Ratings and Reviews by verityvirtue

The first thing in the blurb, and indeed the first thing the game mentions, is that it's set in the 14th centry. Why, then, does the author use such modern language? I mean, (Spoiler - click to show)was preserving evidence really a thing then?

There are some language issues which, again, take away from the mood of the game, especially what feels like an excessive use of ellipses.

This dovetails with a general lack of immersion. A 14th century setting should probably feel foreign to a 21st century reader, but this... this would come straight out of a rural police procedural. (Spoiler - click to show)There’s even mention of an autopsy (once generally frowned upon, would you know)! This game would do well with more investment into the 14th century setting, that being one of the features of the game.

(Spoiler - click to show)The interviews with the various characters felt very generic, and it was difficult to remember which character was which. Navigation in the room could also do with a bit of work to make it more intuitive. One main problem - main, because it makes up the bulk of the game - is that to leave the crime scene, you have to speak to Borin first.

Dead Deeds is exceedingly straightforward, with nary a red herring. On its own, this would not have been a problem, but coupled with the lack of thought to the language - not even faux-medieval language - that makes it a tiny bit disappointing.

This, the blurb states, is a story about growing up. Well, it isn’t wrong, not entirely, but one thing the blurb doesn’t state is that this isn’t a game. (Or IS it? The debate continues at 5…) Well, it's a game-poem.

So if you do have a look at it, know that there are no choices. As a poem, though, it does pack quite a punch.

Warning: mentions suicide and sex.

You are a component of the revolutionary new spellchecking programme, SpelRite. All you need to do is to suggest a correct spelling for the wrongly spelled word in the given sentence.

The direction where the game goes reminds me of (Spoiler - click to show)Inward Narrow Crooked Lanes - it has the same surreal, nonsense-language feel. Sadly, as with INCL, I also didn’t quite catch the finer points and didn’t really get where it was going.

That given, I liked how Hello Wordd created a little verisimilitude with the Bitbux and the 'store'; the attention given to make the endings make sense, in-universe, was also appreciated.

You and the general are the last ones left on the island of St Stellio, and she wants adrink. You’re the lower-ranking officer, so it’s up to you to get the drink done.

The game consists of find-the-object puzzles through descriptions which act like nested dolls (‘telescopic’ descriptions?). Examining one object reveals another, which reveals another, which reveals another… While the puzzle itself wasn't much, the joy of playing Lime Ergot was in the devices and scenery. The mechanic was ingenious, keeping the game’s scope small without feeling contrived. The writing is lush and evocative, and suited the mildly hallucinatory state of the PC. Lime Ergot is a well-thought-out, tidy piece for one written in three hours.

Similar to Castle of the Red Prince.

Approx playing time: 30 mins

I loved the blurb. Spy hands! Spy keys! It pretty much encapsulates what the game is about.

This Twine-style game is a silly, entertaining romp through the tropes of noir fiction and espionage stories. While it superficially channeled John le Carré, it grew tiresome after a while, precisely because the 'parody' aspect was laid on too thick. Any semblance of humanity in the NPCs or, indeed, in the PC, was quickly quashed by the lack of a sensible storyline. A lesson, perhaps, to us that genre-breaking and lampshading are nice to have, but without a good story, they are merely gimmicks.

Maybe this is just my inner curmudgeonly old man speaking, but while this short game is good for a quick laugh, it is, in the end, rather unmemorable.