Reviews by MathBrush

Note: This review was written months in advance. A week before this review was published, another review came out saying that counterfeit monkey was overwhelming and was very negative about the author and game in general. While I was overwhelmed, I think this is an incredible game, and that the author is extremely talented.

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Counterfeit Monkey is a technical marvel of wordplay and implementation. The game is a large exploration game where you can alter almost any item by adding or removing letters, reversing letters, performing anagrams, etc.

This game has been rated highly by the majority of those who played it, and I must praise its puzzles, writing, implementation, and craftsmanship.

These very qualities led me to feel overwhelmed playing this game. I had a similar experience with Blue Lacuna. In both games, so much is implemented that I had a hard time thinking of what to do next. In both games, you have a certain sense of urgency, so you want to move forward, but both reward experimentation. So I have a feeling of being torn in two directions (much like the protagonist of this game).

I wonder if the reason I feel drawn to interactive fiction in general is its minimalist, constrained atmosphere. Games like Zork or Curses! where you are noone, and exploration is the only goal; games like Glass, where you can only steer a conversation; games like Rogue of The Multiverse that are split into several parts with clear goals. Even games like Ad Verbum, which mirror the puzzle parts of Counterfeit Monkey without the plot.

Most will not feel the same as me, but I love the minimalism and asceticism of classic games, and I don't know if I enjoy those games which have been built up into a rich, huge world.

Bigger Than You Think is what you get when a master of parser fiction writes a Twine game. The result is a Twine game with an interesting, complicated map; large inventory system; and interesting narrative. It's a sort of hybrid between traditional games and modern twine games.

Does it work? It's certainly fun to get started. For me, because I didn't draw a map, it felt more or less overwhelming; you are basically searching through a binary tree repeatedly until you have exhausted all options. After a few runs, I just used a walkthrough to see the end.

The repetitiveness comes from the fact that you have to repeatedly restart the game.

The inventory system is fun. It's more merciful than I had supposed; I used up a one-shot item in one run, and was worried that I had lost my chance. However, the item was still used at the critical moment; once it is used, it is always used.

This game is a literary masterpiece, just as The Scream is a art masterpiece. Also like the Scream, it conveys strong negative emotions and unease.

The game contains many dark themes, including abuse, death, self-abuse, etc. The game includes strong profanity at key moments to convey depth of emotion.

The game is fascinating to play. Many of Porpentine's game give you the same visceral feel, but the amount of carnage and sexual violence varies, from Cyberqueen on the bad end to Howling Dogs and With Those We Love Alive on the other. This game falls in the middle, more towards the less gruesome side.

A story that will stick with you. Also, good implementation of special text effects, player input, exploration and inventory management, and multiple, endings involving moral choices.

Not a happy game, but a meaningful game.

This game is very short, contains some profanity which develops the story, and can be played in less than 10 minutes.

Most such games I'm not that interested in. But this game seems to be pretty accurate in its depiction.

Only recommended for people into altgames.

In this game, you must write your dissertation while overcoming many distractions. You must use various items in the room to block out sound, sight, itchiness, etc.

The main innovation here is that the parser is actually your girlfriend Violet. All of the responses are hers and she comments on everything.

The implementation, writing, and puzzles are top notch. But the game didn't gel for me. One reason may be that I recently finished my PhD, and it hit too close to home. Another reason is that the parser is very, very pushy. It makes the exploration necessary for the game stressful. And the relationship with the narrator seems unhealthy, like many of the superficial romances that develop in college.

So if you want a game that very accurately depicts a college scenario, this is it. Most people won't have the same negative reactions I had, but will share all of my positive reactions.

It's hard for me to review this game (the first horror IF game by Infocom, and one of the first horror games ever) without comparing it to later Interactive Fiction based on Lovecraft's work. Specifically, Theatre, Anchorhead, and Lydia's Heart come to mind. How does this one compare?

First, size. The Lurking Horror is on the small side, due to PC capabilities at the time of publication. It is about the same size as Theatre, and much smaller than Anchorhead or Lydia's Heart.

Next, setting. The game is set in an alternate version of the MIT campus called GUE Tech during the winter. This worked well for me in the end, with the creepy Department of Alchemy, dark buildings and deep basements, and the gross muddy areas. It gave them game a more campy feel though, like Theatre, as opposed to the bigger games.

NPC's and enemies. While The Lurking Horror has a few okay PC's, it really shines in the creature department. I had played for a few hours without encountering more than one 'creature', and nothing that threatened me, so I was quite shocked when I (Spoiler - click to show)buried an axe in the chest of the maintenance man without any reaction from him. The further the game got, the more disturbing the creatures got. The enemies are more like Theatre's than the later games.

Puzzles. The Lurking Horror has some puzzles that are just dumb (especially the carton in the fridge). Later on, though, the puzzles get more fun, especially as you use the same objects in more and more ways. In the end, the puzzles are more like Lydia's Heart than the other two games, although there are much less puzzles overall.

Overall, it seems to me that the Lurking Horror was a great success that became eclipsed by later games. Theatre ('95) seems to be strongly inspired by The Lurking Horror, while Anchorhead ('98) seems to be inspired at least partially by Theatre (as it includes some similar puzzles). Lydia's Heart ('07) was more of a successful reboot of the Lovecraft idea using newer technology.

I played Earth and Sky and this game, its sequel, this morning.

This game was enjoyable, and I enjoyed the varied environments and the fun use of powers.

This game features the superhero Earth, who can break things and jump very far. You navigate a small set of areas (I think six), each with an inside and an outside.

At first, and at the end, I really enjoyed playing around with the powers and learning about abilities. But I found the middle game repetitive, especially because you have to travel the map repeatedly and exits aren't undoable in the normal way (i.e. going east and west doesn't return you to where you started).

Overall, a good game, but I preferred the first one.

Moon-shaped is one of those odd games that is a little bit lacking in most categories but somehow pulls together to be more enjoyable than many more polished games. It has that elusive quality that makes you remember it and want to play it again.

Moon-shaped begins as a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, and branches out from there. Puzzles are enjoyable, with a nice flashback system. But the game is somewhat sparse. The world feels empty, with short descriptions.

Perhaps I enjoy this game most because of the great storytelling in the flashbacks. The multiple endings involving big moral choices are also good.

I recommend this game to everyone.

This game is very short, but it's not bad while it lasts. You have a chance to purchase a variety of equipment, and then you must face a dragon. There isn't really that much here, but then again, randomized combat is hard to find in IF games. I can only think of 3-4 games off the top of my head that have any randomized combat, including Zork, Adventure, Kerkerkruip and RPG-ish (another twine game written using constraints).

So I have to give Tim Samoff credit for implementing this.

This game consists of a single sentence that changes the names in it every time you refresh. It also has backdrop images of paintings of Adam and Eve that change every time you refresh, as well.

It's not really a game; most of Soda51's games are like this. But they do attract a certain amount of attention, so you have to wonder if Soda51 has a good plan after all.


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Note: I reviewed this game a month ago; it is just a random coincidence that Soda51 posted another game today.