Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

Eight Last Signs in the Desert is a surreal Twine game set in a desert where the player contemplates monuments of human civilization. The artwork is FANTASTIC.

For now, I intend for this to be last game I review for IFComp 2025. It seems like a good piece to end with now that the comp is over and everything's been announced.

Gameplay
At least, this is how I understand the gameplay.

My guess is that we’re not in a real-life physical desert, but an intangible setting made of ideas and abstract concepts. However, the nature of the game means the logistics of this are irrelevant. We accept the existence of this surreal world as it is. Knowing what’s going on in the game is a different matter. I’ll do my best.

Trace your steps toward...
➼ the monument to the road cone
➼ the monument to the aardvark cucumber
➼ the monument to the ink cartridge

Gameplay involves visiting seven monuments and “unraveling them.”

You have reached the unflowing monument to the ink cartridge. Its mysterious nested walls and tissues hold a great amorphous power. For now, it stands.

Unravel it.

This involves reflecting on its content, its portrayal of said content, and how it relates to yourself. The player’s choices involve clicking on cycling links to select a prompt to add to the monument.

➼ Seal your choice. Leave the monument

The game combines these monuments together to create a fusion of ideas, experience, and materials influenced by the reflections that you made. These combinations are “unveiled.” The game does this by generating poem-like passages. For example, in one playthrough I combined the ink cartridge and wicker monuments.

A revelation is what you do, it's what you are. The truth of the ink cartridge and wicker quivers in your hands, alive, alight with the awe of the distance between words. Shine a light across the chasm. Shout their beauty.

Unveil them

(What followed next was the generated passage).

The mechanic of combining different monuments adds replay value, but I’m not sure if its monuments are dynamic enough in content to make players eager to experiment with different combinations.

Writing & Genre
While I enjoy surreal works, I lack the background knowledge to analyze and comment on the genre itself. Because of this, I end up using the word "surreal" as a blanket term.

It’s safe to say, though, that this is an abstract game, and its writing reflects that. In comparison with other surreal works, this game will have a narrower audience due to its writing's elaborate style and tone.

Its writing feels like a string of thoughts and is written as if they are being spilled from one’s mind. Consider my fusion of the wicker and ink cartridge monuments:

The story of wicker and the ink cartridge. Picture a reproduction of three-dimensional forms. The voids in between. Initiate the next phase of cleaning only if the print quality is poor. Keep the diagonal above and then below. It is the only way. They warn: this mold will erase our history. As he kneels to take it out, he forgets that they said anything. The instructions say to throw the thing away when there’s less than eight signs left, but as always there are workarounds on the internet. And they know that this is true among the atoms and the galaxies...

It's a lot to process.

I think the game does a consistent job at making players feel as if they are flowing down a waterfall of ideas and concepts. Wading through this content reveals some fascinating ideas. I liked how the newsstand monument is described as a "relic from the paleo-information age."

Sometimes, though, the writing runs into a wall and starts to feel lame and contrived:

Semiconductors are the judges of the real, and there is no such thing as hot glue.

What does this even mean? Maybe its nonsensicalness is intentional, but I’m not feeling it. Fortunately, the game always pulls itself back on track. You will find things to appreciate if you commit to the gameplay.

Story
There’s not really a story, only a mix of themes. If I had to pinpoint the main theme, I’d say it orbits around examining past civilization and what that civilization leaves behind. Sand is a recurring element, and the game reminds us that all things are eventually worn down into sand and atoms.

It does have an ending. (Spoiler - click to show)After visiting and combining the monuments the game turns around and regards you as a monument. As you did with the previous monuments, you unravel yourself. In a self-reflective way. Maybe it’s up to interpretation.

Visuals
The artwork is the best part of the game. It’s exquisite and fits the genre perfectly.

It appears as a layered collage of different materials and styles. It depicts a desert landscape with artifacts scattered on the dunes. The layers create a sense of depth and distance, and objects fade in and out as you investigate each monument. I was enthralled.

The authors are talented. It’s the kind of art I expect to see at an art gallery or a glossy hardcover book. It really illustrates the story. There were times when I simply ignored the text and stared at the details in the artwork. The humanoid picture with the mismatched hands and geometric shapes was one of my favorites!

I’ve played many games with gorgeous visuals, but Eight Last Signs in the Desert stands out with its use of textures.

Like the sand dunes.

It almost suggests that you can touch the screen and feel the sandy surface. I can’t say I’ve played a game that depicts textures like this. The closest work I can think of is Fabricationist DeWit Remakes the World which looks like watercolour on thick paper.

I hope more games experiment with textures.

Other visuals
Text is placed in a black box, usually on the left side of screen. In this sense, the game feels like a picture book with text on one side and visuals on the other, though the game occasionally uses additional boxes as well. It has a thin cream-coloured border which contrasts nicely with the dune imagery in the background.

There’s also a tiny grey box by the main text box that provides a random passage of text. I’m wondering if it represents something in the narrative. Or is it simply a text box? Either way, it offers some interesting passages.

The game does use some fade-in-fade-out effects for the text, but this is an example of using them appropriately to enhance the gameplay instead of slowing it down. It gives the gameplay a contemplative vibe.

Final thoughts
Eight Last Signs in the Desert is a unique game with writing I enjoyed and art that blew me away. It is not a game for the impatient. In fact, it can be a bit dense for anyone with the patience to ponder each line and take it one step at a time. I was pleased with it, nonetheless.

I recommend this game if you want something that focuses on ambience instead of a storyline. The themes on human civilization- and its impermanence- are compelling but not overwhelming. And the art? At least play it to sample the art.

In the end, thoughts are free at last from gravity and the strong force of their nuclei.

The witch girls are a clique of girls at school who can supposedly perform magic. You and your friend Morag have decided to turn to them for help. You want boyfriends. But they tell you: "We don't do love magic."

As if that's going to stop you.

Taking matters into your own hands, you and Morag recreate this spell to create perfect boyfriends. (Be careful what you wish for.)

Gameplay
The gameplay experience is based on how you cast the boyfriend-creating spell. Failure to do it correctly produces… unexpected results. The spell determines which of the three gameplay paths you take, while the specific ending you reach is determined by decisions made later in the game.

The game keeps track of every possible route/path on a page that is made accessible after your first playthrough. Here, you can skip the intro and start after the spell has been cast, allowing you to dive right into the story. This feature was incredibly helpful for replays.

Story
Generally, the game is about agency, longing for independence, and realizing that the grass is often greener on the other side of the fence. It also serves as a demonstration of the dangers of a 13-year-old girl having unrestricted access to magic.

There was a freedom in it, in asking for what you wanted, without the mediation of parents or schools or big sisters. Magic might not have gotten you results, but it got you something better: power, or the idea of it, at least.

That is, until you do get results.

Creating a perfect boyfriend as planned can be considered as the game’s “generic route.” It leans slightly towards slice-of-life rather than horror because it feels more introspective. I do, however, agree with the game calling it the (Spoiler - click to show)“Zombie Route.”

Ultimately, though, this is a horror game. There are other routes.

Let’s say we do a poor job with casting the spell. What could possibly go wrong?

So, there you go. The Witch Girls can take you in some unexpected directions.

Characters
PC
The protagonist is unnamed and has a surface-level backstory which allows the player to step into her shoes without being distracted by characterization. And yet, the whole fiasco of fabricated boyfriends is still an opportunity for character development.

Like everyone, she judges her peers, and these judgments are mixed in with what she knows about her world. A common theme is how she views herself as separate from those girls, only to reevaluate what “those girls” even means, and whether she might actually be one of them. This is usually referring to sex but can overlap with other things.

You weren’t like those chavvy girls who slept with their fourth-year boyfriends and got pregnant. You were better than them.

There’s a tug-of-war between her passing judgement and her also wanting to partake in the exact things she judges. It becomes an on-going journey of self-discovery.

NPCs
I was hoping that we would get to learn a little more about the witch girls we first meet, especially since one of them is Morag’s sister. Shortly after they refuse to help us, they give up witchcraft altogether, freeing up the hut they used as a meeting space. I wonder how they learned not to mess with love magic.

(In that regard, I like how there’s an unofficial passing of the mantle with most of the endings. (Spoiler - click to show)The protagonist and Morag like to hang out in the witch girls’ hut, and whenever someone comes to them for assistance they say, “We don’t do love magic.” Clever way of bringing things full circle.)

Visuals
The game’s appearance is both simple and memorable. It uses a light blue background with black text in a basic but fun font. Most scenes have a small black-and-white picture in the upper left-hand corner that adds atmosphere without being distracting. The picture of the pencils with the smiley-face erasers resonated with me.

Final thoughts
The Witch Girls was a lot of fun. The protagonist is giddy with what magic can achieve for her, and this excitement is felt by the player as well. Horror and humor are equally intertwined, and the author captures a sense of nostalgia by name-dropping music, clothing brands, and pop culture.

My only complaint is how the original witch girls are glossed over. What’s their story? Just a little more explanation would have provided dimension instead of them being shoved aside. Are we just mirror reflections of them, if only a bit younger (and cooler, of course)?

That aside, The Witch Girls excels in every department. Play it, and you’ll learn why it’s best to steer clear from love magic.

Note: I've decided to make my rating not count towards the game's average because while the rating reflects how I feel about the game, I did not exactly play it in the spirit the author intended: That is, I took the easy way out with almost every puzzle.

We play as Galaxy Jones, a heroine clad in a high-tech suit. She’s on a mission to save Mars from being destroyed by its own moon, Phobos.

Gameplay
Background: There are two factions present in the story. Humans and the Sirius Syndicate, a collective of alien cyborgs who have a touchy history with humanity. The Syndicate has decided to weaponize Phobos by sending it on a collision course to the red planet.

The game takes place on a (mostly) evacuated Sirian base located in Phobos’ Stickney Crater. Gameplay is centered on bypassing colour-coded doors through hacking. To do this, the player solves math-oriented puzzles. I can’t say this was my cup of tea. Math is not my strong point. My hat is off to those who excel at math, but me? It went over my head.

Thankfully, you can always smash through most of these doors with your powered Smart Suit! The catch is that you don’t get any points for doing so. (For what it’s worth, the (Spoiler - click to show)purple door can’t be smashed, but I ended up enjoying the puzzle to bypass it. It’s a translation puzzle where you match numbers with symbols to input the door’s code.)

I’m glad that the game provides a way for anyone to finish the game so they can see the story to its conclusion. My high score?

There are also materials written in an alien language that can be partially translated, and our translations steadily improve the more we translate. We even start to understand the intercom messages, revealing that the facility is counting down to when Phobos gets fired at Mars. This adds urgency without rushing the player since the game is extremely generous with this time limit.

I will say, Phobos: A Galaxy Jones Story is rather sparse in content. I understand that the focus is on the door puzzles. But the rooms seem so… empty. Their descriptions are brief and miss the opportunity to create atmosphere and/or worldbuilding which could be done without taking focus away from the puzzles.

Story
At first it seems like Phobos: A Galaxy Jones Story is going to be a stark binary of humans (good guys) vs. irredeemable cyborg alien race (bad guys), which is common in science fiction. The game goes in a different direction.

A more accurate way of putting it would be, (Spoiler - click to show)“humans are jerks, and the aliens are tired of their crap,” prompting said aliens to lash out by slamming Phobos into Mars… killing innocent people. Both sides have a hand in the mess that Galaxy Jones is trying to resolve.

There’s not much meat on the bone in terms of backstory. What I gathered was that (Spoiler - click to show)the aliens lived on a temperate planet until their star, Sirius, destroyed its solar system with a solar flare. Humanity came along and offered sanctuary and assistance, only to take advantage of aliens’ desperation by strictly controlling their way of life.

The Sirians have had enough…

…and yet, (Spoiler - click to show)they aren’t the unwavering anti-human faction they seem to be when we first step foot into their base.

Characters
For such a cool character, Galaxy Jones gets little attention in this game, which is in line with the game’s puzzle-oriented nature. I should note that Phobos: A Galaxy Jones Story is an offshoot of Galaxy Jones, a Spring Thing 2023 entry. While I haven’t played that game to completion, it seems to have more coverage on our protagonist.

There is one notable NPC: (Spoiler - click to show)a guard who is also the last Sirian left on the base.

Final thoughts
I love science fiction, and while Phobos: A Galaxy Jones Story fits that genre, I realize I’m not its target audience. It’s math-focused puzzles are the main event, and I confess that I caved with them. Because of this, I’m not able to give this game an entirely fair assessment.

That said, the game feels a bit too barebones, regardless of puzzles. I’m not asking for more characters or plot twists or inventory items. But a little more content in the room descriptions would go a long way. And yet, the game still has its heartwarming moments.

If you like math-based puzzles, play this game. And if the premise interests you, play it because you can always smash down (most) doors like I did. Otherwise, it may not be the game for you.

Grocery shopping. Again.

You play as an unnamed protagonist who begrudgingly hauls herself into the local supermarket to complete the weekly errand of buying groceries. You only have $20 in your pocket, so budget wisely.

Gameplay involves going through the store and deciding which groceries to buy. It soon becomes clear that (Spoiler - click to show)buying groceries isn't important. Turns out this mundane errand is the protagonist's desperate grasp for any normalcy because, well... it's the apocalypse.

The strength of Errand Run is how the protagonist knows more about her situation than we do, leaving us in the dark until the end where it pulls a delightful bait-and-switch.

Now, we do know that something's going on. The lights are off, the AC doesn't work, and the store is understocked. But you can be fooled into thinking that the world is simply going through a rough patch. Local food shortages, overdemand of the power grid, etc.

With a sigh, you step through the automatic doors of the local supermarket. No blast of cool air whisks over to greet you; the AC's been acting up for months now.

Oh, no, no, no.

The game’s writing is frosting on the cake. Its cynical humor provides commentary about the task at hand without being too dire. The author builds on this visually through text effects and colours that convey (Spoiler - click to show)the protagonist’s wobbly mental state.

To conclude, Errand Run is a brief horror game about (Spoiler - click to show)crawling back to the familiar because the entire world has gone to pieces. It doesn’t go deep with its story, but it doesn't need to.

Where it doesn’t have depth, it sure has attitude.

Saltwrack follows a perilous expedition across an unforgiving arctic landscape. The story is bleak. The odds are grim. The characters search for secrets best left undisturbed.

Gameplay
Saltwrack describes itself as a “post-post-apocalyptic” story in a world that has been devastated by snowfalls of salt and an ice age. The land is now one vast deposit of salt, also known as a wrack. Human civilization resides in six cities, existing as points of light, huddled at the edges of this harsh wasteland.

You are an interpreter- a scientist. The Observational Society has agreed to fund your proposal: to journey to the center of a salty wrack to discover its secrets. No one has attempted such a journey.

But first you select two individuals to aid you on the expedition: a saltwalker and an oracle. Saltwalkers know the physical landscape through experience and excel at survival, while oracles have precognition and interpret dreams. There are two candidates for both categories, providing incentive for replays.

The entire expedition- traveling to the wrack’s center and returning to the city of Hearth- is expected to take 40 days. Player decisions center on navigating the land with the guidance provided by your travelling companions. The game keeps track of your progress at the top of the screen.

Day 1 | Miles travelled: 40 | Rations: Plentiful

You also collect specimens and samples as proof of your discoveries. And no save features, either. Death looms behind every action.

All sorts of unexpected things can happen.

What frustrates me about the gameplay is how your choices don’t always have as much influence as you would think.

For example, (Spoiler - click to show)the number of specimens I brought back to the Observational Society had no effect on whether they believed my account of the expedition. The protagonist takes notes automatically, but surely physical specimens are needed as proof, right? Turns out, you can skip every opportunity to collect samples, and the Society will still believe you.

There are also moments where the game overrides the impact of your previous choices in favor of a pre-determined outcome. Sometimes the (Spoiler - click to show)female saltwalker would leave even when I followed her advice and established a good rapport with her through conversation. It felt like the game simply wanted her to be taken out of the picture, rapport or no rapport.

Despite this occasional rigidness, the game still managed to surprise me. I didn't think it was possible, but I somehow managed to (Spoiler - click to show)make it to Hearth with the second oracle where we recovered in the hospital clinic together. Usually, the oracles either die or choose to stay in the wrack.

I enjoyed finding every salt-sign glyph encountered by the saltwalkers. I found glyphs for (Spoiler - click to show)Contamination, Trap, and Death.

Story
The game is somewhat reserved in the amount of backstory it provides, but from the looks of it, there is a dead city in the center of the wrack. This city was once a hot spot for technological advancement until something devastated the world. You intend to find its origin. Spoilers.

Fortunately, there are other endings that are slightly more optimistic.

Further impressions
The wrack is probably the coolest (I don’t mean that as a pun) piece of frozen wasteland I’ve encountered in interactive fiction.

It’s interesting how it (Spoiler - click to show)almost has its own consciousness, tied in with the local ecosystem and (I assume) independent from what we find in the facility. Exploring the wrack for too long can result in you becoming “wrack-touched,” where you gain oracle-like abilities that enhance how you perceive the world. Your body’s biology can even be altered.

The protagonist is surprised to see that the wrack is not devoid of life. Rather, unfamiliar organisms- extremophiles- have appeared, their biology allowing them to thrive in this cold wasteland. I love the concise yet vivid way the writing describes these creatures.

Hydras, polyps, a profusion of tiny invisible life.

This life, however, is absent in the city ruins. We learn, vaguely, that the (Spoiler - click to show)anomaly created in the facility would consume natural ecosystems and produce salt as a waste product. That’s probably the clearest answer we’ll get.

We tend to envision the future as being high-tech, but Saltwrack approaches this differently. It appears that the saltfall and ice age has knocked humanity backwards in technological advancement. Any tech we encounter feels rediscovered. While there is no mention of computers or radio communication, we wear clothing made of synthetic fibers and travel in an experimental machine powered by a motor engine.

Parallels to our world
As is often the case with my reviews, I like to take a detour to explore some broader concepts. Feel free to skip this part. I'll stick it under a spoiler tag to take up less space.

Visuals
Just a basic black screen with white text formatted neatly in the center. Links are underlined and stats are clearly listed at the top. Its lack of frills fits with the game’s grim, no-nonsense atmosphere.

Final thoughts
Saltwreck is an intriguingly desolate work of horror with vivid writing that conveys the bleak, salty expanse of the wrack and the expedition that attempts to cross it. There are a variety of events that can happen during the journey, encouraging many playthroughs.

Over time, the gameplay can start to feel inflexible, but the descriptiveness of the setting and its harsh realities make it difficult to turn away. I enjoyed it immensely.

(And if there’s spiky mold on your rations, don’t eat it.)

...early spring in the valley of glass, the first of the seven years you promised to the village blacksmith. Your breath clouds in the crisp morning air as you walk the North Road, your borrowed coat wrapped tight against the chill...

Gameplay in valley of glass is brief. You start on a road.

One thing is clear: you have journeyed a long way to where you are now. Traveling in different compass directions from this starting point allows you to sample some of the protagonist’s memories of their journey- but only briefly. Ultimately, the only place for us is south: to a village where we begin the seven years of working for the blacksmith.

It’s easy to overlook this fact, but the game is a snippet borrowed from the “Black Bull of Norroway,” a folk tale from Scotland. Feel free to look it up if you want the full story. (Yes, I crawled to Wikipedia). Here is what I gleaned about the backstory:

The protagonist is female. She is the youngest of three sisters (hinted by the boots’ description), all of which were sent out on a quest to learn about their futures. The fruits we have in our inventory were gifts from a friendly bull.

In the folk tale, she and the bull travel until they reach a place called the “valley of glass.” At one point the bull has business to attend to and gives the girl some instructions. While he was gone, she was not to move. At all. They would continue traveling upon his return. Unfortunately, she flubs these instructions (although it's hard to blame her).

And so, she finds herself stuck in the valley. She cannot escape- it's made of glass. Too slippery, apparently. All she can do is commit to serving a blacksmith in a nearby village for seven years. After seven years, the blacksmith gives her a pair of iron shoes that allow her to climb out of the valley. There’s more to the story, but I’ll stop there.

Having read all this, I found it easier to appreciate the game. It was kind of fun seeing what details in the game are taken from the folk tale. The protagonist’s reason for carrying non-edible fruit now makes sense.

If you’ve not read the folk tale, the game feels disjointed and directionless. It essentially boils down to (Spoiler - click to show)going south and going in (to a house). The end. No character interactions or explanation. You think that’s it? Reading the folk tale in advance provides needed clarity.

I understand that with this game, less is more. I like that it does not try to fit the entire folk tale into the game. But rather than providing a succinct, minimalist experience, it feels under implemented. The default parser response ("as good-looking as ever") for examining oneself also contributes to its sparseness. Guess-the-verb is also an issue when trying to (Spoiler - click to show)enter the blacksmith’s house.

The game needs further development before I can give it a higher rating, but it’s almost there. I encourage the author to deepen the interactivity available to the player and provide a bit more exposition on the protagonist. A post-comp release, maybe?

Ultimately, I like its atmosphere and concept.

You turn your back on the ridgeline, and return to the work ahead.

You've been informed about a photography contest.

A contest where participants explore abandoned buildings to photograph "something never meant to be seen." Sounds like your idea of fun. Following a map found on Reddit, you sneak into an abandoned underground train station in hopes of finding the perfect shot.

Gameplay
Gameplay involves exploring the station, including a non-moving train. The player is armed with a camera that can take 10 photos, all of which will be submitted to the contest and determine your score at the end of the game. You meet characters along the way and open doors that you’re not meant to open.

Implementation needs work, especially with guess-the-verb challenges that stand in the way of solving otherwise easy puzzles. This occurs primarily with using the key cards to unlock doors and combining the carabiner with the rope.

Overall, there are rough areas that could be smoothed out. For instance, the game never acknowledges the backpack it claims you have:

>take carabiner
Carabiners have many uses besides rock climbing. You toss it in your backpack.

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

It's also possible to pick up the vending machine.

You are carrying:
a vending machine (closed)

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the puzzles and the colour-coded tunnels. There are several get-past-the-locked-door puzzles, but they are fairly self-explanatory. I also like how there are two ways of (Spoiler - click to show)bypassing the door that leads to the green tunnel.

Story/Characters
I was initially frustrated by the characters because the game seems to shoehorn the player's actions with them. There's a lot of "maybe you should do such and such first before [your desired action]" which can strip the gameplay of its dimension.

>x key card
A small dark blue card, about the size of a credit card. It appears to be significantly worn from years of riding around in the officer's uniform.

>take it
You feel like you'd better ask about the card first. It's the polite thing to do.

Only for us to lull the officer to sleep so we can steal it. Not so polite, after all.

Plus, characters’ behavior did not seem entirely rational- suspiciously tailored to the player’s task. In fact, you can skip the Lily puzzle if you already know about (Spoiler - click to show)Barry. She has no other stake in the game.

(Also: Rat Man was fun. 'RATTY' Ralph from Gerbil Riot of '67 came to mind when I saw him.)

Final thoughts
Clickbait has a strong overarching premise and builds on the appeal of sneaking into places we’re not supposed to be. The protagonist is clearly psyched to win the competition, and this enthusiasm is conveyed in the gameplay. That said, the quality is hindered by rough implementation, largely with guess-the-verb.

It’s not a seamless game, but the author seems to have put a lot of thought and care into its creation. It doesn’t take long play, and the twist at the end gives it greater depth than what appears on the surface.

As the title suggests, the game takes place at the Human Resources Administration (HRA) in New York City. You are an alien sent on a mission to sign up for SNAP, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as part of your studies on human culture. Disguised as a human, you hope to see how SNAP helps people dealing with food insecurity!

Or at least how it’s supposed to help people.

Gameplay
The game takes place in a waiting room where we follow instructions on applying for SNAP. There are no puzzles. As the player we primarily observe the bureaucracy involved as we navigate a kiosk, dismissive staff, paperwork, and a line of people.

Our protagonist has the ability to “freeze” their surroundings in a temporal bubble of green light, rendering everyone and everything frozen in time. This is done to take notes and make observations before returning to reality.

I want to give this game a higher rating. Its exploration into its subject matter is strong, but as a game it ends too abruptly. The turning point happens after we’ve submitted our paperwork.

Story
Rather than focusing on a plot, A Visit to the Human Resources Administration strives to highlight the bureaucratic inadequacies that hinder obtaining social services such as SNAP. And it does an effective job at this.

For example, if you choose “Sarah Traballano-Williams” as your human name, you discover that the kiosk does not have a key for the dash symbol. A staff member says it’s okay to omit it… only for this to clash with the application process several minutes later.

"Your name in the paperwork says Sarah TraballanoWilliams, one word, and your ID says Sarah Traballano DASH Williams. Your name needs to match."

One small snag that can setback your progress. And what about needing to show a photo ID to apply for a new photo ID because your old one got stolen? This is the reality people face in real life.

The game points out that humans’ need to eat does not get put on hold until you fill out paperwork (again), reenter your info online (hopefully you still have access to a computer and internet connection), and possibly wait three to five business days for such and such to be processed and approved.

And what happens if, “sorry, the system isn't working right now?”

When the system fails, struggling people have to contort themselves and navigate unnecessary obstacles to make up for this failure.

SNAP
What initially drew me to this game was its coverage on SNAP.

I have never experienced food insecurity. However, I became aware of SNAP when I participated in a volunteer/learning program that included the “SNAP Challenge.”

In this challenge, we went to different stores and filled a cart with what we would buy if we were on SNAP. We then compared the hypothetical groceries from each store to see how one’s choices were affected by pricing and item availability. A common question was "do I buy higher quantities of food with lower nutritional value, or do I buy less food- and therefore have less to eat- but with better nutrition?" How would this factor in if you had a family to feed? Or lived in a food desert?

It was eye-opening. And yet, I still have a lot to learn.

Now, I thought that the game would portray some of that. Instead, it’s merely on applying for SNAP. And that suits the game’s purposes just fine. Besides, we end up applying for Cash Assistance instead (since the system isn’t working right, we’re told). I’m just curious at what observations the protagonist would make if they had a chance to purchase food with their newly acquired benefits.

Further discussion
The author, a social worker, offers some powerful takeaways that are discussed at the end of the game. Studies can reduce vulnerable people (such as those dealing with food insecurity) into data points. This quantification distances research from the realities endured by its subjects, and we see fragments of this with the game’s protagonist.

In a way, there’s a systemic suspicion towards individuals who apply for help, a default assumption that you’re trying to exploit the system… until you jump through every hoop to demonstrate otherwise. People need to eat. You don’t need studies to prove that.

If food is central to human existence, why are the machines to get SNAP lacking basic functions such as a working text interface?

Questioning the legitimacy of programs (and committing to them) that help reach the objective of no one going hungry makes little sense.

Characters
Initially, I was expecting a story where an alien finds themselves on Earth and must receive benefits to survive. The game takes a different route by using an alien PC sent to Earth on a mission. They don’t actually experience food insecurity firsthand. I do think the investigative approach of the protagonist’s mission and their status as a being from another world allows us to examine SNAP and its infrastructure with a more neutral, straightforward manner. The player is made more aware of real-world issues.

However, the most compelling aspect of this game is how it considers the protagonist’s actions as being potentially problematic. They choose to participate in these missions because they want to "experience alien cultures directly." They are well-meaning and make the vital observation that for a system that is meant to help people, it is not designed with this objective in mind.

The game also name-drops some of the protagonist’s colleagues, but they have no greater effect on the story.

Visuals
Keeps it simple. It uses the default Twine appearance of a black background, white text, and blue links. Everything is easy to read and neatly spaced.

Final thoughts
I'm glad this game exists. It's an equal blend of light-heartedness and seriousness to convey important ideas about food insecurity and the bureaucracy that gets in the way of addressing it. Plus, the alien character adds flair.

As a social worker, the author brings valuable insight to this game, and I enjoyed their concise yet descriptive writing. They nailed the bathroom scene with its dwindling liquid hand soap and germy hand dryer.

I do wish the game was longer (or at least less linear) and allowed the player’s choices to have a larger impact on the story’s trajectory. That way, we have a chance to see the impact of our choices. And what’s up with (Spoiler - click to show)Skrzyyyyt? The protagonist doesn’t seem to like them.

Nonetheless, A Visit to the Human Resources Administration is well worth your time.

The Hobbit… and Total Recall. Combined. I wonder why the author picked these two works out of countless other options.

As the title suggests, Hobbiton Recall is a sci-fi/fantasy mashup featuring elements from both The Hobbit and Total Recall. It’s an ambitious work with a mix of strengths and flaws.

Also, I have been unable to finish it, so I’m going to wait on assigning it a rating.

We are David Crow. The game begins with David having a nightmare about being a hobbit on a quest in a place called Hobbiton. He wakes up. It’s time for work.

NOTE: The game flip-flops between Hobbiton and Hobbington. I’m not sure if this is a misspelling or if there are two separate places, so I’ll default to Hobbiton in this review.

Story
I’m going to break from my usual review structure and discuss the story first.

Story (as I understand it)
This is about the story I encountered up until I stopped playing.

The story kicks off at Fallows Toothpaste Industries where David works with his friend, Mike. Mike reveals that he spent the weekend in VR at a place called Rekall and recommends the experience to David. After a lengthy puzzle about (Spoiler - click to show)delivering a urine sample, we go to Rekall’s sleek facility and end up in a VR chair.

Thoughts on story
The Hobbit and Total Recall. Still grappling with that pairing…

Unlike Total Recall, I only have a faint understanding of The Hobbit (I’m a sci-fi fan). It seems that the plot follows that of Total Recall while the content (characters, locations, etc.) borrows from The Hobbit.

Despite my familiarity with Total Recall, I had to revisit it to refresh my memory before I could pinpoint how it’s featured in Hobbiton Recall. Some parts were obvious.

I was hoping for more sci-fi elements. The closest we get is when we visit Rekall’s shiny skyscraper for a VR experience. That, and a vaguely cyberpunk scene in a nightclub. Of course, I haven’t finished the game, though I have a feeling that it’s only going to be more hobbit stuff.

In other words, Hobbiton Recall captures the storyline of Total Recall but not its essence. Its focus on hobbits, elves, (Spoiler - click to show)Randalf, and a (Spoiler - click to show)toothpaste dragon only makes it more confusing.

Gameplay
Overview
Hobbiton Recall is made with Gruescipt, a system that has been described as a parser-choice hybrid or pseudo-parser. You don’t use a keyboard, only clicking, but the commands are ones that you would input in a parser game.

In this case, the player makes gameplay choices by clicking on pink tab-like buttons. The screen lists the characters, objects, and scenery that you can interact with. Beneath is a section for your inventory.

You're holding:
A can of Insect-Be-Gone (empty) [spray] [drop]

You're wearing:
clothes [remove]

Clicking on an item in the inventory lists the possible actions you can take with it, including combining it with another item in your possession.

There are some rough patches. (Spoiler - click to show)You can retrieve the plate of sausages from the table in Norbit’s cabin repeatedly even after you eat them. Similarly, if you remove the gold pen from Tom’s desk and then revisit the desk, the pen is teleported from your inventory and back into the desk. Chests, containers, and other structures are listed as being closed when the player had already opened them (and vice versa).

I don’t mean to be ungrateful or dismissive, but it frustrates me when authors half-commit to their hint guides, as is the case with Hobbiton Recall. To be clear, I don’t expect hints to necessarily cover every bit of content. I do expect them to at least aid you to finish the game in some form. Especially with a lengthy game like Hobbiton Recall.

Currently, the provided hints are merely for the first itty-bitty sliver of gameplay. It’s not like “once you get past the dog, you’re halfway there.” Oh no. You’re in for hours of gameplay with no guidance. It was almost as if the inclusion of a walkthrough on the game’s IFComp entry was meant more to dash my hopes of completing the game than guiding me. Plus, hints would be helpful because it’s possible to reach unwinnable states.

For example, I caused an unwinnable state because I failed to acquire an object before its location was made inaccessible. I neglected (Spoiler - click to show)to take the rizla paper at the tobacco store when the shopkeeper turned his back. When I set him up with the elf from the cattery, he leaves and closes the shop. As a result, I had no way of making the spliff to get the protestors to leave.

Fortunately, I saved regularly as I played. I knew (hopefully) what I missed and where to restore a previous save.

My experience
As I mentioned at the start of this review, I have been unable to finish the game. After 4+ hours, I figured, what the heck, time to proceed with the review.

In case anyone is curious, this is as far as I went with my quest:

I think I would be interested in revisiting, given enough directions.

Characters
David Crowe is a difficult protagonist to root for. It sucks that he gets (Spoiler - click to show)betrayed by his wife and friend, but he was a bit of a misogynistic jerk to begin with. He shows little compassion for his wife and mocks women in general.

You are in the shed. This is where Mavis comes to have a little cry when she's having one of her 'episodes'.

Heck, he gets annoyed when his tired wife yawns. At least he’s not Gobbo.

> shoot gobbo
Without hesitation, you squeeze the trigger. Gobbo’s tiny body is ripped apart by a hail of bullets.

He slams into the rockface with a sickening *splut*, then slowly slides down, leaving a long, wet, red smear.

I don’t have time for Gobbo’s riddles. No one calls me a sexy hobbit.

Anyway, I have yet to see David undergo any character development, but he’s going to have to make major changes if he wants any fans from players. As for the NPCs, some are more memorable than others. None of them stand out as spectacular but they inject humor into the gameplay.

Also, I can’t believe the game allows you to (Spoiler - click to show)kill Norbit. What an awful thing to do. At least he doesn’t have to worry about his back anymore.

Visuals
Hobbiton Recall features art for most of its locations, and it’s all A.I.-generated. Overall, the graphics are serviceable but forgettable. They illustrate scenes in a generic way. I never felt that they pulled me into the story’s world although I don't think they detract from the game, either. The stylization reminds me of an Adventuron game.

The beginning of the game starts with an animated starfield which was cool.

Final thoughts
How do I feel about this game? Like skateboarding down a smooth road with potholes. It’s an enjoyable ride until you fall and scrape your knee and wonder if it’s worth continuing. And you’re likely to continue, but those potholes really put a dent in the experience.

Taking Total Recall and swapping out its characters and locations for magical alternatives does not work as well as the author may have hoped. At minimum, the delivery needs work.

And while the puzzles are decent, it becomes increasingly difficult to foresee when you might render the game unwinnable, taking away from the player’s enjoyment of the story. More thorough hints would be appreciated. That said, I liked the feeling of going down a rabbit hole and the notion of peeling back a protagonist’s reality only to realize it’s concealing the truth.

And I can’t deny the game’s wittiness. The literal red herring in the fridge was clever. I also found it somewhat amusing how examining the portable bathroom outside the hotel gives us three full paragraphs of description as if copied from a product manual.

…a self-contained, temporary sanitation unit typically found on construction sites and at outdoor events. Constructed from lightweight, durable polyethylene… etc.

The more you know.

To conclude, give Hobbiton Recall a try because it has its fun parts. But don’t feel too bad if you can’t finish it.

Grove of Bones begins with an intro in the form of a campfire story.

Years ago, the village was on the brink of death. No rain, no crops, no food, nothing. Then a man visits bringing saplings. He claims that the saplings will provide the village with everything it needs to flourish... as long as regular blood sacrifices are made. They are horrified. He knows he has them in a corner. If they turn down his offer, they won't last long.

He also knows how to stir the pot.

He tells them that guiltier the sacrifice, the better bounty the trees will provide. Suddenly, any moral qualms evaporate. Blood sacrifices aren't so bad if the person deserves it, right? And so, they agree. Sacrifices shall occur every blood moon. The saplings grew into trees located in an area they called the "Grove of Bones."

You play as one of the villagers listening to the story (btw, it’s also a blood moon).

The game lets the player choose their gender as well as whether they previously had a wife or husband. For some reason, your spouse was previously deemed a candidate for the grove. You still have your son, Treya.

Naturally, your son also becomes the village’s latest pick for the blood sacrifice. Gameplay involves making decisions to protect Treya. The defining choice in the gameplay is whether (Spoiler - click to show)you take a bottle of salt or some flint and steel with you as you take your kid to the grove. Both serve the same function but unlock two different achievements.

The game ends with a brief epilogue, and you can restart the game halfway for replays. I found three endings. I am pleased to say (Spoiler - click to show)none of them involve Treya being harmed. Take that, trees.

Intentionally or not, Grove of Bones makes it easy to dislike the village. Or at least, the village leader.

The game strongly predisposes the player into siding with the protagonist over the village’s needs. Collectively, the villagers are depicted as cowardly, spiteful, uncaring, more than ready to point fingers and throw their neighbors under the bus. And perhaps that is the nature of their community.

An interesting point is also made: the villagers have become so reliant on the trees’ apples that they’ve neglected cultivating other food sources. The implication of (Spoiler - click to show)destroying the trees becomes much worse.

I think the game could have been stronger if it elaborated why the protagonist’s spouse was taken. The characters say they were “guilty” of something. Did they do something sketchy or were they picked because of something trivial? This is important because it (Spoiler - click to show)triggers a fight among the children, a fight that results in the village condemning Treya to the grove. Further context would have made the children’s fight more understandable.

To conclude, I was expecting a long ChoiceScript game with lots of text.

Not at all.

Grove of Bones is a smallish-sized game that keeps its word count down to what is necessary to the story without skimping on suspenseful content. The story is evenly paced, the implementation encourages multiple playthroughs, and its use of sun and moon imagery adds flair.

It’s a game that forces one to consider the needs of the group against the wants of the individual while cutting us considerable slack (Spoiler - click to show)if we choose to grab the kid, turn, and run.