Reviews by manonamora

A few steps (up the hill) is an atmospheric tiny piece about taking a walk in nature, going up a hill, checking out some ruins and taking a break under the shade of a tree. A little adventure in nature, looking to discover new things. There is something quite soothing about the writing, and vivid with the details in the descriptions. Quite lovely!

The Star's Call is a tiny sci-fi horror game set on a spaceship in space. Waking up as you usually, you notice something is not quite right this morning. Your companions do not really look like themselves - or maybe you don't feel like yourself. And when the star calls, everything change.

I think I left the game more confused than scared. I could see where it was going, but something didn't quite click with me. Though, I really liked the effect on the images for each NPC. Very trippy.

The Binding Below is a tiny fantasy piece where knight betrays his king, when realising what he'd previously undertaken - unspeakable horrors unnamed. During the darkest hour, a change of heart to right some wrongs, leading to a tragic end. Saved by the king, made to be its bloody hand, only to stay by his side forever. A sacrifice to save all.

A Cup of Coffee is a micro interactive piece about making coffee. The game prompts you to pick a base, creamer, and toppings to add to your cup, before your drink is ready. I'm not a coffee drinker*, but I'm a sucker for all those cooking/mixing games, so it was nice to see that mechanic in the jam.
*I pretended the base was cocoa instead :P

This might be the tiniest entry we've ever had?

Yellow Crane Tower is a micro translation game, where you ponder on the meaning of the eponymous poem about the eponymous landmark you read on a plaque while visiting Wuhan with your family. Inspired by the mechanic of piele (from the first NTJ) and its longer companion Verses, Yellow Crane Tower allows you to click/hover on the Mandarin characters to reveal its English equivalent(s) - showcasing not one, but two variations of the final verse of the poem.

Translation is a fascinating exercise, as no two languages is the same, and seeing the act unfold before your eyes - with previously translated words changing as new characters are translated - is kinda magical. It's very much a layered process, with never, really, a definite end.

You & "You" is a micro flash fiction about waging war against yourself. Forced again and again to fight a copy of yourself (a shadow version?), the circle is bound to repeat endlessly, with either its death or yours marking the end of the battle. The war, however, requires a different tactic. Violence does not always solve the problem.
The "true" path is pretty easy to find (especially if you're risk adverse like me).

The Secret of Colors is a tiny interactive riddle made in Twine. After a rain shower, you find a mysterious notebook, with glowing circles representing the rainbow. You must answer each question within the book to solve the riddle and move forward.

The questions are fairly easy, as you are given two options each time, and the game doesn't let you fail either, as it will reload the question until you pick the correct answer (went and double-checked, because I got it correct on my first try :P ). Though, I wonder if it would have been more effective if the player was prompted to enter the response rather than choose from a list.

Still, it was a cute little entry!

The Nascent Cave is a prologue for an unwritten fantasy journey. After an earthquake shakes your village, you find yourself lured to the new crack tearing the field, with a cave going deep into the depth of Earth. Against your better judgement, you climb down... and return changed, and not alone.

It's a pretty intriguing introduction, that brings a lot of questions: was this earthquake a natural event or did something transpired? why did you find what you did in the cave? how will this affect you in the long term (I assume, not well...)? will you be able to reverse it? etc... Definitely got hooked!

canonical is a tiny kinetic sci-fi piece following the discovery of a transubstantiation in the timeline, which changed the course of a person's life. This isn't surprising for the narrator, having changed reality in the past themselves (implied for the worst) and now working to catch others doing the same. Though there's no resolution to the why or the how (or any question really), the piece does set up the mystery and setting, and potentially conflicts.
Though, part of my kinda wished it would have ended at this sentence: everyone else fabricates evidence, what’s a little reality on top?

This reminded me a bit of the Temps Commission in The Umbrella Academy and in a way Looper.

return to home is a short walking simulator, doing exactly what it says in the title. The road back home is blocked, forcing you to leave your car and finish the "journey" by foot. Along the path, going up and down a hill, you're given the option to sidestep and visit a grove, or go up a knoll and check out the view. There are also 4 objects you can find and pick up (just for fun, they are not used anywhere). And when you finally get home, you can enjoy a well-deserved rest.

Though the piece is short, and parse in its implementation (trying to X whatever noun in the description won't give you much), it knows exactly what it's about and doesn't pretend to be more than that: an atmospheric little walk back home. Its strength lies in fulfilling the expectations formed by its synopsis, no more, no less. Though, part of me did wish you could examine a bit more your surrounding, as the game does nudge you to take little detours and take your time. I don't know, maybe sit on the knoll and take the landscape all in, or interact with the items you find in some way... But that's out of the scope of a romp creation.

It's an atmospheric tiny piece, that reminds you to enjoy the journey, and the little things you find along the way.