Reviews by MathBrush

I was quite surprised by the length of this game. I finished it in 15 minutes, but it's labelled as over 2 hours. I suspect it's due to replay; it would probably take longer to find all paths.

This is a game about a deserter from an army, but it's in a world where soldiers pilot mechs. There's some hints that the mechs are used in peace-time as well.

I made choices like choosing between fast and dangerous paths or long and safe ones, like investigating a cave, like whether to help strangers.

There were some minor typos, but asides from that the description is very physical, emphasizing terrain and rocks and soil and water, which gives the game some nice grounding. You can tell the main character cares a lot about his family.

Overall, an interesting setup and game. I'd play another game by this author.

I had a bit of trouble getting this game to work at first. It's a heavily modified Twine game that uses a kind of parser command format through selecting verbs and nouns via links.

I kept selecting a verb and an object, but nothing would happen. I eventually realized that you had to click the player, then the verb, then the object, then a yellow arrow that would then appear. Thus, most commands (outside of movement) take 4 clicks to execute, while some take 5 (those involving multiple objects).

You're part of a team of four, including a historian, a techie, a tough guy, and you, who is (I think) a reporter. Each of you starts in a different location, but you can command others to move around or follow you. Each has skills only they can use.

Once I figured out commands, I had difficulty finding things to do. I tried 'examining' objects, but most said 'No action available' or something similar. Most of my actions were rebuffed, so I decided to follow the walkthrough exactly.

I found out that several of the 'No action available' objects were important, and, in fact, one had to be examined twice! And your teammatest have to be moved around a lot. I'm glad I had the walkthrough, as I would have been completely stymied without it.

The writing is interesting. It generally uses very complex English, with only occasional typos. Room descriptions were rich, but could become repetitive. In many rooms there are shadows that dance, spectral things you can see, and secrets waiting to be found.

One room has almost exactly the same description repeated twice. Perhaps there were two versions in the draft that the author couldn't decide between, and both were accidentally left in? It's this one:

The air is heavy with the spectral echoes of the past, whispering tales of medieval times. The castle, once a symbol of power and grandeur, now stands as a spectral monument, a haunting reminder of the impermanence of man’s creations.

This place, steeped in history and shrouded in mystery, is a silent witness to the passage of time, its spectral presence a haunting echo of a bygone era. It is a place where the past lingers on, its spectral whispers carried on the wind, a chilling reminder of the castle’s former glory and the transience of human endeavour.

While the large vocabulary and repeated words could be seen poetically, I found myself sometimes longing for shorter, more varied descriptions that gave more specific details about this setting or clues about its inhabitants.

The large number of details became frustrating when they included seemingly helpful things that are not implemented. I wonder why the author took the time to include so many details about the van, when none of them can be interacted with:

The van is painted in a vibrant color scheme: the bottom is bright blue, while the top is lime green. An orange horizontal stripe separates the two sections. On the side of the van, there is a large psychedelic logo that says "Fantasticmobile" in stylized and colored letters. It has a retro design, with a rounded shape and a large panoramic windshield.

Interior: The cockpit has two seats wrapped in a colorful striped fabric. The steering wheel and dashboard have a vintage design, with analog gauges and a large chrome steering wheel. Behind the cockpit, there is a large space that can be used to transport people or equipment. This space is often filled with everything the team might need to solve mysteries, including a map, a flashlight, a camera, and even some tools. The floor of the van is covered with a thick and comfortable carpet.

Features: The roof of the van is openable, creating an ideal observation point for scanning the surrounding landscape. The side of the van has a retractable panel that reveals a laboratory complete with tools and accessories for solving mysteries. The rear bumper of the van is equipped with a tow hitch, which can be used to tow a trailer with additional equipment.

Curiosities: The Fantasticmobile was designed and built by a member of the team, who is an expert in mechanics and engineering. The van is powered by a silent and high-efficiency electric motor, making it ideal for following suspects without being detected. The Fantasticmobile is a true symbol of the team, representing their spirit of adventure and their commitment to solving mysteries.

The author wrote this game in tribute to an early Scott Adams game, and wrote to Adams to get express permission for this game. The letter sent and the letter received can both be seen in the game, one in the intro and one in-game.

There is background pixel art which at times helped me understand the game world, taken from Wikipedia. Occasionally it obscured the text, but only in a few rooms.

Overall, I was impressed with the technical skill of the sugarcube programming; it must have been very difficult to implement this!

This is a short, 3-part Twine game that is dialogue between someone seeking mental health aid and an AI bot designed to help with mental health. It is connected to Yancy at the End of the World, where Shyler (the AI bot) also exists. It is fully voice acted. In the three dialogues, the two characters seek to understand each other.

There are many ways to understand the content and intent of this game. I've interpreted it as a kind of wish fulfillment/proxy therapy session where the reader can mentally take on the roles of one or two of the people and feel happiness by imagining them carrying out these actions.

With that interpretation, I'd say the game is largely successful. I imagine you, the reader in the role of Jaiden, who seeks aid. This puts you in a fragile position where others could take advantage of you. But instead, we find Shyler, who not only understands us but is relatable, feeling similar to us. Not only that, we find that we are able to help Shyler ourselves, reversing our roles and showing that we've progressed far in our mental health journey.

So in a way it reminds me of the 'mysteries' of ancient religions where you'd act out the lives of the Gods in a ritual. By playing the game, we can achieve the (healthy) fantasies of being a good friend, understanding someone, and helping them. The game even goes as far as <spoiler.curing the bot's mental illness entirely by rewiring it, which is a big power fantasy, the possibility of completely curing someone's brain.

Some parts of the game are universal, like loneliness and friendship. Other are tailored to a unique experience. The protagonists seem like they feel liberated by strong profanity, which wasn't something I related to. One also takes a kind of deconstructionist view of God of the type that I've seen be more popular among those who've left religions and are seeking their own meaning. As someone who adheres to an organized faith, I didn't feel as empowered by these statements as I believe the protagonist was.

Overall, the voice acting added a lot of charm. It's hard for me to focus on timed text and long voice acting wears on me, but this was a short game and the voice acting was charming (of course, I had to plan carefully when to listen to it due to it having frequent strong profanity and me not having headphones or a private space to listen).

Charming game, glad to play.

This is a long, worldbuilding-heavy, sincere fantasy Twine game about a world where dark magical creatures are born from mirrors. You play as a tired mother who is desperate and starving, looking for some kind of money for your family. You descend into the monster's caves to win wealth, learn about the monsters, or die.

The game is polished, and I didn't find any bugs. There are occasional illustrations and it makes use of different background colors.

I thought it was well-written. The creation myths were some of my favorite parts, as was interacting with the gods. Overall, this seems like a setting that would do well in fantasy book.

I had ups and downs with the plot. Up until the end of Act II, I felt like there was a definite progression, and could feel the tension rising. I reach what felt like the apex of the plot, but then...there was Act III, which felt like it let the wind out of the sails. (Spoiler - click to show)We get a new protagonist and repeat many of the same plot points. It's interesting too because with Act I and Act II I thought, 'This could be a great fantasy novel if it was expanded with more interactions with the characters, more door history, but the author probably didn't have enough time', and yet Act III itself is quite large. I would have preferred to have just Act I and Act II, fully fleshed out, and maybe Act III as a later sequel book.

But this is just quibbling and it's not like I can dictate that kind of thing. I liked the overall story and thought it was well done, I'm just recording the thoughts that passed through my head.

The choices were both good and bad. A large chunk of them fell into two categories:
1) Be nice vs Be mean
2) Injure yourself to discover something vs Be safe and learn nothing

I found little motivation to be mean early on, so usually just stuck with being nice. Later on, I found that there was more subtlety to some of those choices, but it would have been nice to have more options that weren't on the good/bad axis. The choices I liked most involved the gods, who had some great variety. The choices did provide the chance to feel like a hero, though, and were meaningful, often having significant-feeling effects. The game doesn't seem to branch too much but it does adjust itself based on your actions.

It was a long game. I played over two different evenings, and it took up a couple hours in each.

Overall, I can recommend it to players in generally, but most heartily to avid fantasy fans.

This is a short, atmospheric Twine game with two endings.

It's hard to describe, so I'll go with what my first impressions were, then what I built up afterwards.

It starts talking about returning to another choice, with three voices whispering to you. Having recently done some surface-level study of Hinduism, I wondered if it was related to the cycle of rebirth and the Trimurti, although I didn't find much evidence of that later.

Then the game starts going through a week at an office one day at a time. No one really pays attention to you, and you mentally rate things from 1-3 stars when you see them (maybe you can do 4 or 5 if you wait long enough for timed text but I never saw a choice to pick those, only having one chosen for me). You have a crush on a guy you see outside the window whom you hope you can see, too.

Things change near the end; there's an interlude on Wednesday night involving a trip (to Italy, I think?) where your persona seems to change, but it's gone the next day.

After finishing the game and replaying, here's what I think's going on:

(Spoiler - click to show)
You are a spirit. No one can see you, except animals. The deaths of animals gives you more physical presence on a limited basis proportional to the complexity or size of the animal.

You are here because the three people in the office with you left a woman to die in a ravine after a team-building exercise. Your job as a ghost is to bring that fact to their attention.

The three at the beginning have given you similar tasks before, and ask you to do this one with positivity. Whether you are positive or not throughout the game leads to the two endings. I believe the 1-3 star ratings control that positivity.

I'm still not sure who the three are (Christian trinity? Greek fates?) or who you are (Jess's spirit? an angel?) or what the Italian interlude is (is that you in a past life?).


Overall, the color and atmosphere were good. Timed text was used occasionally and was just infrequent enough not to be annoying. It felt like the plot was resolved, although I had trouble feeling out consistent themes or patterns in the different threads.

There were several minor typos, usually a letter or two wrong. If the author were to do a post-comp release, I'd suggest going to Twinery and using the Proof button in the Build tab to get a dump of all text in the game and to run it through a spellchecker; I've done that before because I've made numerous typos in my own games and books.

I liked this game, and would play more from this author.

I'm surprised this one has no review yet, I think this is the most fun jkj yuio game I've played so far.

It's a direct use of Dr Who characters and lore. You play as the doctor, with companion Bex, who only appeared in an audio drama (unless the name is a coincidence). You've accidentally teleported into a Dalek base and need to get out.

The game is a light snack, a thirty minute adventure with few puzzles and mostly exploration. The Daleks here are powerful but not the strongest they've ever been, lacking some core skills they've had in other adaptations.

The 3d models jkj yuio makes look a lot better in this than before, you can tell his skill is increasing. I think the mechanical nature of much of the scenery in the game helps with that, but also the faces are less uncanny-valley.

Overall, I enjoyed this. Is it because it relies heavily on a media franchise I like or because of the author's own merits? Maybe both; I feel like the author's enthusiasm for Dr Who led to a strong effort. In any case, this doesn't take very long to play, so it's worth checking out.

**Verses** by Kit Riemer

This was a hard game to play, but not for the usual reasons. It wasn't difficult in a puzzly way and it didn't make me feel bad inside.

This game was hard to play because the text really made me have to think to understand it, to try to piece together everything, to absorb the different layers of meaning going on.

Here's an example. The links in this game are colored differently, with one mostly representing 'forward motion' and the others side details which are placed below the main text. These side details take the form of definitions and can vary from mundane to metaphorical, often one right after the other. Here's a snippet I clipped:

(Spoiler - click to show)
air: the chill makes you shiver.
smoke: something becoming something else.
meat: how would it feel to be cooked?


So I felt like I was wrestling with a hydra, trying to take on this game on multiple narrative levels at once.

I failed, I think. I can only identify the surface themes in this story, alas.

Which is why I've delayed describing the story so far, because I'm not sure I can.

As far as I can tell, it's set in a different timeline than ours where biological modification is common and words usually reserved for religion are applied to other mysterious phenomena.

You are an analyst, which seems to be a job involving organic, technological and spiritual components. You are assigned into the middle of nowhere with little company in a rotting building. Every day you're asked to analyse, partly using the computer and partly using your own intuition. The whole process actually just now reminded me of accounts of Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon, first using a tool designed by God for the purpose before later relying on it less.

Analysis seems to be all about interpreting the words that come to you, but those words are unclear at first. Simultaneously, the game includes many translations of poems, going into great detail of the difficulties in preserving metaphor, beauty, rhyme scheme and tone between Hungarian, Romanian, and English. It was fun learning a bit of Romanian (I saw a word for claw or hoof that looked like 'ungulate'). The protagonist takes special pride in translating poems with good meter.

The translation and the analysis seem to go hand in hand, but of the rest of the story, what does it mean? I visit a farm which I've already heard rumours about, and find (Spoiler - click to show)masses of bioflesh with human organs waiting to be harvested. As I translate more, I (Spoiler - click to show)lose my humanity, my eye, my leg, my ability to speak. I consume the flesh of the unholy and the dead. What does it mean? It feels almost like Kafka's "In der Strafkolonie", with its vivid and violent semi-religious imagery with no explicit moral or meaning.

I don't think this is a game meant to be enjoyed in a brief time to serve as entertainment; it feels like something designed to provoke thought, like someone deliberately crafted something to cause as much pondering as possible.

As a final note, what I think is going on with analysis is that (Spoiler - click to show)the biscuits you consume are pieces of waste extruded by long-dead aliens that preserve some of their consciousness, which you slowly become attuned to at the price of your own body and mind. They appreciate this as it grants them some freedom, but you yourself lose everything.

In any case, definitely a game worth checking out. I found a small bug where I had to click on some links repeatedly before they worked, but it's been passed on to the author and a workaround may be available. I wouldn't let that stop you from playing, though, it worked well for me even with that.

This game was interesting; I'm not sure if it's actually complete or not, as the story ended a little abruptly for me. It did give me an ending screen, and I downloaded it and checked and found a few side stories I missed, but overall, it felt like a plot arc was building up to something but just kind of stopped right before the apex.

This game is about a tense Thanksgiving with family that doesn't really get you and a variety of unusual occurrences. Plot threads include a bigoted uncle, hiding your sexuality, learning family secrets, and (Spoiler - click to show)experiencing weird visions.

Also, everyone treats you like you're vegan but it seems like you're not really heavily vegan? That part wasn't clarified, but most of the plot points aren't. This seems more like a character-focused mood piece. You can talk to your uncle a bit, and you can decide how much to interact with your boyfriend on the phone, but (Spoiler - click to show)the visions you see don't really seem to have a resolution that I could find.

So I'm not sure how I feel about this story. The writing was good; I was invested in the characters and the overall feel. I just felt something missing in the end. But at least it's good that I wanted more of the game and not less!

This was a long game! It took me around 3 to 4 hours to finish, possibly because clicking links wasn't quite as fast as typing, but it went well.

Two of the most enjoyable murder mysteries of the last ten years are Erstwhile, a twine game where a ghost has to try to solve his own murder, and Toby's Nose, a parser game where a dog has to aid Sherlock Holmes.

This game combines the two! It's a parser-choice hybrid where you are a ghost that has to influence your dog to solve your own crime.

The setup is a classic murder mystery: you have died in the middle of the night, and four people stand to inherit from you. Each suspect has to be cleared or convicted before the day is through.

The game relies heavily on physics and on the five senses, as well as interactions with the neighboring humans.

Overall I found it very fun. I'd like to describe some nitpicks with the puzzles but those should come with the caveat that I had a good time!

The thing with some of the puzzles is that I could conceive of many possible solutions to problems but couldn't tell what the game was looking for or what effect things would have. How much do lights illuminate things? How far does sound travel? How does a dog communicate with a human?

I grew a bit frustrated, but a light bulb went off when I realized how few red herrings the game has (although they're there!). I changed from *deductive* reasoning to *inductive* reasoning. Instead of making a plan and trying to figure out how to achieve it, I looked at the items, actions and locations I hadn't used yet and thought, 'How can I do something with this?'

Occasionally there were plotlines that stretched my disbelief (especially the amount of things the dog got away with) but not so much more so than a normal mystery book.

Overall, I enjoyed the high level of polish. I realized later on that the 'find ____' options were actually really good at zipping you through the map quickly; if you remember where something is, you can just type it in and click on the 'find such and such' link and go there immediately. I also liked the characters of Watson and Davis.

The hint system works very well. The game has some automatic hints at the beginning which were a bit too spoilery for me, but fortunately the author has added a way to turn those off; the normal hints, on the other hand, can be accessed at any time.

Playing this game was a whirlwind of associations, expectations, references, and laughs.

You play as the valet to Bruce Wyatt, billionaire playboy, who is undergoing a crisis of sorts at the worst possible time. He's acting, well, like a bat, fleeing bright light sources, screeching, and crawling around. All this is happening right when a fudnraiser party/gala is about to start!

The story is divided into an act/scene structure. And my expectations swirled around. Spoiler-heavy discussion:


(Spoiler - click to show)
At first, I thought the game would be a Verdeterre-style optimization game as we struggle to make enough money, a game that would be heavily replayable but relatively brief. I thought the story was a reference to Der Fledermaus, a comic opera I've seen a few times but have mixed up with Der Rosenkavalier at times.

Then I started thinking that the money changes weren't related to optimization, but rather a way to inject additional humor into a scenario. Having someone get injured or annoyed or amused can be mildly funny in and of itself but attaching a specific dollar amount to it is especially amusing.

Similarly, I realized that this was a Batman parody when I saw the names of Bryce Wyatt's parents, Thomas and Martha (or something similar). Soon guests arrived, and I saw versions of Two-face, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman.

But others eluded me. Then the game itself mentioned Der Fledermaus, and I looked up the wiki description to refresh my mind, and saw that it included other characters that were in this game! So it was referencing two bat stories at once (and I saw later, in the credits, another one referenced).


Pacing was shockingly smooth. On several occasions I began thinking that I would run out of things to do, when subtle nudges pushed me in the right direction or major events (like the doorbell ringing) took place. Conversely, at times I'd have so many tasks piling up I thought I'd have to miss some and replay the game to see them. I kept thinking, "Surely this can't hold up, the pacing's going to go all wrong at some point and I'll be stuck twiddling my thumbs or getting too frustrated," but it never happens.

Compass directions have an in-game explanation, which I found fun given that Chandler Groover has expressed his own struggles with the compass in other parser games and his decision to keep it out of most of his own games; so having its presence so carefully justified here makes sense both outside of the game as well as in the game as a kind of tutorial for new players. Perhaps the later parts of the game where (Spoiler - click to show)the compass serves as a tool for control and destruction serves as an unconscious metaphor for the community's over-emphasis and use of the compass and the pressure it puts on authors to do the same.

Overall, this game was well-made and enjoyable. It includes some sensual material and some puerile material with bodily fluids, but both are framed in such a way that they are not really objectionable and leave more to the imagination.

Given that a few characters resemble people from different sources, I wonder about those I couldn't place, like (Spoiler - click to show)the twins. Are they from another source, or new creations?

I think this game will join Eat Me and Toby's Nose among Chandler Groover's best-regarded games, and serve as both a good introduction to new players and a fun treat for the experienced. Great work!