Reviews by MathBrush

This is a shortish Twine game entered into the 2017 IFComp.

It consists of free verse, sometimes with poetic styling, and sometimes in a more conversational tone.

There is some profanity, in a sort of navel-gazing self-aware way. In general, I liked the poetry, though, and found it enjoyable even on a second or third read.

I beta tested this game, and I found it very funny.

Mike Sousa has written many past IF games, and the polish of this game is testament to his experience.

This game is tied together by various real-life newspaper headlines. You are having a pretty crazy day, and you hop from sequence to sequence trying to deal with mistaken identities and rogue celebrities.

There isn't a lot of direct interactivity in the traditional sense, but there's a lot of room to play around in each scene, with plenty of coded actions.

I helped to beta test this game, which is one of the three Qiaobook translation entries.

In this game, you play as a young man who wakes up in bed with a dead body.

You have to play through a few times to identify the killer.

The game is developed with background images and sound.

I like the general 'find the killer' concept, but I found it difficult to wait for the typewritten text.

This is a game with a brilliant premise; you are some sort of alien being charged with protecting a young girl.

You have visions of the future, showing you that seven enemies will come and attack her.

You can do various things to improve her chances of survival, with each thing you do providing you with a new vision.

This was very successful in general, but I found it fiddly in two areas. First, some things weren't implemented; for instance, the first thing you learn about Kayla is that she has pulled-back hair and a simple dress. But if you try to examine either one, there is an error.

Second, the game essentially becomes a hidden-object puzzle. You have to scour descriptions for nouns, examine each noun, and hope that you find the right thing. Some solutions that seem like they should work, don't; like finding alternate things for burning/clogging, etc.

But I still enjoyed this game a lot. It has a nice map.

I enjoyed the puzzles of Goodbye Cruel Squirrel with a walkthrough. I enjoyed the writing in general, but not the mean-spiritedness.

You play as a squirrel raiding another tribe. You have to progress through a series of locations, each with its own puzzle.

I got stuck early on and used a walkthrough the whole time.

This game was fun and clever; I think a large chunk of judges found the concept fun and original.

You are a lurking grue, and you have to devour an adventurer.

Because it is completely dark, you have rely on your other senses.

I had difficulty getting helpful responses from going in different directions, and with the final verb.

Overall, if the feedback from comp judges is implemented, this would be a game that continues to get played for a long time.

I really enjoyed this game. I had a few technical difficulties wrangling with Quest.

You play as a cockney-speaking orphan who has penned up in a penitentiary-orphanage. Your goal is to go from Public Enemy Number 2 to Number 1.

The map is large, but pleasingly symmetrical. You solve a puzzle in each room until the game is over.

Some of the puzzles were fairly nonsensical, and I had difficulty with them, but overall, I was impressed.

I enjoyed the story in this game quite a bit, more than just about any other game in the competition.

You play as a magical crow who is fleeing a destructive sentient firestorm. You have to hop from town to town, trying to warn everyone while fighting a bad reputation.

I enjoyed the characters and setting; it was generic fantasy, but not swords and sorcery generic fantasy, more of Diana Wynn Jones or fairy tales.

There were some noticeable typos, though, which detracted from the experience.

This is probably the slickest of all the games entered this year.

This is a short mystery tale set in a women's college in (I think) the northeast. You are replacing a professor who has mysteriously disappeared.

The main narrative is about time-hoppers (which feels more like a temporal Gulliver's Travels than H.G. Wells), but there is a sub-narrative about the place of adjunct/temporary/visiting faculty and the various roles of women in academia.

The game beautifully divides between 'asides'-links and 'moving forward'-links by having the first show up as notes in the margin and the latter extending the text.

It's well-illustrated and well-written. One of the best web games available.

This game is a worthy sequel to Toiletworld, by Chet Rocketfrak (presumably the same as Chad Rocketman).

This game centers around Bilbert/Bolbert, who has something wrong with them. You can talk to Bilbert, or enter Bilbert.

There's not much more than that. I found it amusing, but the author is clearly aiming for a 1-star rating, and who am I to refuse?