Reviews by MathBrush

This game was entered in the very first IFComp, which was originally intended to provide examples of code for the then-new programming language Inform. It didn't actually work out that way, because few people released code and many TADS games were also entered, but that's how it started.

This game came in 5th of six in the Inform division. It is about a library that you know contains a copy of a biography of Graham Nelson. The library also contains the Infocom games, Christminster, Avalon, Curses!, Balances, and references to interactive fiction servers.

The gameplay is fairly light, just searching and trying basic NPC actions. Many of the points are bonus points for bizarre actions.

These games are an adaptation of a series of gamebooks, i.e. paper CYOA books. They must have been absolutely incredible, because this game is rich in detail and options. The game is played on a large 3d-map which you place a DND miniature-type figure on, moving it around to indicate your choice of route (between 2 or 3 options at a time).

You have stamina, gold, rations, spells, etc. The spells are cast by using up some stamina and selecting 3-letter words out of a cloud of letters. The available words differ quite a bit from situation to situation.

The combat system involves guessing a number at the same time as your opponent, trying to beat them without using up too much of your strength. It ends up being a sort of dance between attack and defend.

There are numerous side quests; the main quest can be finished extremely quickly, while one side quest took up an hour of gameplay by itself.

Highly, highly recommended.

This game is centered around two standard parser puzzles: learning a subject from books, and filling cups with different sizes to get a certain amount. These are the entirety of the game.

The atmosphere is amusing; you are visiting an alien ambassador and have to learn their culture and traditions to make a good impression. Part of this includes making food and drink.

I had fun, but then I did use the walkthrough to skip the main puzzle. Fun for fans of alien humor or cups/jugs puzzles.

This game has three choices, resulting in 8 distinct paths. Each choice gives a short paragraph of text; making the whole game about 15 paragraphs long.

This game was originally intended for the 2015 Ectocomp 3-hour speed game division, but the author spent extra time crafting it, which is why it ended up in the longer division.

The game was very disjointed to me. I feel like the theme is gender identity, which comes through very well in some branches, but in others it just went over my head.

Each choice is SEEK or WEEP. What do these options mean? Well, just SEEKING 3 times or WEEPING 3 times and contrasting the results can help, but it's hard to see how the intermediate results fit in.

However, as an almost-speed IF, it is very well crafted.

In this shortish parser game, you play a cat in a house with all sort of goofy horrors, anyone of which can destroy you. It turns out that you have nine lives, and need to use them all up.

There are many different ways to go here, from simple deaths to magical and obscure.

This game was intended for the 3 hour comp, but grew and grew, so it was entered in the longer competition.

I found it to be fun for a quick play. Multiple solutions help as well. Good for those looking for a short, humorous game.

This is a fun little game where you play a voracious dinosaur that wants to eat everything. When you eat certain items or creatures, you gain new abilities.

It really was a lot of fun going around chomping on everything. It's easy and mindless at first. Then you have to use a bit of strategy to know what to eat first. Then there a few puzzles thrown in, which surprised me, but you are generally hinted in what you should do.

I found two endings, both of which were humorous.

Recommended for those looking for a short (30 min) bit of fun.

This game is the second in a series, but I have not played the first. You play a magic-wielding city employee searching for water in a desert, and struggling with an alien race know as the scorpionkind.

Like the best Choice of Games, you can strongly influence your identity, your relationships, and the world environment. It is a lot like the Sims or morality-based games like Fable or Black and White, where you can affect your stats.

As for content warnings, the game has some optional adult content, and violence.

It also has a great mystery subgame.

This game did a good job at making me make tough choices. I felt really invested in my character.

In this game, you explore the heart of your lover. It is an extremely melodramatic game, with every room causing you incredible anguish and suffering, or eternal bliss.

Here's a sample of the writing:

"Now it was my turn to weep. "But, why? Can't you see that I love you! You said that love is madness, and that is evidenced by mine! Am I not insane? I love you!" The last three words I uttered I screamed with tears falling down my face so loud that this heart's walls would certainly fall."

There are some basic puzzles. Some of them are poorly clued. There are a lot of text dumps, and it's hard to know what the message of the game really is.

This game, which won the Golden Banana of Discord in IFComp, is a story-focused game. Despite a few searching puzzles, most of the game consists of cutscenes. You go back and forth between two worlds, reenacting a horrible tragedy, and your guilt in it.

I found it to be heavy-handed; I feel like games such as Map and Euydice deal with similar feelings of regret in a more nuanced way.

Also, the Christian theme seems underutilized; the cross is heavily referenced, and a bit of guilt and repentance, but much of the atmosphere seems like a new synthesis of thought that doesn't mesh well with preexisting Christian themes.

Escape from Summerland is a highly unusual and innovative game that doesn't overstay it's welcome but could be a bit more.

In this game, you are trying to escape a damaged circus tent. You can switch between a ghost (a traditional PC but unable to interact with anything), a monkey (agile but weak and a bit dim), and a robot (strong, with a light source, but bulky and uninformative).

The monkeys responses all include an ASCII art picture of the monkey and it's emotions. The robots responses are all in the former of status updates.

The game works very well, as it seems overly complicated at first, but then gels together. It seemed a bit disappointingly small, but this makes sense for IFComp.