Reviews by manonamora

Ashes is a sci-fi text adventure written in Inklewriter, where you follow Josh and Aria, two space-travellers landing on Earth and finding it in disarray. Realising there is something wrong with their home, they set on finding the cause and fixing it. But, if they don't manage to return to the correct version of Earth, they will meet their end. There are *many* endings, but only two can be considered good ones.

While the story is quite intriguing (what happened on Earth??? where did these symbols come from?!), much of the mysterious situation is left unanswered. Which is not a problem whatsoever, because I would be down playing a longer version with more details or investigation of the phenomenon.
My main issue with the game is how abruptly and arbitrary you can reach the bad endings (why being cautious is rewarded with a sudden ending?), with no explanation or reason (I'd wager the limit in word count affected this). It makes replaying very frustrating... unless you manage to get the good ending first.

Corps Brulés is a mystery game made in INK, where you play as some sort of investigator/detective on holidays. Coming across three burnt bodies, with no witness around, you decide to solve this (potentially not) accident. But who could have done it? how? and more importantly why?

Hints for the mystery can be found in the 7 pieces of almost burnt paper on the bodies. Because of the fire, the paper has a limited shelf-life (taking one means another disappears), which means you need to have on plan on what to consult and in what order. However, the game isn't cruel, as every restart keeps a "copy" of found papers and previous knowledge.

The different pieces will give you an idea of who each of those bodies are, their reasons for being here, and maybe how they got there. You can link them under different tags, interchangeable when you consult them, learn new information, and make new accusations. Depending on which elements you consulted and its order, different accusations can be made at the end of each run.

The mystery is neat, reminding me a bit of the *Death in Paradise* series in its setting. The gameplay is also pretty fun, mixing a bit the Logic-Grid type of puzzle with timed-events.
I wish I had managed to actually finish the game. I got stuck, really close to the end I think, but still not having found (I guess?) the correct order to get to the true end (if there is one? I don't seem to be the only one). Though I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened...

La fonte du monde is a fantasy textual adventure in Inklewriter, when you incarnate Voulks Mirmabull, a great dragon who's destiny seems to reunite all the dragon clans and fight other kingdoms (from what I gathered playing the game). After a long introduction focusing on Voulks's past, you are thrown into the game with not much a clear goal or explanation. The game seems to branch off quite early, leading to a handful of endings - I think I found 3-4 different ones, mainly ending up in my death.

You are given multiple sequences of choices, on how to interact with the environment, other clans, or the different conflicts - often with a violent/peaceful dichotomy. Most choices do not result in a textual response, having either an AI-generated illustration or simply the next set of choices. This aspect, which might be due to the combination of a high-branching story and a restricted word count, made the story sometimes difficult to follow or see the consequences of our actions. I think a few more sentences between each choice would clear a lot of the confusion.

Daidala is a short text-adventure in Twine, where you play as an adventurer (archaeologist?*) waking up in a dark cave after a fall. You can explore your surroundings, discover ruins, examine different elements, solve a couple of puzzles, and delve deeper into the darkness. If you pick the right path, you might even find the ultimate end ((Spoiler - click to show)though none of the endings are particularly happy...). It took me a bit of trial and error to find that ending, even though I had managed to thwart previous danger...
The wink to the (Spoiler - click to show)Icarus myth for the puzzle was cute.

*It gave a bit Indiana Jones vibes

Le chaudron d’Anaritium is an interactive mystery made in Open Adventure (the author and system is one), set in a Gaul village at the dusk of a dreary winter. You play as Isara, a bard-in-training tasked to find a missing artefact before the gods turn on the village. Will you find the artefact and its thief? and figure out the why and the how?

On the Open Adventure platform, you are introduced to the mystery at hand, and the different paths you can investigate, whether it be visiting locations or talking to other characters. As you find more clues, new paths may be open to you. Along with two large maps, some paths are also illustrated, in a watercoloured comic-style.
Every path taken is listed one below the other, in a way that you can re-read them with ease. The engine also lets you know when you’ve already visited a section, and only puts forward on the main page the most interesting location for you to visit.

The prose is quite lovely as well, bringing to life an atmospheric setting, filled with mysticism and legends.

And when you believe you’ve solved the mystery, you can fill in your answers to the different questions in a text box, before how correct you were and get the epilogue. But, because of how the game is set up, you’ll never truly be wrong at the end. The website collects the answer and gives you the solution right away, regardless of how close you were to the truth. So while the mystery was interesting, and fairly simple to figure out, I wished there would be a bit of a consequence to who you accuse of the crime or explain how you think things happened.

Insatiable Jeunesse is a short "storylet"-based interactive story, where you incarnate some sort of creature needing to hunt down people to keep young. You come across potential victims, judge the situation (will you be satiated? is it dangerous), before you get to choose whether to eat or move on. But, watch out, if you're caught or starve, it's game over!
There are (as far as I could tell) three endings: the good one, dying of hunger, and getting caught because you were too suspicious.

The blurb describes itself as an unbalanced prototype, which is pretty on point, as you end up going through the different potential victims pretty quickly and it is *very* easy to die (or I could just be unlucky). Quite a good deal of randomisation, in the situation text (variation in victims, feeding and danger levels) and in the consequences of your action (how suspicious you are before you are stopped). The game requires quite the balancing act to win.
I am sure it is possible to win, but I have still not been able to do so...

On the game page, the author described their plan for a future update with more narration and locations, and a more balanced gameplay. I hope I get to play this update one day!

Meurtres en eau profonde is a relatively short Binksi game (mixing Bitsy and Ink), where you play as a rookie goldfish police officer given their first ever case: finish the case left behind by the former Inspector. Interacting with the different elements and locations, you will find how deep the mystery goes.

Since it was made in Binksi, you need to use the keyboard arrows to navigate the little orange goldfish around the screen, and to interact with the different elements. There are a handful of puzzles (like fixing a computer or cutting down weeds) to progress through the story and unlock further interactions.
As you are an officer on the case, talking to witnesses and perps is also an important task of the job. The game includes conversation trees, with options hidden until you find a certain item or information.

The mystery itself is pretty simple, it is just a matter of whether you interacted with all the relevant items or asked the relevant questions to reach the end.

Thought there wasn't really anything to do in the museum, it was fun to explore it and see "humans" on display. I also, for good measure, got drunk on the job (it's just for fun, and does not impact the game. I laughed out loud having to bypass the computer security in the bar too.

This was a cheeky little game, which I enjoyed quite a bit!

Le Dernier Serment is an old school parser adventure made for the Amstrad CDC, in which you must rid your village of a nasty curse: losing their freewill, leading them to their death. The adventure includes a nice range of puzzles, and an external manual/feelies pdf. There are no hints, help, or walkthrough included. There are also 5 endings listed (though I am not sure whether one of them is possible?).

I definitely had a few difficulties going through some of the puzzles, but it’s probably more due to me not being good at (French) parsers or just not reading the manual correctly, or whether the puzzles are actually obtuse (which, for an old-school parser, wouldn’t be too surprising). But figuring it out (and seeing the environment change before your eyes) felt so darn good! The puzzles are pretty varied, going from interacting with your environment to timing puzzles. I struggled with one so much because it dealt with opposites and transposition.

The game is also GORGEOUS! Every screen includes pixel art, one part showing what is in front of you (directions between rooms can change) ~ each being distinct from the others, and another showing yourself (and your state). The font used might not always be legible, but its design is so atmospheric.

A beautiful neat game!

Le Bastion de la Porte is a fantasy game made in Moiki, where you play as Salma, a Trimolienne in the land of Sargh, as the newly appointed lonely guardian of the Door up high in the mountain. Your task is to guard the door, and try (but not pressure) any passers-by not to cross it. What is behind the door? No one knows, as no one has ever come back from it. How will you handle that task? Will you let everyone through or force them to turn back? Will you go through the door yourself as your predecessor has?

The job, however, is a lonely one. Aside from your monthly delivery (with the best boi Ernest!), few climb up the mountain, wanting to reach the mysterious landmark. But when they do, you get to listen to their stories, ask some questions (and maybe answer theirs), maybe share some wine, and potentially change their fate. There is never a right or wrong answer, though maybe some will make you question your ethics and morals. It is touching and emotional, and makes you reflect on what is important.

Throughout the story you get may be able to ponder on the meaning of the door and what it could represent. One character might make you think it is simply an allegory for moving on to the next plane, another as a escape from danger and difficulties, a final one as a celebration to dive into the unknown. It is quite interesting how one single thing can represent widely different concepts.

While it is already pretty entertaining (and with an impressive count of over 900 screens), I wished we could have had more during the downtime. You are able to interact with elements around the house, though it is sparse and does not change much between periods. You can always take the same shower, reel in some water from the well, pick up some dried meat, and look yourself in the mirror or at you sparse house décor. And when you do, the text seems to be the same (or fairly similar).
It would have been interesting to maybe do some activities to spruce up the hut, like gardening or fixing the roof, remark upgrades done by the Fédération after you complain about things, picking up a hobby…
And, being able to wait for time to pass in other spots than your bed, like at the desk doing some writing or doodling, or sitting by the fire, and when during the spring/summer, maybe waiting outside on a log enjoying the nice weather.

The game page indicates further updates, which would include missing chapters and other types of gameplay, are to be expected. I’m looking forward to those.

Les Trois-cités : les préludes d’une odyssée is an incomplete RPG game made in Twine, wherein you play as a dwarf looking to save their brother from a magical mushroom-related illness. The game based on CYOA gamebooks with dice-gameplay elements, with options to choose your class, getting equipment and potions, and levelling up your stats. RNG will be your best friend and greatest enemy here.

There is a lot you can do here. Along your main fetch-quest to find the required ingredients to save your brother, you will quickly stumble upon other side-quests – exploration of the city and interaction with other NPCs being necessary to get the ingredients. As in any fantasy setting, quests will range from finding missing characters, fighting brigands and thieves, resolving arguments, helping the less-than-fortunate, and even levying the taxes.

Though it is not in its complete form, you will easily spend a handful of hours to get through what is currently there: three cities are mentioned, two being accessible, and one being complete with dozens of neighbourhoods.
While maps are provided, showing where you are on the page and a couple of the available locations, you cannot click on it to move to other place – only adjacent spots are selectable through a list of links (no teleporting or fast travel unfortunately, it’s a bit annoying when going from one end to the city to the other).

It is obvious there was a lot of work put into the game, and even if I think I found myself stuck in an impossible place, it was pretty neat. If the other cities end up becoming as thought out and detailed as the starting one, it would make for a pretty epic adventure.