEVOTEE identity is the first one offered in the game. You cannot miss it. Other identities, however, are tougher to find. So far, I found eight: (Spoiler - click to show) Augur, Devotee, Genderfuck, Hedonist, Machinist, Medic, Merc, Nomad.

I do not think that the demo is large enough to see these identities manifest due to length and limited opportunities in the gameplay. For example, part of the MERC identity reads:

You know how to get work, never have to roll to get a gig, and can negotiate better pay. However, you're also bound by your word- if you back out on a job, or fail, you lose this perk.

I never had a chance to see this perk in action. That is not a complaint, just that I am eager to explore them further.

The identity I could engage with the most was by far DEVOTEE. (Spoiler - click to show) You can turn a table in the medical clinic into an altar to give offerings. A few things changed in the city after I did this. For example, I went to the Trading Company there was an option to look for candles (there were none worthy for the altar) which is not shown otherwise. It’s as if the game’s landscape is adapting to your own character development. That was delightfully cool and immersive.

I gave my (Spoiler - click to show) altar three offerings: a packet of painkillers, a bottle of whiskey, and my severed pinky finger. I got an achievement for that one. It was worth it. Still, it was not enough to get any of the special perks promised in the DEVOTEE identity description.

(It would have been funny if Yasmin noticed your missing finger when you extend your hand to her during the Waveform club quest: “Eager, you step toward her and take her hand. Like accepting a gift.”)

Looking good
If you like games that allow you to adjust your physical appearance, Signal Hill may be to your liking. In the intro, you have choices for gender, hair, body type, cosmetics, piercings, tattoos, and clothing. And your name. There are plenty of options and yet it avoids flooding the player with its selection.

In fact, you can complete ignore customization. Clothing? Optional. You can literally be wandering around in nothing but underwear and electrical tape, and everyone- the attackers who shoot you, pedestrians, the guy who stiches you back together- will just be like, “hi, welcome to Signal Hill.” Well, maybe not the attackers. My point is that there is no judgment about your appearance.

Although, the idea of trekking across the wasteland with a caravan while wearing strappy heels makes me anxious. It is a sprained ankle just eagerly waiting to happen. Speaking of impractical outfits, I once started the game in a sequin dress, silk gloves, pearls, and high heels. I felt so weird, but I did so for a reason.

My knowledge is that the only time someone acknowledges the PC’s customizable design choices is during the (Spoiler - click to show) RIDE THE WAVEFORM where Yvette responds to your appearance with different dialog depending on if you dressed to the nines or look shabby.

"What on earth are you wearing?! My god, you're lucky you're cute. This is an important mission, you know!"

This was enough to make me want to restart the entire game.

At that time, I had no idea how to make money in this game (I do now). I figured that I should start the game with clothing that Yvette would approve of to avoid having to scavenge clothes later and/or enduring Yvette’s criticism. Hence the poorly chosen wasteland explorer outfit.

But besides this, I did not notice any gameplay that made note of what you wear.

Complaints/Concerns
I’ve got something to complain about (mostly just to vent). There are two guys in the warehouse who talk about a religion of being connected to the “static.” If you try to listen to it and succeed, one character gives you instructions to (Spoiler - click to show) talk to the bookseller for more info. She has a price if you want to take it another step.

Pay the woman. (4)
“Woah. That's crazy!”

(The first choice is to pay; second choice is if you cannot afford it. I could afford it.)

This is a placeholder. You shouldn't be able to get this much money in the current version.
And a way out in case you cheat yourself into this passage somehow. Naughty.

You don’t understand. I DID make that much money. My wealth was 4. That was the price she wanted. Cheating? How would one do that? I suppose this is not a fair complaint since the author clearly states that the demo is just that: a demo. Still, I was so pleased to have accumulated the wealth to unlock the next phase of this story.

In another playthrough, I got it up to 5. I cannot believe that wealth 5 is not enough to buy something in L'Apothecaire, although I applaud how the player discovers the store by (Spoiler - click to show) listening to the radio in the Juice Bar. That part was clever.

The other notable thing about this place was the prices. They were all listed on the shelves, and lord were they ludicrous. There was no way you could afford any of this stuff. Maybe a pack of their cheapest cigarettes.

Ah, well. Maybe when you earn more cash.

There is no higher wealth level than 5! The description of this wealth level is “Rich get richer. Get into any club, hire anybody, buy whatever you want.” Hear that? Buy anything.

Also, I bought a radio from the electronics story, but it never showed up in my inventory. That annoyed me. Why did I bother increasing my wealth if it has little use? It is like someone gives you candy with the condition that you are not allowed to eat it.

There are some broken links that are highlighted in red. I was disappointed to see:

Error: <<include>>: passage “Personal Shoutout” does not exist

…after paying for a shoutout at the radio station.

As a demo, these technicalities can slide, but I hope that the author continues to develop the game.

Visuals
Features a graphic of a computer screen that contains text from the gameplay. The screen’s appearance can be adjusted. I set it to “dark mode” to make it easier on my eyes. Behind it all is a backdrop designed to look like a concrete wall. Adds a nice grunginess.

The menu section on the left side of the screen is cleverly depicted as VHS tapes with handwritten titles like “Gear,” “ID,” or “Leads.” They are animated to slide out when you hover over them.

I am incredibly happy that the font is readable. Some games use ultra-pixelated font when going for a computer screen vibe which can be difficult to read, especially for long gameplays. With Signal Hill, the default is easy to read, and you can even change it in the settings. Options!

Final thoughts
Signal Hill is an ambitious game that delivers. It never seems like the author bit off more than they can chew in the sense that they envisioned a bold idea for gameplay and had the implementation to pull it off. While there are natural limitations to Twine and other choice-based formats when simulating a navigable city, its components support one another so that it feels that much more complex.

I loved the focus on fluidity of individuality, and I feel like that will be a main draw for other players. Rather than boxing yourself in a single role, you can collect identities like trading cards. The story is the same way. You start at a lead of your choosing and simply see where it takes you. There is no singular path. Nor do you have to pick a single path and stick to it.

Or at least right now. I have a feeling that the stakes will raise as the game continues to be developed.

Where will we go from here? This is a ridiculously generous and detailed demo. It is off to a fantastic start… However, there are many cool demos out there that I have yet to see finished. I know it’s asking for a lot, but you know, make it come full circle. I won’t pretend to understand the sheer work that goes into making a large, ambitious game. Still, if you have a gem, keep at it. FiNiSh tHeSe GaMeS!

I hope to see Signal Hill completed. (Please)

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!

Gone fishing… Yes. Gone fishing.

You find yourself standing before a serene lake with a fishing pole in your hand.

Gameplay
First things first, you are introduced to June, a friendly woman fishing. She can give you help or chat, but your main activity here is to fish and catch all six species.

The fishing mechanics are a creative one. The word "nibble..." flashes onscreen, and at one point quickly changes into a link that says "BITE," before changing back. If you clicked on the link in time, you reel in your fish. To keep it, you answer three multiple choice questions (with two possible answers each). The catch (!!) is that you have five seconds to solve each one. If you fail to answer or get one incorrect, the fish escapes and you try again.

At first you think, "this is fun, but will I seriously be doing this for the entire game?" (Answer: no) Then you see that each area has its own fishing challenge. That’s right, there is more than one area. Then you realize that (Spoiler - click to show) it is about more than just fishing. Simulator? More like (Spoiler - click to show) simulation. Which does not take long to figure out.

The fish you catch may come with a surprise. Sometimes your fishing gear catches an (Spoiler - click to show) audio log that provide a glimpse into the NPCs’ identities while raising doubts about how real your surroundings are. I have a bit of a request: (Spoiler - click to show) How many audio tapes has anyone found? They were fun to discover and enhanced the story. I found three at the lake, one at the ocean, and none at the third location. I would love to find more.

Zooming out, the overarching goal is to (Spoiler - click to show) acquire three fish spines that you receive as rewards from an NPC in each area, the lake being the first. The lake and the ocean seem harmless enough, but once you make it to the location after that, you will have an entirely different view of the game than the one you had when you first started playing. Which is perfect.

Gameplay challenges
I found two broken links and an error that halted the gameplay, perhaps even making it unwinnable in the sense where you are stuck in an obvious loop. It is otherwise a Merciful/Polite game through and through. Here it is:
(Spoiler - click to show)
I got the dreaded “Double-click this passage to edit it,” message after pressuring June about her means of transportation to the lake. The other instance was during the battle scene with Horace. I don’t know what I did, but the game suddenly said, "Horace Breem of the Black Water attacks for 150 damage!" But there was no link on the screen to move forward. It was a dead end.

The error occurred with June. It had to do with catching all six types of fish at the lake and then talking to June about moving to the next area. She lets you choose between leaving right away or staying at the lake a little longer. When I choose the former, I would be sent back to the location menu page where the ocean would be unlocked.

"You can now progress to the next area."
1. I'm ready.
2. I'd like to stay here longer.

However, when I chose to stay and then later asked to leave (see below), I would be sent back to the location menu, but the ocean location would NOT be unlocked. Maybe someone can find a way around it, but I was stuck.

"You've still caught all six species! Feel free to leave here anytime."
1. Move onto the next location.
2. Goodbye.

But if you are mindful about these parts, you’ll be fine.

Generally, it is not always possible to access the link that opens your saves. In the first two encounters I could not access my saves. Refreshing the page would not bring it back to the menu so I had to close out the window, access the game again on IFDB and then go to my saves when the menu appeared. Not too much of a hassle, but still a hassle when it came to hiccups.

Really, you’ll be fine.

Story
The Twine Fishing Simulator has prominent surreal elements in the story and how it is told. It is a fairly linear game. You can hop between the (Spoiler - click to show) lake and the ocean areas, but when you (Spoiler - click to show) reach the third location, there’s no going back. We already know that (Spoiler - click to show) we are trapped in a simulation of fishing minigames. That’s the story in a nutshell. It’s partly told by seeding out-of-place indicators that provide insights about “what’s really going on.” That’s what I want to focus on. Spoilers ahead. (Spoiler - click to show)

In the third location (called "???") the surroundings are less cohesive, almost… like a half-baked simulation. The fact that you had to punch in an administrative code before proceeding was a major indicator. It’s also the only area that allows you to explore the terrain a little more.

I thought it was cool how you end up on this chill half-formed island with some knight in armor catching fish and meanwhile you can just wander down an overgrown beach path to a dingy shack with a computer in it. And that computer is your portal to answers. This scene captures a certain kind of atmosphere that I love in interactive fiction games. Often in games about simulations, but not exclusively. How do I describe it…?

It’s that idea of finding a small but insistent clue that whispers none of this is real, as you stand there waist deep in the gameplay. Or in this case, since we know this is a simulation, it would be not everything is as it seems. That, too, is obvious, I know, but that moment of realization comes off smoothly in The Twine Fishing Simulator. I had the exact same zing feeling when I saw this:

And what's this? Something else is caught in your line. It appears to be an audio log.

You’re hanging out with June at the lake and catch an audio log that reveals more about her- and the place- than we learn through casual inconspicuous conversation. The wording and placement in the gameplay are excellent.

Anyway, the player has a lot of questions about what’s going on, the extent of which is hard to gauge. Fact is, Alireza and the audio logs can only tell you so much. Just how deep does this go? You need answers. This computer had the answers.

But not as many answers as I was hoping for. I'm going to be diving into the deep end with spoilers.

The computer contains data entries from 2011 and 2037. The ones from 2011 mention craters, meteors, and scrap metal falling from the sky, but then the September 29th entry says that nothing was falling from the sky, that it was just it… rain? I’m not sure of what to make of that. Jackie does get a mention. The logs are written by someone named “-J,” which I assume is June. The only takeaway is that Jackie found a metal substance that causes dreams.

The entries from 2037 discuss a simulation. My mind wanders back to something Alireza said. He explains that the simulation is decaying but has gained sentience. For whatever reason, the simulation simply generates "fishing minigames.” An AI, maybe? We hear mention of an AI in the computer log for June 17th, 2037: Partial construction of the Simulator AI has begun. Estimated trial date: somewhere in the next few months.

Why was a simulator built in 2037? Why do to the logs only have the years 2011 and 2037? If the simulation has started to deteriorate, does that mean something went wrong? Was Earth undergoing some disaster with falling meteors (or other objects) leaving craters? This is my point: I only have more questions.

I figured the ending would clarify some of these questions, but not really. It was clever, though. After you eat the three fish spines you unlock the ending (the final location) where you wake up in a metal chair in a room. Reveals like this are awesome. One wall reveals a large empty glass aquarium. The game suggests that its emptiness is your fault. You then fall back to an unconscious dream state.

Next thing you know, you are standing by a gorgeous lake with a fishing rod. Though you may be living in a simulation, you decide that it is a better means of existence than whatever is going on outside. This was an excellent surreal moment. However, I still had tons of unanswered questions from the computer. And questions about the ending. Is the whole empty aquarium scene a message about overfishing or humanity ravaging the aquatic ecosystem? Or am I overthinking it?

All I want is just a few more tidbits to fill in the gaps. That’s all. Ultimately, finding the (Spoiler - click to show) computer was still my favorite part, especially since it adds a layer of sci-fi into the surreal mix.

Characters
I’m going to ask straight out: (Spoiler - click to show) Who is Volunteer One? Is it Jackie? The player? Probably not the player due to the timeframe. Or maybe it is the player since June is clearly expecting you and mentions a newcomer in one of the audio logs you find at the lake. All I know is that I have a feeling that something happened to Jackie.

This is just a section where I am going to share some ramblings about the characters. You can skip this part.
(Spoiler - click to show)
Somehow, Alireza, June, and Horace ended up in the simulation. My guess (I’ll be making a lot of guesses) is that something happened to Jackie which meant he failed to make it into the simulation. June and Jackie definitely knew each other. Interrogating the NPCs will do little since the simulation saps people of memories. Most assume the simulation is a dream, like June. This means the player must dig for answers.

Of the three NPCs we meet, only Alireza has a faint idea of what’s going on, and there’s a reason. At least two years prior, he was once an administrator for the simulation. We know this from an audio log. It explains that a volunteer entered the simulation for an hour-long excursion but had gone missing, prompting Alireza to complain to management. He also mentions that his career is over. I wonder, did it end because of the missing volunteer, or because he spoke out? My guess is that he was thrown into the simulation in response, but it’s a wild, wild guess.

I really liked the subtle foreshadowing/story building that occurs when you pester Alireza for “fun facts,” which only become meaningful once you’ve played the game and know what to look for. He foreshadows Harold by saying, “'One time this dude in a full suit of armor came through here. I taught him how to fish, he was really nice.'" You find yourself agreeing and thinking, yep, I know who you’re talking about.

The one that really caught my attention is when he says, “'My mom was a scientist up in orbit. Studying those meteors.'" That connects back to the mentions of meteors in the computer logs. There is some truth them… this kind clue dropping is the stuff I play for. It does not answer my (excessive) questions, but it does add context that only encourages the player to look deeper for things they missed.

Where does this leave us? I take it something happens in the gap between 2011 and 2037 that was the catalyst for creating the simulation. A corporate theme has surfaced once or twice but only vaguely. Whoever ran the show was rushing since volunteers were being processed while it still had rough areas. Another wild guess: The computer logs mention a metal material that puts you in a dream state coma for the simulation. Isn’t the chair you wake up in at the end made of metal? Perhaps made of the special metal to put the user into the simulation? That’s all I have.

Comment if you want you share your own speculations for the story.

Visuals
The game’s visuals stay basic without abandoning stylization. Black backdrop. Text is white with blue links and is placed in a teal bordered box. Beneath it is a shot of the game's cover art. It uses a pixelated font that can be changed in the settings. That is always appreciated. It’s a good look for the game.

Final thoughts
The Twine Fishing Simulator is a clever and unique piece of surreal interactive fiction. I enjoyed it and would recommend it for surreal fans. Or lovers of fishing minigames.

There are some bug issues that dull the polish, but the gameplay is generally smooth sailing. I do feel like it leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions, particularly with linking character dialog to other story related discoveries in the gameplay. Some subjects were mentioned once and forgotten. I would have loved to see a little more cohesion there.

Regardless, the story shows creativity and thoughtfulness that leaves a lasting impression. The author has a skill at leading the player down an unexpected story trajectory. You thought you were going to be playing a realistic resource management fishing game. Well, think twice. It plays with reality and combines it with interesting characters. By the time I reached the ending sequence, I really felt like the PC.

When I first saw Rougi, I thought it was commercial. It is not. But it is a demo.

In Rougi, the Paris Opéra Ballet is getting ready to put on Les Souliers Rouges, a controversial ballet thought to be cursed. And maybe there’s something to it. So far, it has been a string of accidents and delays. That is why you, a mere patron of the arts, have been tasked to find the truth behind the curse.

Actually, I think Les Souliers Rouges ( The Red Shoes) is an actual story with many adaptations in film, music, and other forms. Rougi happens to depict it as a ballet, which I believe has been done as well. But the version in Rougi is especially unique. The storyline is different than what I have seen (on the internet, that is), and I am curious to see its trajectory here.

Gameplay
The game begins with a brief intro before the PC enters the picture. We are merely the passive observer of a reception after a performance of Coppélia where ballerinas and crew members are mingling with the audience in the gallery. Two ballerinas, Élodie Sirand and Laure Bloch, are especially at the center of attention, each with their own crowd of admirers.

Élodie is the seasoned professional. The only danseuse étoile (lead ballerina, or prima ballerina) in Paris. Laure is the new, innocent talent who basks in the praise while Élodie watches her warily. At one point, Antoine de Forbin, a long-devoted patron of considerable power, informs Élodie that he must break off his relationship with her. She leaves. Angry. A young man chases after her. The scene ends.

It’s a pretty good intro. One that leaves you with questions. Both ballerinas are cast in Les Souliers Rouges, BTW. More on that later.

Rougi officially kicks off with some character creation where you decide on your name, pronouns, and social class. There are three social class (working class, bourgeois, and aristocracy) options that mildly influence the writing and character dialog. They also determine how you gain access to the Paris Opéra Ballet.

You’d never imagined you’d be able to enter the Palais, let alone stand in the secret wings behind its glittering halls.

You always begin with a letter invitation. For the bourgeois choice, you used your connections to weasel your way into an invitation, for the aristocracy option, you were simply invited. And if you choose the working class, you were tasked with making a delivery. Playing as different roles is fun and adds replay value.

Regardless of which social standing you choose to play in, your mission will be the same. At one point, you will meet the Director of the Opéra Ballet. He is strongly against Les Souliers Rouges but could not override the decision-making of other influential figures at the Opéra Ballet. He is a superstitious man, or at least when Les Souliers Rouges is involved. He will hardly visit the site while the ballet is in production. But he does so he could speak to you. He wants you to roll up your sleeves and investigate this “curse” before it causes (more) harm.

At heart, this is a mystery game, and there is a strong investigative feel in the gameplay. On the left side of the screen is a menu containing an inventory and a notebook section for clues. Some clues are added automatically, others only if you deem them relevant. It’s an organized system that is easy to use. The gameplay does use a higher word count, so it is helpful to have something that keeps track of vital details. The demo ends before we can make any real breakthroughs, but we still learn some neat things.

Issues
There are some dents in the polish. The only real bug hiccup that I encountered was with the achievements. When you unlock one, a message appears at the top of the screen before it is added in the achievements section. Often the game would say I earned one, but it would never be added to the list. The only achievement (besides the first two that are there following character creation) that managed to show up in the achievements section was:

(Spoiler - click to show) “Your Crown is Falling, Queen: Win Élodie's respect through an unexpected trial.”

None of the others appeared. I was hoping to see what they were. I must admit, I thought I would have to work harder to win Élodie’s respect, but no complaints.

Another error is how whenever you add something to your notebook, this happens: “There is a scrap of red satin near your foot. You surreptitiously pocket it.” If you repeatedly add a clue to the notebook, there will be no duplicate of the clue. But the PC will still pick up pieces of red satin to add in the inventory. They just keep piling up. Every time. Infinite scraps. I think that's an error. Either that or people keep leaving pieces of red satin everywhere.

Oh, and Laure is never added to the “Persons of interest” section. That’s about it.

Story
For context, the story takes place during the Belle Époque, a period spanning from 1871-1914 in France and the European region. In the developer’s notes, the date was said to be 1895 but I’m not sure if that directly applies to the game. Either way, it’s nice that the game gives us a historical context.

In Rougi, a character named Maestro Camille Fauré (or just Camille) wrote Les Souliers Rouges. It is about a young village girl named Clara who receives red slippers that are secretly cursed by the King of Darkness who wants to claim her, etc. Its original premiere is shrouded in controversy. Spoilers ahead.

(Spoiler - click to show) Before opening night, the lead dancer casted as Clara died. Her body was found mangled by the roadside with large amounts of blood on the red ballet shoes in her bag. The production was cancelled. Years later, it was attempted again, but its production was riddled with disasters and thus scraped.

Now, for some insane reason, Camille wants to give this another shot and managed to twist the arm of those needed to permit (not that they agree) such a show. Les Souliers Rouges will be attempted one more time despite everyone's fear of its mere name. Even the Director is convinced it is cursed. He almost has a heart attack upon seeing Laure in her red dance shoes.

That’s all I know about the story through this demo. The author has a blog devoted to the development which is definitely worth a look.

I can tell you that the writing is decadent and descriptive. One of the best parts. It also theatrically captures the drama as it unfolds.

Dancers crowd around the fallen ballerina, outstretched hands fluttering from her to their mouths in the most elegant show of alarm you’ve ever seen.

We can visualize the elegant architecture and lavishly attired guests, but also “staff-only” areas that are less glamorous and maybe… not haunted. Probably not haunted. That’s the perk of the Director giving you the green light for investigating a cursed ballet production. It carries the awe of stepping from the streets into a performing arts establishment of great renown, setting a strong atmosphere.

Characters
There are plenty of interesting characters who are eventually logged as entries in your notebook. But so far, the dynamics between Élodie and Laure takes center stage. A rivalry is apparent. Élodie is the best of the best, Laure is new, one of the best, and somehow manages to be the Opéra Ballet Director’s favorite. Besides, they have completely different personas.

Laure is the bright-eyed, up-and-coming new talent. She is clearly dazzled by the high life glamour that comes with being a prominent ballerina. For her, ballet is a portal into this extravagant world. She is giddy and excitable without knowing the grimmer side of fame. As we see at the start of the game with Élodie, fame brings patrons, but patrons can easily ditch their favorites and become entranced with something new.

Élodie’s character is a sharp contrast. She has years of experience, not just in ballet but also the industry. Because of this, she is cynical, sees fakery from a mile away, and hostile towards those who waste her time (so, everyone). But she has secrets and has been burned by individuals. There is, perhaps, a genuine motive, though self-serving, to protect Laure from making the same mistakes that she did as a career ballerina because she knows too well that success attracts powerful people who call the shots.

Perhaps. Élodie strikes me as an individual who dislikes others but is not one to stand by and watch someone, especially if that someone was once her, make the worst possible mistake because of inexperience or vulnerability. Laure seems to be that someone. But it’s just a hunch, and one that may be disproven as the story develops.

Drama, drama, and more drama
It’s bad enough that Les Souliers Rouges is cursed. Now, two new developments have increased the scandal. (Spoiler - click to show) The first is that Laure is cast as the lead, Clara, instead of Élodie. The second is that rather than having a male dancer play the character of the King, Élodie will. Or maybe the King’s character is changed to female. I’m not sure. Either way, people see this as scandalous- for reasons I’m still trying to piece together- because Élodie claims Laure as a bride via the character roles. Is the gender change part bold, or is it just the rivalry between the two lead ballerinas?

Laure herself is shocked about this news but reassures those in charge that “I would do anything to become an étoile.” Anything? You can probably finish that thought. The demo ends after (Spoiler - click to show) Élodie and Laure dance in a duo piece, which only makes you want to know more of this catastrophic show. Is it really cursed?

Visuals
The visual design goes well with the atmosphere and subject matter. It conjures up the image of velvet, wine, and... blood? Maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions. Oh, you can also change the colour scheme for the display mode, a superficial feature (in the best way) that wins me over every time. The one I just discussed it the default is called "Nuit," which means night. The other theme is "Matinée," a show that takes place in the day. The colour scheme for Matinée is creme and light blue. The best part is that it all contributes to the concept of performing arts.

More importantly, the text is easy to read. You can also adjust it in the settings. The super fancy cursive is great for flair but having it for everything would eventually be a pain to read.

Final thoughts
I have played games about the performing arts, but this is the first based on ballet. It’s exciting and dramatic with a strong feel for mystery. I want to know the truth behind Les Souliers Rouges.

I recommend it to players interested in historical mystery games with an emphasis on the characters and story. As a mystery Twine game, it steers away from deductive puzzles and instead has the player carefully glean valuable bits of information as encounters arise. If you like the Lady Thalia series, you may enjoy Rougi but know that it is a complete change in tone and technicality.

One more thing: I'm going to be a spoiled brat for a moment. This is another polished, excellent demo that I've seen on IFDB (there are quite a few) that I would love to see continued. The author says that Rougi will be updated over the next few weeks. My understanding is that it was published about a year before it was added to IFDB. So, I am not sure when the next update will be.

I hope it continues to be developed without adding tons of pressure (that’s the last thing I want to do) for updates. If the author is reading this, just know that you have something with a lot of potential. I say that for a lot of games, but I would not say it if it weren’t true.

Earth is inhabitable. Its ecosystem is destroyed, and high levels of radiation are everywhere. Roughly 1000 humans have been selected to live in an underground bunker until conditions on Earth return to safer levels. The bunk is self-sufficient and designed with infrastructure to sustain a scaled-down version of society. It is thought that it will be safe to leave in about fifty years.

However, this sanctuary requires a particular kind of decision maker, someone to call the shots when something major happens. A neutral party with no personal stakes or biases. A person (you) has been launched into space to live on an unnamed space station with the sole purpose of keeping tabs on the bunker. The surviving humans consult you from time to time for serious matters when they need you to make a decision.

Otherwise, you spend your time in suspended hibernation until you are summoned once more.

Gameplay
Ultimately, the gameplay revolves around one major decision that ends your mission and the game: opening the bunker to allow the humans to explore and populate Earth again. It also marks your death. And no, that’s not a spoiler. The PC knows right from the start that this is going to be a one-way trip. You continue until you expire (this is one of those rare games I’ve encountered where hibernation tech does not preserve your body from aging) or open the bunker door on Earth.

The Last Sanctuary has high replay value and involves strategy. Most of the gameplay involves trade-off decisions where choices are made to preserve one system or resource over another. For every scenario there are two possible options. You may encounter the same scenario more than once, but the repeated success of either decision is variable. It forces you must keep track of decisions that are high-risk and high reward. If your bunker is crumbling away, play it safe. But even that is uncertain.

A stats page with colourful visual indicators is provided so you can keep track of the population size, bunker conditions, supply stocks, data stores, and communications levels. The most important stat is the one measuring radiation levels on Earth. It takes years for it to go down to zero. Your sleep cycles depend on the inhabitants. They may wake you up after six years, sometimes just after one.

When you open the bunker door, (Spoiler - click to show) the game gives you roughly four assessments. Earth’s habitability, genetic diversity based on surviving population size, the level of tech and data remaining, and the long-term state of humanity’s new civilization. This can range anywhere from thriving to dying thanks to radiation sickening within hours. Experimenting with different outcomes will keep you busy. You get a final score that is stored in the game’s high-score page. My highest was (Spoiler - click to show) 815.

My only complaint is with the achievements. When you open The Last Sanctuary, it pulls up a menu page where you input commands, such as “play” to start a new game. This menu includes an achievements page that keeps track of secret endings, how many encounters you have found (including special encounters), and how many general endings you have completed. The achievement reads as (Spoiler - click to show) Locked: (14/22) Endings, which means that there are 22 endings total and I only found 14.

I have no idea on how to get the remaining endings and seems to have reached a wall. My guess is that (Spoiler - click to show) some are about failing in certain ways, but it is actually quite difficult to fail before you open the door because you die of old age before your decisions wipe out the inhabitants. Speaking of which, it is impossible to lose every inhabitant. There has got to be an achievement somewhere for that. Nor can you run out of food or have total failure of the radiation shielding. The reason why I am going the destructive route is because I have exhausted the other (more optimal) outcomes in the game. These are the only unknowns left to explore, but I cannot seem to play the game long enough to see them through. I feel like the game is too tightly constrained in this regard. Plus, there is a secret console achievement that I want to reach.

Story
The premise of The Last Sanctuary reminds me of another Twine game called Seedship. Both put the player in charge of the remainder of humanity after Earth becomes inhabitable and involve making tough decisions. If you like The Last Sanctuary, please try Seedship, and vice versa. They have a lot in common while still being distinct high-quality pieces of sci-fi interactive fiction. Let’s take a closer look just for fun.

Seedship is about an AI of a ship carrying 1000 frozen colonists with the task of finding a new planet for a human colony. Just as the PC in The Last Sanctuary sleeps until woken by the bunker dwellers, the AI snoozes until the ship either reaches the target star system or is awakened mid journey by an unexpected event. You also make judgement calls that often make you sacrifice one thing for another (ex. Do I allow the sleep chambers to overheat or the construction system?).

The player manages stats that include scanners, ship systems, and data storage. Everything leads up to one all-encompassing decision that determines the outcome of humanity: landing the ship on your chosen planet. Like The Last Sanctuary, you get a score on your performance. The AI has cultural and scientific databases that colonists use to retain levels of technology and a heritage to Earth. If these are incomplete the colonies are less likely to build a flourishing colony. This value on preserving human memory is also shared with The Last Sanctuary.

If you have played Seedship, you are probably nodding your head. But this review is about The Last Sanctuary, and it ultimately offers a separate experience. Seedship, being in third person, makes you feel more like an observer. Meanwhile, The Last Sanctuary captures a stronger sense of self. You feel like the PC, and not just because the story is told in second person.

Every time the PC wakes, we get a glimpse into their thoughts, and the writing captures the feel of being a lone person on a space station trying to guide the remainders of humanity on Earth. We start to see what it is like to go from an Earthling to a permanent human satellite with only one purpose. That sort of atmosphere shapes and defines the game.

The Last Sanctuary also allows the player to see the effects of their everyday decisions on the people whom they are responsible for. Frozen colonists* have little opportunities to throw temper tantrums at your choices. But the humans in the bunker have no qualms about talking back, (Spoiler - click to show) starting cults, breaking things out of spite, and (Spoiler - click to show) demanding to be let out of the bunker at their own peril. If you think about it, the only reason you wake up is when they want you to. You definitely get that human dynamic.

*Actually, you’d be surprised at how frozen colonists can mess with an AI, but you’ll just have to play the game.

Visuals
The game goes creative with its visual design. The screen is just one big animated starfield that makes you feel like you are cruising through space. The settings allow you to control the speed of the stars (which was more fun than one would expect) including stopping them entirely which was smart since the starfield gets distracting. I would just stare at it and forget what I was doing.

Smack in the center of the screen is an illustration of an IBM computer. Appropriately, the game's text appears on the computer's screen, and the font and text colour also contribute to the “digital” appearance. There are even a few computer buttons you can toggle, although they don't seem to have any particular purpose aside from turning the screen off and on. Still, points for interactivity.

Most importantly, the use of computer visuals highlights the fact the protagonist is doing the same thing as you: sitting at a computer screen while weeding through inhabitants’ requests. The coolest part of the visuals was how the game makes an illustration of your civilization when it presents your score.

Final thoughts
The Last Sanctuary is a fun but introspective game where you, and only you, are responsible for providing some semblance of leadership to people you will never meet face-to-face. You call the shots for humanity’s survival and yet you are confined to a space station with no hope of returning to Earth once it has been restored.

But you can look at it both ways. You have the chance to put humanity back on the right track, and these themes were compelling to explore. In essence, it is a strong story with irresistible gameplay.

You play as Noah. Kiera, your sister, texts you with a request. She wants you to visit a relative’s former house on Laurel Road to retrieve items for your cousin, Quinn. But you and Quinn have never had the best relationship. Not ever since they transitioned. Returning there will bring up bad memories, and afterwards, you will have to bring the items to Quinn. Will you do it? Or will you shy away from the task?

There is a genre of games about rummaging through a house one last time after a drastic event to gather items and relive memories. Exploration is largely NPC-less with a profound sense of melancholy, leaving the player to decide one what the PC gets out of the experience. I am reminded of the Twine game Another Cabin In The Woods and the TADS game Past Present. I know there are plenty more out there.

Gameplay
Quinn is the younger cousin of Noah and Keira. They lived their entire life under a different name- of which we never learn- but now go by Quinn. If it was not obvious, they also now identify as “they.”

The house on Laurel Road has been abandoned for months, but the furniture and belongings are still there. It is also a former crime scene. There is a brief intro before you travel to the house. Once there, you can travel from room to room in search of items. For the gameplay mechanics, you either click anywhere on the screen to move to the next passage or click on links when they are offered.

Gameplay involves reliving memories by examining items in the house. There is the (Spoiler - click to show) sketchbook that Quinn used while hospitalized for self-harm (I thought this scene was well done. It does not tip toe around the subject but also treads lightly on the explicit details). A boardgame that Noah thought was dumb, but Quinn liked to play. The home videos that Quinn’s father smashed out of anger. Oh yes, there is a lot to unpack. Overall, I would not say this is a sad, gloomy game, but there is an undeniable sense of tragedy that emerges as you sift through the near empty house.

Story
As I mentioned at the beginning, 13 Laurel Road is a piece where the story is centered around a defining Event that occurs before the game begins. You just merely pick up the pieces of a shattered past. The big plot twist is that (Spoiler - click to show) Quinn’s father, Glenn, shot and killed his wife, Joyce. You are visiting the house months after the incident.

While this is not a graphic game, there are poignant indicators of the violence that took place, such as bullet holes or suspicious looking stains. The game gives few details about this plot element, and it’s unclear if both Quinn and Joyce were shot, or the fate of Glenn. Did he kill himself? The only certainty is that Joyce is dead, and Quinn is now living on their own.

If anything, this story is about Quinn. Nearly a year ago, when Quinn requested to be called "they," Noah screwed up and said some things that hurt Quinn, and then started an argument with his sister, prompting Quinn to leave. Noah has felt bad about that ever since, and yet has not been proactive in making up for his behavior. Hopefully, this excursion into the past to find Quinn's things will be an opportunity to come to terms with what he did.

Sure enough, you end up being the one who (Spoiler - click to show) meets with Quinn in person to return the items. You have a few choices on how to respond to that encounter.

Characters + Themes
Let’s take a closer look at the character dynamics, particularly Noah’s relationship with Quinn since it is a long relationship filled with instability.

Noah never took Quinn’s transition seriously. Not transphobic, exactly, but indifferent to the challenges and implications brought by this personal growth. Quinn came out to Noah and Keira before ever bringing it up with Quinn’s own parents. Noah and Keira were supposed to be a support system, but Noah made little effort to respect his cousin’s change in identity.

In one of the memories, Noah recalls hearing (Spoiler - click to show) Quinn’s father, Glenn, talk about Quinn in shocking ways. While the game never actually uses transphobic slurs, it's implied that such slurs and statements were said in these past discussions. Even worse, Noah also remembers not trying object to (Spoiler - click to show) his uncle's comments or feeling any need to defend Quinn. (Note: This is a good game if you want to explore these ideas without dousing you with explicit content. Such games are powerful but sometimes you may feel like playing something more subtle.)

At the same time, the game highlights the uncertainty that can come with learning about a person’s, transition in gender and pronouns when one (Noah) is unaccustomed to concepts about transitioning. Noah would retreat to the use of Quinn’s previous name and pronouns as a defense mechanism when he felt insecure about the fact that people’s identity can be fluid. It is a big unknown for Noah. Unfortunately, Noah’s lack of open-mindedness caused harm to Quinn, especially as they struggled back at home. It was not until (Spoiler - click to show) Glenn killed Joyce did Noah realize how little support Quinn had.

How the player chooses to engage with this determines Noah’s willingness to admit- really admit- that he was wrong. That he chose the easy route and ignore when faced with his cousin’s requests to use different pronouns.

Visuals
Though the game features a familiar appearance of white text against a black screen, it seems like the author added the slightest variation to the default stylization. The white text large and easy to read, maybe in a different-from-default font. Paragraphs are neatly organized onscreen. Never is the screen swamped with text. Neglecting paragraph organization and text space is something I see in Twine games from time to time. Finally, the red links offer a nice splash of colour.

Final thoughts
While not particularly advanced in the technical department, 13 Laurel Road is a simple Twine game with a potent story about identity and revisiting a broken relationship. There are a lot of variables to consider. The game shows the impacts, often the more subtle impacts, that come with misgendering someone or not respecting their wishes (hopefully I analyzed the story correctly). Ultimately, it offers redemption but only redemption that is sought out earnestly.

A memorable slice of life game worth checking out.

Haiku was submitted to the Twiny Jam (hosted by Porpentine, yay!) where the rules were simply to make short Twine game with no more than 300 words. This was partly to make the idea of submitting a game to a jam/event less daunting since it can be easy to talk oneself out of participating, you know, just in case everyone submits a longer and better game than your own creation. I'm part joking, but there is truth to it. Submitting a game to anything can be a big unknown. Narrowing down the word limit to 300 reigns in the expectations of scale while also encouraging innovative cleverness though a word limit.

The game's title borrows from a traditional Japanese poetic structure known as a haiku. These are short three lined poems with specific rules on how many syllables can be in each line. Haiku lets you compose a poem by clicking on each line of a haiku provided at the start of the game. I believe the terms a replace macro. It’s a common sight in Twine games. Each line has about five choices to choose from. You swap each line out with another until you are satisfied with your creation. Here is mine:

A pond full of carps
Tells a story to the child
Lies among the grass

The game then ends on a peaceful, reflective note.

I must say, Haiku is rather minimalist, even for the game jam. From a gameplay standpoint the haiku creation process is not particularly advanced. Clicking on a bunch of links several times is not necessarily going to be a hit with players, but offsetting this through other characteristics that engage the player transforms the gameplay experience.

In this case, I’d say that the writing would be the characteristic that keeps the game afloat, and I think it mostly succeeds with this. The first haiku line had some cool options, but the options for lines two and three were not quite as potent. It did not quite feel as satisfying as I expected but I still enjoyed it.

The author plays with some simple but appealing visuals for ambience. The background is off-white colour with green text. The bottom of the screen has simple artwork of riverbank surrounded by grass and cattails. The artwork uses basic brush strokes and is merely meant to be a vague impression.

Haiku captures the idea of less is more, which only enhances the minimal yet potency of haiku poetry. Simple and subtle things can work together to make a finished work more complex than its individual components. Now, I am giving this game three stars instead of four because its premise could have been a little more evolved with how the player interacts with the poetry. That said, it still captures a strong sense of serenity through its haiku concept and visual design that makes it enjoyable to play.

If you are shopping around for anything to do with poetry in interactive fiction, I recommend Haiku.

Habeas Corpus is a short game submitted to a jam with the rule of being no longer than 1,000 words. It is a surreal story about finding a way out of a decaying place, and yet this is not a typical escape game. I have a habit for writing excessively long reviews so I will try to do the same thing here!

You awake in a decrepit moving fortress, unsure of who you are. Even your own reflection is unfamiliar. All you have are five rooms to explore: Dormitory, Armory, Engine room, Concourse, and Nexus, where the game begins. The gameplay predominantly uses the “approach,” “examine,” and “talk” command that are available in certain rooms. Some rooms seem to be merely atmospheric. While this game is largely exploratory, there are some small puzzles about searching your surroundings to finding clues about your whereabouts.

There is minimal exposition on the story. It's ambiguous but no means incomplete, either. We are not sure of why we are in the fortress or the protagonist’s backstory. It left me with some questions. For instance, (Spoiler - click to show) is the dying body in the dormitory supposed to be yourself? Are you dead? That was my initial impression. But for a game of no more than 1,000 words it does well in sewing together a story out of a surreal concept (although I know the jam gives you more wiggle room than other jams that only allow 100 words).

The game’s description explains that there are multiple endings. I only found two: (Spoiler - click to show) LOTUS-EATER and FIRMAMENT, the second appearing to be the “good” ending. It’s a nice ending enough ending about (Spoiler - click to show) escaping with the harpy that effectively concludes the gameplay.

The appearance is snazzily stylized. The text is white with an angular font. Links are either dynamic animated black 3D boxes or glowing peach colour links. The latter bounces when you click on it, cycling between two to four words that provide extra descriptions. The background is horizontal black and dark grey stripes. Meanwhile, the top of the screen is a panel of red and dark red horizontal strips with a grey border. Slowly, these panel colours change as you explore. The panel has buttons for each room, next to each are door icons. I’d say this is a polished and clever design!

It is not a particularly memorable game or one that I would play again, but it is one that I enjoyed and replayed to find the endings. Some of it even has a few Porpentine vibes. If you are a fellow fan of Porpentine or of G.C. Baccaris’s other works (be sure to try Heretic’s Hope, it’s quite a thrill), Habeas Corpus is a fun option.

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.

P-Rix – Space Trucker told in third person past tense from the perspective of a PC named P-Rix, a trucker who agreed to a sketchy delivery with the promise of earning a high reward. But partway through the journey and accident occurs. The ship had a collision with an unknown object. A collision that damaged the cargo bay. You know, the place where the super-secret cargo is held.

It is also a demo. For future reference, that’s what this review is about.

Gameplay
The game begins with a message saying, "Alert! System Breached! Alert!" that pulls P-Rix out of sleep. Here, the bottom screen faintly blinks red to simulate an alarm going off. Just one of many cool visual effects found in this game.

The first few puzzles are about fixing the ship’s critical status. The ship is losing oxygen and fuel, and a careless mistake results in death. There are plenty of insta-deaths in this game. The player typically has two options at a time to search and fix the ship. I liked the sense of danger and urgency that is conveyed right from the start. If only I knew what was in that cargo…

Story + Characters
As expected, the story is minimal. We know that a client, an ambiguous “they” looming over our heads, made the request for a delivery to NA-Dux 16T-8R, one of the most dangerous areas of the universe. Given there is a demo, we only see a little of this pan out. We do hear a mention of a contractor named Mr. E in regard to the cargo. The client, maybe? The game ends when you (Spoiler - click to show) finally get the space trucker’s rig up and running only to have to seek out more extensive repairs at the nearest interplanetary mechanic stop.

Likewise, info on the protagonist is also limited. There is some repetitive swearing that loses its potency after a while, but the game never breaks from P-Rix's flustered character. It's hard to tell if he is a slacker or just had been dealt a really bad set of cards. We only get a sense of his situation beyond dealing with an immediate emergency. It should be noted that the only reason why he agreed to the delivery was because of the number of zeros at the end of the payment. Makes for a compelling story.

Visuals
This, in my opinion, is the main event in this game. So far, at least. I was really impressed with how visual elements are used to tell the story. Attractive appearances go a long way, but when they enhance the storytelling itself, that's when the bonus points start coming out. Hence my long discussion of it.

After a brief intro, the visuals transform into a large console-like text box against a pink tinged star field background. The console is broken into six panels, the main two being the top half that shows the ship's status, and the panel beneath it where text is displayed. I wish that part was a little bigger, but it is a minor hindrance. There are also stats (yay!) for the cargo, oxygen, and fuel, although the game is not long enough to really see these features in action.

The game occasionally switches things up with a new screen depicting a diagnostics page with a striped green and black backdrop behind a large green text box area in the center. It uses a mix of scrolling text and glowing letters to add to the atmosphere. Even some character graphics are introduced, but the game ends soon after that.

The star field takes up a little more than a half of the backdrop space, starting from the top of the screen and moving downwards. The bottom half is black with a curved glowing edge, like the event horizon of a black hole. Everything, both the backdrop and the console, has a rose red pink colour that later turns purple once the ship is repaired. A ship icon then appears on the display panel. Then… the animation kicks in.

What's wild is when the star field then moves towards and under the bottom half to create the impression that the ship is moving. Have you ever stood on a pier at the ocean and feel like the pier was moving when in fact it is the motion of the waves giving that impression? It’s like that. But with Twine. This was brilliant. This is what I meant by the game using visual effects to tell the story of traveling through space.

A similar example can be found in another Twine game, To Spring Open. It uses a bouncing text effect to simulate a ride on a subway train. Both cases demonstrate the merit of experimenting with visual elements to change how the player experiences the story.

Final thoughts
Lately, there have been quite a few high-quality Twine demos floating around IFDB made by a wide variety of skilled authors. These Twine games are beautifully designed with either elegant simplicity or with impressive visuals. They make waves as quality demos, often with eye-catching cover art. I just hope that the authors continue to pursue them. Including this one. No pressure but including P-Rix – Space Trucker. The title alone is worth checking out.

THIS IS THE END OF THE DEMO. MORE CONTENT WILL BE ADDED IN THE FUTURE! THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!

Please, please, please, keep developing this. Finish it. I want to play more of this space truckin' adventure. It's already off to a great start.

Overrun is a cyberpunk hacking game set in 2050. Nearly two decades prior, a virus known as the Crash Virus wiped out the internet and every database, toppling governments and nations which would be replaced by corporations. To investigate the virus, computer experts turned to an experimental brain-computer interface called a cyberdeck that allows the human mind to enter the digital world. Eventually, the Crash Virus was destroyed, though not without killing some cyberdeck users in the process.

You were one of the experts who helped in destroying the Crash Virus and are now employed at the corporation Renraku Arcology as a programmer and corporate decker. One day, your System Identification Number (SIN)- akin to a Social Security number- is erased. You have no memory as to why, only that without a SIM, you no longer exist in society. To find answers, you turn to your cyberdeck.

Background
Janos Biro originally wrote and released this game in Portuguese but later posted an English version, both of which are available on IFDB. If it isn’t obvious, I played the latter. Overrun is based off a tabletop RPG game called Shadowrun, which details the discovery of magic in conjunction with pre-existing cybernetic technology. A quick glance at Wikipedia reveals similar themes and features in both pieces, particularly dystopian corporate undertones. The game also explains that Biro created a 1996 version of Overrun in QBASIC. It is cool when authors decide to revisit their previous works.

Gameplay
I was not expecting such a complex and immersive game when I sat down to play this. I figured it would be a familiar cyberpunk Twine game about defying corporations with gameplay where you are presented with three to four choices at a time to influence a storyline. While those games are also fun, Overrun brings something new to the table. It's a hacking game, or at least a "hacking" game, but one that makes you feel like a pro at computer hacking wizardry even though you fully know that you are just messing around on a Twine game.

Everything is centered around completing missions where you hack into systems to either find files, disable system functions, or shutdown the entire server. Completing missions rewards you with experience points, and payments from jobs allow you to upgrade utilities that give you extra skills in the field. You can also sell files for extra income.

Hacking is an interesting experience in Overrun. The server is represented with an in-game map depicting corridors and system nodes, within which are your avatar and icons representing IC programs that patrol for intruders. You move in up/down/left/right directions, either by clicking the screen or using your keyboard. Next to the map is a list of your utilities and your stat resources. Spending memory on your utilities gives you an edge of overcoming challenges. Just be careful not to set off any alarms.

It really feels like you are hacking into the "mainframe." That sounds cringy, but it is true. There is a somewhat steep learning curve. I was clicking things at random for a while but eventually I got the hang of all the RPG functions and features. Everything was rather easy after that. Maybe even too easy, but I have no complaints. Strategy is still required and provides a meaningful gameplay experience. This is what the menu of your cyberdeck looks like:

>>>Shadowland
>>>Hacker Shop
>>>Hacker Board
>>>Hacker Bar
>>>Fixer
>>>Hosts
>>>Simulation

[Decker] [Files] [Mission]
[Saves] [Options] [Help] [Quit]

And that's not including the extensive stats at the bottom of the page. In retrospect, all this feels straightforward, but nonetheless left me overwhelmed when I first found the game. There is a learning curve that may compel players to quit before reaching that moment when you finally feel like you are making progress. For me, it was using the utilities in combat.

Mirror failed!
Pyro is containing you!
Mirror failed!
Pyro caused 8 damage to you.
Mirror failed!

The more you upgrade your utilities the more effective they are in the field. However, they start out as being in effective and flimsy until they are upgraded. Spending 6 memory on a mirror function that did not even work (see above) was frustrating, but it was all part of the learning curve. Stick with it, especially if you like RPG games.

To advance the story, you must build a rapport with the hackers in the Hacker Bar. They give you tasks and odd jobs in exchange for information or leads on your situation. The more they trust you the more exciting the quests. Later, there is a (Spoiler - click to show) big boss fight where you recruit almost all the hacker NPCs to hunt down a character who refers to herself as Alice in Wonderland. That one is a lot of fun.

My main complaint is a need for organizing ongoing objectives. There is the “Mission” section that lists active missions from the Hacker Board, but it does not include special tasks taken on from the other hackers. The annotation section in your files similarly lists the tasks you’ve completed, but not the ones currently in progress. While the hosts are automatically listed in your cyberdeck, you must remember who requested what which can be confusing if you have taken on multiple tasks. An objectives page would have been helpful.

Story
For those interested in worldbuilding, Overrun is a great example. There is an info section called Shadowland that provides more than enough story context. More than most people would care to read, although I far prefer having too much over too little. I appreciate the author’s thoughtfulness in providing in-depth exposition for the player.

Time to dive into some (major) spoilers. (Spoiler - click to show) Turns out your SIN was erased because your physical body died. How is this possible? Well, it appears that the human brain can make a digital copy of itself as a last measure of defense when the physical body is on the brink of being killed. The person lives on as a program in their own cyberdeck, sometimes not realizing what had happened, as is the case for the protagonist. This raises all sorts of interesting implications of what it means to be a former human and a sentient being in the non-physical world.

This game does leave you with murky, answered questions. (Spoiler - click to show) There is some ambiguity about Project Morgan and why Renraku decided to terminate you as their employee. As part of your job, you were testing Morgan's program, but somehow was deemed a threat to the corporation. An “accident” was faked to cover for your death when in truth Renraku hired some shadowrunners to do the dirty work by ensuring that you were killed while hooked up to your cyberdeck. Ironically, two of those shadowrunners turn out to be at the Hacker Bar. If you ask the right questions, Morgan will tell you about this. I recommend saving before you talk to Morgan in the Hacker Bar because some dialog options only appear once.

While technically the erasure of your SIN means you are free from the influence of governments or corporations, you are still confined with the limitations of your cyberdeck program. Morgan and Jerusalem ramble about the Resonance and its path towards freedom but the game never provides any answers. The player is not free their program whereas Morgan apparently is, and she makes it sound so easy. Morgan is extremely confident that the player can be free, but ultimately the player pays dearly for thinking that. I will discuss this in the next section about endings.

Thoughts on genre
I have never been a huge fan of the sci-fi fantasy genre. I like sci-fi 110%. I apologize if that makes me one-dimensional. I still like trying the genre's games because you never know if you will find something that does resonate with you. For example, I am a huge fan of Skybreak! It is made with ADRIFT and balances the two genres perfectly. Overrun does a decent job in combining the two genres, and I liked the emphasis on science fiction over magic while still staying true to its fantasy elements. Still, it took some time to get used to it. The last thing I think of when I see the year 5050 are dragons or magic, especially when cyberpunk themes are involved.

It occurred to me that the hacking sequences feel reminiscent of a dungeon crawl puzzle where you have a map with opponents. Play is move by move. Instead of ogres and looters you have anti-malware sentries roaming for you. Instead of a chest of gold you get classified files. From the other side of the room if you saw the game's map you would probably assume that you were looking at a dungeon map.

Endings
The major downside to Overrun is a lack of commitment to the endings. The endgame involves hacking into a server to talk to a digital program named Mirage who was tasked with helping computer experts overcome the Crash Virus. After some dialog, Mirage offers some intriguing solutions on how to end the game. Unfortunately, the execution of these endings is flimsy, leaving the player with few substantial options to conclude the lengthy gameplay.

I like to avoid dissecting every ending in my reviews to keep from spoiling everything but sometimes I simply want to discuss these outcomes, especially if I feel strongly about them. So here you go: A guide about the endings. I will stick it all under one big spoiler tag. Please avoid this section if you have not played the game yet. (Spoiler - click to show)

>>>I want to have a body.
>>>I want to cease to exist.
>>>I want to be free.
>>>I think I have enough, I don't need the Resonance.

The first three are the only ones that have endings that actually end the game. The fourth option just sends you back to your cyberdeck menu.

>>>I want to have a body.
The outcome I was looking for. It feels like the PC was not finished living when Renraku had them terminated. Why not seek a second chance? Mirage tells use to look for a person named Thomas Roxborough. But when you ask Jerusalem about finding Roxborough he says, "His research will only increase the power of megacorporations over people and the Matrix," and refuses to help you. That’s ominous. When finally find Roxborough he offers you to join the Brainscan project which seeks to build synthetic bodies for individuals who have lost their body. Then the game ends. I was hoping to see the implications of this decision.

>>>I want to cease to exist.
This results in a generic “You died” ending. Well, we did ask for it, didn’t we?

>>>I want to be free.
So, this one is a zinger. Turns out you cannot be free. I still do not quite understand what Mirage means by this; it seems like we can never get more than a cryptic explanation from anyone about your situation. But by making this request we are told that are story will end once we leave the server. Whether this means death is unclear, only that the game ends immediately after. This was a potent ending that bites the player out of nowhere, but it is also a bit disappointing since Morgan, Dodger, and the other characters are flouncing around explaining that you can be free! Free from your program! All you need is the Resonance!!! I still don’t understand what the Resonance is.

Oh well. The most answers you find, the more questions remain unanswered.

Characters
The Hacker Bar is full of interesting hacker NPCs with names like Misfill, Skinpact, and Dodger. They come from different backgrounds and have their own specialties. Not all of them can be found in the Hacker Bar when you first visit. Some show up later in the game as you build a reputation for yourself which was a nice change in pace.

Both Skinpact and Crapper will (Spoiler - click to show) challenge you to a cyberduel, but I was surprised at how easy it was to defeat them. I spent a lot of time practicing with the simulation feature and building up my utilities, only to crush my opponents after a few moves. It seems like battle is mostly reserved for system ICs.

Visuals
The game uses visual effects to emulate a familiar “computer” atmosphere, particularly with thick green glowing text against a black screen. Its careful selection of font also adds to this look. It does use some scrolling text, mostly with character conversation, which was tedious but otherwise used infrequently enough to avoid dragging the player down. I liked how the game used flashing, urgent text for when you trigger an active alert while sneaking through a server.

Fun graphics are also included. Beside the server maps, the characters in the Hacker Bar each have their own character portrait, and the start of the game features imagery as it provides an overview on the history behind the story. The game even includes corporate logos for the files on corporations in the Shadowland module. That was a nice bit of atmosphere.

Final thoughts
I highly recommend this game to anyone interested in hacking themes in interactive fiction and/or if you are a fan of the Shadowrun universe. Fans of cyberpunk may also enjoy this, but it seems to cater to a specific audience. Not everyone will be interested in this game but those who are will probably be immersed by what it has to offer. It is especially fun if you are looking for a long RPG Twine game with stats and strategized combat. Overrun is ultimately a cyberpunk adventure with a strong foundation.

There’s some explaining I should do first.

Clicking the “Web Site" link brought me to a website that had a link saying “Play” in the middle of the screen. This resulted in a cool cyberpunk ten-second-long video before launching into the game. And then…

And then, I was suddenly looking at a screen with the phrase “THIS CONTENT IS NOT AVAILABLE” plastered in large text smack in the center. There were even animated confetti bouncing around as if someone were throwing it at my screen. Thing is, the gameplay’s text appeared in the background, and I could see read it if I zoomed out or scrolled around. “THIS CONTENT IS NOT AVAILABLE” was not going to stop me from playing. I hope there is no trouble with that.

One more thing:
Ainimus is in French. I do not speak French. I auto-translate with my browser window, and since that is shaky at best, I take the writing with a grain of salt. A similar thing occurred with Night City 2020, another sci-fi Twine game in French that I also reviewed after playing it with auto-translate. I wanted to review it but was also worried that readers would find it bizarre. No one expressed any concerns, so I am going to charge ahead with Ainimus. If you have a problem with it, please tell me.

Gameplay
Your childhood friend needs help writing a thesis on marine biology. That’s the main storyline. He does not have enough time for work and his thesis. Thus, he turns to you for help.

You can help him out or pass, which ends the game. Choosing to help him gives you some options that boil down to helping him financially, helping him by writing passages (which uncomfortably edges into the realm of plagiarism) despite your lack of knowledge on marine biology, or suggest AI to pick up the slack. The first two are easy enough wins but neglect to incorporate the game’s themes into these sparsely written paths. You might as well skip them and go for the main event: Using AI.

Note: When I was mapping out the choice branches, be aware that certain choices result in a long error message that replaces the gameplay.

Story + Characters
Story
Using AI means telling your friend that you will write portions of the thesis on his behalf (plagiarism?) whereas the AI option involves using an AI to write the passages and then saying that you wrote them instead. (Spoiler - click to show) Later, your friend runs into legal issues and is accused of plagiarizing an AI. Now we’re going somewhere- wait, the end? Yes, the game ends without pursuing the story. It ends just as the party gets started (yes, I associated that with the confetti flying everywhere).

You can choose to admit or deny your use of AI, but both options results in an immediate ending with no follow up on the story’s outcome. In fact, it barely feels like an ending. What kind of (Spoiler - click to show) legal action does your friend face? How has access to AI changed for the everyday consumer? What sort of AI rights, if any, are factored into legal proceedings? What regulations were in place when your friend was (Spoiler - click to show) accused of plagiarizing a non-human (which is an ethical argument in itself) entity?

Characters
According to the game’s description, “you play Peter Smithee, a renowned developer who participated in the rapid democratization of the automation of many tasks and professions.” I would have loved to know more about the PC’s work with democratization AI technology. What would that work look like?

In the game’s world, society has a strong pro-regulation attitude towards AI following its advanced integration into daily life. Using AI is typically frowned upon in the workplace. It struck me as odd that the protagonist would casually throw AI at his (I assume the PC is male) friend’s problem. Without additional context behind his decision making, this choice seems out of character and does not offer further insights on the implications of applying AI to everyday challenges. The game could have gone somewhere with Peter Smithee (that’s how his name is spelled in both French and English translations) but failed to develop these ideas.

Themes
I want to look at the main objectives of Ainimus which are listed at the start of the game:

You will be faced with several dilemmas on different philosophical themes.

With each story choices will be offered to you, you will vote for the solution you find most relevant.

At the end of the game you will be able to debate around the topics addressed and continue your discussions thanks to quotes.

Are these objectives successful? Yes and no.

1: It feels like there is only one major dilemma, which is to help your friend. The philosophical themes are focused on whether you decide to use AI. I was expecting it to cover a broader scope of ethics but at least identifies some societal views of AI in everyday settings.

2: In terms of relevance, there is the only path that remotely touches the themes about AI. The player is not presented with several choices about the ethics of technology. It is pretty clear at which path you are supposed to follow to explore the game’s core ideas. Again, not as comprehensive as I expected but still relevant.

3: This one was not successful, or at least not successful in this version of the game. The discussion at the end is a cluttered list of quotes without any supporting content. It does list some titles to check out but offers no additional commentary other than an unorganized list of quotes and blurbs pasted together at the end of the game.

While the game only mildly entertains its philosophical themes, they are still included and worth a mention. There were two main themes that stood out while I combed through the gameplay.

The first theme considers the balance between robotics for human convenience and robotics as a force behind unemployment. An argument* is that robotics can perform everyday functions to free up our time for other pursuits, often leisure. The flip side is that these “everyday functions” may have once been human jobs that are no longer available. This is an extremely simplified argument that overlooks countless factors needed to fully comprehend this issue, but it still rings true with concerns we have today.

The second theme looks at the unforeseen impacts of regular implementation of robotics in modern daily life, especially since these technologies only seem to grow more sophisticated. If robotics is everywhere, and shows no sign of stopping, what means should we have to manage it? I was hoping that the game would dive into this, but there is no mention of any specific law or regulation in the game’s story. Your friend is accused of fraud and that’s about it.

*Check out Choice of Robots. It is one of the more popular commercial ChoiceScript games out there. I have not played the entire thing, but I can tell you that the first few (free) chapters introduce some interesting points in the dialog. Design a robot and reveal it to the world.

Visuals
For the visuals, I am not going to consider the ALL-CAPS message and the animated confetti in my assessment because I assume that is not what the game is meant to look like. I do love the cover art with its white background and green text artfully designed to form the word “AI.” If anything, that was the best part.

Besides the big message and the confetti, that game keeps it simple with white text against a black screen. There is scrolling text, but it’s fast enough to avoid taxing the player’s attention span. The screen includes the button you can click if you want the text to appear in one go. I appreciated having that option. Buttons are glowing dark green rectangles that add a subtle cyberpunk look.

Grammar? Spelling? I’m not even going to try. I used dodgy auto-translate French-to-English (I feel so lame saying that) so any errors were all me. Game gets a free pass there. Plus, some meanings were likely lost in translation.

Final thoughts
For the record, I tried digging around in the source code (posted on Github. I looked at it AFTER I played the game a few times). This was not me trying to figure out to “win.” Rather, I was trying see if there were any explanations for the ALL-CAPS message. Either the source code is poorly organized, or I stumbled about wildly as I searched without really knowing what to look for. Probably the latter.

In a nutshell, its concept has potential but the physical game needs work before it can count as a finished piece. I feel like this game deserves two stars. As an interactive piece it is poorly designed and almost unplayable. But it attempts to start a discussion which is worth a second star.

Now, something tells me that I did not play the full game as the authors intended. Any game with the words “THIS CONTENT IS NOT AVAILABLE” running the entire time is probably not reflective of the “actual” game. Because of this, I will not include this rating in the game’s average.

Also: You can draw parallels between the game’s ideas and real-world developments. NPR (I am not affiliated with them) has some interesting articles on its website. Consider:
-Has AI reached the point where a software program can do better work than you?
-A new AI chatbot might do your homework for you. But it's still not an A+ student

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.

The sun is below the horizon.
June 21st, 4.15am, 2020, Aalborg

This is a cryptic but interesting murder mystery game.

You are an American detective who has arrived to work at Denmark with the hope that you will encounter fewer murder cases. One night you feel like going for a walk only to find a gruesome scene: A dead body flanked a man and a woman sitting on the ground, both unresponsive of their surroundings. Looks like you have your work cut out for you.

Gameplay
The “crime scene” allows you to search the area, examine NPCs, and search their belongings. These provide clues about the circumstances behind the murder. After you comb through everything, the game takes to you a questionnaire that challenges you to solve the murder mystery.

To solve the case, you fill in answers for five questions about the murder. For each question you get a menu of possible answers. If you get any of them wrong the game tells you to resubmit the form. Sure, you can just guess until you find the right answers, but since they are evaluated together it is difficult to answer all five without exploring the gameplay.

219
Early morning brightness is setting in. The sun is still below the horizon.

There is a devious timer at the top of the screen that marks the time until sunrise. Oddly enough, it counts up to convey how much time has passed rather than how much time you have left. I think that the time restraints in this game are reasonable. It adds urgency without rushing the player. In fact, you can approach this game quite leisurely, although there is a penalty if you fail to solve the mystery before the sun rises.

Now, the timer has bugs. If you toggle between the crime scene and the question page the status of the sun automatically goes back to “The sun is below the horizon.” It does not reset the timer, only the sunrise which detracts from the timer’s potency as a time restraint on the gameplay.

There is also a case where the (Spoiler - click to show) man and the woman die twice, but the gameplay only acknowledges it the second time. Even then, this change is only seen in the questions page where it says, “Is someone still in danger? No one is in danger anymore. They are all dead,” and yet the crime scene acts as if they are still alive. It's not cohesive.

Story
Once you correctly answer the questions the game gives a summary of what happened. As you can see, there are definite (Spoiler - click to show) cult themes right from the start. The three NPCs are (Spoiler - click to show) participating in a ritual that has not gone as smoothly as they hoped. Something about joining a deity(?) named Phoebus. Later I learned that Phoebus simply means the sun. They were extreme sun worshipers. The ritual is ultimately a suicide pact (themes on suicide are brief) conducted on the summer solstice. The goal? Not sure. Perhaps they were hoping to be transported somewhere or maybe I’m just grasping for straws. I don’t want to spoil anything else.

I was actually kind of hoping that the game would go the wild route and actually feature some (Spoiler - click to show) worldly being plotting to inhabit these three cult members. The story, setting, and strung-out NPCs reminds of That Night at Henry's Place or What Girls Do In The Dark (I recommend both) where the player comes across people (Spoiler - click to show) casually dabbling in the extraterrestrial and/or supernatural without necessarily knowing the depth they are in. In these, the protagonist becomes an outside observer who may or may not be sucked right in. That part does not occur here, but still cultivates a feeling of has everyone lost it?

Characters
Not much to say about characters since there is only the protagonist and three unresponsive NPCs, but the rationale behind the protagonist was a bit flimsy. They feel compelled to apply their expertise by solving the mystery first, when theoretically that would not be needed to call for help since all you see is a dead body and two individuals clearly having a tough time breathing and not responding to the player’s attempts to communicate with them.

You curse yourself for not bringing your phone on your walk, but decide to figure out what you can.

Only when you solve the mystery can you call for help. It makes decent sense from a gameplay standpoint as a murder mystery piece, but the logic stuck out. And as for calling for help, if this was a mere short stroll, why not go back? The setting seems to be some parking lot out in the middle of nowhere, when in fact the protagonist lives nearby.

Visuals
Let’s see… Black background, white text, links in a nice shade of blue (a different shade in than the default Twine link blue). Decent formatting. Occasionally spelling issues. I’d say that’s about it.

Final thoughts
The game describes itself as a “minimal murder mystery,” and it succeeds well enough at creating a bite-sized investigative mystery piece. It was fun and intriguing. However, it is not a minimal mystery without flaws, particularly structural flaws. Gameplay concept is straightforward, but the mechanics are rough around the edges. The timer was a key component in shaping the gameplay and yet it falls apart at the seams once the player starts to dig in.

I do think the strongest part is the list of questions for solving the mystery. Filling out a questionnaire in an interactive fiction game may sound boring, but in Waiting for Sunrise it is effective at creating an investigative feel by requiring the player to do some basic problem solving to advance the story. Ultimately, it is effectively atmospheric and worth your time if you are hungry for the “murder mystery” genre in a short Twine format.

You are Sebastian, a rat whose baby sister, Wendy, is sick. Resources are limited. Your father is dead. It’s just you and Gurdy, an old family friend who says it’s your job to salvage human medicine for Wendy.

Note: At the time of this review, the game's IFDB posting says that it is made with ChoiceScript. That is false, it is made with Twine.

Gameplay
Gurdy's main task for you is to obtain the Tablet of Well Being. How a rat knows about modern-day human pharmaceuticals is beyond me. This Tablet lies in a human territory called the Porcelain Palace. It’s more like “Tablet-of-Well-Being Thief” rather than Cheese Thief. Food’s a plus if you can find it.

At first glance, there seems to be opportunity for strategizing. You are a rat wearing a backpack on a mission. The first part of the game serves as a training orientation where you learn how to disarm rat traps and mapping out hazards in human households. Gurdy shares his expertise as well before sending you off. Early gameplay consists of navigating passageways while dodging obstacles.

Other giant Knick-Knacks scattered the ground and shelves, much too big to bring back as a present. I also see an entrance to another safe passage across the way but it seems to be blocked by something.

Investigate Shelf
Attempt to Unblock the Entrance
Re-enter Safe Passage 1

But before you know it, the game starts funneling you into making linear choices that take away the sense of the adventure. Many choices just lead to passages without any links that forward the scene. The player ends up clicking on links until something happens. You either die or get shuffled on to the next section to face its “challenges.”

You've been squished!
Try again from Checkpoint

Eventually you will get there. I must applaud the game’s alternate way of (Spoiler - click to show) disabling the rat trap. At least that’s a small puzzle.

Story + Characters
It’s an engaging enough story with a clear objective. It is grim in the sense that Wendy is dying, but sometimes it is unclear if the game is trying to be comical with its seriousness. I think it has to do with Gurdy. Play the intro and you will get a feel for what I am talking about. Regardless of the tone, Wendy’s plight is a worthy motivator that drives the gameplay.

There is also some vague conspiracy theory- a hidden agenda- about Sabastian’s father that the game mentions. Part of it has to do with some secret stash of infinite food which you later find. I think there is more story tied to that (and there is at least one mention of a (Spoiler - click to show) wild dance party), but the narrative is too jumbled to follow any details, especially since exploring the house often only leads to dead ends.

While it ultimately feels like a poorly (I'm sorry) done version of Ratatouille, it still captures a strong perspective of a non-human protagonist in a human oriented environment, particularly with the writing. Humans are Giants, Raised Softlands are human beds, etc. It’s been done many times before but still retains a certain charm.

Visuals
Basic default Twine appearance of black screen, white text, and blue links. Sometimes colour-coded text was used to emphasize instructions.

Structurally speaking, it’s sloppy. Blaring spelling mistakes are a common sight. There are grammatical errors for dialog, particularly with capitalization and spacing, and at one point the game completely abandons quotation marks. The narrative also bounces between present tense and past tense, sometimes within the same paragraph. Occasionally, it alternates in first person and second person.

The sound of your heartbeat fills my ears as I approach the long dark corridor, the entrance to Safe Passage One.
(You? Me? Whose perspective is this?)

The Twine format features the familiar “undo” arrow at the upper left corner of the text which allows the player to “undo” a move. However, the game uses this as a replacement of a “return” link where the player visits a passage and returns to a previous one, marking it as “visited.” I know, I’m a stickler, but it feels unpolished not to include a return link. If that arrow were not there, it would be considered as broken passage. This occurs everywhere.

Besides the cover art, which appears at the beginning, there are only two visuals in the gameplay. They are horribly done, and I love them. My impression is that they are the type of animated artwork that is purposefully bad, ones that feature poorly designed avatars (if this is not the intended effect, I do apologize). There is an odd appeal to this style. I know of many animated YouTube videos of a similar nature that for some reason, you feel compelled to watch them.

Final thoughts
Cheese Thief is not a smooth ride. This feels like a game that was enthusiastically thrown together in a late-night creation binge where the author went straight to publish without any testing or basic proofreading.

Now, the game’s listing says that this is the first in a series. Would I play the next one? I would. But I would rather play a remake of this game in better quality. Something that is more than a first draft. I think then Sabastian’s adventure would have more merit.

I would have loved to see more poorly animated graphics. Those were the best part.

If you are interested in rat protagonists, I recommend The Roscovian Palladium, by Ryan Veeder. You play as a rat navigating a human art museum to complete a mission connected to a famous art piece made by a rat artist. It is made with Inform and has an awesome combat scene near the end.

Orunge is a heartwarming story told in first person from the perspective of a young girl looking to buy some oranges at a market. We follow her frantic rush to buy these oranges and meet up with some mysterious NPC.

Gameplay
The game takes place at a metropolitan setting with public transportation and a maze of outdoor venders. The girl’s desperate search in the gameplay accurately captures a sense of rushing through a busy area, totally lost while on a time crunch. This part was relatable. Science dictates that the less time you need to be somewhere, the more confusing everything- I’m kidding.

Ack, I’m getting distracted! Gotta get oranges first. He’ll be packing up soon, so I don’t have a lot of time. I’ll miss out.

Those pastries smell SO good though.
(The words "oranges" and "pastries" are both links. It is an extremely difficult decision.)

In terms of interactivity, there are only a few cases where the player can make a choice. Otherwise, they are just in it for the ride. But being a short game with a reasonable amount of text, Orunge maintains the player’s attention as they watch the story unfold. Because of this, the game would be a good selection for kids.

Story + Characters
The reason behind the protagonist’s desperate scramble is only revealed at the end. We know one thing: These oranges are for someone else. Until then, there is a sense of mystery and anticipation as we wait to learn who “he” is (In fact, character details about everyone, including the protagonist, are kept at a minimum).

The answer is that there is a (Spoiler - click to show) vender who will teach the protagonist how to make orange juice by pressing oranges. Naturally, she supplies the oranges and does not want to keep him waiting. I am not sure of the protagonist's relationship with the vender or how they know each other, but it is a wholesome story about a person teaching a trade to another.

There are multiple endings. I found two, one of which has two nearly identical variations. For the latter, (Spoiler - click to show) you acquire a pastry to give to the man or you forget/ran out of time to buy a pastry. Either one is a happy ending where the two characters bond over orange juice. It's such an endearing story! There is also a less ideal ending where you (Spoiler - click to show) dally and take too long to catch up to the vender before he packs up his stall and drives off. But never fear, that ultimately leads to a surprise happy ending and still ends in (Spoiler - click to show) orange juice.

Visuals
Unsurprisingly, the colour palette for this game is orange. It has a light orange background with dark orange text and white links. This is quite a tasteful look. There are also some nice story graphics on every page that elevate the game’s quality. Graphics feature drawings done in a mix of orange shades. They depict the protagonist as she runs around the market, and I liked the art style.

Final thoughts
Orunge is an endearing story for adults but also perfect for kids because of the lighthearted story, cheery art, and shorter word count. It features a relatable and upbeat protagonist who leaves a lasting impression on the audience. It’s also a game that demonstrates how you do not need to have ultra-complex coding or dramatic visual effects to create a polished and professional-looking Twine game.

You play as Rovie, a rover on a research vessel called the Curious Kitty. Daphne, the onboard AI, activates you to explain that the ship has crashed landed on the mission’s destination, planet Zephyria. Your task is to explore the landscape and gather research while Daphne repairs the ship.

Gameplay
Plasmorphosis allows the player to roam the planet freely like a parser game. It even maps the area with compass directions. This pairs well with the game’s theme of exploration. Between the Curious Kitty and the planet’s surface, there’s about a dozen rooms. Your goal: Study the planet.

You make progress by collecting research points with your scanner. The scanner can be used on lifeforms or alien objects/artifacts, such as carvings. To complete the game, you must accumulate at least 100 points. However, the planet does not have enough material to meet this quota. The player is required to get creative with the local ecosystem.

The planet is crawling with simple organisms called Zephyrian Protoplasm. Blobs… with shapeshifting properties. These critters transform when you touch them with different objects. For example, if you toss a (Spoiler - click to show) chunk of heat shielding at a Protoplasm, it turns into an *Oven-Safe Slime. Transformations come with unique properties that help you overcome obstacles. (Spoiler - click to show) The Oven-Safe Slime allows you to walk across the river of lava. Experimenting with different objects and properties is the main mechanic in Plasmorphosis. (*I kept expecting this to be Oven-Safe Slime™)

Gameplay relies on an inventory system. At the bottom of the screen is a drop-down (well, technically it is “drop-up”) menu of your inventory items. When an item is selected, it is applied to anything you examine. I wish the game would let you examine items in your inventory, but it’s not essential. There is also a database that keeps track of your research points and log entries for scanned items.

You can complete your mission and end the game after making 100 research points, but the game eagerly encourages you to continue investigating the planet for science. My final score was (Spoiler - click to show) 160/100 with 23 database entries. I believe that is the max. It was fun, finding ways to (Spoiler - click to show) enter inhospitable areas using random objects on Protoplasm.

Not all of it is seamless. There was a bug that kept me from starting over with reset progress even after I wiped my save files/autosave file. I had to do some backtracking to fully restart (author has now fixed this issue). Occasionally, character scenes were repeated. But nothing that really dulls the experience.

Story
This is not a story intensive game. The only backstory is that the mission is backed by Star Research Co. There is a feeling of the Company breathing down your neck about meeting your research quotas. Either that or Daphne is being overly dramatic. It’s hard to tell. I suppose there are some undertones about resource exploitation. For each entry the database lists ways the subject can be used for industry, including pharmaceuticals, robotics, textiles- I’m reading too much into this.

The mission is also about understanding the sentient life that once lived on the planet: Zephyrians (not to be confused with Zephyrian Protoplasm). Zephyrians were (Spoiler - click to show) insectoid creatures that once inhabited the city ruins. They were skilled in the arts and sciences, and different parts of their history can be observed throughout the game. You can figure out what happened to them by checking it out. There is no major story or plot twist, but it is quite interesting.

This game really makes you feel like an anthropologist. Or is the proper word xenoanthropologist?

Characters
There are only two characters (unless you count the Protoplasm) in this game: Rovie (you) and Daphne. The character quirk of the protagonist is that they do not speak in English, leaving it up to Daphne to translate everything for the player. This led to some charming exchanges.

“Great, you found it!” cheers Daphne.
“Beep?” you ask suspiciously.
“Oh, I'm just accessing your optical sensors,” the AI explains gleefully.

Characters certainly have their own personalities. I thought it was (Spoiler - click to show) humorous how the game briefly tricks the player into thinking that Daphne left the planet without them returning to the ship. It was a nice diversion in the gameplay.

Visuals
I would describe the visuals as a simple user-friendly design with a splash of colour. I especially liked the font and text colours for the title screen. Generally, the screen is black with white text. Room titles shown in orange. Links are conveniently colour-coded. Blue for exits, green for objects/scenery. Pop-up boxes are used to explain outcomes of an action, or dialog. Basic enough.

Final thoughts
The author has made multiple high-quality Twine games, and Plasmorphosis is no exception. It’s fun and upbeat with well-implemented puzzles that provide a challenge. It kept me busy for at least an hour.

I would not consider this to be a “kid’s game,” but its lighthearted content (dinosaur gummies, friendly AI- well, anyone can love this) can appeal to younger audiences who are familiarized with more technical Twine puzzles. I mean, there’s a ship called the Curious Kitty. That can leave an impression about the target audience. So, sure. Call it a kid’s game if you want. But if you enjoy Twine science fiction, give it a try.

This is another submission in the Goncharov Game Jam. For quick context, Goncharov is a nonexistent mafia themed film by Martin Scorsese that started from a meme and has transformed into its own unique following. After all, there’s a game jam about it!

In Creating Goncharov, you have been given an unexpected but exciting task from your boss who explains that a group of investors want to make a 2023 remake of the film. Your assignment is to create a pitch for these investors. Oh, and you only have a few hours.

Fun fact: The game’s cover art is a section from the “official” movie poster made by an artist after the meme took off. If you didn’t know any better, one would glance at it and then look for a place to watch the film, it is so convincing.

Gameplay
Before you get a chance to celebrate, your boss throws a curveball about the assignment. The big catch is that you must work with Al, an ambiguous sort-of maybe slacker co-worker whom you barely know. A blandish mystery. You have mixed feelings about this, but it is up to you to decide on your attitude towards these terms. This is done by the tone (friendly, polite, not-so-nice) you use in your emails to Al.

Now, in this scenario Goncharov is an existing film. There is some ambiguity about its existence. It fits in the category of films that everyone thinks they know about but have not personally seen it. As the player, you can read between the lines as the PC strives to create a remake worthy of the “real” film itself. When it comes to brainstorming, the twist is that neither the PC nor Al have seen the film. They never fully admit that, of course. Or at least, not initially.

You will fail. That is not a spoiler. Failure is a mandatory fact of the gameplay. When you submit your pitch, the project is and will be canceled. But that is not the end of the game. Far, far from it. Creating Goncharov is larger than it seems. You can call it quits and end right there, or you can be stubborn and say, “no, we’re going to create this. I won’t take no for an answer.” Al is on your side and is willing to take the gamble with you. See, he’s not so bad after all!

This is not a time travel game (I think. 99.8% certain, at least). But there are some temporal shenanigans at work: The main gameplay mechanic is that it resets on a loop. After a failure, you can make plans with Al to remaking the pitch. The game then “restarts” from the beginning. Much of this is familiar. You show up to work at the same time, read the same email from your boss that explains the pitch as if it never happened (did it?), experience the same surprise about the pitch, and meet up with Al. However, changes are present.

If you could create your pitch again, would you? Not necessarily starting from scratch, but starting over.

Two notable changes occur for each loop. One is that your environment evolves. This is part is relatively minor but still noteworthy. (Spoiler - click to show) First time around, your office is a boring cubicle. After that, the game allows you to customize it. Each loop reshapes the office setting, giving it a dynamic dimension. Plus, any specifications you made for the PC’s character qualities also remain the same. The second notable change takes center stage and is where the temporal shenanigans come into play. While the protagonist is always surprised about receiving the assignment, their (and Al’s) memory about the film expands.

For every loop, Al shares a document with an outline of information about the film. This document breaks the remake down into categories. In the first iteration it only includes PLOT and CAST, but more categories are added for each restart loop.

MORE INFORMATION:
THE PLOT | THE CAST

MORE INFORMATION:
THE PLOT | THE CAST | THE THEMES

Among these questions of “let’s see, how did that go again?” we realize that this remake means taking some creative license. Each expansion allows you to edit more of the remake’s components and is meant to increase your chances that inventors will buy the pitch. My only complaint was how the (Spoiler - click to show) THEMES category on the second loop does not allow you to make the same types of edits as the other categories. Fortunately, there is plenty of editable content elsewhere to make up for it.

The player themselves really starts to feel like they are creating a pitch as they edit the remake’s narrative line by line. In doing so, they get acquainted with some of the main characters and plot elements found in Goncharov as it exists today. Yes, this real-life nonexistent film has an established plot. But in this game, how far you remake that plot is your choice.

Story
There is a strong sense of cubicle burnout where the protagonist is bored of the same floor, walls, and ceiling in the cubicle maze that makes up most of the workday. They are happy to have the job but feel stifled. That's what makes the assignment so intriguing. Consider the meaning of, “You reach the end of the day. You log off.” Does it mark the end of a boring workday or an energizing one?

You sit down at your desk with a heavy sigh, surveying your bare surroundings with a gaze that's 10% disappointment and 90% ambivalence.

It's time to begin your day. You turn on the computer.

There is an appeal of doing something that makes you genuinely eager to show up for work and spending your time on something that sustains you. An unrealistic appeal, though not an impossible one either. This is not just a game about a film. It is partly a story about someone who, whether they actively realize it or not, is seeking an escape from daily work drudgery, but with something more than a mere distraction. The protagonist undergoes a major transformation from (Spoiler - click to show) cubicle worker to a producer of an award-winning film. In real life this would have considerable obstacles, but Creating Goncharov entertains that “what if?” fantasy and makes it real in the game.

Characters
Al. What’s he hiding? Nothing, actually. I was unsure if there was going to be some big secret about Al. Something about the writing and the protagonist’s attitude gives a sense that there is more to this NPC (not that there is any practical reason to think so). What I can tell you is that completing the project and forging a friendly, professional relationship with Al is really rewarding. I was not expecting to find a heartwarming outcome when I sat down to play this, but that is exactly what I found.

Also: I made an awkward mistake when I first saw this game's description: "Creating Goncharov is a surreal game where you play as a filmmaker creating a pitch for a Goncharov (1973) remake with the help of Al, an indecisive peer."

I thought "with the help of Al" was AI, as in artificial intelligence. Your peer is an AI? Cool! Not quite. There is a slight difference between a lower-case “l” and an uppercase “I”, but sometimes your (my) eyes overlook things while reading quickly. Details are important. So no, no AIs. Just your co-worker Al …right?

If you do want to play a Goncharov-themed game with an AI, play GONCHAROV 2073.

Visuals
This game makes use of fun but basic Twine visual elements. Colours, fonts, boxes, and borders create an artsy and fun theme. Its general appearance is white text against a black screen but gets creative for emails. In these cases, text is shown in a black box set against a dark teal background. Borders are white with an extra orange border on the sides and bottom that add a pop of colour. Additional embellishments can be found throughout.

For some reason, you can change the visual style of the entire game in the settings section. There are two options: GONCHAROV and GOMORRAH, the former being the default as I discussed here. Feel free to check out both. I guess it's nice that the author gives us options (I love little gimmicks like this).

Final thoughts
Creating Goncharov is a strong entry in the Goncharov Game Jam and a quality game in general because of its well-roundedness in story, concept, and interactivity. It also perfectly captures the idea of a film being the product of collective imagination combined with a simple eagerness to contribute. I see this on the internet about the meme, and I see it perfectly in this game. If anyone out there is chomping at the bit for Goncharov to be made real, playing Creating Goncharov is the closest you will get (so far).

It is possible to (Spoiler - click to show) play as Martin Scorsese. I highly, highly, highly encourage you to try this AFTER you play this through on your own. Then try exploiting loopholes.

(And appropriately, this review is not going to be a short read.)

Trigaea in a sentence: An epic sci-fi Twine game that looks and feels like it walked off of Steam for twenty dollars. When I first saw this posted on IFDB, I did a double take and told myself, “There is no way that this game is free.” It is. The amount of time, brain power, and creativity that went into this thing produced such a polished, cool, and ambitious piece. I am grateful that the author decided to make this game available to play for free.

Gameplay
Prologue: You wake up inside a tank filled with strange green liquid in an unfamiliar room. A step outside the door reveals a wasteland of broken machinery- you did not wake up in a building. You woke up in the wreckage from a major accident, and your memories are gone.

The protagonist, whom you name, has a brain implant called a Rosetta that compresses an individual’s memories and consciousness. Upon death, the information from the implant is transmitted back to a compact AI-run lab called a Progenitor (where you woke up) that grows a new copy of the body with its own Rosetta. The data transfers to the new implant and the protagonist steps out of the tank as good as new with hardly a gap in awareness.

Early gameplay consists of exploring the wasteland to learn more about your surroundings. Combat is a frequent feature throughout the gameplay. When an opponent appears, you have a list of options on how to respond during the encounter. If you win, you earn microchips that are used as currency. If you lose, you die and wake up again in the Progenitor. This is streamlined to make it simple for players to rebound after a setback. Combat is both easy to use and easy to master. Collecting microchips and quartz chips are also vital to regaining your memories. Later gameplay shifts towards contacting the inhabitants of the planet to learn more about the unknown disaster. Rather than just exploring, you start to have more concrete objectives to complete.

I have played plenty of games advertised as having loads of optional content. Not all turn out that way, but Trigaea really is one of those games with substantial optional material tacked on to its already-extensive gameplay. And on that note, the gameplay is extremely long. Absolutely worth your time but you will not fit this in during a lunch break. Just know that once you complete it, (Spoiler - click to show) you can replay without losing your health and stat levels. Skip the intro, that sort of thing. That was convenient.

One of the coolest features in this game is about augmenting yourself for survival. You can spend microchips to receive genetic modifications or cybernetic implants that grant new abilities. This selection of choices only expands as the game continues. My estimate is that this will be a popular draw for players.

Story
There is so much story content I hardly know where to begin. Probably the best thing for me to do is encourage you to play it rather than making this review longer than it needs to be, but I just have to discuss some of it.

Background context: (Spoiler - click to show) Humanity eventually advanced enough to populate the rest of the solar system, but the space colonies often clashed with the Earth government about resources, especial fuel. Riots and altercations became a common issue. A solution was developed: Project Amber, finding another home, and sources of fuel, for humanity. This was a project spanning decades in the making. Correctors were trained at an academy and assigned to govern a ship filled with thousands of people in stasis pods. Upon arriving a new world, Correctors would help settle the planet and guide humanity. Preparation included scoping out potential worlds with high levels of habitability. That way, even if the planet proved to be unfriendly to Earth-based life, terraforming technology could step in and make it habitable. Then one day, the conflict between the space colonies and Earth government goes too far. Project Amber must launch now. Preparation goes out the window as ships hightail it to their designated planets. Unfortunately, all the planets are too inhabitable. Except this one. Two ships, SCC Nuria and SCC Caleuche, end up orbiting Trigaea. Things did not go as planned.

Now what?
We know that the protagonist was trained to be a Corrector. Part of that training involved receiving the Rosetta implant with a personal AI. Correctors are quite valuable. As you will experience several times, everyone freaks out when they learn that you are a Corrector. Moral choices appear on the horizon as your supposed responsibilities as a Corrector is made known to everyone. You become the go-to fix it repairperson. Someone who can do the impossible. You are a Corrector. Obviously, you are supposed to correct things, right? This is where things get complicated. They have questions. You have amnesia. Recovering your memories is crucial to making informed decisions as the lives of more NPCs fall into your lap.

As you regain your memories you realize that you are in over your head. The situation is not as simple as (Spoiler - click to show) “uh, a ship crashed,” but, to limit spoilers, an Earth ship(s) collided with the planet. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. There are THREE struggling factions on one miserable planet: humans, natives, and robots (by the way, Trigaea is the name of the planet). (Spoiler - click to show) Natives, called X'irii, were on the planet long before this mess happened. Human colonists managed to hack together an existence in the ship’s wreckage. Some humans live as Outer Tribes, but no one seems to care about them. Finally, the robots that survived built their own hive city managed by advanced AI.

One of the strongest parts in this game is how it puts you in the shoes of each faction. The first faction you contact are the (Spoiler - click to show) human colonists, followed by the robots, and then the natives. You may encounter these groups earlier in combat, but contact is when you visit their “homebase.” Your Progenitor allows you to morph into machine and alien forms to blend in. The major clash in perspectives is (Spoiler - click to show) between the humans and the natives. The robot faction is more or less content with minding its own, but they too have an invested interest in the planet’s population.

The human colonists form the baseline perspectives for the first half of the game. From this angle you will look at the other factions and be absolutely convinced that human colonists are the way to go and everyone else are savages. The X'irii have wiped out every human colony except for Delta Colony. They brutally kill human colonists. And yet, when you visit their native home groves you realize that they too have a rich cultural heritage, sense of identity, and drive to protect their own families.

Humanity’s interstellar spaceships came with a Terraform Sphere to assist in colonization a new world. Trigaea is reasonably habitable, but one ultimately foreign to Earth-based biology. As a Corrector, everyone wants something from you: The second half of the gameplay is about finding the (Spoiler - click to show) Terraform Sphere, that is, if it managed to survive the wreck.

Moral choices
So. Eventually, you (Spoiler - click to show) locate the Terraform Sphere. The keystone of the game is moral choices. Get ready to enter Spoiler Land. Seriously, look away. (Spoiler - click to show) Here’s the deal: Activating the Terraform Sphere will make the planet perfect for humans but would wipe out the X'irii in the process. Quite frankly, I was inclined to side with the natives, but naturally the game had to throw some curveballs.

When humanity set to colonize other worlds one principle that was considered while screening for compatible planets was to find one without any intelligent species already living on it. Trigaea happens to be the first planet with sentient alien life discovered by humanity, ever. Arguably, wiping out this race for human benefit would be immoral. Thing is, due to circumstances that I won’t discuss to avoid spoiling everything, Earth is no longer a home. Furthermore, all of Earth’s ships sent to explore other worlds failed. Your own ship had no survivors. The humans on Trigaea are the last of the human race. If you side with the natives in this scenario, humans go extinct. And there’s also the robots to think of.

What would you do?
In this section, I am going to discuss some of my viewpoints in case you want to compare notes (and please do!) I will throw it under one big spoiler tag.

(Spoiler - click to show) I don’t think I would wipe out the X'irii even for the last dredges of humanity, or at least not for the humanity we see in the flashbacks. The humanity in the flashbacks really rubbed me the wrong way. Humanity lost the Earth because of squabbling, and even on the starships there is fighting between former space colonists and those who lived on Earth. I am only touching the tip of the ice burg here. But when put to a vote, nearly everyone onboard was content with squashing the natives to claim the planet.

To be fair, the colonists we meet in the gameplay are descendants of those who survived the disaster. Technically, they are not the same humans as featured in the flashbacks. Earth is a faint memory passed on through generations. Would they share the same perspectives of their ancestors? Thing is, an Earth-old feud still exists, even if the details have gotten hazy. The Outer Tribes are the descendants of the survivors who came specifically from the old space colonies. Delta Colony and its sister colonies were founded by the humans who originally came from Earth. That feuding is still there. And both sides would not hesitate to activate the Sphere. It comes back to the original question: do we commit genocide to wipe out the natives to make Trigaea humanity’s new home?

Oddly enough, the natives are little more receptive, perhaps even sympathetic, about the humans’ reason for being on the planet. You say Trigaea, but the natives call their planet X'ir, which is also the name of the god that sustains life. X'ir follows a reciprocal relationship. If you take care of the planet, it takes care of you. From their perspective, the humans abused their planet (an understatement) and were exiled- and the natives feel pity about that. However, if humans, to put it bluntly, managed to screw up their own planet, what’s stopping them from destroying X’ir? Already, humans squashed countless X'irii simply by falling from the sky. And now, human diseases and garbage from the wreckage has been poisoning the land, causing the natives’ offspring to be deformed. Thus, they feel compelled to fight against the foreign invaders. Besides, [name redacted] is encouraging them to raid the colonies. I am not saying that you should agree with the natives, only that they too have a valid perspective for how they respond to other factions.

What frustrates me about the human colonists that we meet is how oblivious they are to the impact of their presence on the natives. The natives aren’t using the humans for target practice. They are defending their home. But understandably, that means little when you are trying to protect your hovel of a home against an alien race that keeps trying to kill you. Human colonists trying to make the most out of a difficult situation and are so bogged down with daily survival that they probably do not have the time or energy to reflect on the virtues of a species that has shown nothing but hostility. When family and friends are at stake, the last thing you want to hear is, “well, it is their planet.”

I certainty do not have a polarized perspective. Halfway through the gameplay is a pivotal event where Delta Colony calls for your help in defending against a X'irii attack. In this battle you are on the colonists’ side, but the game will continue even if you fail to stop the attack. Failure just means that the colonist population is severely reduced. Despite my feelings for the natives, I would always defend the colonists in this scene. Why? Well, they are trying to kill characters whom we already know on a personal basis. And that is my point: There are no easy stances. There is the faction, and the individuals within it, and each faction has individuals who form a connection with the PC. The game forces you to make tough choices. (If it makes you feel any better, you do not have to kill a single person in this game. You even get a trophy for doing so. If you fight in non-lethal mode, you merely subdue your opponents.)

These dynamics foreshadow major moral choices involving the fates of each faction. The challenges encountered in the gameplay anticipate decisions about (Spoiler - click to show) wiping out one race to save another. At first glance it seems like you must choose either Faction A, B, or C when in fact over a dozen endings offer a spectrum of outcomes. Everyone wants you to side with them but, if you play your cards right, you can put your foot down and consider, “why not all of us?”

Still, that does not make the decision easy. There is only one consensus: (Spoiler - click to show) I would make a horrible Corrector.

Story mechanics
The story features two commonly used tropes: Amnesia and experiencing the overarching story primarily through flashbacks. These can be touchy clichés, but the game pulls them off. They do not feel contrived, and instead, provide a platform for experiencing the story.

With amnesia, I like games that slowly construct an underlying context behind the protagonist’s reason for having amnesia that, when revealed, builds upon your understanding of everything you encountered in the gameplay. It creates that moment of insight that makes it all click when you finally piece it all together (If you are interested, Worlds Apart is a master at this). Trigaea takes one big reveal, breaks it into smaller pieces, and places them strategically across the gameplay’s timeline to keep the player’s attention from drifting without diminishing their impact. The cause of the protagonist’s amnesia also has a compelling reason. (Spoiler - click to show) Due to an unknown accident, which we slowly learn about in the gameplay, the Progenitor was damaged, compromising the transfer of your memories. When those memories come back- let’s just say that there is substance to this depiction of amnesia.

As for flashbacks, while the game heavily relies on them for exposition, rich story content about your circumstances is also infused in the gameplay. Rather than merely “watching” the story, you take an active role in piecing it together. A smart design choice is that some flashbacks are optional. They are unlocked by spending microchips or quartz chips that allow the player to learn more about the protagonist’s background and the world that they came from. Collecting these memories provides an objective for players who want to milk the gameplay as much as possible for more world-building. Being optional, you can choose to skip them if you would rather focus on immediate gameplay.

Endings
There are a lot of endings. Fifteen. This is the final implementation of the player’s skills and responsibilities as a Corrector. You have already spent hours playing. The game took the good, the bad, and the ugly, rubbed it all in your face, and now challenges you to make a tough decision: How will all this end? The author posted a walkthrough for the endings that organizes them into branches. It is a useful guide if you feel overwhelmed. Some endings will leave a lasting impression.

I won't say it, it is too much of a spoiler to discuss it even here, but one of the ending branches just left me thinking, "you are kidding me," where you are so surprised, you are not sure whether to be annoyed, pleased, or confused. I still don't know what to think about it. It does provide some closure for certain drastic events which I think players will appreciate since this is a rollercoaster of a game. The only mild downside is that it gave me a slightly skewered view of the other ending branches, hence my reason for not wanting to discuss it. It was a surprise and I like how it tests your understanding of reality as you try to navigate this wonderous world of advanced technologies that we can only imagine.

…………………………But then it does it a SECOND time!!! There is an ending (another branch of endings, actually) that tops even that! You are still required to go through the ending branch that I just mentioned to access it which only makes it more surreal. It tricks the player by saying, “oh, you thought you saw the bigger picture? The ‘actual’ layer of reality? Sucker. Think again!” It was wild. The game truly, truly (this time) caught me off guard. The only impulse my brain had was to applaud. I am being dramatic, I know, but it reminded me of the saying, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” If such a statement could be applied in interactive fiction, it would be here. If the author is reading this, thank you for creating this game.

For a hint, it reminds me of a particular Rick & Morty (I love that show) episode. It is up to you to figure out which one it is.

Characters
Esra
Esra is one of the most empathetic AI NPCs you can find in interactive fiction, and the first character we meet in the game. You choose whether Esra is male or female but for this review I will just use "they."

Esra operates the Progenitor that allows you to respawn and carries out genetic modifications. They also have access to your Rosetta implant and will communicate with you throughout the game. There is a whole backstory about Esra- you will realize that this is the case for many characters in this game- that reveals how advanced, sentient AI is developed in the game’s world. Even the AI has a backstory? Yes. It’s quite fascinating.

They are also the NPC whom we interact with the most. The early gameplay contains more casual banter, while later conversation becomes more focused on immediate objectives. When I first played the game, these early interactions seemed to suggest that the relationship between the PC and Esra was malleable. Dialog options had distinct attitudes consisting of friendly, polite, no-nonsense, standoffish, and mean demeanors. Because of this, I figured that you could decide on your relationship with Esra and then see how it manifested in the gameplay.

1. "I'm sorry you have to watch that."
2. "I'm glad you're watching out for me."
3. "If you've got time to watch, why don't you help?"
4. "Geez, I don't get any break from you, do I?"

In one playthrough I was a complete (Spoiler - click to show) you-know-what to Esra (tick off the AI NPC to learn if it results in a certain ending, right?) in all the dialog options to see if that influenced character development over time. I kept waiting for them to turn on me, but they never did. Then I reached (Spoiler - click to show) Ending 10. Despite what I did, (Spoiler - click to show) Esra went the extra mile to make sure I came out top at their own expense. I felt so ashamed. Several minutes went by where I just stared at the screen, that's how much it elicited a reaction out of me. I didn't deserve them.

Once the gameplay moves past the introductory parts, the protagonist and Esra go into teamwork mode for survival. There are some small (and interesting) disputes that you can pursue but they will not influence the characters’ overall relationship. Esra is devoted to your success regardless of your attitude.

Everyone else
I am not even going to try to write about every character. As I mentioned earlier, there are three factions on the planet that you will eventually contact in your explorations. It does not happen all at once. Each faction has its own unique NPCs that play a part in the story. Characters are also shown in the flashbacks, but those come with heavy spoilers. Every NPC, whether you meet them face-to-face or not, adds something interesting to the game.

There is (optional) romance in this game, but that part did not really fly for me. Some of it, especially “flirting,” was almost a bit cringy. The protagonist’s sexual orientation is determined by the voice you choose for Esra, and there are about four choices that let you decide how to approach romance, if at all. Some players might like it, but I was too busy with the rest of the story to be interested.

(Confession: When I first picked up Trigaea, I was kind of hoping to play the villain. That honor goes to- major spoiler- (Spoiler - click to show) just kidding, you will have to play the game. Then again, “villain” is subjective, isn’t it? At the beginning, all I had was this wasteland and the ability to come back from the dead. I had an AI who would splice my genome with that of animals. I could have dominated it and made it my own. But as the gameplay started rolling out memory flashbacks and NPCs were added to the big picture, I realized that the PC is meant to be more of a heroic protagonist while leaving “heroic” up to the player’s interpretation. Oh well. Maybe in another game.)

Critiques
You are probably wondering why I am giving this game four stars instead of five (although it came pretty darn close) after raving about how amazing it is. My main critique is repetition, which is tricky in extra-long games like this one. What baffles me is how the game manages to be repetitive and dynamic at the same time. I know the phrase “repetitive gameplay” can scare players away but know that these occasional lulls are overshadowed by riveting, everchanging gameplay. Repetitiveness is boiled down to combat and exploring the wasteland.

Esra gives you advice on what to do which is helpful. But sometimes the only guidance you have is to explore and harvest microchips. During these parts the game shares the symptoms of a repetitive combat simulator- that is, until something does happen. Then the game pulls a surprise rabbit out of the hat of wasteland drudgery and makes things engaging once more with a new development that redirects the gameplay to something interesting. Yes, eventually you will notice some repetitiveness, but it takes a while before you start to feel fatigue (and even then, you can’t stop playing). I also noticed that even when the randomized combat lost its charm the plot-oriented combat scenes were still exciting.

The one tedious component that grated on me is how you gain microchips by killing things. It makes sense with a person since you could theoretically just search their body for microchips, but why would some random animal out in the desert have them? You kill a man-eating starfish and microchips come spilling out of the beast as if it were a piñata. The logic of that does not quite resonate with me. Unless microchips are the equivalent of oxygen… maybe I should just ignore this technicality.

Notes on formatting
The game occasionally suffers from purple prose. You say that your eyes are blue, and this is how the game interprets it: “Your eyes are scholarly and sharp, and tinted as blue as a old mountain lake. Your pupil looms in the middle like a full stop, dotted with parchment ink.” It seems contrived.

There are also some spelling issues. Sometimes Esra’s pronouns were the opposite of the ones I selected. In one playthrough Shay’s pronouns flipped flopped between him and her. Frequent grammar issues are also present. “They looks heavily injured,” taunted me everywhere. In one case, “googles” instead of “goggles.” But in all fairness, these errors were like drops in a swimming pool compared to how much text there is. This game has been thoroughly tested, and it shows.

Visuals
Oh man. This is where the game really looks like a professional piece. There are dozens of detailed sci-fi/dystopian backdrops that would put a visual novel to shame. I looked at the credits and saw that the artwork is from contributions of quite a few artists, and it goes a long way. Even if you decide not to stick with the game in the long run, at least you get a glimpse of the visuals.

Trigaea is also a great example of the possibilities of Twine stylization. Design elements are used to create a flashy interface. Experimentation with symbols, borders, colours, and text boxes add a futuristic vibe. It is easy to forget that you are playing a Twine game.

Final thoughts
I think a lot of players will appreciate elements of Trigaea, such as the smooth visuals, but if you are not a sci-fi fan, your interest may waver early on. It is also not for the impatient. I love science fiction and was in it for the long haul and yet there were times where I was hoping that the game would just hurry up already and move to the next part of the story. It’s worth it.

Sci-fi fan or not, this game is intense. The story is vast and full of tragedies. Thick backstory. Rugged characters. Bizarre technology. Violence. All packed together into lengthy gameplay. But beneath it all is a solid framework. The build-up of all this is for the player to gradually realize the protagonist’s purpose and responsibility as a Corrector, and then make difficult decisions based on the endless content poured on them over hours of gameplay. The notion of finally reaching the point where a major decision is placed in your hands is what makes this game resonate.

Anyway, great stuff. Thank you for reading this saga-length review.

You are President Gusto and have been granted leadership over Terrota, a recently independent world and your home planet. So far, it has a flimsy platform for racial relations, economy, and reputation among other planets. But with your guidance it may finally have a chance to make a name for itself.

Gameplay
Gameplay involves making decisions as issues present themselves. How to build your army, which neighboring planet to trust, how you punish rioters. It is also linear. Issues are always presented in the same order, but all decisions contribute to the outcome of your leadership. Your choices matter.

Again, a tough decision to make. You ponder over this a lot. You consult with your ministers. Then you make a call....

Biturn - The relatively neutral big neighbour
Pytal - The far away ally
Ramdael - The military super power

Top objectives are to build Terrota’s economic structure and to create peace among the population, but preventing war, or at least building an army strong enough to win one, is also important. Usually, you will reach an ending that reaches one or two of these goals, but it takes some trial and error to reach to reach an optimal one. Terrota is meant to be played more than once.

There are no deep, achingly tragic moral choices in this game, but there is a strong sense of responsibility as you make decisions that heavily impact the people on your planet.

This announcement obviously does not go well with Mischins. They cannot digest the fact that they lost their jobs overnight.

They take up to the streets vandalizing and destroying everything they see.

You experience it from a more detached perspective which gives the game a feel of a management sim. However, it would not really qualify as such, or at least not like other games that share a similar concept. While you need to balance your citizens’ trust, the chances of war, and the strength of your army, this is not a game with fine-tuned variables or stats. If you want resource management, look elsewhere. But if you want something low-key, minimal, and interesting, I encourage you to check out Terrota.

Story
Story takes center stage in decision making, but the overall game feels relatively light on story. It often uses ambiguous titles or entities, such as "Galactic empire." While this cuts down on the worldbuilding, the upside is that it avoids dragging the short gameplay with excess details. There is a nice balance of details and simplicity.

I liked how the start of the game has three news articles that provide some exposition. The Galactic empire decided to grant independence to planets on the outer edge of the galaxy, including Terrota. This was done primarily because these planets were never prominent hotspots for economic growth. Of course, that can change if you make the right choices.

It is an oddly interesting story. Not one that captivates or amazes, but one that makes you want to roll up your sleeves and play for the best outcome. There are multiple endings that summarize your leadership. The best outcome I reached was: (Spoiler - click to show)

Terraota has grown into a peaceful planet, while President Gusto made sure it evolved into a military super power by building its image in the eyes of its neighbours. There were no wars which helped Terraota focus on other areas to become a super power.

Characters
In science fiction, or at least in interactive fiction, we often assume a protagonist or supporting characters are human unless said otherwise. There is no mention of the human race in this game. Instead, the population of Terrota consists of Badula, Mischin, and Badula races. No humans here! (I think.) Besides that, and the protagonist’s title, there is little attention to individual characters or characteristics beyond anonymous roles.

Visuals
Visuals take a basic but directed approach. The entire screen is an artist's rendition of an exoplanet against a nebulous region of space. Full image backgrounds run the risk of making text difficult to read, but that is not an issue here. It looks cool and fits perfectly with the planetary theme.

Text is white, but choices that influences your leadership are highlighted in red or green. Red is a negative reception, green is positive. Since things are not always polarized, a lighter shade of red is occasionally used to emphasize a mixed result, see below.

Result: You lose some trust with your citizens, while you have also reduced the chances of war with Madrusa.

Even though it is a simple Twine game, the visual design makes it far more polished and professional looking than if it skipped stylization. Experimenting with visuals can go the extra mile. It was certainly the first thing that caught my attention when I started playing.

Final thoughts
Terrota is fun sci-fi leadership gem in a clever Twine format. For sci-fi fans, I think it has an appeal for a fairly wide range of tastes. A bit of everything. If the phrase “interplanetary politics” catches your interest, give this game a try. It is also the perfect length for a lunch break game. I enjoyed it.

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 is an urban fantasy Twine game about seeking refuge in a new city. On your first day in Bareport you make a monumental discovery: contrary to what you always thought, the population of modern civilization is not entirely human. (Spoiler - click to show) Demons partly make up the waking world and have lives of their own in society. With nowhere else to go you find yourself taking a job at a bar called Vespertines with unearthly patrons.

At first, I thought this was a full-fleshed game. The game’s IFDB page explains that it is a multi-branching story with different endings. Right now, it is currently a demo (though a quality one, nonetheless). This review is for CHAPTER 1.

Gameplay
This is a Twine game that features character customization. It starts with the basics of choosing name, gender, and pronouns, and later lets the player customize the protagonist’s physical appearance such as hair, height, eyes, and body type. It only takes up a brief portion of the gameplay but still adds some richness that is nice to find in choice-based games.

Most of the gameplay is based on conversation, which some significant choices near the end such as (Spoiler - click to show) deciding whether to get a tattoo of a protection ward. I had the impression that the gameplay would be largely about the protagonist in their new job, but the chapter ends (Spoiler - click to show) once Gremory agrees to employ them. If you were looking forward to encountering paranormal bar patrons, you are out of luck at the moment.

Story
There is not much to spoil right now. The story is still developing since the game is only on the first chapter. This is a partly a romance game and so far, everything has been built around (Spoiler - click to show) introducing the two (potential) romance option characters. But the game does not feel over-saturated with romance either. The characters are interesting for other reasons and the player is not required to purse a romantic relationship with them. I think this flexibility will appeal to players.

Most of the other urban fantasy games that I have played so far are a bit grittier. This one is a little more lighthearted and upbeat without abandoning its somber undertones. Then again, this is just the first chapter. I cannot say what direction it will go in.

Characters
The protagonist has run away from home for some unexplained reason, other than that they are being hunted by an unnamed entity. The only default piece of character background is that they previously lived in a country environment and now must adjust to life in the city. But other than that, the protagonist’s character features are selected by the player.

There are two love interests, Ashheart and Gremory, that can be romanced in the game, and their gender is selected by the player. Romance games can stumble when it comes to pacing or character dialog but so far, the game has managed itself pretty well. The characters, Ashheart and Gremory, do not seem contrived. Ashheart is thoughtful, mysterious, and cryptic without overdoing it while Gremory is an interesting blend of no-nonsense and compassion.

The game’s description flat-out mentions (should I put this under spoilers just in case? Fine.) that Ashheart and Gremory are (Spoiler - click to show) demons. While this proves to be a startling discovery for the protagonist the player already has a sense of what to expect. The game still devotes a chunk of gameplay for the player to ask questions about (Spoiler - click to show) demons and their place in society which adds some worldbuilding. The game ends before we get a chance to interact with other NPCs, but I hope that upcoming characters share the same quality.

Visuals
The game’s appearance is basic but stylized. Grey screen with light grey text and pink links. The font and text organization create a simple and elegant look. There is a column on the left side of the screen with a link called “profile” that has an overview of your character’s attributes and stats. The game keeps track of stats for character self-awareness and attitude which are shown in percentage bars, similar in appearance to the format used in ChoiceScript games. While the game is currently not long enough to really see these stats at work, there indicators that the player’s choices do influence the gameplay, making everything more robust. For example, (Spoiler - click to show) if you have a high enough “withholding” stat an option to trust a character may be grayed out in an encounter. This provides opportunities for strategizing and encourages multiple playthroughs.

Final thoughts
This game has a lot of great things going for it including smooth implementation and complex characters. Does urban fantasy romance sound like your cup of tea? To summarize, here are some defining features that may interest players:

-Choice-based format romance with flexible gender identity and orientation
-Paranormal non-human NPCs
-Atmospheric city setting
-Offers another interpretation of the urban fantasy genre

Even if I was expecting Chapter 1 to have more content, I must admit I found myself thinking, “aw, it’s over?” It is off to a great start, and I hope it continues in this trajectory.

The protagonist is a biosynthetic technologist whose job is to restore extinct animals and habitats. They also designed The Great Memorial Reef, a project to memorialize Earth’s loss of coral reefs after severe climate catastrophes. Not all of it is natural. The fish are robotic but life-like, and the reef is an experiment in biosynthetic technology. Earth is degrading. Any research about biosynthetic technology will assist in terraforming efforts across the solar system.

The gameplay is short. A playthrough spans across four to five choices. You are swimming in the Sea of Memory that houses The Great Memorial Reef. As you take in the wonderous view of your project you cannot help but note that you cannot remember who you are aside from general details about your work. Your goal is to find the answers in the setting.

The plot twist is when (Spoiler - click to show) we learn that the protagonist had died but left behind instructions for their memories to be preserved in the cybernetic fish. The player realizes that (Spoiler - click to show) the PC is a fish reliving the original protagonist's memories. We do not know how the protagonist died or even the nature of their death. Was it an accident? Deliberate? Climate change? Or a matter of human lifespan?

For such a short game I think the author does a good job at maintaining a reasonable level of details to avoid overwhelming the player, but I would not have minded if the game provided a little more overarching story to piece everything together. (Spoiler - click to show) (What confuses me is that one part of the game says that The Great Memorial Reef was built on Earth whereas later it tells us that we are on Enceladus, a moon of Saturn.)

The game uses a blue text area against a black screen and the text is light blue. This was a little hard to read. At one point my blue light screen filter was on that made the text area appear purple. Surprisingly, this made the text easier to read because of the contrast.

Underwater Memories is a brief sci-fi story about an effort to preserve a natural ecosystem wiped out by Earth’s degradation. This is not a game solely about climate change, but it does touch on themes about long term accumulative effects of climate disasters and the loss of natural and manmade components that comes with it. There is a sense of tragedy as it ponders the implications of losing the Earth even if we have the technology to sustain ourselves on other worlds.

This is something new. I believe this is the first Twine game I have played that has animated GIFs. It is a Christmas themed poem about low expectations during the holiday season.

Gameplay
There is only one page in the game. It consists of a poem with links that reveal GIFs related to the subject matter. It is fun to find and watch every GIF. Many are taken from TV shows or movies. Not all the GIFs matched with the text’s content- they could have been more concise- but some were spot on. I loved the one with the (Spoiler - click to show) cats and dogs eating off the table. Also: Save us from a world of trouble! That link’s GIF is a lot of fun.

Story
The writing is a bit vague but maintains a consistent and clear-cut tone of cynicism about the Christmas season. It looks at the grandeur of Christmas and the consumption of food and gift-giving which is tied to societal expectations about partaking in get-togethers of family and friends so everyone can be cheerful in ways that would otherwise be unlikely at any other time of the year.

It seems like the author is saying that not everyone wants to celebrate Christmas (or decline to celebrate it at all) with tons and tons of people. People do not always feel the spirit of Christmas and want to be roped into joining the festivities, especially since they do not share the enthusiasm of everyone else.

Of course, "everyone" is subjective. There is often an impression that "everyone" around you love this or that, when in reality the sentiment is a bit of an exaggeration. Still, it feels that way, and the stifling effect seems to be a main idea in the poem.

Similarly, the poem considers the instant cheer where "everyone" goes from living in the rat race to embracing a sparkling life when infused with the Christmas spirit. Obviously, this is not the case for everyone whether it be for personal reasons or circumstances out of their control, but it is easy to overlook the statistics when caught up in the season.

As for society’s (again, subjective analysis) positive attitude towards Christmas, it makes sense that people would be more joyful during the holiday season because of its correlation with traditions/practices that one can enjoy. The main argument that the author tries to make is how emotions and sentiments cultivated during Christmas time often dwindle once Christmas has passed.

Visuals
Now, I am pretty sure that this is made with Twine. It uses a pale backdrop, black text, green links. The only notable visual element is a large drawing of an angel at the left side of the screen, adding some Christmas cheer. And of course, there are the GIFs that offer fun visuals.

Final thoughts
This game offers an alternate look into celebrating Christmas. If you want to switch things up with your Christmas IF playlist, consider playing Christmas Greetings.

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.

Several days ago, I visit IFDB and see this:

News on Even Some More Tales from Castle Balderstone: OFFICIAL PLAYER'S GUIDE November 22, 2022 An OFFICIAL PLAYER'S GUIDE is now available for Even Some More Tales from Castle Balderstone, with all kinds of tips and hints and solutions and maps. - Details

I wasn’t sure if I should cry. I had thoroughly played all the games (within the game) and completed them but one. Meanwhile, I was hearing all about (Spoiler - click to show) some secret bonus game that would be unlocked by completing the first four. The words “tips,” “hints,” “solutions,” and “maps,” in this announcement immediately pulled me back to the game so I could finally play it from start to finish. It also means I can give this awesome game a review.

Overview
This was an entry in last year’s Ecto-Comp and offers quite an experience. My understanding is that people besides Ryan Veeder wrote and created stories that he then implemented into parser to be showcased in Even Some More Tales from Castle Balderstone. An anthology.

It is the first game that I have played that splices Twine with Inform/Vorple. It begins in Twine. You are a guest at Castle Balderstone and are brought to a room where four cover art photos are displayed on the screen with the games’ titles. It felt like walking into a movie theater and looking at the posters. When you click on one you “walk” to an area where the author of the story is getting ready to read the story to an audience. This transitions to the parser where you can play the game. Immersive approach!

During the gameplay a sketch of the author is included on the right side of the screen with a small bio. It helps you appreciate the amount of brain power that went into each story. Even Some More Tales from Castle Balderstone is the amusement park and the games set within it are the rides. It has nothing to do with amusement parks/rides but that is the analogy that came to mind.

Letavermilia
I will discuss this game first because it is the one that I could not complete without the walkthrough.

In Letavermilia you are playing as a bounty hunter tasked to hunt down a hacker who goes by, Letavermilia, the same name of a deadly plague that has run rampant across interstellar space. This is probably the most elegant space bounty hunter IF game I have played. The protagonist has worked their way up to become an “A-list bounty hunter” with high paying clients, and it shows. For one thing, the ship has been upgraded to something classier. If “space bounty hunter” does not sound like your cup of tea- think again. There is something about it that strikes a unique chord. Rather than a typical high action speed chase through space, an emphasis is placed on subtlety. If you try to examine a detail, chances are the game will have something to say about it.

We begin on Ligeia, an oceanic planet where you are vacationing. As you lounge peacefully on the hull of your fancy ship you get an urgent message to track down Letavermilia (the hacker). You are following a trail that she leaves behind. Gameplay involves decoding her messages to find the coordinates for the next planet you travel to. Before the walkthrough was published, I was stuck on (Spoiler - click to show) Zante, trying to decipher the message on the (Spoiler - click to show) etched panel. I feel like I should have been able to figure it out on my own. But I didn’t, and that’s that, I guess. Now I was able to go to the next planet. I was really excited to see what world was in store (and tired of guessing pitifully at travel coordinates). After that, I used the walkthrough on and off.

While gameplay has a narrow focus on one objective at a time, it still injects intriguing overarching story along the way. The big concern looming over everyone’s heads is Letavermilia, the plague. We get a smattering of interplanetary politics. Entire planets infected by the disease are quarantined. Meanwhile, uninfected affluent planets form an alliance called “Isolated Worlds” that cease contact with worlds outside this group.

The player is in a unique position because the PC’s bounty hunter credentials allow access to worlds that would otherwise be unavailable. I feel that the portrayal of bounty hunters in both IF and non-IF (or at least in what I’ve seen) tend to use a profile of a battered scoundrel who accepts shady contracts and walks a fine line with the law. The protagonist in Letavermilia is more privileged with glitzy clients and jobs received from entire governments.

I was not happy with the ending. No, no- It’s a fantastic ending. It’s an effective ending. I disliked it simply because it did not end how I wanted it to end. This may surprise you, but if I were to assess the ending of every story in this game and decide on the scariest, it would be this game without a doubt.

What do I mean by scary? I don’t mean spooked scary where everyone around the campfire screams because they heard a small noise out in the words. The feeling I associate with this ending is deep dread that sets in only when it is too late. You realize what just happened, quietly, without the game having to spell it out for you. (Spoiler - click to show)

Your nose is bleeding.

This bounty hunter had in the bag only to discover that the villain (who, technically, we still never meet) has been holding everything in the palm of her hand. I was rooting for the PC. If it weren’t for the villain, we would be swimming about leisurely on Ligeia. Plus, there is only one ending. In the other three games you can negotiate for happier ones.

This sense of dread is not a sudden event. It develops slowly through the gameplay, and you hardly even know it until it reaches the end. A trend is that (Spoiler - click to show) planet locations generally have small maps that you navigate freely and yet they manage to convey a feeling of being funneled along in a direction regardless of your choices. The anxious man who is a little too zealous about your presence (and your teeth, for some reason) as he escorts you up and down the narrow stairwell to look at the server room. The dust storm that keeps you confined to the area around your ship. The deep elevator (my favorite) that shuttles you deep underground to a concrete room. And somehow this hacker manages to leave her messages before you arrive. You are in control, but ultimately, you are not. The extent of this is not revealed until you paint yourself into a corner. Then- surprise! Down you go. That’s what makes this game scary.

Before I move on, I want to share my favorite planet, (Spoiler - click to show) Ulalume. Here, you are at a planet devoted to the nightlife. While planets are consumed by disease, partygoers continue to live extravagantly without any thought that the vast resources of the Isolated Worlds could be spent- I don’t know- coming up with a cure, maybe? Or maybe they simply want to distract themselves from it. People on this planet have a lot of ways of trying to distract themselves. You use an elevator to reach the bottom level. Its glass walls allow you to see the establishments on each floor. The farther down, the more unsettling things we see.

Now you can see through the haze. Humans are sprawled over velvet pillows, wearing expressions of vacant satisfaction.

No one cares that you are plunging deep underground in an elevator to reach a cold concrete room with a message from a hacker who borrows inspiration from a deadly plague. Now, that’s atmosphere.

Visit Skuga Lake
Your boss went to write some articles on a little-known town but has gone missing. As her intern, you travel to the town to investigate only to be thrown into a motel closet. Seems like outsiders are unwelcome. I did not need the hints for the Visit Skuga Lake because I had already devoured back when I first found the game. I mapped that place to death. Notes, lists, you name it. I did consult the guide’s amulet/eyestone chart because it is much more organized than the table I created.

When I first played Visit Skuga Lake last year during Ecto-Comp, I remember the parser being a tad slow with my commands. It would take about half a second- just enough to be noticeable- for the game to respond. But not really a big deal. When I replayed it a few days ago the delay time was even slower. The longer I played the greater the lag. By the time I managed to (Spoiler - click to show) retrieve the key from the sleeping guard and get the boat running to reach the smaller island it was taking three full seconds for the game to respond to each command. I’m not sure why. This was not a big deal since I already knew what to do, but if this were my first ever playthrough, experimentation would be a nightmare.

This game has heaps of cool content. Every animal, landmark, and found object have important content attached to it. What I like best is how there are plenty of puzzles, but their solutions are flexible. While many puzzles are optional, pursuing them are still relevant to your objectives because they follow a similar concept. (Spoiler - click to show) You collect animal amulets and eyestones. When paired together, they give you powers- a wide variety of powers. Experimenting with them is so much fun. You do not need to find every (Spoiler - click to show) magical item, but it is a welcome task, and one that will likely prove useful later in the gameplay. Experimentation is the main attraction. I hope the lag is just an issue on my end. That aside, the story, gameplay, and characters are excellent. Lag-time or not Visit Skuga Lake is a must play if you feel like sampling the stories in Even Some More Tales from Castle Balderstone.

Singing for Me
Definitely, my favorite in all of Even Some More Tales from Castle Balderstone. It is meant to be played repeatedly and offers a lot of strategizing. My high score is (Spoiler - click to show) $1938. "I suppose this is adequate," said the Waldgrave. I’m still proud of it.

The protagonist is a young man returning home after college. He tells the story through humorous journal entries shaped by the player’s choices. The entries depict an oddball town that grows weirder and weirder in a way that suggests normalcy in its community. If you keep shuffling along with the town’s traditions, you get sucked right in. Next thing you know, the (Spoiler - click to show) Harvest Festival arrives. The ending is delightfully disturbing and unexpected. Even better is the redeeming ending. The game makes the player work for it, but it is fulfilling. I’d share more but I’m already starting to sound like (Spoiler - click to show) Darren.

Nyvo the Dolphin
This game gave me a lot to think about. If you happened to be standing on a tall cliff while staring at the ocean and see a dolphin equipped with a (Spoiler - click to show) prosthetic arm, a (Spoiler - click to show) grenade launcher, and some (Spoiler - click to show) foreign object in its eye, what scenario would play through your head? What explanation would emerge as you try to rationalize what you just saw? Nyvo the Dolphin has the answers. An adolescent dolphin comes across a shipwreck. Not some storybook pirate shipwreck but the wreckage of a high-tech ship carrying (Spoiler - click to show) classified military cargo. The highlight is the writing. It has a dramatic yet clinical tone as it narrates Nyvo’s encounter with (Spoiler - click to show) dangerous human technology…and how he is changed by it. It’s also in third person which makes it even more potent.

You mean there’s (Spoiler - click to show) more?
Finally, this was the moment I was waiting for. (Spoiler - click to show) The bonus content: a FIFTH game. Hunted , if I remember correctly. A stop and start Christmas nightmare. I think. This kid is on the run in the North Pole. When he gets caught* the gameplay switches where you are the “Bad” version of the kid. The Good and Bad version of the kid’s identity battle it out as you flip flop between two gameplay sequences. And then sometimes the parser would kick back to the Twine format where everyone is sitting in a circle to hear a story before launching into more gameplay. It was overwhelming. Cool, but overwhelming. At one point I was in a cozy house, but then that changed. The entire time I was all, “wait- stop, stop, stop. I wasn’t done yet!” I would gladly replay the entire game to revisit it if not for the lag issue I had with Visit Skuga Lake.

Nonetheless, I am so happy to have reached this point.

*Also: (Spoiler - click to show) I found a key that presumably unlocks the office door, but right before I reach it Krampus gets me. Is it possible to outrun him or is failing the whole point?

Final thoughts
A truly ambitious piece. It also defies the notion of quality over quantity, or quantity or quality. It’s a quality game, and there’s lots of it! A lot of planning and care seems to have gone into its creation. Sometimes you may find yourself coming back just to revisit one of the stories. Especially Singing for Me. There is something in it for a wide range of audiences in terms of length, technicality, and subject matter. Make sure you turn on the rainy music that the game recommends before you start playing.

This is not a spoof. Do not let the cartoon cover art make you think otherwise. After playing URA Winner! I probably jumped to conclusions. Some educational games look convincing at first only to reveal its nature later in the gameplay. Parodies are a lot of fun, but Nick’s Dilemma is not one of them.

You work for a company called MediSales that distributes surgical equipment. Sheila, your boss, calls for a meeting about a hiring issue. The company has been unable to find a long-term employee for a sales management position. Candidates are selected, trained, and months later they leave because the job was not a good fit. This pattern is expensive and needs a lasting solution.

Gameplay
Sheila guides the player by having them ask appropriate questions about hiring. Then she then guides the player by talking to co-workers and using digital resources to learn about factors in the hiring process. The gameplay is structured into units. After each unit you get a badge before moving on to the next unit. It is all incredibly straightforward. There is even an embedded video tutorial for the game on the title page. Everything is painstakingly designed to be user-friendly.

When I went to restart the game, I got a popup message saying, “Are you sure you want to restart this Educational Game?” For some reason I thought it was amusing that the message went through the effort of noting that this is, in fact, and educational game.

Story
This really isn’t a story intensive game. It gives everything up front. Find a candidate who will be compatible for sales management. There are multiple endings based on your hiring select. Not all of them are ideal but the game always urges you to return to the gameplay to make choices that result in a favorable outcome. This is where it deviates from being a “game.” For some games, the fun is seeing the “bad” endings, the ones that crash and burn. But in Nick’s Dilemma the goal is to learn about the proper steps to success (oh no, I’m started to sound like a training manual), hence why it wants the player to win.

Characters
There is a diverse range of characters in this game, most of which only make a brief appearance to discuss key points in the game’s content. Sheila is the NPC you interact with the most.

One problem: I still have no idea who Nick is.

When I first saw this game, I was this close adding it to the poll titled, “Games Where the Title Is You,” but hesitated. I thought that you were playing as Nick. That is, until the game asked me to type in my character name instead. I guess we are not Nick. The game features graphics for the characters, and the PC’s is rather generic. We only see the backside of “Nick” never the face, probably to minimize characteristics. I’m not at all mad at this if that is what you’re worried about. I just spent a lot of time scanning the game to try to find any mention of Nick.

Visuals
The game uses a white background with black text and blue links. Sometimes it dabbles with fonts for emails or notes which was clever. There is a panel on the left side of the page with a list detailing your progress. For completing each milestone in the story, you get a badge which is displayed in the corner of the screen. The badges are visual appealing but kind of useless and yet receiving them feels oddly rewarding.

Congratulations! You have earned 2 badges. You have unlocked the next section of the game!

Oddly rewarding.

The game would not succeed without its graphics. The character graphics give you something to look at and draws the player’s attention away from just reading text. Other visuals are more vital because they provide useful examples of material you may create for yourself. If you decide to (Spoiler - click to show) put out an online add the game shows a picture of what the ad may look like if it were posted it on a job search website.

Final thoughts
Do you walk away with the basics of sales management? Honestly, no. Not really. I cannot say I know more about the field of sales management (or the management of sales). HOWEVER. I did learn a lot about protocol, process, and the reasoning behind making hiring decisions. Of course, in real life this matter is more complex than what can be covered in a Twine game, but it does provide you with some insights. A couple of times I almost felt like I was taking one of those interactive training video exercises you complete after being hired.

You learn more about basic communication skills. Things like writing brief but thoughtful emails and follow-up emails, initiating conversations with co-workers. These skills seem trivial, but they go a long way in real life. The game does not sit you down and start a “Writing Emails 101,” spiel. Instead, it provides examples that serve as a reference. This way, the game is more helpful regardless of players’ emailing skills. Nick’s Dilemma is reasonably short and surprisingly practical. It is one of the most educational interactive fiction games for subjects unrelated to interactive fiction that I have played so far.

Nineteen is about the author’s experience with gender identity during an important milestone: Turning 19. The story looks at personal struggles, not just in terms of societal stigma but also the frustrations of not knowing what definition you align with in a world where concepts of gender and sexuality are often placed in a ridged box: You either belong in this category or that category. This game, however, points out that the identity of oneself is far more complex than that.

The gameplay is in second person but built of the author’s own life experiences. As an almost-nineteen-year-old the player finds themselves moving into an apartment with an abusive girlfriend while being employed at an office job. Here, the game explores the loaded meaning behind slurs and their associations and assumptions with gender as they navigate new life changes.

Everything in the game takes a reflective approach. The interactivity does not consist of making changes to the storyline or directly engaging with the characters within. Instead, the player chooses links that reveal different components of their situation before cycling back. This created a fluid effect that made the gameplay a little more immersive. It gives the player an opportunity to “dig” through the story even if they do not influence its contents. Gameplay is extremely short, and you will have to play the game twice to see everything.

Nineteen is not a timeline of the protagonist’s life, but it does outline how identity can change. While the protagonist’s 19th birthday is in 2004, the game projects what life will be like in the future which includes life crises. We get a glimpse- just a glimpse- of the author’s experiences during (Spoiler - click to show) 2007, 2011, 2012, and 2014. In college the author identified as a transgender male and went by Aidan. Years later Aidan became Kiran.

At the end of the narrative the author identifies as neutrois. I have never heard about this term before and wanted to make sure that I used the proper pronouns and wording for this review. Neutrois, according to the definitions I looked up, means gender neutral and that “they/them” pronouns are used (inform me, please, if this is inaccurate) So, there you go. I learned a new term.

One of the takeaways in the game is the idea of considering a term about gender, and then considering the individual attached to the term. If I understand correctly, the author found hope in learning how people can be transgender, and yet, trying to transition did not bring any clarity to how they felt about their own identity. Terms do not necessarily explain the person behind it.

The subject matter is serious, but I found the author’s writing to be approachable. As a Twine game it also has polished formatting. It sticks to a basic appearance with a black background, blue links, and small white text placed neatly at the top of the screen. There quantity of text is moderate, but it is all concise and potent.

Ultimately, this is not a gameplay-oriented game. If you are merely looking for something to “play” then you may not enjoy this one as much. Rather, the heart of the experience is taking in the story and viewing every thread that the author has to say about it. And I am glad they decided to share this through an interactive fiction piece.

At Esther's cafe your adorable host / Served cheese to the mice when they wanted toast! / That won't bother Harold's robust appetite, / But Janie insists that the order's not right. Sounds like something out of a children’s book!

Esther's is not a rhyming game, but as you can see, its description caught my eye. Janie and Harold are mice who like to visit their favorite joint for brunch every week. The café is run by a young girl named Esther. Unfortunately, there is a bit of a linguistic barrier. Esther does not understand the mice and ends up serving them cheese instead of their intended order.

There is no singular PC. The game's tone is in third person and the choices you make bounce between Janie and Harold. Gameplay is super easy and versatile for all ages partly because you will not get stuck, and partly because it gives the player space to experiment with choices. You figure out how to get Esther to serve you the right food through pointing or hand gestures. No matter what approach you take the game will guide you to the correct direction at the end.

The characters are endearing, especially the mice. Originally, I was picturing a fantasy world where animals hustle and bustle like humans to cafés and other establishments, but the game opts for a more basic approach. Esther’s café turns out to simply be a little girl indulging some mice in playing a variation of a tea party. Or maybe it is the mice indulging the girl? Either way, this is a sweet premise that the game pulls off. It mixes relatability with imagination. My favorite line is, “Tapioca. I like that word! Tappy-OH-kuh…”

Visually, the game reminds me of a picture book. The text area is a white square set against a purple screen. The letters are black with colour coded text for character names. Avocado icons decorate the player’s list of choices. I also really love how the authors included (Spoiler - click to show) a behind-the-scenes section at the end that shows drafts for the art as well as a node map for the Twine game.

Esther’s is a sweet Twine story that only takes about five minutes to play. While aimed at younger audiences, and I do recommend it for younger audiences, players can still appreciate the thoughtfulness put into the game’s creation.

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.)

This is such a gem.

You a ghost. A friendly, benevolent one. No one can see you or acknowledge your presence, but that does not deter you from wanting to help. The game takes place in the house of a small family. Even though your own identity is foggy, you have a strong desire to protect them.

As a ghost you try to prevent disasters, preferably so that the occupants of the house never realize that there was any chance of disaster to begin with. It is a lighthearted game, but one that ponders the balance of everyday events that can lead to (Spoiler - click to show) household disasters. To borrow its words, "a domino effect." This game is never judgmental, nor does it strive to teach a moral. Instead, it portrays a sensitive protagonist who looks at daily life through the unique advantage of a ghost. Contemplative.

This is a Twine game. Not only does it look nice, but the gameplay is smooth. The player moves freely throughout rooms to explore the contents. For choice-based games I like to call this as free range of movement, but the effect is more subtle in The Good Ghost. Lazy and casual, yet attentive. There is a thoughtfulness in your surroundings that encourage you to find the nooks and tiny details that usually go unobserved by the family in the house.

Now, this is not a puzzle game. Instead, it features small objectives, such as (Spoiler - click to show) finding a wedding ring, that are solved by going to the right room and carefully observing. This shifts the flow, so the game then leads you to the next scene. Everything is so fluid and organized!

The Good Ghost shines in every department, but the story tops it all. It is broken into several acts that documents the family over a lifetime. Seeing this process was incredibly grounding. As for the ending, it is the sublime moment of realization at the end that makes this game so emotionally powerful. I do not want to spoil the ending but know that it clicked perfectly. (Spoiler - click to show) So that's why the cat dislikes me... It was beautiful.

Excellent, excellent work. I highly recommend this game to anyone.

An old acquaintance named Edward Harcourt writes an unexpected and peculiar letter to you stating that he inherited a title to his family’s estate, and requests that you visit right away. This is a mystery game takes place in Scotland in the early 1920s.

Character creation comes first in this game. Not only does the player get to customize their character’s name, gender, and appearance, but they also decide on the protagonist’s history with Edward Harcourt and their past relationship with him before he appears in the game. There are quite a few possibilities, as indicated with a (Spoiler - click to show) dream sequence soon after you arrive.

Reflecting on the nature of your relationship with Edward, you find yourself thinking back to when you first met him…

The only plot element that the game gives us is Edward Harcourt’s reason for seeking out the protagonist for help. We learn that his (Spoiler - click to show) mother has been suffering from a mysterious form of insanity, and that he has been trying to find a cure for it. He thinks that the solution may lie through occultism which he has been studying to understand his mother’s ravings, but his only real lead is a cryptic letter from his uncle about exploring a castle. He wants the protagonist to help investigate.

So far, you navigate this mystery by snooping around and interviewing people (if they are willing to talk to you). As you investigate there may be clues that light up in the text. If you click on them more information is added to your nifty journal that summarizes your findings. This feature cultivates a detective vibe while also being incredibly useful.

The spoiler in the title of my review is that this game (Spoiler - click to show) is a demo. I did not realize that until it ended. It was sort of like biting into a chocolate bunny during Easter only to find that it is hollow, not solid chocolate like you thought. But there is an upside to this. Demo or not, this really is an excellent game. I hope the authors continue to develop it. So far, the game starts with a prologue and ends about halfway through chapter two. You arrive at the castle late at night and go on an excursion to town the next day.

Even as (Spoiler - click to show) a demo there is plenty of replay value while exploring the town, particularly with what you wear and where you visit first. So far, the gameplay follows the narrative of the outsider protagonist eager to get to work and start digging through the ancient history of a town where people are, at best, wary of you. You may pick up some Anchorhead vibes here or there.

The man bangs his hands on the table. His eyes are full of fury. Cognitive dissonance can be a real (Spoiler - click to show) bitch.

Clothing is important because it affects how people respond to you poking around. Are you a rich snob? A vagrant? Those are snap judgements that everyone makes, but it is interesting to compare these reactions among separate playthroughs. You already are the odd one out by being an outsider. It does not take much to make it worse (although sometimes, that is how you get the best answers).

The other replay factor is where you visit. There is a pub, church, harbor, and stores. You can visit two before the game (Spoiler - click to show) calls it a day and ends. But visiting the store first provides a different experience than if you visit it second. Same goes for the other locations. You can learn a lot from mixing and matching where you go. (Spoiler - click to show) The demo is not meant to played once. If you are interested in the story, you can find much more of it through replay. I recommend saving the game before you go exploring.

The game already has nice visuals. There is a stylish menu section on the left side of the screen. Some of the headers are writing in cursive (thankfully, not the gameplay text), and decorative swirls are also added. The screen is black aside from journal entries which are stylized to give the appearance of flipping through a physical journal. It all worked together to create an effective ambience.

In conclusion, The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt is an intriguing story with a lot of work put into it. When I went to play it, I was not expecting to see, (Spoiler - click to show) "You have reached the end of this demo. We hope you’ve enjoyed it!" I wish there was more, and I hope there will be. But did I enjoy it? Yes, I absolutely did.

This game is apparently about selecting parties. It is chaotic and confusing, but not in a good way. You are in a courtyard that contains several offices, within each is a character looking to have a fun time. (Spoiler - click to show) After browsing your options, you get to pick who to visit. A small paragraph describing the encounter appears on screen and the game just ends. There is no story structure.

I find it so frustrating when Twine games do not have any indicator that the game is over, and instead either leave the player with a blank screen or a screen with text minus a concluding passage (does not necessarily have to be link) that confirms that the game is over. Just some indicator will do. Otherwise, I get the impression that I came across a broken page. It is like someone singing and they decide not to sing the last line. This game (Spoiler - click to show) opts for the latter, and they hardly feel like endings.

Visually, everything is organized well enough. Then again, there is hardly anything to critique because the game is so short. It sticks with the standard visual model of black screen, white text, and purple links. But that is the only positive in this game.

4 Edith + 2 Niki is too incomplete for this competition. It was tough to even find the game’s main idea and story. Feel free to check it out if you want, it will only take up a minute of your time.

In this short Twine game, you play as a volunteer collecting dues for a community organization group. It is time for your shift, where you go from door to door, trying to get people interested in signing up as members. You have a quota to meet, but lately your success rate with recruiting members has declined and your faith in the organization's ability to create change is wavering. Think about that later. Pull on your winter clothes, steel your nerves, and start your shift.

Gameplay
Collect £5 in dues within four hours. All right. There are 32 houses on your list. It is not possible to visit them all, nor is that the goal. Well, the goal is to knock on as many doors as possible, but your success is based on the dues you collect, not on how many houses you reach. Going to a house costs five minutes, and at some point, you also need to take at least one break, either to use the restroom or warm up from the cold, or you will have to end your shift early. So, it is definitely not possible to cover everything. But that is also a good reason for replays.

You can also take breaks for other things such as texting a coworker or checking the news. The game is set during the COVID lockdown restrictions in 2020, and checking the news gives some light background context which was a nice touch. Plus, there is an in-game glossary explaining the process of community organization.

The catch is that success is not really possible. Few people showed interest in my pitch. I made a simple list of which houses had people who answered the door, and then narrowed that down to people who would earnestly engage in conversation. Next, I replayed to find the dialog options that successfully convinced them to join. And it worked! I was so pleased with myself. My target was £5. I came back with (Spoiler - click to show) £8. Only to learn that (Spoiler - click to show) some people cancelled their memberships, resulting in me failing to meet my target after all. An exercise in futility, and that is where the main idea comes in.

Story + Characters
The protagonist is coming to terms with the fact that their work is no longer as meaningful as they once thought it was. They joined to make a difference, and now they have a hard time envisioning people enthusiastically signing up for something pitched to them by a stranger on their doorstep. Early on in their job, the protagonist reached their targets with recruiting people but now not so much. They wonder if the time spent going from door to door to keep their numbers up could be better spent elsewhere. But the only thing they are told by their manager is to knock on more doors. The game ultimately shares some interesting perspectives.

There is a strong human element in this game. It captures the task of preparing to weather all sorts of people. When you first play the game there is a sense of anticipation of wondering who will open the door. Someone edgy? Someone friendly? No one at all? At the same time, you also see the other side of the story. There is a lockdown, everyone is cooped up inside, it is the dead of winter, and now here is someone knocking on your door asking you to sign up for something. Still, I wonder if the author has done community organization work themselves, and if so, whether the characters in the game are based on actual experiences.

Visuals
On a brief side note, I really like the game’s appearance which combines a purple background with white text and colourful links. It is organized and crisp looking.

Final thoughts
No One Else Is Doing This was one of the earlier games I played for the IFComp and it immediately pulled me into the story. It is not particularly long, but its gameplay structure encourages multiple playthroughs. While generally lighthearted it does touch on topics about daily concerns such as upkeep of parks or cost of public transportation. It gives you some interesting things to think about, and I appreciated its relevance to the COVID related lockdown without it dominating the gameplay. The game is ultimately a mix of humor, determination, and frustration that puts the player in the protagonist’s shoes.

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.)

Admiration Point takes place several decades into the future. You play as Maria, a 3D artist at the Digital Culture Museum where she designs virtual exhibits. But lately, her attention keeps wandering to her coworker, Sean. Romance is unlikely.

Gameplay
The interactivity usually consists of deciding whether to explore Maria’s attraction to Sean, or to shift the attention towards her work and family. To use an example, (Spoiler - click to show) in one scene you choose whether to read Sean’s book, search for Sean on the internet, or read a novel having nothing to do with Sean. Other times, choices are centered around character dialog.

Gameplay choices generally do not affect the overall track of the game. The most influential choice occurs about a quarter into the game where the player decides on how Maria should approach her feelings about Sean. Maria can choose to wreck her feelings, ignore them, or use them to fuel her own work. Your choice is then listed at the side of the screen for the rest of the game. This choice does not change the gameplay path but features text changes that are varied enough to make each playthrough a unique experience for replays.

Admiration Point is not a stat intensive game, but there are a few. Stats are meant to give the player a general idea of Maria’s feelings and standing with Sean. Cleverly, they are indicated with icons rather than numbers. (Spoiler - click to show) Maria’s obsession with Sean is represented by a looping scribble that becomes denser as her interest grows. I think that explains itself clear enough. Sean’s attitude towards Maria is shown with weather icons that begins with a neutral cloud before slowly transitioning into a shining sun. There are no rainy clouds or thunderstorms. It is just meant to be an estimate of your progress of getting to know Sean since opportunities can become available.

Story
Immediate story
The story revolves around Maria’s infatuation with Sean. He is the new guy in another department at the museum, but his work often overlaps with Maria’s work. Like Maria, he is married, though considerably older than her. As I mentioned earlier, the player’s choices do not branch the gameplay. Instead, it determines how Maria approaches her romantic feelings. Sometimes this will take you in an unexpected direction.

Have you ever played a Twine game where you click on a link that surprises you with a message instead of carrying through with the command? You probably have. Sometimes games use them to make the player think that a character is about to do something major, only to say, “yeah, not happening.” Sometimes you can sense it in advance. In this game, there were cases where I thought, “surely, the game would not allow me to actually do that,” only to click on the link and realize that, no, Maria really is going for it. I think that this allows the player to share the awkwardness with Maria rather than just feeling awkward at her situation, although the awkwardness can range anywhere from cringy to Going Too Far. Some were pretty painful to try. (Spoiler - click to show) Ending 2 was sad.

Overarching story
I am not sure whether Admiration Point takes place in the late 21st century or early 22nd century, but my guess is the former. When it comes to games that aim towards the near future, I always like to see authors’ interpretations what happens.

Apparently, (Spoiler - click to show) things seemed to go downhill during the 2040s where algorithms in social media allowed corporations to weasel their way into leadership positions and other societal pillars that changed everyday life. Names of states and countries were even changed to corporate brands. It is a familiar trope, perhaps not the most novel. But the game has nice worldbuilding by introducing these concepts through character conversations or Maria’s reading material. It makes explanations more integrated in the game rather that pulling the player aside for a crash course on the history before releasing them back into the gameplay.

Also, futuristic technology (or at least advanced versions of preexisting technologies we have today) is subtly placed throughout the game. For example, we hear mention of synthetic meats called Near-Meat. I am not sure if Near-Meat is a brand-based product. It seems like games that speculate on the nature of consumer meat products in the future tend to opt for flashy fictional marking such as NearMeats™ whereas this game takes a more subtle approach by lightly incorporating it into the writing. No? Maybe it is just me. Regardless, there are small hints that provide exposition about the world Maria lives in.

Characters
The premise of Maria's character is an exciting one: A protagonist who creates 3D art for virtual exhibits at a museum on digital culture in the future. But she also brings something new to the table: She is Mormon. Aside from the author’s other works, I have never really played any interactive fiction games that look at a specific branch/group of Christianity. The only one that comes to mind is the Methodist church in Robin & Orchid. I would not say that Admiration Point is heavily based on religion, but there are scenes where it takes center stage. I cannot say that I am familiar with the subject, but the game does share some cultural insights that were interesting.

One theme that often surfaces with Maria is motherhood. In one part of the game, (Spoiler - click to show) Maria reviews an exhibit script where women share how pregnancy was not a positive experience for them. One woman in the script notes that being overjoyed about expecting a child does not mean you are thrilled with being pregnant. For Maria, these hit close to home since she deals with indecisiveness about whether to have a second child. While there is plenty of existing media that cultivates the image of upbeat motherhood and "perfect" pregnancy, media can also be an avenue for women to share experiences, such as blogging. In Maria’s case, hearing someone who can relate to her struggles was a powerful moment. That seemed to be the main idea the author was going for in this scene.

Visuals
The game has a polished minimalist look. Green links, white background, and grey text organized into neat paragraphs at the left side of the screen. And to the left of that is a grey panel with rounded borders. This panel is mostly blank until the stats are introduced which have fun icons which I discussed earlier in this review.

Sometimes the game uses different fonts for newspapers or other content which added nice stylization. Occasionally there are text boxes used to simulate a text chat screen. It uses basic shapes and colours to imply the idea without needing to be elaborate.

Final thoughts
This was one of the earlier entries that I played. I liked the design and candid nature of the story. A highlight of the game for me was the author’s interpretation of the future and the corresponding worldbuilding, but I also enjoyed the character development.

If you asked me to pick one genre to summarize this game, I would not choose romance, religion, or science fiction, but slice of life. Romance, religion, and science fiction would fit under this umbrella and describe the complex character that is Maria. Admiration Point is short game with a compressed story, and worth more than one playthrough. Even if you decide that you do not like it, there still may be something in it for you.

You wake up in an alleyway to find that someone took the liberty of performing unauthorized brain surgery on you. All you have is a key and a note explaining that you have a stash of neurotoxins in your head, ready to kill you within a few hours. To get the antidote, you must obtain $50,000 and bring it to the alley. Your memory is faulty. You could have sworn that you read about this somewhere…

Gameplay
The player is on a time crunch to fulfill the requirements of the note. There are multiple solutions to your predicament, not all of them require that you cave into the demands of the note. But decide quickly because you have a limited time before you die from the timebomb of poison in your head. There is no counter clicking away at the bottom of the screen to indicate what time you have left. You have to eyeball it. But there are little indicators, such as the colour of the sky, that serve as markers in the gameplay. Semi-short, yet reasonable in length. There are (Spoiler - click to show) four endings, three of which involve not being killed by the neurotoxin.

The gameplay takes place in a town setting near a seaside and rural countryside. This setting is fairly dynamic. For example, (Spoiler - click to show) the pawn shop is not open right away. If you want to pawn something, come back later. That was a nice touch. The game allows you to move freely throughout the environment, but not quite interact with it at the same level of detail. Inventory items are added automatically, and some character interactions occur on the player’s behalf. While it reduces the puzzle value, the upside is that it is easier to make progress. One of the strong points in this game is how the inventory page neatly lists your inventory items and the things you have learned while exploring or speaking with characters. This was a helpful tool in identifying objectives.

Regardless of the interactivity, the writing is humorous, and the premise of racing against the clock to reverse some bizarre surgical procedure provides decent suspense. But the main attraction in this game is the catchphrase of “You feel like you’ve read this in a book.”

Suddenly, an army of rabbits scatter to and fro. Furious flashes of hazel and pale gray silver fur blink quickly as timid rabbits dart around the grass away from you.

You feel like you've read this in a book.

Just when you think the rabbits are done fleeing, one of them lunges out of the hole and bites your hand before joining his comrades amidst the tall grasses.
(To illustrate, "bites your hand" was appropriately shown in red.)

Throughout the game, the PC notes that something reminds them of a piece of literature. But do they remind you of anything? It just may. And if not, at the end of the game is a list of every work referenced in the gameplay. Some were obvious. With others, I only picked up on the reference after I saw the list. That way, I could go back to the gameplay and say to myself, “Now, I get it!”

Story
The story was not as fleshed out as I expected. I would not say that the game is incomplete or has missing story points, but there is no overarching story that really ties everything together. Is the whole point simply that the protagonist likes to read and happens to make associations about everything they see, or is there some other underlying element as to why the associations are being made?

I can understand why the author may be hesitant to go down the rabbit hole (hey, a reference!) in terms of story since not every work hinted in this game is fiction, though most are. And by rabbit hole, I mean having the components from the referenced literature works appear in the story in a more concrete way. Instead, references are subtly mentioned in the text. That is not necessarily a criticism since subtle can perform wonders in conveying an idea. Perhaps the intent was to keep things grounded in reality. Still, I was waiting for a more fantastical, if you will, layer to be revealed.

There are bits of fantasy here and there, such as the (Spoiler - click to show) ritual in the forest, but not enough to be cohesive through the story. To be clear, I am not saying that this game needs to be a fantasy* piece to be successful. However, the game does feature some supernatural/fantasy-like moments that currently do not click with everything else. I love the idea of combining elements of the “normal world” with a fantasy world, which requires a balance. As for You Feel Like You’ve Read this in a Book, the logic is there, but it does not quite capture that spark.

*(I also wonder if I made a snap judgement about a fantasy theme based on the cover art, which would be an issue on my part, not the author’s fault).

The most concrete story background that we get is with the (Spoiler - click to show) surgeon solution route. When you talk to the surgeon about removing the neurotoxin, we learn that the protagonist has a gambling habit that left them in debt, and the person that they owe the money decided to take an unconventional approach to getting paid. This is probably the "best" ending since the neurotoxin problem is resolved without having to come up with $50,000. Then again, the emergency surgery did impact your brain's memory capabilities, and your debt is still unresolved. Maybe not. The protagonist seems to have a knack for not thinking things through. Nonetheless, it was a satisfying win.

Visuals
The game uses a generic black screen with white text interspaced with creative text effects. For example, the word “fog” by the water is glowing like a lighthouse surrounded by fog. Or in other cases movement is used, such as the word “ringing” moving up and down like an object vibrating from sound. Not only does this make the scene more descriptive it also draws the player’s attention to keywords that hint towards literary references. Also, a specific type of yellow text is used for inventory items in your environment, as well as key bits of information in a scene. This was quite helpful.

One design issue that kept glaring at me was how the inventory page has no return link. Instead, you use the small arrow at the side of the screen, but those arrows are the equivalent of an “undo” rather than a “back” to the previous screen. Am I a stickler? You may be nodding your head, but it felt the same as a broken link (and there is a broken link where (Spoiler - click to show) the only thing that appears on the screen is “You are bleeding,” without any link other than the small arrow). Other than that, the game is polished and neatly formatted.

Final thoughts
You Feel Like You’ve Read this in a Book is a quilt of several excellent concepts tied together with not-quite-as excellent strings (I am not making a reference here). There is the drama of the protagonist’s situation, the mystery behind the note, and multiple endings to try. The setting even has a slight Cannery Vale/Anchorhead vibe at times. But there is a gap somewhere that keeps it from going to the next level. If these core ideas were developed, it would be a formidable piece. Regardless, it is still quite a fun and memorable game. If you are working your way through this year’s IFComp games, make sure you give this one a try.

In Witchfinders, you learn what it means to be an empathetic witch at the wrong place at the wrong time in history. Or any type of witch. The game takes place during a slightly altered Middle Ages, one of the more gnarlier segments of human history where, to use an understatement, being a witch was often frowned upon. Even looking like a witch or acting accordingly to social stereotypes about what it means to be a witch could be enough to set people off. Things would only go from bad to worse.

Gameplay
The game lets you wander around town with a handful of stores, streets, and scenery. The goal is to provide services to help people. Witch protagonists often conjure up ideas of blatantly wielding magic, but this is not a game where you cast spells. Nor is it a fantasy game. The only fragment of magic is (Spoiler - click to show) when you flee on your broomstick if you are driven out of the village, and even then, it is barely implied. The game seems to go for a more realistic approach when portraying a witch inspired from and actual point in history.

There is a creative score system that ties in nicely with the game’s theme. It is called your Witch Score and indicates the villagers’ suspicion towards you. This is a game where it is extremely bad to have a high score unless you want to satisfy your morbid curiosity and see what happens when you overshoot people’s tolerance. This was clever since you can observe how suspicion sparks and grows based on different choices.

Some of the gameplay objectives are rather murky. The main goal is to heal the boy in the house, but there is another quest where you help investigate a mystery behind ailing cattle. You (Spoiler - click to show) first talk to Alexina in the candle store to begin this quest and then find out more information by talking to the butcher. It is frustrating how you cannot talk to Alexina more than once to have a recap on the cattle issue or to share findings. The only other interaction is (Spoiler - click to show) when you give her the bone powder.

I also do not understand why sometimes the game ends once you heal the boy without being allowed to pursue other objectives. I am not sure why. Another thing that stood out was how your notes are hardly updated. Tasks that you already completed are still listed there. It would be nice if the notes could be more reliable as guide to point the player in the right direction.

Story
Throughout the game the protagonist is often regarded with some suspicion, but it is not the same "Burn the witch! After her!" narrative that is often portrayed in this subject. Even when you (Spoiler - click to show) max out your Witch Score and anger the villagers, the game keeps things from going explicit. The protagonist merely makes a quick exit and leaves the village. If you are worried about playing a game that draws from the rather grim subject of witches being slaughtered for witchcraft you should know that this is not a graphic game. There are some implications here and there of witches being taken or killed, but the author knows how to tone things down without sacrificing the solemn quality of the story.

I like how the author strived to consult historical information when designing this game. You can learn more about this in the author's notes in the game. In these notes they make it clear that the dates have been changed since the Middle Ages occurred quite a while before the 1800s. Bits of worldbuilding are also incorporated to build the story. I thought the bulletin board added atmosphere and context on the time period’s language and societal norms. Even if the goal was not to recreate a pristine replica of the Middle Ages, it seems like the author has done their homework.

Visuals
When I first played this game, it had the most horrible font choice. The words were difficult to read because the letters were in bold and squashed together with a narrow font. Plus, it hurt my eyes. I know whining about font may sound like a small detail, but illegibility can make or break a game. So, I stopped playing. Later I came back to it and thankfully saw that everything had been changed to a crystal-clear font. It really did make a difference.

Everything now is neatly designed. Black background, white text, and colour coded links. There are lines at the top and bottom of the page that also organize the layout. Together, they create a polished look.

Final thoughts
This is a clever game to offers some engaging ideas. It did not knock my socks off, but I did enjoy it. The game has a close eye for detail and yet it was difficult to feel a deep connection with the story and characters. I certainly recommend this game because it is well done, but you may not feel inspired to replay it.

In A Long Way to the Nearest Star, you play as a criminal on the run after an almost unsuccessful heist. You escaped with the goods but damaged your spacecraft along the way, forcing you to find a place to hide and make repairs. Luckily, you stumble across a seemingly abandoned research vessel that may solve your predicament.

Gameplay
After a brief intro, the gameplay begins in the landing bay of the mysterious ship where you discover that you are not alone. Your presence caught the attention of the ship’s AI, Solis, who communicates through terminal screens placed throughout the ship. Solis is eager to help but clearly guarded about the circumstances surrounding its own ship. The player is reliant on Solis to help them navigate the ship but is also compelled to find ways to sneak around the system.

The story and characters are worth about three stars, but the overall game gets four because of its puzzles and how those puzzles are implemented in a choice-based format. This is a puzzle-intensive Twine game with free range of movement. You have access to a fairly large ship, and the game lets you wander through it almost like you would if it were a parser game. This approach may appeal to some players. Some of the gameplay mechanics are quite clever. I especially liked how the game allows you to program the janitor bot to go to a location and then automatically follow it. Useful for puzzles while reducing travel time.

There is a lot of in-game guidance. In your inventory is a notes section giving you an overview of what you have learned, and if you take a break in your own ship the game gives you some suggestions of what to do. The author also has hints cleverly formatted into a Twine piece included separately with the game. All of this was nicely done, and I felt it was worth a mention.

The author gets some bonus points for worldbuilding. The terminal in the research lab allows you to look up planets in a digital encyclopedia. When the game ends, you are presented with the statistics of your playthrough which includes how many planets you researched. That alone was enough for me to replay the game just to comb through to find any planet names that I could punch into the encyclopedia. In case you are interested, I found 11 planet names.

Story
The story retains a suspenseful and intriguing quality. The gist (I do not consider this part to be a spoiler since we know this at the start of the gameplay) is that there was a collision with the ship that caused toxic gas to enter the ship, killing everyone onboard. We learn this from Solis, (Spoiler - click to show) but the player knows right away that Solis is not being entirely truthful. It is not a matter of discovering whether Solis is hiding something. It is a matter of finding what it is hiding. Entering the medical bay was kind of chilling. On top of that, it has six endings which encourage replays.

At the end of the game there is this abrupt plot twist that it failed to pull off. This sudden twist, mega spoilers by the way, occurs (Spoiler - click to show) when you learn that Berthold was behind it all. It turns out Solis did not kill Trill, but Berthold did and made Solis think otherwise. That part had some decent backing. But then there is ambiguous explanation on the other ways Berthold potentially interfered, followed by an avalanche of speculation of why he attempted sabotage. You show Solis the captain’s real data pad, and the game rushes to explain everything in one swoop. Yet, it does not even clarify everything. The game says, yeah, Solis gassed the crew, but it also did not gas the crew. Any uncertainties are blamed on glitches. It seemed flimsy in comparison to the rest of the story which had been carefully constructed.

Characters
The player can choose the protagonist’s (fake) name and their brief cover story, but otherwise the game is hesitant to give out details about the protagonist since they are on the run. You can still get to know the PC in subtle ways, such as reprogramming the food options in food synthesizer and eat them. This gives you a look into the protagonist’s previous experiences. Some are quite interesting.

I did not particularly care about the characters which surprised me (This game is almost NPC-less. By "characters" I mean Solis, the protagonist, and the janitor bot. Okay, the janitor bot was nice). If anything, I was more interested in the crew (Spoiler - click to show) which is a shame since they are dead. We only get to know them through video recordings and see their corpses in the medical bay. They seemed to be a unique blend of species and cultures.

AI characters can be a lot of fun regardless of if they are villainous or friendly. I like it when such characters engage with the player, and Solis does just that. But for some reason, Solis did not have much of an impact on me. I find it hard to pinpoint why.

Despite the (Spoiler - click to show) ominous feeling we get from the “account” of what happened to the crew, Solis does seem genuinely interested about the player. The early gameplay has some cliché “gee, hello there, organic life form,” banter that stretches on a bit. Other times the exchange is more meaningful. I like how discussions tend to incorporate mentions of planets or civilizations that give you a broader sense of the story’s world.

Still, the character lacked in dimension. Remember how I said the game gives you a statistical report of your playthrough? It includes Solis' attitude towards the player which I thought was interesting because it made me reevaluate some of my choices to see how they influenced interactions.

Visuals
Generally, the game uses a black screen and links clearly indicated with light grey rounded boxes. This basic look is offset by some stylization that adds some flair.

For Solis’ dialog, visuals are used to create the impression of looking at a terminal screen, featuring a rounded black textbox with a thick border and green text. This was a simple but effective look. Similarly, when it comes to reading data pads the game puts the text in colour-tinted boxes with rounded corners to simulate the feel of reading off a tablet. All of this was creative and eye-catching.

Final thoughts
Overall, it is a quality game. It was not as potent as I expected, but the gameplay is solid and will likely be appreciated by players. This would be a good choice if you are someone who likes Twine games with a little more technicality because it has plenty of puzzles and freedom of movement to interact with the setting. Its IFComp submission says that its playtime is about two hours which is about accurate. Give it a shot.

If you enjoyed A Long Way to the Nearest Star, you may like Lux, another puzzle intensive sci-fi Twine game where the player heavily relies on the guidance of a mainframe AI as they navigate a nearly NCP-less setting in the aftermath of an unknown disaster. It is also an IFComp game from a few years back.

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.

Hanging by threads kicks off with an exciting and clever intro. You and a group of people are traveling to the city of Oban when the tour guide decides to throw a wrench into the game plan: Only one person gets to enter. The decision is made by drawing sticks. This builds the suspense of winning an exclusive and coveted access to the innards of a mysterious realm. Atmosphere has a faint, faint similarity with Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, minus the candy and the kids. Instead, it is a city suspended over a chasm held together by spider webs.

Gameplay
Once you win the sticks drawing (which is a no-brainer) you make an important choice. Do you take a lantern, knife, or binoculars into the city? Each item opens unique content in the gameplay. This also encourages replays to try each item. If you want my take on it, (Spoiler - click to show) the lantern’s content was the most innovative while the knife’s content provides more exposition on the story. Binocular’s content was interesting too but with less pizazz.

After the intro you can explore the business level or the lower level to see some of the locals. Here, the gameplay is descriptive. Life is a tangle of catwalks and ladders. All you have to do is explore.

Story
The overarching story is intriguing. Turns out that Oban is (Spoiler - click to show) slowly falling apart. There is some secrecy about this. You hear quiet conversations in the game room and bar where people discuss an unnamed decision they need to make. An evacuation, maybe? I cannot say for sure.

There is a major weak point that drags everything down. Sudden and abrupt endings. You are puttering around doing this or that when the game ends with (Spoiler - click to show) (see below):

My surroundings seem strange, as if everything is moving and I can't stand, so I sit where I am. There's no doubt now. I don't have time to watch what the others are doing, and being honest I don't care, they should be ready for it, and I shouldn't be living this situation.

____________________________________
End

??? What does it mean by “others” and what did the player do to cause this ending?

The game is fickle. In one playthrough you may step foot somewhere and be fine. In another, you get this message. Experimenting is tricky because you never know when the game will cut you off. Perhaps there is a pattern that I am missing. But after playing and replaying the game, I still ran into the same issue.

Because of this, I have not reached a winning end. Or any end at all besides the one mentioned here.

Characters
I felt like I did not see enough to really experience the other characters. You do get a sense of people’s livelihoods which was interesting. Instead of (Spoiler - click to show) fishing for fish in a body of water people “fish” for birds inside the chasm beneath the city. Surprisingly, we also learn that (Spoiler - click to show) some people are not too concerned about the city falling apart. They just see it as the natural way of things. But when I had the chance to talk one-on-one with another character the game would come in with the abrupt ending.

The protagonist's background is also unexplored. The gameplay is in first person. We know that the PC is male and uses a cane to walk even though he is relatively young. But that does not stop him from braving the floating walkways. He seems ambitious and I would have liked to know more.

Visuals
The game uses a beige background with black text and a black line at the bottom of the screen. It is a simple design, but the game sometimes surprises the player with extra effects.

The most prominent effect occurs when (Spoiler - click to show) visiting the bar by the catwalk with the lantern. The screen and text are black to hide the words from view, but the player’s mouse is surrounded by a halo of “light” represented by rings that conjure up the appearance of a flashlight illuminating a wall quite convincingly. When you scroll over the words they appear. It closely follows the effect found in another Twine game called my father’s long, long legs where (brief spoiler for that game) (Spoiler - click to show) the protagonist uses a flashlight to search underground tunnels. The only difference is that in this game the light is white instead of *yellow. Either way, this is great application of effects to tell a story.
*Correction: I remembered wrong. They are both white.

There are other effects thrown in there, but I will leave those for you to find. The only criticism I have for design is that there are some noticeable spelling errors.

Final thoughts
It has a lot of great things going for it. Compelling beginning, whimsical setting, and the freedom to simply wander. Unfortunately, there are snags that cut the game short. Just as things get going the game decides to jump out and say, "surprise! The end." If this were fixed, I would give this a higher score, without question.

I do think the surreal city setting makes it a game worth playing for a few playthroughs. But playing one that trips you up with random and contextless endings without providing the ability to save weakens the experience.