Reviews by manonamora

The Curse of Unatxi Kamala is a binksi purely kinetic entry following the eponymous character, a Spanish witch, as she visits Glastonbury, the UK witchcraft capital and has a strange encounter. The game calls itself smut, and the crux of the story does revolve around its main explicit scene.

Sandwiched between the teenager’s recollections of uncomfortable pasts, description of the present visit, and hopeful dreams of the future, is a raw depiction of strangers meeting, flirting, and getting down and dirty in a forest. It really does not shy away from being explicit, showing the yearnings, the physicality, and even the awkward uttered words.

I also liked the retro/vcr-effect interface. It gave it an eerie vibe.

the phantown’s valentine mystery is a short silly Valentine visual novel, filled with puns. Set in Phantown, you play as Ins Spector, a detective looking for the yearly serial ghost kisser before it gets to its next victim. You can talk to the past victims, hoping for some sort of a clue, think of a perpetrator, and hope you solved the mystery correctly before revealing it all !

The premise is very silly, the writing simply pun-y, and the overall interface does push this absurd envelop further with its childish-like. It’s a short time, but a funny one.

constellate is a short Twine piece about (as the blurb calls it) two emotionally obtuse lesbians (Alexandra and Eris) in space. It is winter, it is cold, and neither can figure out how to resolve the conflict in their hearts. It does not help that one of them is a former warlord, and you play as her former soldier - playing pretend of a new life away from everything can only go so far.

Like 30x30’s previous works, the prose is luscious and full of imagery. The tension is palpable between the two, as both are filled with guilt over their actions and their feelings. And you can try to flick through cycle-links to figure out how you feel about the whole thing, but especially her - though its effect will be limited. Out of the 9 endings, it is clear none of them really resolve the issue at heart, and the (im)balance of power between the two. I liked that about the story.

Relationships 101 is a Twine college story, following your relationship with Harper, moving towards a romantic relationship or strengthening your friendship. I found 3 endings.

This was a pretty sweet slice-of-life piece, starting with an affectionate depiction of a friendship between you and Harper, being there for and supporting one another, giving you ample options to affect how this relationship will evolve into. I first picked to stay friends, so it continued down that path, and it was really nice. I appreciated the maturity of Harper when being rejected, and how levelled the communication between characters is depicted.

It’s definitely a feel-good piece.

Blood and Intimacy is a short but sweet Ink story following student Lyle and their vampire boyfriend Zach, during an intimate snapshot. On a Thanksgiving break, the two watch a movie, cuddling… that might be leading to more.

I really enjoyed how the concept of intimacy was used here, focusing on the more emotional aspect of the term, where touch is not just a physical action bringing a physical reaction, but creating a bond between the partners. The painted picture of this form of intimacy is lovely and touching. I also liked the subtle discussion about boundaries and consent, through Lyle’s thoughts about their previous make-out sessions and Zach’s requests.

It feels so comfortable and sweet !

Familiar is a short Twine game, a sort of dating-sim sequel to Computerfriend, where you go back to Godfield, Louisiana, years later, meeting C by chance (?) on the street. Following an impromptu date, you are given two paths.

There’s always something off about Kit’s games, in a way that it is always both confusing and comforting. It hits all the melancholic and nostalgic points, leering you in with the sense of familiarity and those bittersweet feelings of “coming home but it doesn’t feel like home”… but always keeping you at bay, unable to see behind the veil, put off by the visceral descriptions and the unsaid. There’s also an interesting between-the-line discussion of what it is to be human, with C being an AI in a part-machine-part-flesh body and you who don’t seem to feel quite alive (that probably gave me extra existential dread…). I also really liked the discussion in the movie theatre about those Soviet movie and the point of it all.

This wasn’t really what I imagined a Computerfriend dating-sim would be like, but it even better.

Sweet Cravings is a short Visual Novel, where you play as Camilla, a young witch, trying to get the courage to go on a date with June, the waitress at the eponymous bakery. There are a handful of choices (for flavour), and a bouquet-making mini-game. There seems to be only one ending, with the game going back to the menu abruptly without real conclusion (maybe because it’s locked behind the NSFW version).

The visuals of the game is pretty polished, with a cute an bubbly art style and cheerful sound effect. It even switches from different interfaces (usual VN, phone screen, mini-game). There were just a few moments where the screen flashed black between some transition, but it wasn’t too bad.

Even though it is short, it is adorable AS HECK. I really liked the exchanged between Camilla and her friends (especially the phone chat, it was funny). It manages to capture the jittery feelings of a first date so well. I do wish there were a bit more choices, and a more satisfying end.

I’ll Drive is a short linear ink piece about first loves, will-they-won’t-they, and the anxious feelings you get before confessing. Formatted in a script-like fashion, cutting between short scenes, we follow a group of teenagers (three siblings and a friend) on a road-trip, controlling the actions of Luke, the lovesick friend. Will Luke find the courage to confess?

If you can over the second-hand embarrassment of tripping over yourself while trying to be helpful, or blurting out your extremely embarrassing memories, you will find a very sweet and tender story about too dumb teenagers in love (and the comical sister sidekicks).

Ouch, my stone heart. I felt a pinch.

My Demonically Lovelly Valentine! is a short Valentine-themed visual novel following Maria, a down-on-her-love young woman looking for a date for Valentine’s Day. Having depleted all possible options due to her peculiar hobbies, she decides to turn towards the dark arts to make her dream come true !

The entry is very charming. From the atmospheric music to the illustration, the silly premise and the witty writing, it’s as sweet as saccharine. A really cute bite for Valentine !

blood4blood is a steamy Twine interactive story, where you play as a hungry lesbian vampire on Valentine’s Day. Hoping to find your fix, and get you going just a bit longer, you stumble inside your regular bar and look for your next meal. Under the heat of the season, surrounded by mingling bodies, two paths opens up to you - future interactions mirroring the composure of the two women reaching out to you. Will you follow the rough around the edges but clearly lonely butch woman or the cladly dressed bubbly femme who just bought you a drink?

The prose has a strong focus on the physicality, from the descriptions of the movements of the characters to the deep and tortuous sensations of hunger (in all terms, almost addictive). It is raw, and carnal, and savage. But there’s still a bit of sweetness and tenderness to it at times. I think I liked the “softer” path out of the two, it had a playful moment that threw me out of the loop - feigning an early end.

There are a few assets in the game, in shades of bright red to pop against the dark bordeau, and illustrations in greyscales with hints of vermillont. The simplicity of the style is quite lovely, and, when the illustrated portrait are formatted as VN-speech boxes, it makes for quite the sleek look. By the end of my run, I was sort of wishing the use of the latter was a bit more consistent throughout the game, maybe cover the dialogues, because they look so cool. Could even be a super neat VN if the author wished to.

Anyways, a neat read