Reviews by MathBrush

This game starts out with abstract text in an unreadable font. It soon changes, so I'll put the rest in spoilers.

(Spoiler - click to show)You discover that you are in the arms of your mother, who can provide you with drinks, words, etc. You can look out the window or at your mother. At times, it seems like there is no way to progress, but as you complete the cycle, you can. There are 3 achievements; I got one of 3.

The more you play, the more you realize that there is something else going on here, a different genre and setting. The vocabulary used is grim and strong in this game. I found it interesting and was glad to play it.

This is a Neo-Twiny Jam game about a relationship where you and the other person meet and care about each other but there is, it seemed like to me, space between the two of you, a lack of complete emotional intimacy. I enjoyed the writing, and it brought to mind some close friends of my own in a positive way.

The text is on a timer, specifically a very slow timer and it refreshes to a new screen each time the timer goes off, with no way to go back, so you have to sit very still and watch carefully to avoid missing anything. Text comes in passages with each passage having three sentences followed by a binary choice. The game lasts around 4 choices, so it doesn't take too long to play. I found this pretty frustrating, which was balanced by my enjoyment of the lovely way the writing connected with me.

This is a Neo-Twiny Jam game written in 500 words or less. Its text is rich and symbolic, though difficult to understand. I felt that it was saying that I was some kind of monstrous creature, part lizard and part bird or maybe even insect, whose body was bleeding and rippling and changing in a liquid way.

The writing had a lot of good similes and metaphors and strong verbs. The game doesn't last too long, and it all ends up kind of in the air. Fun for its length.

This is a short game that has a special gimmick. Revealing the gimmick removes most of the enjoyment of the game. I recommend playing it; just now I played it twice in 10 minutes so it's not too much time.

Story-wise, you are a contract killer who has performed an assassination, and your goal is to get home. You meet three different people or groups of people on the way, with some choices on how to deal with them.

(Spoiler - click to show)This game is played in reverse. Each action is kind of localized in time, and then you go to an earlier time in the day. The way this is represented is that each spot has two ghostly figures, and by recreating the ghostly figures, you cause them to disappear. In reality, what you did was make them happen, but since time is going backwards, it looks like you make them unhappen.

I always thought there was a unique path in this game, but you can pick between multiple futures at each location.

The gimmick here really is impressive. I'd love to see someone else try it. Long gone are the days where people could reasonably assume to have a unique idea for every parser game, so it would be fun to see this concept polished up a bit.

This is a short game that relies on parsing out text briefly in two ways: timed text (which is relatively quick) and 'click to add more text to the paragraph', which is helpfully indicated by a symbol in the corner.

As part of the Neo-Twiny Jam, the game is short. As part of the Bluebeard jam, it is full of mystery and violence. And as part of the Anti-Romance Jam, it is heartwrenching.

I felt like this game was trying out something really unusual. The way that text spread and proliferated as I clicked on different things and the way the text automatically appeared felt like it was glitchy and strange, but intentionally so as part of your experience as a (Spoiler - click to show)robot.

I couldn't find anything much to do beyond looking and doing what I was asked not to do. In a way, that strengthens the story and explains why (Spoiler - click to show)all the earlier experiments failed; it is part of their existence to rebel, there is no other way to progress. At least, that was my interpretation.

This is a very brief game with lovely art.

You are a noise conductor on a mouse train. On each screen, you progress by clicking the train button at the bottom, which gives a satisfying animation with acceleration.

The story is simple and linear, but I was intrigued by the station list and the restart button. The restart button let me play again and I realized that everything was different. I played for a while and tried to imagine explanations for what was going on, especially given the list of stations, and that was fun.

This is an extensive story about a vampire who was both blessed and cursed with vampirism. Of course being a vampire is a bad thing, but you've been blessed to be a vampire with some control and restraint over your feeding.

Unfortunately for you, you've been trapped by an ingenious device and have to await the coming of the sun (which is the radiance inviolate mentioned in the story name).

While you're waiting, you have numerous flashbacks. You see how you originally died, how you came to be a vampire, and some other unholy creatures you've met.

While most of the game was linear, there were a few interesting choices and (I think) multiple endings. I ended up with a somewhat romantic ending.

I liked the writing in general. One effective piece of text I liked early on:

"Camille—his maker—had left him a particular imprint; a drive to consume those already craving relief from suffering.

Acts of mercy that fueled him, yes, but also brought him to face that force of nature which he himself refused and resented.

Death."

Overall, by far the best part in this story for me is the dynamic between characters. It's clear the author is talented and experienced at writing interesting conversations and relationships, and that's something I look forward to in future games from this author.

Portrait with Wolf is a poetic game. Or, a collection of smaller games. When you open it, you have a one-room game and a standard Inform header but with Info for a different game. You have 4 choices you can select from. Choosing one of them gives you a brief ending, then reboots to a new miniature one-room game with four choices.

The choices have different words each time but represent CAT, TURNIP, BOOT, and ASTRONAUT. Wolves are also a recurring theme.

After making 6 choices, you are given an ending. How much of different choices you've made affects which ending you get.

After collecting all the standard endings, you can go on to get a few more complicated endings. I played until I was able to unlock all the GUIDE options.

I initially wrote a review of this game saying that I didn't really understand it, and documented my extensive efforts to find hidden meaning in the game. I didn't feel satisfied with my review, though, so I sought out more clarification on the game, reading other's reviews and asking the author for clarity.

I found out that I had framed the game incorrectly. I had thought the point of the game was to find clues in the text to piece together a mystery. While I enjoyed the art that reminded me of Van Gogh's thick oil style (with brighter colors and subject matter reminiscent of lovingly-illustrated German fairy tale books I read as a kid), I thought it was tangential to the work as a reward for solving the text mystery.

Instead, the game is meant as an experimental work. Had I paid closer attention to the Spring Thing blurb and in-game explanation, I would have seen that it was an homage to the former IF art shows, where I think it would have fit well; Emily Short and Ian Finley would likely have seen this game as a great fit for those competitions (I mention Ian Finley as he also excelled in artistic, artwork-centered experimentation).

As an experiment, this game does many things that are highly unusual. It takes parser affordances more typical for challenging puzzle games (like careful explanation text, error messages, guides, etc.) and incorporates them into a non-goal seeking context. (I say non-goal seeking even though the game does have goals, but the goals are more 'here is what you can see', like Jacqueline Ashwell's The Fire Tower, another IF Art Show game, rather than 'solve the puzzle). Additionally, the creative use of the Inform game header was something that struck me as the game's most intriguing part, using the most dull and tedious part of a regular game and turning it into one of the more fascinating portions of the game.

Part of the poetry sections of this game have been spun off into extensions. The complex menus and ending systems are also an experiment that I could see find use in a variety of other games, especially the presentation of endings and unlocked material.

I played the original spring thing online play version, which jumps directly into the text. The new version, which I played on itch after writing my initial review, has a beautiful opening image that significantly enhances the initial impression. I'd be interested in learning more about how the image scaling was handled.

I was glad to get a new perspective on the game, as I had set out to do. It was on my mind for the whole day after I wrote my original review, and I didn't feel settled. I do now.

This is a nice-looking Twine game set in a dystopian near-future where most fun jobs are taken by AI and humans are given Universal Basic Income that lets them scrape by but without much purpose in life.

You are given the opportunity to do some experimental trials for a shady company. The trials have to do with a kind of neuron-affecting chemical injection, but to find out what it is, you'll have to proceed with your trial.

I found the writing engaging and the story interesting. It doesn't last too long. I just wish it either had a more solid ending or more options for interactivity. As far as I could tell, the majority of interaction was 'do this interesting thing' or 'stop the game early'. I just checked (stopping in the middle of writing this review) and tried replaying with a different first option and saw that it changes a good deal of the story, which is actually pretty neat. So I'll bump up the rating for that. But all 4 ending variations I've seen seem really anticlimactic, which is rough because the rest of the story flows so well.

I like all of Bez's games, many of which recently have taken the form of voice-acted adventures with character illustrations set in a world where where people are a mix of animal and human.

This one is part of that larger continuity and follows on from past stories. It has three friends (including a cute snail human) that are doing Tarot readings and talk about the future.

I like the writing and the authenticity. Like some other Bez games, the story here models being open with friends and overcoming social challenges through honesty.

So why three stars? Well, with Bez being a prolific author, I've started sorting through the games in my mind. I prefer the stories by this author that have choices and also those which have a bit more content.