Reviews by manonamora

Le Père Potlatch is a a mocking Christmas-Day story, where you incarnate the titular Père Potlatch, who unlike our known Santa, tasks himself with burning received gifts. On his list this year: some rich billionaires and their new toys. It’s as funny as its premise is silly, and definitely satisfying (unless you choose to leave them alone). Happy belated dream Christmas!

Taxathoustra is a short humorous and surreal adventure, in which you play as the titular mage, whose best trick: tax evasion. Waking up from a nightmare where he'd lost it all, he leaves his house hoping to win big! Twists and turns occur along the way, pulling you along with some Dr. Seuss-y vibes. It's a pretty fun short time.

Maasdreniev, district d'Azotja is a short hyperlink piece made in Twine, where you read about the history of the Kostin's family moving to "7 rue des Ramendeurs" a few generations prior, and how they fair now. The narration, with its repetitions and unsaid, paints a very dark atmosphere where hopes and misery cohabit.

Paye tes impôts Isabelle ! is a short Moiki game, where you play as actress Isabelle (Nanty, if the end is to be believed), trying to do her taxes last minute. It doesn’t help that she doesn’t remember where she put all her documents (or that you’ll find them in improbable spots)! It is a pretty light-hearted setting with a comical tone, with multiple different endings. It’s silly… and remind us that lying on our taxes doesn’t always pay :P

Famille P. LOISEL is a short cinematic Moiki story in which you spy on a family, whose business meant the death of your brother. While learning that (Spoiler - click to show)your target is actually not here, which means you can't yet follow through with your plan, you also hear tit bits which makes you reexamine (a bit) what you thought about the family.

The game ends with a little chase (defining your ending), and left me hungry for more! Granted the word limitation could only give us this short scene, I would play a larger version of this game in a heartbeat ((Spoiler - click to show)maybe confronting your target? or some sort of break-in to figure out what's the deal with the daughter refusing to eat).

dénanti is a CYOA booklet, in which you switch bodies with billionaire Arnaud Bernard (and definitely not the French businessman, *wink wink*). Armed with this incredible fortune, you get to choose how to spend it... except, it's *really hard* to spend a lot of money like this. If your actions are not stopped because it looks fraudulent, you actually end up richer by fixing the (speculative) economy or through tax-loophole! In both the setting and gameplay, this entry reminded me of You are Jeff Bezos. It was a pretty funny 5min going through all the options!

Maasdreniev, taudis de l’Est is a short hyperlink story created in Decker, in which you follow a hungry and cold man in an unnamed dilapidated neighbourhood (though the vibes are evocative of Eastern Europe, just after the Iron Wall is constructed). Lost and left behind, these beings do what they can to survive, even if it means turning on each other and losing more of their little humanity. It is very bleak and as immersive (especially with the uneasy tune of the background music).

La Valise is a short speculative fiction made in Ink, in which you decide the fate of humanity, as nuclear bombs are about to decimate your side of the world. Contrasting with the imminent destruction of your country (and maybe more), is a banal and calm prose (maybe resigned already? with the state of things), rendering the scene both comical and pretty depressing. Regardless of your choice, little changes for you, but it is nonetheless impactful.
A great piece of speculative fiction in so few words!

Au village de pêcheurs is a short slice-of-life parser where your goal is to purchase some fresh fish at a fishing village a few towns over. Little issue, your child decided to come along on this little trip and be a little menace. This does not go over well with the only fish stall of the village.

The current version of the game has multiple unfinishable states, which the author is aware of and has been working on fixes. It also does not include hints or walkthrough. I was able to find one for sure one confirmed fail ending.

With that in mind, it is expected to struggle with the game, find what works and what maybe should be working but isn’t. I got stuck multiple times, as well as had a full page of error messages through my trial-and-error input.

Still, I couldn’t get away until I reached the end… any end. The game is charming to boot, with its dry humour, the exasperated and exhausted parent, the menace of the Child (also in capital in game), and the no-nonsense local fisherman. I found myself chucking at the descriptions multiple times, even when there probably wasn’t a joke. And it was fun to just try things, even if nothing happened.
Even when frustrated with the parser itself, it still worked with who you’re supposed to play: a tired parent trying their best to accomplish just one task without finding the child. The game actually allows (Spoiler - click to show)you to leave without having gotten the fish or the child. Which… is the only one I actually managed to reach.

I can’t wait for the new version to be completed so I can find the other endings and be as much of a menace as the Child.

Une simulation is a tiny parser game, where you incarnate a player about to try a new virtual game: a simulation of an escape room through a VR headset. The goal is to find the three keys required to unlock the door, each hidden behind a different puzzle.

The game makes it pretty clear what must be done, but if you have a doubt, there is a manual in the starting state listing the main commands, and a downloadable walkthrough. Though it can be solved without either.

For a first attempt at a parser, it was a smooth experience. I didn’t really run into any issue. The puzzles were pretty logical and obvious enough that solving them was a breeze. Being limited to one room and a couple of objects does help - there are only so many possible interactions. Handling the plant was probably my favourite one out of all the different puzzles.