Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

Growth under the Dome is an Ink game that describes itself as a “Solarpunk coming of age story.” A compelling story, but also one that is hobbled by various issues.

Being a submission to inkJam 2025, it appears that the author created an improved, post-comp version of the game. According to its itch.io page, this is identified as Growth under the Dome - fixed. My review will be based on this version.

Overview
Everyone lives in a structure called the “Dome.” Life thrives, but has rigid societal roles. Reminiscent of the Divergent series, the transition to adulthood occurs in a ceremony where young people publicly select the role they will have for the rest of their life. This ceremony serves as the game’s intro. The ceremony involves placing a wood tablet engraved with one's name into one of four baskets: farming, maintenance, lake management, and record keeping/public speaking.

The night passes, and you certainly enjoy this last party as a child.

Tomorrow, you’ll wake up as an adult.

The time has come for you and your peers to make this decision.

Gameplay
After the ceremony, gameplay moves in monthly increments. At the end of each month, the game asks where you want to do next. It’s (highly) expected that you stick with the role that you initially chose.

What will you be this month?

Sun Director (level 0)
Lake Tickler (level 0)
Dome Fixer (level 0)
Voice Lender (level 2)

I will be none of that

However, switching roles, while frowned upon, is not forbidden (slacking off is also an option). The game makes it clear that you must change roles to advance the story. A happiness mechanic is used to illustrate this.

You sense it’s taking a toll on your moral and your body.

(-1 happiness)

The aim is to sample each role to discover a new insight about the Dome, opening up opportunities to cause mischief and better understand the Dome’s limitations. With enough persistence, (Spoiler - click to show)it’s possible to leave the Dome entirely. Otherwise, the game ends with the Cloudmouth festival, 21 months after the intro.

Unfortunately, the gameplay doesn’t always acknowledge the player’s choices.

Your second month as a Sun director flies by… People seem to avoid you since you left and came back.

Left and came back? I was only here for two months! When the Grassgrowth season begins, your friends inform you that your constant switching of roles is making people nervous. Except, this conversation still occurs even if you never switched.

Story
Backstory is scarce with only brief mention of an “Accident” prior to the Dome’s construction, but it’s not enough to answer basic questions we may have. Was it built in response to a natural or human-made disaster? If we break one of the roof panels to see outside, we glimpse a thriving wilderness, not a wasteland. But people are more interested in remaining in the familiarity of the Dome where the sun is displayed on the ceiling via a control panel. I am curious about the history behind all of this.

My main frustration is how the story starts out strong concept but starts to deteriorate and towards the end. It loses focus.

It would have been interesting if the game elaborated on the purpose of singing. Apparently, singing is used to direct sunlight to crops among other applications. I wonder how that works.

Characters
This game also reminds me of The Giver in the sense that there is a growing divide between the protagonist and their peers when it comes to questioning the status quo of the world they live in. In both works, there is an “outside” world said to be full of danger. Fortunately, everyone is content to stick to their assigned roles in the safety of a sequestered community. The protagonists find themselves at odds with said community when they start asking questions that no one wants to consider, especially questions about (Spoiler - click to show)leaving.

It’s suggested that the game’s protagonist is somewhat of an outsider. They seem to have a history that sets them apart from everyone else. The closest answer get is through the protagonist’s relationship with their mother. She wants them to follow expectations and adhere to tradition. Apparently, something happened to their father. He is dead, although their mother is strongly in denial of this.

The protagonist’s central trait is their rejection of conformity and how they challenge the taboo of changing roles. Why should one’s life be determined by a tablet in basket? It leaves no room for flexibility. The game does a nice job in conveying the quiet scandal people associated with such abnormal choices. Everyone’s all did you see that? They changed roles! Meanwhile, the protagonist shrugs off any disapproval, though they do find themselves growing apart from childhood friends.

The bottom line is that the protagonist doesn’t fit in with the society inside the Dome. (Spoiler - click to show)They want out. Only then will they have room to grow.

Final thoughts
It seems that solarpunk stories are becoming more common, and I’ve enjoyed playing games like Growth under the Dome.

The game’s overall premise is intriguing because it allows players to choose their own role in a structured society and whether they want to commit to it or go against the grain. By choosing the latter, we get an exhilarating sense of freedom anytime we break the rules. The protagonist’s imagination of the outside world is contrasted with the stifling life inside the Dome, (Spoiler - click to show)setting stage for when they finally leave it all behind.

That said, it has glaring flaws that detract from the experience, even as a post-comp release. Besides the implementation and narrative issues that I’ve already discussed, there are a lot of spelling and grammar issues, particularly with formatting dialogue. But as a coming-of-age story with a slight sci-fi bent, Growth under the Dome is still worth your time.

Note: Don’t be turned off by my rating. I found it tough to rate because it feels like it should be higher, and yet, I needed to be realistic. I hope this review clarifies things.

The supernatural carries a stigma that leaves its victims scrabbling for support. But when it’s taboo to even discuss such matters, support is hard to find. That’s where you come in.

This is my calling. I investigate this kind of stuff. The dangers that play out just at the edge of society. The threats from things that… aren’t human.

You are a traveling exorcist who goes from city to city offering your services to those who contact you. Of course, this means you live with this stigma everywhere you go.

But being a professional, it’s all part of the job.

A submission to Ectocomp 2025 in the Le Grand Guignol category.

Gameplay
Exorcist Tipline makes a strong first impression with its fast-paced, suspenseful opening scene. It provides both a glimpse of the work the protagonist does and the stigma around anything supernatural. I was excited!

The main gameplay begins with the protagonist moving to a new city. The plan is to stay at a hotel for seven weeks. After that, it’s time to move on and the game ends. At the start of each day, the player checks their answering machine for any new cases. Next, they choose from a list of possible actions.

-Go to map location
-Research in the library
-Spend the day warding
-Prepare the coinboard for divination
-Go over notes

Aside from checking your notes, each action takes up one day. Being 48 days long, the gameplay will run on the longer side. During this time, seven cases will be made available.

Implementation
The implementation is the game’s fatal flaw.

When I say, “difficult to play,” I mean that it can feel borderline impossible to make any progress towards solving the cases. The problem is that the player has little way of knowing what to do after they first meet with a client. On top of this, the gameplay’s rigidness makes it difficult to experiment and fully appreciate the city setting.

The notes only list your active cases. Rarely are they updated with new information, leaving it up to the player to remember everything. Characters may drop snippets of info when you first meet them and that’s it. If you miss a key detail, your mistake. For example, (Spoiler - click to show)Randall only mentions his local church- which you can visit- once. The notes can’t even be accessed at the library while you’re doing research.

The biggest issue is how the player’s progress can go unrecognized. Consider (Spoiler - click to show)Randall again. His dead mom is supposedly sending people tapes of him doing awkward things. At one point, we receive one. I figured the practical thing to do would be to go talk to him about it. But when I did, the game acted like I had nothing relevant to share.

My main takeaway is this: If there was a hint guide to nudge the player in the right direction, it would be enough to help them navigate around the implementation issues and at least enjoy the story. Being able to save the game would be nice, though I was relieved to see that the game (Spoiler - click to show)sends you to a checkpoint if you die.

Story
I love the overall premise: an exorcist provides a discrete support system for those who are otherwise shunned, dismissed, or ignored. Rather than having a “main” story, Exorcist Tipline is more akin to a collection of stories that coexist at once. I’ll use this section to reflect on my experience with the cases.

The game makes it easy to care about the characters, especially when a client’s loved ones are involved. Exorcist Tipline is ultimately a game about helping people. But without any direction, it quickly becomes a game about letting everyone down.

Redbridges, population circa 800,000.

That said, I enjoyed the city setting and its subtle urban fantasy vibe.

Visuals
The visuals are a strength. Exorcist Tipline is made with both Ink and Godot. In the center of the screen is a black column with white text. Behind it is a backdrop that depicts the setting. An innovative feature is pop-up imagery used for maps and the divination board. To use the board, the player drags coin icons and flips them onto the board in search of meaning. This was a fantastic way of making the game more interactive.

I liked the character portraits. Disarming but not too cartoonish. Not every character has one, but I enjoyed the ones that were featured. Now, if you’re not careful, (Spoiler - click to show)the supernatural will come searching for you… at night. This is illustrated as a shadowy figure appearing on the screen, followed by a face. Not quite a jumpscare, but creepy enough to be unnerving.

Unfortunately, there is slow timed text. Inconvenient, but manageable. However, when a major event occurs, the text will sometimes speed through it before you have a chance to fully process it! That was worse.

Final thoughts
If it weren’t for the implementation, Exorcist Tipline would shine. I was impressed by its complexity. The parts I liked I really liked. But that’s not enough to fully make up for the implementation issues. I hope the author continues to develop this game. Or at least publish a hint guide. That would make a big difference for players.

If you enjoy supernatural investigation games or anything that combines mystery with the occult, such as Grimnoir, then Exorcist Tipline may interest you. Frustrating, yes, but there are components that make it highly likable. Otherwise, it may not be worth your time considering that it’s a longer game.

Described as a "sad divorced man fic," six of cups is a series of six scenes from a man's life that include a rocky marriage, a divorce, and a strained relationship with a daughter, all of which are all linked with the recurring theme of drinking (or is Card #2 supposed to be a pickle jar?). The game is also a choice-based hybridization of Unity and Ink.

The player is presented with a spread of six cards, each adorned with an image of a glass. Clicking on a card brings up a scene from the protagonist’s life, and these can be visited in any order. Instead of the game ending, the player stops once they’ve seen everything.

The writing is brief and concise. I was impressed with the amount of depth it conveys. The composition of scenes varies. One scene may consist of a few short paragraphs. Another may be a haphazard string of text messages. Instead of a detailed story, the game works to establish tone- a tone that says more than enough about the state of the protagonist's marital life without further detail.

"Okay," you say, dismissively. A dead fly floats in your drink.

I found it easy to get invested in the story and characters. There’s a sense of cynicism that persists and drives the narrative forward without feeling heavy-handed. I will say, I am itching to know more about the implications of the final line in the game:

The combination of Unity and Ink works well for the game's purposes because it adds complexity visually and implementation-wise, taking the act of reading about moments in a person’s life and giving it dimension. The visual presentation of the cards on the screen makes a strong first impression, while a range of colours, patterns, and graphical elements tailor to the mood of each scene. The format adds a degree of interactivity. Clicking on the cards, for one thing, but also superficial ways of getting the player to interact with what they read, such as having them tap the screen to “send” the text messages.

The simplicity of the six card spread works so well in allowing players to bounce around a timeline at whim. The tense conversation with the daughter, (Spoiler - click to show)Phoebe, can immediately be countered by going back to the moment in college before such responsibilities existed. And vice versa. In exploring the timeline this way, the player is encouraged to contemplate the protagonist, his choices, and how they intersect with the lives of other people.

Arguably, six of cups is more like an experience than a game, and yet, I found it just as engaging as anything else I’ve played. The concise writing, visual design, and simple but consistent implementation work together to result in a strong slice-of-life game that I have a hard time backing away from.

baby:OFF is a short Ink game submitted to Bare-Bones Jam 2025. It follows a protagonist who is struggling with the aftermath of a failed relationship with someone named TJ. To cope, they buy a customizable android known as a “GenDroid.” Designed to look exactly like TJ, the protagonist calls the android Not-TJ.

Gameplay is rather linear. It all takes place in a cheap motel where the protagonist is getting personal with Not-TJ. Choices are made to alter the immediate moment but have no broader effect on the story in general. However, the player’s choices reveal different details about the story, providing incentive for multiple playthroughs.

I want to give a quick shoutout to the writing.

Firmly secured under heavy layers of bubble wraps and blocky styrofoam was her sleeping figure... A sleeping doll yet to experience the world outside its cocoon.

There’s something about its descriptiveness. It does a good job at helping you visualize the technology featured in the story.

TJ
I wish there was more backstory on the protagonist’s relationship with TJ because what we’re told feels extremely one-sided. It sounds like TJ had a controlling streak towards loved ones that would manifest physically and emotionally. But when the protagonist started to become more successful in life, TJ ended things out of jealousy. That’s pretty much it.

Using their new wealth, the protagonist then bought a GenDroid to model after TJ. A recurring theme is how the protagonist simultaneously relished and despised TJ’s destructiveness towards them. Not-TJ serves as a way for them to revisit this dynamic on their own terms.

Despite the overall antagonization of TJ’s character, I liked that the game also recognizes her as a person with multiple dimensions, and this is symbolized through how she experimented with different hair colours.

Sun-kissed brown.
Aimless.
Vulnerable.
Honest.

Of course, in Not-TJ’s case, this is just another thing we control.

Not-TJ
In creating Not-TJ, the protagonist projects their past onto something they can control: An android, programmed to serve. Whether that be for expressing affection or acting as a means for the protagonist to vent their frustration. And yet, it feels hollow. GenDroids sell a fantasy for the consumer. Any obedience or affection is the product of an algorithm.

The game snowballs from here, wrapping up surprisingly quickly.

Final thoughts
I realize that baby:OFF may have subtleties that were lost on me, but overall, I liked the ideas presented. The writing is descriptive and precise, allowing us to view the world, or at least its technology, from the protagonist’s perspective. And while there’s sexual content, it never felt overwhelming or distracted from the story.

However, the ending feels too abrupt to be conclusive. So many interesting developments that get cut short. Also, I wish the game was less one-sided in its coverage of the protagonist’s relationship with TJ. Interesting characters, that’s all.

A memorable game, nonetheless.

You are concerned about THE ENVIRONMENT, and want to do your part!

Individual Action Simulator is a brief Ink game that considers the impact an individual can make when trying to live more sustainably. Save the Earth one step at a time!

Gameplay is organized into days, and each day the player chooses an action from a list.

DAY 1
You decide to...

[Conserve electricity.]
[Take public transit to work.]
[Recycle.]

Points are awarded accordingly and indicate the difference you’ve made.

You gain 1 point(s)! Good job!

Later, this shifts to actions like donating to charity or switching to metal straws.

It doesn’t take long to realize that the game is a lesson in futility. Every few days, a random human-caused event occurs, harming the environment and overshadowing our progress.

Government environmental protection regulations were relaxed again after extensive lobbying.

You lose 1000000 point(s)...

By illustrating this imbalance of positive/negative impact, the point system highlights an important truth: As long as governments and corporations exploit the environment in drastic ways, recycling and going vegan, while sustainable, will not save the planet in the long term.

From here, the game loses traction. The only option we have is “protest.” Meanwhile, the point system falls apart.

You gain 1 point(s)

You gain 0 point(s)

You gain -1 point(s)

Next thing we know, the game is using random values like “??? points” or “0.5 points” that make no sense. The game then asks if we want to quit. Otherwise, we protest until the Earth is destroyed. I suppose the game is trying to send a message about the limitations of protest when saving the environment. However, this part of the gameplay is too sloppy and devoid of context for this message to have any platform to stand on.

Whether you choose to quit or protest until the Earth’s destroyed, a surprising twist is revealed: (Spoiler - click to show)Individual Action Simulator is a game within a game.

Note on visuals: At first, I thought this was a Twine game. Turns out, it’s made with Ink. It uses a black screen, white text, and blue links, except for the (Spoiler - click to show)twist at the end which opts for a light grey screen, colour-coded character names, and cleaner formatting. This sudden change in appearance contributes to the player’s surprise at discovering the true nature of the game.

To conclude, Individual Action Simulator has the right idea but misses the mark in its overall execution. I’m glad that it challenges the view that recycling and other sustainable practices will not offset the ongoing destruction that humanity inflicts on the environment. Sustainable efforts must occur at both the individual and organizational level.

Unfortunately, the potency of this message is diminished by the sparse and sloppy gameplay implementation. The (Spoiler - click to show)twist at the end helps but is not enough to save the entire game. That said, if the author were to revisit this topic in a future game, I’d be interested.

You Cannot Speak opens with an ambiguous dream sequence. You dream that Claudia- the game seems to think you know her- is trying to save someone from drowning. She is failing. She is incapable of speaking...

You wake up. She's you. You are Claudia. Time to start your day.

So, yeah. You Cannot Speak is a brief sci-fi Ink game about a protagonist named Claudia waking up for her first day at a new job. On Mars. But for some reason, she is incapable of speaking. It's as if her ability was switched off.

The player begins in a high-tech bedroom to prepare for Claudia’s first day at work. Gameplay choices center around taking in your surroundings and trying to use futuristic technologies such as a “GOERRING RESOURCE-CONSCIOUS BATHING APPARATUS,” also known as a shower.

Overall, I enjoyed the descriptive writing.

Outside the window is a totally untouched red wasteland, a ruby-tinted desert landscape with red dust and rocks as far as the eye can see. In the distance, you see a great craggy wall of red land.

The canyon is a breathtaking natural beauty, with all the timeless qualities of a MacOS desktop image.

Such vivid imagery. And then of course (Spoiler - click to show)it's revealed to be a screen. Suddenly, your high-tech room feels more like a closet. The wearable TORUS device was also cool.

Claudia has a backstory shrouded in mystery. (Spoiler - click to show)Once, she had bright dreams of a career in Earth’s Space Force. Something happened. Now, she is stuck working in the private sector at a Martian facility called Ares-622. Her official role is “Wellness Director.” We don’t get a chance to see what this entails.

You Cannot Speak seems to embrace the debate of dwelling on the past vs. focusing on the future, though the game is too short to really explore these concepts.

It's better to know
Forget about it

We can, however, prompt Claudia to do some deep thinking about herself.

As much as I love the author’s vision for You Cannot Speak, it needs refinement. I understand that it is an introduction for a larger game. Such kind of games have been submitted to IFComp in the past and have done quite well. That’s not the issue.

My main problem with this game is how abrupt and clunky the game ends. When Claudia (Spoiler - click to show)leaves her room, a scraggly man tells her in vague terms that she... I'm not even sure. Something about how her actions will affect everyone. And when a guard shows up the man starts yelling. Game ends.

As an IFComp game, this stands out like a sore thumb. The sharp edges of a promising game should have been sanded off first. Also, in one playthrough the game ran into a dead end.

It’s frustrating because there is a certain magnetism to You Cannot Speak. The title piqued my curiosity. Even the cover art- a single red square- made me think what could this be about?

Nonetheless, I wish this game well, and hopefully we will get to see more of Claudia’s story in the future.

You wake up naked in a hotel room and have no memory of who you are.
…
I should provide some context first.

Lethe is an Ink game based on a 1986 parser game called Amnesia by Thomas M. Disch. I had never heard of it prior to playing Lethe. Perhaps it crossed my vision once or twice while skimming IFDB, but nothing I could remember (that’s absolutely not a joke. I’m just telling you how it is). Lethe has its own page on IFDB. If it were not for its description, or the credits in the game, I would not have made the connection.

I am going to cut this excessively long review into two large sections. The first is my review for Lethe. The second half is about how playing it introduced me to another side of interactive fiction. I’ll stick most of that part under a spoiler tag.

Part I: Game review
Lethe. The game made with Ink. That’s what this review is about. In fact, it is one of the most exciting Ink games I’ve played so far.

Lethe stays true its theme of amnesia. In fact, the title, though different, hints at the subject. It stems from a piece of Greek mythology about a river of the same name that, when drunk, causes forgetfulness. There is also a second clever meaning to the title that is revealed near the end of the game, but that would be a major spoiler. Just know that it’s worth a shot even if you are not a huge fan of the amnesia trope.

GAMEPLAY: As I said, you wake up naked in a hotel room with total amnesia. The game takes place in New York, and you play as a male protagonist. Your only real lead at the moment is to find any clues that will hint at your identity. Slowly this will expand into a broader story.

I feel that your first playthrough is by far the best one because you are just as clueless as the protagonist. Unless you’ve played Amnesia, I suppose. Oh well. Let’s just assume you were like me. Everything intrigues you and oozes potential.

Whose knocking at the door?

What’s in this closet?

Does this window open?

WHO AM I? (And why am I naked?)

Endless questions, but the game merely provides you with a list of things you can do. The player is left to launch themselves into the unknown to find the answers. Through trial and error, you can find the optimal route to move into new areas with more clues.

For me, the main event of your clueless first playthrough is the branching gameplay structure. I always like seeing that in choice-based games. In Lethe, it creates the perception of an expanding world that just grows. First time around, it feels huge. The novelty of it all contributes to the sense of scale as you leave the hotel to explore more locations. It takes the shape of a mystery game.

While Lethe does feel a bit smaller once you’ve played it, there is plenty of incentive for replays. It is a chance to experiment with different paths or switching up the order of tasks. Try making challenges. For instance, (Spoiler - click to show) play without ever getting arrested and/or killed.

Lethe is easy to play in sense that you are just clicking through links. But it is also designed well, too. Its strength is its mechanism for failure. Dead is NOT the end. It can if you want it to be, but there is no “messing” up in Lethe. The sequence also happens to be my favorite part. (Spoiler - click to show) You end up in a surreal and somewhat humorous afterlife.

You and a few thousand other naked anxious souls are standing on the bank of a misty black river, being stung by mosquitoes and bitten by large centipedes.

Charon, a character from Greek mythology who ferries deceased souls across rivers in the underworld, swings by to offer you a choice. You can stay in the afterlife or go back in time before your previous decision. Done. That’s it. Right back where you were. Even better, your environment adjusts to keep you from making the same error.

Your hotel room seems subtly different.

This was fantastic. It makes the gameplay more forgiving for when the player makes a mistake. You never need to restart. If anything, it also encourages dumb decisions such as leaving your hotel room naked, “just to see what happens.” Or (Spoiler - click to show) getting married.

STORY: Given what I’ve said, the last thing I want to do is tarnish your first playthrough with spoilers. It is better if you let the story unfold on its own. But if you insist, I will give you a rundown of what’s going on. I would consider these as mild/moderate spoilers since they can be discovered early on, I’d caution you against reading them at all until you play Lethe. (Spoiler - click to show)

Everyone at the hotel calls you John Cameron, but if you get arrested it is revealed that you are Xavier Hollings, a criminal who killed a guard and escaped a Texas prison. You go back to court and lose. Even Denise, your own wife (to which you ask yourself, “I had a wife?”), testifies against you. After you arrive at death row, she comes to visit merely to say how happy she is to be inheriting everything because apparently you are super wealthy. Hm.

As you eat your last meal, you have a moment of insight. Tidbits of info about Denise, prison, some guy named Zane, and a recalled soap product appear in your mind. Just enough to realize that you are innocent. Ultimately, the meaning is lost, and you are executed. Fortunately, this is not the end.

Once more, you are by the infernal river Styx. After a few years, Charon's boat emerges from the mist. He looks disappointed to see you.

Charon has got your back. He won’t think highly of you about it, of course.

What I just told you is only the first layer to the story. No moment in the game beat the suspense and surprise of seeing this reveal for the first time. Woah. That was my reaction. The protagonist clearly has a lot going on. The bits of info from this fiasco only serve to direct the gameplay after (Spoiler - click to show) Charon zaps you back to existence. I’ll stop the spoilers there. I’ve already told you too much.

As for my general thoughts about the story, the narrative itself was not particularly moving. Certainty, creative. It’s just that I was not drawn in by the characters or their motives. The drama was more like watching a film rather than feeling like you are the protagonist of the story.

Also, the ultimate cause of the amnesia was a bit underwhelming. I’m sorry. But at least the sprinkling of clues throughout the gameplay is combined with a dramatic reveal near the end that makes up for the lackluster parts. I cannot express this enough: The witty writing and gameplay implementation is what makes Lethe work. Otherwise, I would not award it five stars.

I think a lot of people can appreciate the writing. A favorite of mine was, “So far you're scoring zero on the Know Thyself Questionnaire.” The (Spoiler - click to show) H&R 207-7655 pay phone reference was especially clever.

CRITIQUES: Lethe is excellent, but it is not flawless, either. I had two cases where the game reached a dead end where no links appeared on the screen. In other playthroughs they were not an issue. I do not know what caused the issues, only that I was experimenting with the gameplay at the time. Your chances of seeing this is low. Be assured, that once you’ve played the game, you can cruise through it quite quickly.

There are also some minor spelling mistakes, including with character names that can be noticeable. The longer changes of dialog occasionally abandon the use of quotation marks. Finally, location descriptions are shown at the top of the screen, whether it is “Hotel Room” or “Oblivion.” However, sometimes they fail to change with new locations.

PART II: Broader context (time to go on a tangent)
(Spoiler - click to show)
You can play Amnesia through a digital archive.

At least that is what it says on IFDB (that’s how unsophisticated I am). But the content written about Amnesia explained that playing it was more than just clunking yourself in front of a computer. The part of my title that says, “30+ year old parser game,” should give you a sense of where I am. As someone who rarely crawls off IFDB, a lot of this is new terrain.

Apparently, when the game was published, playing it required buying a physical copy (which is so alien to me) of the game. From my perspective, it sounds like an artifact. However, reviews expressed a different angle. People have shared fond memories of playing Amnesia. Or at least of trying play it. While I have not, it was cool learning about its origins. Hopefully I’m not awkwardly trampling over everything.

I did attempt another existing remake called Amnesia: Restored after playing Lethe. For the record, I accessed Amnesia: Restored through the entry for Amnesia on IFDB. I used the link to the game’s own website and went to the section called “PLAY GAME.” I have a reason for going on this tangent. Just hear me out.

I don’t want to dismiss the immense collaborative effort- as showcased on its website- that was put into Amnesia: Restored, but the gameplay was a rocky experience for me. It seems the objective was to replicate the parser of Amnesia into the gameplay. If that’s the case, the gameplay Amnesia must have been wild… and frustrating to play. That could also be my inexperience talking.

Thing is, you must know the specific command the game wants at a given moment, almost like I was having a conversation with someone via a script. If you use the right command, great. Otherwise, the game lets you fall on your face without any direction. It was incredibly difficult to know what command or action was required. Play it and see for yourself. (Aside from my whining, I really do think there are parts of the game that are not functioning as intended.)

This is where Lethe comes in. Turns out it can function as a rough “tutorial” (my words) for Amnesia: Restored because Lethe also stays faithful to original writing. Seriously, the choices you make in Lethe can be punched into the parser. Not precise word-by-word, but close enough. Suddenly, everything fell into place. The parser responded smoothly. I was making progress and keeping up with the metaphorical conversation. Even better, it gave me a chance to explore Amnesia: Restored and appreciate what it had to offer. And it offers a lot.

The makeshift Lethe tutorial will end once you leave the hotel because Amnesia: Restored recreates the complex city navigation puzzle in Amnesia while Lethe does not. A few city locations will still apply although Lethe cuts back on nearly all simulated New York content. To be honest, if I did not have Lethe as a reference, I would still be stumbling around in the hotel room. But I managed to get the hang of it enough to brave the city puzzle on my own.

I must hand it to Amnesia: Restored. It goes the extra mile in incorporating built-in guides and visual elements in the game’s interface that were based on original feelies and physical materials. I was really impressed by that. I did not continue playing after I passed out on the street from exhaustion and was carted away (and the save function failed on me), but I can tell you it is worth a look. While I preferred Lethe, I sincerely suggest trying Amnesia: Restored too.

There you have it. The extent of my encounters with Amnesia.

Concluding thoughts
I apologize that this review was so long.

Lethe is faithful to the Amnesia storyline, but its choice-based format still offers a different experience. It eliminates parser related technicalities such as guess-the-verb by replacing everything with links. It bypasses puzzles for (Spoiler - click to show) navigating the city streets and solving riddles at gunpoint.

The trade-off is a simplified version of a vibrant world. It can’t even touch the complexity in Amnesia. But I think it does a decent job in capturing the general concept. I would love to hear second opinions from anyone who has played both.

I completely recommend Lethe as a thrilling Ink game with lots of surprises. Even more so if you are curious about a parser classic (correct?) turned into a choice-based piece of interactive fiction.

Lord Cephyis Alikarn is hosting a party at his opulent private estate on the Alikarn family's planet. It's kind of a big deal. This will not be a run of the mill party. Manners, etiquette, and protocol are critical because a slip-up can result in death or scandal. Maybe, just maybe, you will get to see the Emprex.

Gameplay
The nuts and bolts of the gameplay is where the game presents you an etiquette-based situation and you then must choose the right way of proceeding to avoid death or scandal. For example, (Spoiler - click to show) you are served a delicacy of a crab-like creature renowned for its meat. However, to preserve the flavor it must be alive when served and killed right before it is eaten. You must kill it yourself. The catch is that its pinchers are highly poisonous. The PC clearly has no experience with this, so the player takes a guess on how to kill it without being killed themselves. This takes table manners to another level.

I like how the game puts you on the spot to capture how the protagonist is not in familiar territory. It leaves the player thinking, "oh no, oh no, what do I do? Don't mess up."

Applaud enthusiastically
Applaud politely
Remain still

This selection of choices should make you nervous.

I would have loved to see more of these challenges in the game. Hopefully, you will stick it out long enough to reach the end. Total gameplay is short but there is a lot of content to absorb.

Story
It is a potent story of grandeur on a galactic scale. We see things that would not be possible or practical in real life but are commonplace in the story's world of raw decadence and political power spanning a galaxy. Along the way we hear information about other planets and societies. This is not a humans-only universe. There are also alien races, some of which are guests. But any world-building is typically limited to discussion of Emprex Hasina Alikarn’s role as galactic leader as the honored guest at a party hosted by her brother, Lord Cephyis Alikarn.

The big pivotal scene is when you (Spoiler - click to show) notice that the Emprex's drink has been tampered with, a sign that she is about to be poisoned. You have three options: Ignore it, turn her glass to the left, or turn her glass to the right. This is based on a tidbit of knowledge you can learn from one of the guests.

At a past formal event, poison was added to guests’ drinks and the cups turned a certain way so that the conspirators knew which ones were safe to drink. The Emprex was about to drink a poisoned glass when her brother intervened, saving her life. In return she granted him considerable power. Since then, turning glasses at parties has almost become a symbolic tradition.

When you turn her glass to the left to indicate poison she picks up on the cue and requests a different glass. She realizes you saved her and asks for the person behind the assassination attempt. It’s not hard to figure out, but I don’t want to spoil everything. I thought this was a clever way of incorporating information gleamed from the gameplay into a final decision that determines the ending.

The ending where (Spoiler - click to show) she is poisoned and dies ends on a cliffhanger. She tries to speak, but then the poison overtakes her and she goes limp. And? It felt incomplete to leave it like this. The winning ending leaves some unanswered questions but otherwise wraps up the story and gives the player a few choices on how to use the Emprex’s favor. I was surprised that (Spoiler - click to show) she allows you to suddenly be promoted to such high-level positions without any formal experience but if the protagonist managed to survive an Alikarn dinner party than perhaps they have more going for them than what meets the eye.

Characters
Ah yes, the protagonist. The intro in A Tragedy of Manners stresses how seeing the Emprex face-to-face is an extremely rare privilege reserved for the most elite. It builds rumor and secrecy about the odds of someone being allowed to visit the Alikarn family’s planet let alone be invited to a family party.

You have heard rumours that the Emprex herself might be present, but such a thing is impossible. Someone of your lowly status would never be allowed in her exalted presence.

The whole point of the game is that you are in over your head. The protagonist comes strolling in late to what the game calls “the most dangerous dinner party in the galaxy.” But the gameplay can undermine the societal exposition provided at the start of the game. (Spoiler - click to show) You pretty much walk in and bam, Emprex sitting at the table. For the player’s meager standing I figured that there would be more ceremony involved before they could meet her.

Some additional background on the protagonist would have helped. There are some mixed messages and I feel like I am overlooking something. The beginning suggests that the protagonist is a nobody who somehow managed to snag an invitation. They lack social standing and knowledge on formal protocol, admitting that the Emprex would have no reason to grant them an audience. And yet, (Spoiler - click to show) the Emprex vaguely mentions the protagonist in her toast, acknowledging that they are an invited guest before making an announcement. She wants decision making in the empire to be witnessed by individuals other than nobles. Excellent. By why was the protagonist invited? Why them? Seriously, who is the protagonist? I would like some clarification, that’s all.

You do not interact with NPCs as much as you see them and that is just fine with me because appearances and fashion come first. The Emprex’s dress was cool. This game takes the idea of a formal wear sci-fi dinner party and multiplies it by ten. One memorable NPC interaction was with a Legacy staff member. Legacy is where (Spoiler - click to show) entire families serve as staff from generation to generation. Each new generation has a cybernetic implant containing the knowledge and experience of past family members so they can perform their job with the equivalence of centuries worth of expertise. A creative character concept with unsettling undertones.

Visuals
This is an Ink game. Visually, it sticks to a standard appearance of a white screen, grey text, and orange links. Simple and easy to read. Nothing notable to share.

Final thoughts
I love the idea of a space opera etiquette game, and I would be eager to play it more if it were longer (I wish it were longer). The ambiguity of the protagonist’s social standing caused confusion and occasionally backtracked from the exposition but there is still something rewarding about a low-key PC succeeding while totally out of their element.

You lean back, basking in the glow of conversational victory.

Especially when that element is a dramatic futuristic dinner party with (Spoiler - click to show) cybernetically enhanced staff and (Spoiler - click to show) deadly main courses. I had a lot of fun at seeing the outlandish and imaginative world of Sanctum, the ruling planet of the Luminous Empyrean!!!!

You are a zombie reviewing a meal.

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

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

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

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

It is a casual day at home. You are lounging around and suddenly find yourself in the mood for a cold drink. But when you stand to leave, a vortex opens in the living room and deposits a small creature that starts wrecking everything in sight. You flee to the kitchen which is now your sanctuary. Using resources from your surroundings, you need to find a way to defend yourself.

Gameplay
While hiding in the kitchen you have access to the fridge, counter, and cupboards that have spices and other substances for cooking. Inventory items are listed on the screen. It would have been nice if you could examine things to learn more about them rather than automatically picking them up for the sack of hoarding them in your inventory.

The player can call the protagonist's mom or Alex, an acquaintance. Neither character picks up. The only option is the hotline. Its number is written on a label in the fridge. The player calls the number to ask for help on dealing with the creature. The operator however wants to engage you in random conversation before providing help. There is a phone puzzle where the player answers questions that increase the operator’s willingness to help.

These questions range from whether you any kids or if you play chess. The objective is to respond in a way that makes the operator pleased and entertained. For each response you get right the more helpful the operator begins. The game keeps track of this by adding notes such as "The playful operator is now a little helpful." The challenging part is that a question may have multiple right answers, but the answer that is correct at the moment is difficult to determine since there seems to be not structure to the questions. I think that the game is trying to be humorous with its dialog, but it needs polish. I like the concept of strategically using conversation through trial and error to persuade an NPC, but the phone puzzle is frustrating and lukewarm.

Once the player (Spoiler - click to show) satisfies the operator’s desire for conversation, they are asked to provide three details: the creatures colour, its physique, and its behavior. Using these details, the operator explains a basic recipe for banishing the creature. You can also just (Spoiler - click to show) guess by throwing ingredients into the bowl and flinging them at the creature. When I first played, I brewed and threw a scalding mix of random ingredients and it worked. Probably chance. Still, at least it gives you a chance to test out the kitchen.

Story
There is no explanation behind the creature and the portal, nor is there any discussion about the hotline except that it was found in the fridge. I feel like this left some loose ends. Here you have a normal house setting and suddenly a creature appears out of nowhere. I do not think that this game necessarily needs a broader story, but it could have integrated things a little more. The game is solely focused on the puzzle of finding a concoction that will eradicate the creature. This some potential story about Alex but they never answer when you call their number.

Visuals
1-555-trouble has some spectacular graphics for an Ink game. The backdrop is of different areas in a house, about six total. Not grainy or awkwardly scaled ones but showroom quality. The text space is set against a white semi-transparent background with orange boxes and links. The text is light grey, and the title of the room is shown in a black rectangle that reminds me of those slender sticky notes that you use to mark a page in a book. Everything looks crisp and modern. I encourage Ink authors (or anyone, really) to give this game a look if you are looking for some visual inspiration.

Final thoughts
It is a short, interesting diversion. The game has some interesting ideas, but its presentation is lacking. The phone puzzle could have been smoothed out, for example. Then again there are some polished features. There are no bugs as far as I can tell, and its strongest point is the graphics. It may not be the best of quality, but it is a completed piece.