Reviews by MathBrush

This was a hefty TADS game that I took several hours to play. It employs a variety of perspectives and player characters, and uses literary quotes, mostly from Poe.

The game primarily takes place in two time periods. One is set in the present (or around the present), in which an author has been discharged from the hospital after a explosion in a skyscraper leaves him wounded. The other is set in 1800s Baltimore where Edgar Allen Poe lies raving in a hospital sickbed.

The modern parts, while they include puzzles, are more story oriented, light on puzzles, and philosophical, while the older parts are an atmosphere-heavy mystery with puzzles and codes.

The city of Baltimore is fairly large, although the author has kept the total number of rooms to a small amount and gatekeeps them a few at a time to keep from getting overwhelmed.

The story that plays out is one that many can relate to, commenting on writing and authorship itself in a way that I found delightful. The exact specifics of who is who and what we were meant to believe and what is true can be difficult to suss out at times, but I'm thinking about replaying in the future to nail down those parts.

I became very stuck at one point due to the nature of some of the puzzles in Baltimore that are based on elapsed time. Something had changed without my being aware of it, and I went through every hint in the help section and couldn't figure it out, and even dumped the strings in the game and that didn't help, until I wandered around a bit more. So I'd say that frequent exploration, careful examination, and gathering everything not nailed down (and maybe some that is) are definitely helpful here.

Overall, the game has a literary or cinematic feel, much like Photopia. The game itself focuses on two ideals for writers: (Spoiler - click to show)popularity with the masses vs critical acclaim. I wonder which of the two ideals the author believes this game to be aiming towards, and which the audience response will be closest to (of course neither or both are a possibility). I love the idea, the writing rolled easily over my mind. I did have to take frequent breaks as there is quite a bit of information and it could be a lot to digest at times, what with both in-game puzzles, the big area, the multiple narrative layers and the mysteries left to the reader to puzzle out even after the game is over.

The author's most recent game before this, According to Cain, won the XYZZY Award and placed highly in IFComp. I found this game fairly similar in length, quality and difficulty to that one, but with more of an emphasis on the passage of time and interactive NPCs and with more unity in the story while According to Cain had more unity in the puzzles.

**The Bureau of Strange Happenings** by Phil Riley

This is a long, polished parser game that took me around 4 hours even using copious hints.

You play as an agent with they/them pronouns in the Bureau of Strange Happenings, a government agency that has recently been defunded due to political shenanigans. You end up in a small town strip mall and, even worse, all your devices have to be turned in and replaced.

Unfortunately, your phone has been locked inside your new desk. Getting it out is, in many ways, the big puzzle of the game.

I was excited to see a game about supernatural happenings, but I was kind of bummed because for the first 30-50 minutes I was met with a series of mundane challenges and events--trying to get into a laundromat, using a pawn shop, etc.

Using hints to get past that, I realized that it went so long without supernatural shenanigans because it was the prologue for a much bigger game. I remember after a couple hours of play landing in a large suburban town with over a dozen locations and thinking, 'okay, I'm going to bed, I'll handle this in the morning'. There's a lot of content, and it's super-polished; I didn't encounter any bugs.

I do think the entrance point for the supernatural was perhaps too obscure; I had to find one of many rooms, and in that room which had many objects examine something that was only briefly mentioned, and then go to a specific location to use it. I don't think I would have ever figured it out without either using hints or careful examination (which, to be fair, is true for a lot of parser games).

I enjoyed the unusual directions in this game. I also enjoyed several slow realizations about what is going on; this game really includes a lot of 'delayed punchline' or Chekhov's gun moments.

The difficulty level is high, and I relied very heavily on hints. There is a large proliferation of keys, knicknacks, red herrings, books, and so on.

Story-wise, it's heavy on atmosphere and world-building over pure plot. The game makes use of (Spoiler - click to show)lizard people as the main enemy; while some have used this concept as anti-semitic conspiracy in the past, that doesn't seem to be the case at all in this game, which has a much more X-Files feel.

To me, the roughest part of the game was frequently not knowing what to do. The best parts of the game were the innovative directions and compass system and the big suburban puzzle.

**Hildy** by J. Michael

Whew! This was a long game! I used hints a lot but I tried to do as much as I can on my own; I think I solved around 40% of the puzzles without assistance.

This is a Zorkian game, both in style and in setting; many characters from the Zork universe appear and you use its magic system.

The game has a long, linear opening that sets the stage followed by a long open puzzle segment and concluding with an endgame and epilogue.

Storywise, you are essentially a young college student named Hildegard (or, Hildy) who is on the rocks with the superiors. After unwinding, your advisor suggests you go out and clear your head, but that leads you to a long-deserted location where many mysteries await.

The author has made some solid games in the past (Diddlebucker, For the Moon Never Beams), but I think this is the best yet. The early segment is fair and the vast majority of puzzles feel well-clued and logical.

The difficulty is pretty high, though. It's like Infocom games where sometimes the struggle is knowing that a certain verb or action is even possible. You also have to pay close attention to detail; things can get mentioned early on and then never mentioned again.

Twice I was stymied by not noticing exits, including once very early on ([spoiler]I didn't realize my bedroom extended to the north[/spoiler]).

There are some 'old chestnut' puzzles, mainly a logic puzzle involving squares. I didn't mind it, but I could see others doing so.

I used a walkthrough for much of the game, and I have always done that with large parser games; it's one reason I've completed so many. Without a walkthrough, this game could last many hours, maybe being good for playing over a week or two. Without any hints at all, some things would be very hard to guess, so that would make play take even longer.

So I'd recommend this to two groups of people: those who enjoy the Zorkian setting (who could use a walkthrough or not), and those who want a polished, longer parser game (where I'd recommend not using it).

Very much enjoyed this game.

I’m not finished with this game, but have played more than 2 hours. I’d be happy to finish it later, though!

I’ve seen this game before in the German Grand Prix. I had a goal to beat every game, but when I saw this very large puzzle fest with many complex German words I was overcome by the difficulty and gave up on the Grand Prix.

So it was nice to see an English translation! It also seems to have been updated with new puzzles and more points (2000 vs 810).

You play as a magician seeking a mystical jewel of life hidden in a master magician’s lair. Once you find it, though, you realize that getting out is a whole different problem.

The game has a humorous tone and a wide variety of puzzles. It leans a bit to the risque side, as the master has pornography and is known for seeking after young women.

Gameplay can vary between traditional parser and choice-based, depending on your settings. In choice-based mode, nouns have a drop-down menu with actions, some of which involve other nouns. There are many possibilities, which is good and bad; good because you have to think and can’t just lawnmower through all choices, but bad because it can be hard to find the right option.

I found the puzzles very interesting, especially those involving the stuffed animals. My biggest difficulties were with objects where you need to USE one object WITH another, but if you get the order wrong it doesn’t work (so, for instance, using a key with a door might work but not a door with a key).

There are some minor errors here and there that can be confusing. I had a problem with a snake that I messaged the author about but which I think might be soon fixed, so I’ll update once I get past that part. There is a very helpful hint system with three levels of hints, although occasionally some things don’t have hints or the hints aren’t a complete solution.

I think the only drawback some people may not like is the sheer number of options, with many rooms having many objects which have many interactions. Playing it as a parser game can help, but some objects don't respond to their in-game names (like 'left shelf' must be referred to as 'leftmost shelf', I think). I think the people who will like this most are people who like Steve Meretzky’s games (I feel like the tone and puzzles are similar) and are patient with working through puzzles involving a lot of careful examination.

I usually write reviews for both the author and the players, but I don’t think Jim reads the reviews, so I’ll write for the players.

Jim Macbrayne is an author with a polished self-made writing system that he has used to make several parser games, usually 1-2 a year for the last several years (as well as some TADS games in the past). These games are windows executables and feature a command-line style interface with some color use. The Function keys are used as shortcuts in-game. An unusual feature of his games is that objects in containers cannot be referenced, so if there is a fish in a bucket, you can’t type GET FISH or X FISH. Instead you have to type GET FISH FROM BUCKET or GET ALL FROM BUCKET. He has reserved the F1 key to always print out GET ALL FROM IT as this occurs very frequently in the games.

The games have a standard format and this is no exception. You generally are in a world that is fantasy with some mundane/modern objects (for instance, this game has a Gymnasium with a climbing rope in it) and different devices. There are usually potions of some kind and often a teleporter device that can be calibrated to different settings (in this game, a coin-operated dial). Puzzles often revolve around entering combinations using colors, numbers, keypads, etc. with the solution to one combination found on a card or piece of paper in another area. There is usually a book of spells that you can memorize a certain number of times, each time you casting them having one copy of the spell disappear from memory.

This game has all those things. The framing device is that you have been asked to find Excalibur, King Arthur’s sword. In the meantime, you’ll pass through caves, castles, and more.

I generally find these games pretty chill and soothing. I like to play for a bit till I get stuck, get some hints, play more, and then when I’m really not sure to use the walkthrough. I got around 60 points out of 230 before using the walkthrough. I feel like playing without help would take a week or two, with a lot of time waiting for ‘aha’ moments.

I did miss some of the more exciting parts of earlier games; for instance, this game didn’t have much NPC interaction.

I expect to see more similar games in the future, and they’re nice to look forward to, and I like to play them early on in the competitions, as they don’t get many reviews (mostly due to being a Windows executable). The nice thing is if you play one and like it, there are many more to enjoy.

I knew before I played this game that it was fairly old-school, with the possibility of getting in non-winnable positions and a strict inventory limit.

I assumed that meant it would also be buggy or sparse. But I was pleasantly surprised to see I was wrong on both counts!

This is an amusing and puzzle-dense and polished game about zombies and other undead. You meet quite a few supernatural beings, many of which are pretty goofy and others which are frightening.

This is a hard game, and I used a walkthrough for the majority. I was able to get about 60 points on my own out of 300. I was glad to see that there was a 'winnable' setting you could activate to know if you had done something dumb or not.

The inventory was a major sticking point, though, and I'd probably raise the score by a point if it were removed. It is very tight, and I locked myself out of victory by bringing a shovel into the mansion, since I couldn't carry everything I needed out of it. And it doesn't contribute anything to the game; no puzzles are improved by the inventory limit. And you can take things out of the backpack but not put things in when it is being worn, which exacerbates things.

Overall this author shows great talent, and I would be happy to play more games from him (without inventory limits if possible!)

This is a great Twine puzzle game that manages to have immense complexity.

You play as Rosalinda, an animated skeleton who can detach her body parts, and Piecrust, a powerful mage turned tiny mouse.

Rosalinda can detach her body parts, allowing you to control up to 5 independent characters/things, including the mouse.

Piecrust can cast numerous spells, gaining more as the game progresses, with some serving as a Chekhov's gun.

Both have their own inventory of items. Items can be dropped, picked up, and, adding to complexity, used on things in the room or combined with each other or, reaching tertiary complexity, combined with each other and then used on items.

There is a big cast of characters. Overall, I'd say this game is more story-driven than the first one, which felt more like a puzzle box exploring using Rosalinda's bones in creative ways. This game has a lot more variety, and has extensive character development. Honestly, I loved it.

It's a long game, taking me several hours. The plot is hard to summarize, but basically Rosalinda is exploring her (un)life and where she came from, but her and her friends get captured and put on trial. Later, everyone is separated, and must find each other again.

This is the first chapter of a large Choicescript game. I played past two hours on my phone, saving occasionally, but I lost about 30 minutes of progress near the end by forgetting to save (I got to the point where you can pack your suitcase). I think I got pretty close to the end, from what other reviews have said.

The scope of this game is large. The current largest Choice of Games title is 1.2 million words (while some Hosted games are larger), so one chapter of 400K is quite big. Production seems to have taken a long time, as there is a lot of reference to face masks and social distancing.

The overall concept of this game is that King Arthur and his court were real and still exist in a certain way (revealed later on) in the modern world. Simultaneously, demonic forces are trying to start the apocalypse, and you can help stop it.

There were two main romantic options I saw, a man and a woman. There are tons of different chance to declare your affection, so many so that I felt I had to constantly be turning down the people I wasn’t interested in.

The game has lots of action scenes which I thought were full of descriptive language and feeling like stakes were real. I died in one! (to see what would happen). A lot of times it was over the top (lots of Zalgo text for horror and tons of quip/pun options for humor).

The game is so large, I feel, because all the normal Choicescript stuff is amplified. Usually you can pick a few features of your appearance; here you can pick if you have hair, what length is your hair, what color is your hair, what shade is your hair. Instead of five to ten options, there are 15 to 20. Instead of choosing conversation topics from a repeating list that gets narrowed down, you pick from a list of conversation topics that each open up to their own list of conversation topics and so on.

This provides for a lot of customization but it can kind of interrupt game flow sometimes. I felt a bit of decision paralysis from time to time. It’s kind of the opposite of the problem a lot of games have, where all of the cool branching and decision making is hidden and players think the game is small/short because they don’t realize the choices they could have made.

In contrast, here everything is put on display constantly, revealing the massive amount of possible choices. And some don’t even seem implemented yet, like the fencing club (unless there is a way to get into there!).

I liked the Merlin character, and saw them as a fun RO/mysterious person. The overall magic system seems thought out and coherent, and the worldbuilding feels like it’s on an epic and grand scale. While I did find the large amount of choices overwhelming at time, it seems reasonable given the overall scope. I could definitely see it being popular when it comes out.

This is I think the 5th Jim MacBrayne game I’ve played, and I think it’s definitely the most fair and well scoped of them that I’ve played; either that or I’m simply getting used to their internal logic.

These games are all written in a custom engine that is remarkably smooth, as least here. For those new to Jim MacBrayne games, the most unusual feature is that if an object is in a container or on a supporter, you can’t take it; trying to will say ‘You don’t see any…’. I believe this is due to the fact that tracing through the contents of all the supporters and containers is too hard for the engine to handle. Instead, you have to say TAKE ALL FROM ____. There is a shortcut specifically for that (F1).

Anyway, the main idea of the game is that you are hunting through a cottage and adjoining area for a mysterious orb, with clues left behind by a circle of elders.

Most of the puzzles revolve around enigmatic devices that you have to figure out, interspersed with riddles and codes that explain how to use them.

I was able to get pretty far on my own; although I only got 70 points by the two hour mark, when I checked the walkthrough I was about 40% through the game. The puzzles are tough but fair; the place where I got stuck was due to not remember a clue from earlier.

The setting is very abstract, and much like Zork in its mix of fantasy and modern aesthetics.

I was glad to play this game, and hope Jim MacBrayne is able to enjoy coding up games for a while to come.

This is definitely one of the heftier IFComp games; I took a whole evening to look at it, spending two hours playing it and then speeding through with the walkthrough and thinking about it for a while after.

This is the 6th in a series of games that are all based on the same concept: rhyming pairs of words. Progress in the game consists of walking around/exploring and taking the names of rooms or objects and finding another pair of words that rhymes with them (like the name of the game itself).

Andrew Schultz has written many wordplay games over time (more than 40!) but I think this concept has proven the most productive, given the number of games that have been produced with the rhyming pairs.

I’d like to describe what this game has in common with the earlier games and what’s unique to it.

First, in common: This game is set in a kind of abstract land, reminding me a lot of The Phantom Tollbooth, where abstract concepts are taken literally. By removing the need for all items to be concrete or to fit into a unified setting (like a fantasy world or spaceship), it opens up the opportunity to include a ton more of the rhyming pairs.

Another thing in common is that the game is centered on an emotional journey of sorts. with a lot of focus on emotions and experiences. I said earlier that the game doesn’t have a unified setting, and while that’s true physically, each game has a unique emotional setting, a journey of self actualization that changes from game to game. Most games have an enemy that represent negative social traits such as bullying, peer pressure, cruelty, lying, pandering, or other bad traits, which the protagonist can only defeat after a great deal of personal growth. Not every game has these exact ingredients, because there is a lot of variety.

So that brings us to the unique parts of this game. First, its personal journey is quite a bit different from the others; rather than the hero alone reading books or psyching themself up, they help others. You can grab a whole lot of friends to walk around with you, each of which can help you in different ways. You can also find some people who have been wronged that you can bolster and lift up. Your friends’ journey becomes your journey, in a way. Overall, I liked the positive atmosphere.

You’re also provided with a list of items to get, which I found helpful as a way to track my progress in game.

It’s also pretty hard; while you can just go through the alphabet plus some letter combinations, it can be tricky to come up with solutions. I’d recommend one of two different play styles:
1-Taking a long time on the game, with breaks between sessions, to let yourself find everything.
2-Explore for a while to get as many answers as you can before getting stumped, then using the walkthrough to get to a new area and repeating.

This is definitely one of those games that you can figure out early on if you like it or not. The puzzle types and themes are very consistent, so you can try out the first few rooms to see if you feel like playing more or not. I’m glad I saw the end, even if I needed some help to get there.