Ratings and Reviews by Wanderlust

I was drawn to this game by its title and I'm really glad I played. As I write this review, I'm still waiting for a piece of me to return to my body. The game opens with the option to select how potentially triggering you would like it to be, on a scale of 1 to 5. As someone who has struggled with disordered eating habits, I selected 4, then changed my mind and selected 5. Knowing that the author is in recovery makes the game more personal, and the writing speaks with a voice that can only come from experience. The linear storytelling and delayed text really captures the same type of obsessive thinking behind a compulsion, and even now, my skin still has goosebumps.

In terms of plot, this reads a lot like the old school choose-your-own-adventure gamebooks. Y'know, the ones where you're in a jungle hunting for lost treasure, and you choose to shelter in a cave, and oops! suddenly you've discovered a secret society of mole-people. It's fun and silly, but also a bit jarring, because things just sort of happen without much build-up.

There's at least five different endings from multiple playthroughs, and each were as distinct as the last, with maybe two of the five containing minor puzzle elements whose solution you can kind of stumble on. Only one of the five endings I discovered seemed to have any narrative consistency within the larger framework of being a stowaway on a ship, and it was also the one I found most emotionally satisfying. Nonetheless, I wouldn't consider this to be a fault of the game itself, and more of an incompatibility between what the author is trying to do vs my preferences for interactive fiction.

Interesting premise, decent writing. By and large, the story is pretty linear, differing only in the artist's choice of demon and their decision on what to do with it. Our protagonist's familiar, Pixel, was a cute, snarky sidekick and behaved exactly like a cat— surprisingly loyal, but don't make too much of a fuss about it. For better or worse, the antagonists were annoying; a cartoonish, uninspired evil, though maybe that's also because I've had the misfortune of dealing with that type of personality in real life.

All in all, it's a fun game to play during your lunch break, and not bad at all for the author's first foray into Twine.

In Chronicles of the Moorwalker, you play as a budding witch investigating the mysteries surrounding your birth and your mother's murder, while evading the grasp of the Inquisition. As you hone your skill in blood magic, you'll discover relics and talismans, collect potions and trinkets, and improve your relationship with your familiars.

I floundered on my first few attempts, since I struggled with the combat mechanics. There's a quick tutorial for your first fight, but to fully understand the stats involved, I highly recommend reading the rules in the Settings page. I played on the medium difficulty level, and found the encounters to be tough, but fair with a good dose of strategy and some chance. I ran into some difficulty trying to replenish my Vitality outside of encounters, though maybe that's because I couldn't figure out how to develop my alchemy skills. Towards the end, I started avoiding and outright skipping encounters, because I couldn't get my hands on healing potions until I was quite literally at the Big Bad's doorstep. Even so, the fights were rewarding to play through, with the generous use of the save/reload save button.

While the plot was a little predictable, I really enjoyed exploring the map and learning about the magic system. Alternate 13th-century Germany felt rich and full, no doubt enhanced by the sound effects, music, and illustrations. I especially appreciate the detailed accessibility settings for screen readers and touchscreens.

Finally, a little bug catching: A few times during the game, I couldn't return to the main story after opening the Journal, Inventory, or Settings page. Sometimes, there would be a pop-up that would give me the option to go back to the previous passage or completely restart the game, but more often than not, I would be stuck on a blank page. There's also some small typos here and there (E.g. "lose" >> "loose," "through" >> "trough"), but for a game of this size, I'd still consider it pretty polished.