Reviews by manonamora

In The Details is a very short game revisiting the Deal with the Devil trope, especially the moment when the Devil comes to collect its due. You play as an artist who traded something for musical talent, for a year. Long overdue, the Devil comes at the most importune time. There are 3-ish endings, with an indication the game will be updated at some point.

The entry has quite an interesting premise and a teasing build-up, with a probably love-to-hate main character, sort of a trope-y artist full with arrogance and self-centredness. Staring with very limited actions (inspect and consider) to set up the stage, the game soon adds more actionable ventures and zest in the writing. However, the game ends, quite abruptly, when tension is at it highest.
It kinda felt like a teaser... :/

The cover art is hella dope though...

(Spoiler - click to show)(also, not sure if it was a bug or on purpose, but I couldn't tell the truth?)

Dysfluent is a fairly short slice-of-life story, where you spend the day as a person with a stutter, trying to get through their day. The game uses text animation to highlight the struggles of living with a stutter. While the game includes achievements, linked to choices throughout the story, there is only one ending.

Aside from my gripes with the timed text (more on that later), the game was quite enjoyable. I found the story especially quite touching with its representation of the realities of living with a stutter (the colour use for the choices were smart!*). Trying to go through the whole checklist of actions made me feel quite anxious (would I manage to go through the day before just calling it quits?), which was pushed further with the formatting of the text. Social interactions felt like a nightmare, and the flashbacks made everything worse.
*though I was a dummy, and put the same thing for the best and worst dish... played myself there...

Though there are heavy moments throughout the story, I felt like the game tried to be as light-hearted as possible (save for the flashbacks). You may have a bit of a hard time saying certain words, or get some weird looks from people, but you leave each sequence with what you needed or did the best you could. It sometimes felt like you struggled more with your own feelings than other around you? Which I makes sense if your upbringing laughed at the ailment or looked at you with contempt at best.

It was a bit of a bummer to find out you wouldn't get the job, but it also didn't feel much of a loss when it happened - partly because of the conversation you have with your friend just after the news, but also because there is not much information on the job itself or what the MC thought of the job. Was it a job where talking is required or an added bonus? Did we really want that job? Did we need the job? Was there outside expectations with getting this job? Why didn't we disclose that we had a stutter before*? Would it have changed anything if it did? Was the company open to accessibility? Did we prepare ahead of the job at all?
Just having to pick up a suit at the dry cleaner didn't feel enough, I guess?
*maybe because we feel ashamed, prob

I understand the choice of using animation and timed text to emphasise on the hardships of having a stutter, how seconds feels like minutes when words don't want to come out, how frustrating it can be to be blocked for no reason, how anxious it can make you knowing something requires speech... but the overuse and drawn-out length of the timed text becomes more a friction than pushing the point (especially as a fast reader). For many passages, I would be doing something on the side, waiting for the page to load fully before continuing to play.
As the animation setting is locked behind the ending (for understandable reasons, also makes replaying the game more smooth), I would advise a reduction of the use of the timed text (instead of bits of sentences, show the whole paragraph) or of the time between each block (at least by half, not more than 2s), or transforming it into a type-writer animation, or making the player click-to-reveal (trying to push the words out of their mouth).

Still... It was frustratingly nice.

Last Valentine's Day is a fairly short linear story about love and heartbreak. Set in a Groundhog-Day-like loop, the story uses references to Greek mythology to drive forward its messages. Side-story are interwoven between loops. Though you have some flavour choices throughout the game, there is only one ending.

I was not expecting the game to be this dark. From the blurb, I thought we'd get some sort of whimsical story with maybe silly ways to stop your partner from leaving, next to serious introspective ones, and maybe a choice or two of leaving it all behind. But you neither meet your partner throughout the story (save for the letter they leave behind) nor can you change much your actions before reaching the end of the loop. And through it all, the story gets darker and darker with each loop.

I liked how the game build up from one loop to the next, with details changing between each, whether it be in the descriptions, in the colour scheme, or the header font, or even the names of the locations. Behind the main story, you find the end of a long-lasting relationship, the loss in interest in a hobby, or the remembrance of a lost loved one. While the main story is quite tragic, and the use of looping to add onto the background of that storyline was interesting, I thought the highlight of the game was those side stories and the bits you could uncover with each new loop.

Who Iced Mayor McFreeze? is the second instalment of the Gumshoe series (or is this a prequel?), which I remember quite fondly, a noir-esque story where everything is candy. In this game, you must solve the disappearance of Mayor McFreeze, and piece out the mystery. I used the hints for the last puzzle.

Having played Who Shot Gum E. Bear? last year, I was excited to play another instalment of the series, putting my feet in Gumshoe's shoes (which I don't think she has?). WSGEB was full of saccharine fun and pulp-y detective tropes, which I looked forward to find in this new entry. In that regard, WIMMF didn't disappoint.

From the dame barging almost suspiciously into your office, to the dreary caramely rain, the goons locking you in a dangerous place and dang the body of the missing person right in front of you... the game happily takes on those tropes again, humorously throwing it back into that world full of anthropomorphic candies.
Also... the smell and taste commands are still hilarious!!

Compared to last year (sorry, hard not to compare), the main investigation is less obvious. The main clue is not shoved in your eyes at every turn in the first room (though the game introduction should hint enough at an ending), and you cannot circumvent the game's puzzle to reach the end. You actually have to go around and investigate - so you don't feel cheated when you reach the ending.

Though, while last year was throwing hints at every turn, this entry was much more reserved with it. The descriptions of the environment, items or people are more bare (which is a bit of a shame imo). It was not always clear what should or could be done (lots of trial and errors, the hint/waklthrough were nice).

I was a tad disappointed with the ending. While it felt a bit expected, I would have loved to be able to ask questions or accuse (or call back up) during that part. The conversations bits in WDGEB were very fun, and I think it could have made the final act a bit stronger with it.

Still laughed my butt off :P

Bali B&B is a slice-of-life management game, where you are tasked to run your grandparents' B&B in Bali for a week. Between taking care of the guests and the house, the trials and tribulations will make you realise whether this is the life you want to live. How will you do on this test?

Slice of life games, especially the cosy ones, work like a balm on a heavy heart or mind. They make you forget about the harshness of the world and transport you into a world where you may have some things to overcome, but there is no real danger, no impending doom - worst that can happen is a disappointed NPC. BBB does just that.

Wrapped in a blanket of spice and sweets, the game makes you feel right at home, complete with the overbearing family, anxiousness of one's life's dreams, and the plethora of good food. The prose is quite lovely, short but saying everything and more - the secondhand embarrassment of my failures were palpable...

There is a lot to enjoy in this entry, from the delightful and diverse cast of characters, the different approaches to run the B&B (I'm happy to report I was terrible at it....), or dealing with unforeseen issues. But also: the food, the descriptions of the environment, the food, the cats... It was a good time, but also a bit too short of a time.

Artful Deceit is an old school parser, made for the Commodore 64 machine (or a C64 emulator), where you are a detective hired to solve a murder, one the victim had been expecting. As the game has specific commands, reading the manual is highly recommended before starting the game.

I managed to find some clues on my own, before using the walkthrough. The game crashed* about 2/3rd through the game.
*not sure if it was because of the emulator or the game itself.

I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to parsers, especially the old types, and my frame of reference on what is or should be in an old-school parser rest essentially on what other people say about certain games. There are old-school and old-school parsers... like the ones who will only run on 8-bit machines that haven't been around since the 90s. This was the first time I dared to try out a game like this.

Even with an emulator, this was honestly an experience just loading the game and faffing about. There's something quite charming about those retro-style games (even the cluckiness of it or the loading of the command added to it), a style you can emulate visually with the likes of Adventuron nowadays. But it feels different with games like this one - sort of keeping some traditional alive in a way.

Aside from the novelty of it all, which was quite a lot for me, the game itself is a corny who-dunnit murder mystery, with a bit of a cliché revelation (but in a good way, it fits the vibe). There are some neat puzzles with hinting items close by, the ANALYZE mechanic was fun (I did send the other detective on wild goose-chases...), and I was glad to find I didn't need to read some of the clues on the tiny screen. But it wasn't too long or too large, it was just enough to solve the mystery, and seemed large enough to not feel unsatisfied.

But old-parsers also means frustrating commands, especially when trying to interact with some elements (you need to type out the adjectives, all of them) or conversing with the suspects (I barely managed to get a response from them). It's not always quite clear when an item can be open or not (like that painting) or why you have to take some objects to read them (but that might be an old-parser thing).
But the thing that frustrated me the most was the maze-like environment, especially in the manor. There are so many empty rooms where there is nothing to do... It was a bit disorienting at times. Even if the map helped a bit, I still think there were too many empty rooms...

I'm not against trying other games like this one in the future (hopefully they don't crash on me...). This was fun and new!

Hawkstone is a retro-type parser adventure, using old-school RPG elements to drive the puzzles, and a Scott Adam-style of gameplay (not all locations are listed in the directions and puzzles can be obtuse). The game includes a walkthrough listing the required commands and order of actions*, and a built-in help system (pay in-game currency to get it).
*I messed up wanting to go my own way and skipped some steps

To say this was not the kind of game I am good at is an understatement. It combines a confusing worldmap (with weird locations) and difficult to almost impossible puzzles (hit the wrong butterfly and meet an early end). I did try to give it my best shot, but after finding myself stuck, I exclusively followed the walkthrough - save for not wanting to drop loot (but that's me playing RPG).

So Hawkstone is essentially an RPG exploration game. You get items, break some stuff, give stuff to people, maybe sell some items maybe buy some, attack harmless butterfly, and go round and round you go around the map. Do some actions and maybe level up and your skills, or get a random dice roll for extra stats. If you finish enough puzzles, you get to the end (I didn't).

There's not much direction given to you (aside from the start text telling you in case of stuck, look at stuff) and you have to rely on guess work (or just be like me and follow the walkthrough) and thinking of silly ways to solve things. The combat system is pretty fun (though it would be nice if there had been more opportunities to use it), and the game as a swanky stat/inventory system. There is quite a bit of humour in the text, especially in the reaction of actions, and if you manage to run the game without any glitches, it's pretty cool looking too!

But darn, you need to be a level 9999 experienced parser to do this adventure on your own... even a sword is not enough.

My Brother; The Parasite is a raw horror highly stylised kinetic piece, which you are a woman looking for closure after her brother’s passing. Given a second change to talk to him thanks to a parasitic procedure, this speculative piece of fiction explore family trauma and processing grief.

This game is intense. It is incredibly emotionally charged, not just from the gruesomeness of the brother’s death or the description of its corpse coming back to life, but through the hints of unprocessed past trauma (between both siblings, and their mother). The story told through minimal descriptions and bare dialogue punches your gut at every turn. What is supposed to be a tool to process grief and find closure becomes another knife plunged and twisted into the wound. It hurts, but you can’t take it out or you’d die. It hurts, but if you look away and don’t confront it, you’d never find peace.

You have a feel that something is not quite right from the beginning, but it is hard to say whether it is due to the character feeling grief or something bleaker is afoot. The visuals are graining, with most of their colours washed out; some are slightly animated, with tears falling down their face, or the slight breathing movement of the corpse, or the uninterruptable thoughts glitching in the background, or the slight changes in portraits between passages… every element on the page has a purpose - which is to keep your eye on the screen until it’s all over.

Something that struck me with this entry was how the tension built from the start. It kept building and building as you go through the game, leaving you little reprieve or a moment to catch your breath. If the game could send scent, it would try to overwhelm all your senses. And the tension starts small, with a little bit of uh, something feels weird… but becomes uncomfortable, with confronting the corpse of your loved one, confronting harsh truths… and quite bleak, with the realisations of your past, of your present, of your future… and honestly quite creepy if you think too long about about it… and then oh no, oh god, everything is going wrong, are we going to die?!?!?

Though I understand the stylistic choices made in this game, and was warned with the eyestrain in the blurb, I found the font size and low-contrast colours text (especially the greys) quite hard to read. It required a little bit of changing the size on my browser and zooming in to be able to read comfortably.
would be lovely if it was a tad more accessible.
There were also some instances were the timed text and images made me wonder whether I forgot to click on something or whether my internet wasn’t working right. I didn’t mind it when the game would use a “loading” passage to change the background, but was quite confusing with the drawer bit (I also couldn’t see the 4th object in that passage, clicked at random on the page…). Maybe a bit of a shorter length for the timed text…

Hand Me Down is a choice-based/parser mix game in three parts, with the middle one being the parser. You play as Ruby, who is visiting her father in the hospital (the Twine bits), during which she is prompted to play a project (the TADS bit) her father made. The parser bit includes an external walkthrough. While there are multiple ways to solve the parser, the story is linear, and with four ending.

I'm always interested in non-traditional IF, the projects that mix and match elements of different gameplays, and blur the lines of the parser/choice-based divide. I was especially intrigued with this entry how the parser bit was implemented into Twine, especially with code from another parser language (separate files, it turns out).

And the game introduces the inclusion of a parser bit inside the game, and why you play it, quite smartly. Out of all three acts, I felt like the opening of the game was the strongest, introducing the characters and their wants and fears, and the relations between them. It was very touching, and also heartbreaking, to see Ruby and her father interact with one another, as he wants to avoid any negative conversation with her and to focus on showing her his project, while she wants to know what's going on with his health.

The weakest, to me, was the last bit. While the storylet mechanic was pretty well done (really worked with pushing your father to talk things out), there were some issues with that part not taking into account the actions of the previous acts or within that bit itself. For example, when calling the mother for advice, it did not take into account that I lied to her in the opening; or when she calls, disrupting the conversation, she doesn't acknowledge you called her moments ago; or when discussing the game with your dad, you have options to pick invitations or outfits you might not have found in the game (that one felt a bit cheating).
Since it's hard to implement different programs into one game, it made sense that the bits didn't "talk" to each other. But it also made it noticeable when things were not fully coherent. I wonder if creating codes for actions in the previous act, to input in the last one could have helped track some choices?

I think I missed quite a bit from the parser bit itself. That part of the game seemed to be quite large (you have essentially 5 solutions for each box to tick), with apparently Easter eggs hidden throughout (notes of the father - I found one). Each item to get come with its personal puzzle, over 15 of them, each of varying length.
But if you don't try to find every invitations, or costumes, or gift, or if you used the walkthrough to go through the parser, it's fairly easy to miss the seemingly gargantuan work the father had done over the past 20 years. I shared Ruby's sentiment of "uh... that's it?" when I moved on to the last act, and felt bad for the father for having put so much work into something that seemed so small...
I would have loved a map to be included in the walkthrough, some of the directions were confusing...

This was a neat experiment, with a touching story. A real tearjerker.

All the Troubles Come My Way is a very short game, where the goal is to find your hat in a strange place. While the game is fairly small (you are limited in ways you can get to an end), it uses a stat check mechanic to let you/block you from using certain options. I found 3 endings.

ATCMW is very silly, and not apologetic about it. It knows it's silly, and will leave you with wanting more silliness by the time it ends (which is quite abrupt, unfortunately). I mean, why not have a time-travelling cowboy go into the future and disassemble and reassemble an Ikea table? This is the kind of silly I look forward in the comps :P

The stat-related interaction with the world around is delightful and quite funny, giving a nice flair to the overall vibe of the game. Though, it is a shame that levelling up those stats took longer than actually solving the main "issue". I wish we could have has more outside interaction (still in the building or outside of it), and be able to use those stats more.
I should have expected the consequences of drinking yourself under the table, but it still took me by surprise.

Still a fun short time.