Reviews by MathBrush

This game is written under extreme constraints. Specifically, it uses no quotation marks, including ones that would be used to give the game a title (so Inform defaults to 'Welcome').

So everything has to be deduced from the info you're given in object names and actions of those around you. Runtime errors are also a source of info.

This is quite tricky of a game. There are several layers of puzzle here. I solved a small chunk of the game on my own (around 20-30%) then went to David Welbourn's walkthrough, where I realized I hadn't understood any of the run-time errors.

Overall, this was a fun concept that was well-executed.

This game started off with some timed, animated text which I had no control over. It was on a beautiful starfield and the text was nice, but I was worried that I'd miss something and have to restart since I couldn't go back. So I was expecting that the game would be frustrating or hard to play.

It ended up being really lovely. Only the opening and the ending had missable text like that. The rest of the game was so thoughtful.

In it, you a post-mortal human, your consciousness uploaded into a planet-sized database that preserves your 'self'. The love of your life is also uploaded nearby, and together the two of you count down to the end of the universe.

Most of the game is about reminiscing over your past with your love. At times the choices changed in a way I couldn't understand; it seemed like maybe I could only choose 2 out of 3 memories, which is a nice touch, but I may have just misunderstood how it worked.

Overall, I thought this was sweet, and had fun trying out some of the songs it was based on after.

I was struck when starting this game by how lovely the visuals were. The colors were rich and vibrant and the style was kind of impressionistic, allowing some flexibility in how to interpret things.

Most of the game is a series of conversations with 'Elias'. I don't want to give spoilers, but I don't think that would even be possible, since the game is not definite about what's going on.

'Elias' looks like a kind of plant monster. The real Elias was your boyfriend, but this thing can talk like him and seems to have some of his memories and feelings.

You are someone living out of their car, where everything is, and no other person is visible anywhere in the deserted areas you drive through. It's just you and 'Elias', whom you've trained or asked to re-enact your past memories with.

The art, music and lyrics are haunting. I thought at first it would be a shorter, poetic piece, and thought it was coming to a close, so I was surprised when it went on for quite a while. The ending was transcendent in the literal sense, as it passed from clearly understandable phenomena to something more. I didn't fully understand.

The game is mostly linear, with some choices along the way that may have had story impact but felt more like (good) flavor. I felt like the goal here was to write a game that gave a certain strong impression or feeling of combined nostalgia and alienation, and I think it achieved its goal.

One thing that could have been nice would have been a way in-game to know how much of the game I had completed or a way to save (maybe there was one; I didn't know any UI) to ensure that I could plan to experience the whole thing at once. But it was a charming experience and I found it really beautiful visually, one of the nicest-drawn games I've played in a long time.

In this game, you are tasked with finding treasure and investigating evil in an old abbey. As you explore, you find things like casks of pigs blood, evidence of violence, and a library that is a real maze. Eventually, I realized that this all seems familiar, because it's based on The Name of the Rose! When I found the 'finis africae' it was clear confirmation. There's a lot more added, and it doesn't follow the plot of the book, so it's not an adaptation, but it's pretty clearly inspired by it.

I played this the way I do many older adventures: I wandered around seeing how much I could achieve for a half hour or so, then used the walkthrough. For about half of the game I thought, "wow, this isn't that bad. Just mapping every room and taking everything you see should solve the majority of the puzzles". Then I got to a puzzle or two that I think I never would have solved on my own, but Rovarsson's review states that he solved it by dying and someone else said something similar, so that seems fair.

The overall atmosphere is spooky and fun, just like the source material it was based on, but intercut with silly jokes in a way reminiscent of other games in that post-Infocom and pre-Inform era (like Unnkulia).

Don't expect anything to be described. You could find (hypothetically) a miniature alien with a tattoo of the Queen of England in the middle of kissing a moldy tuna sandwich and the game would say:
'>X ALIEN

You see nothing interesting.'

Most actions will say it's not understood. So for most of the game you'll be fine. There are a few actions near the end that are more complex, though.

Overall, a fun adventure and neat to see a game from an era that's not as common as others.

I had to play using the online link.

You've spent the night at a man's house, only to find out he's suspected of horrific crimes. While he's in the bathroom, you have only a short time to discover the truth about him.

This is my favorite of the RGB cycle by Charm cochran, a collection of small games revolving around Bluebeard-like themes (secrets, murder, forbidden rooms). This one includes some really nice US design, with a text message-like interface contrasted with room exploration and dialogue that use different colors.

It includes a lot of exploration and a fairly complex puzzle. I played to one ending, which I enjoyed, but didn't feel compelled to try more. Really neat just how much love and detail went into a small game.

This game starts with you finding yourself suspended in the air so that all of your weight is concentrated on a single point halfway down your spine. Things do not improve for you after that.

The idea is that you are skewered on a hook and have the opportunity to flail about in different ways. Your different choices are pleasingly displayed for you in blood-like red. While you're doing that, in differently colored text, you hear your wife and her mother moving around.

This game isn't long, but provides significant variety in interactions for its length and tells a story with a real plot arc (intro, buildup, climax/denouement) in just a few words. Pretty impressive. And violent but it doesn't lean into it, which in many ways increases the horror.

This game was written for the Bluebeard Jam and Neo-Twiny Jam. It's short, and recounts the events that happen right after the climax of most Bluebeard retellings.

I like the presentation style with differently-colored and -justified text on black background and with multiple options even for a short game.

Its voice is distinctive in that it uses thee/thou while also using modern profanity. I generally avoid games with strong profanity in them and that's the main reason I've avoided playing this series for the last half of a year, despite seeing extensive praise from others and despite loving this author's game. And I do admit, it is grating here, like a spicy hotdog with just too many jalapenos on it.

I know this sounds really strange but I actually love the opening title screen that explains how to play and understand the game and gives a brief preview. I'd love for that to become common in more games, and it looks really good.

This is a visual novel that consists of one scene between two old friends/partners/lovers(?), consisting of yourself and a polish model named Kaja.

The two of you haven't seen each other for a while, and it seems your relationship has been fraught with difficulties in the past. Kaja is famous, and has had trouble connecting with others.

There are a variety of choices in the game that let you roleplay how you'd handle the relationship. The art is on-point, and the UI looks smooth and made play easy, especially going back and forth between passages. The art really fits the mood.

There is some strong profanity.

Overall, I thought this was a good 'doomer' kind of game, like the kind you could play on a melancholy rainy Friday night. But 'doomer's not the right word since there's a kind of quixotic hopefulness that pervades it.

I also liked the sign language parts.

I've been interested in Chinese poetry the last few years as I help the mandarin students at my school and I've been watching C-dramas like Empresses in the Palace. I also visited China last year and saw a lot of the older stuff up-close. I like Du Fu's poems in translation.

So it was fun to see this. It's pretty simple; each page has two options you can click on, each associated with nature or something else lovely. At the end, you get a poem based on you choices.

I thought this was fun, and the choices of imagery were pretty.

In this game, you play as a trans girl explaining why she doesn't get haircuts anymore due to experiences as a kid.

You go to a barbershop and have choices thrust upon you that you don't care for. The game includes some helpful graphics to indicate what's going on.

It ends a little abruptly, but that's intentional and adds more force to the ending. There are some choices that lead to internal dialogue that varies depending on your choice, and I thought that that was well-done.