Ratings and Reviews by manonamora

L’abribus is a short fantasy story, where we either play as some sort of force controlling a magic orb (which can influence everything around) or the orb itself (still unclear on that, though it matters little to enjoy the game). At a bus stop, we/the orb meets different characters, which we can interact in some fashion (forge documents, tell the time, etc...). These actions can bring good or "evil" to those characters, with the last action defining which ending we get.
There are no issues with the game's construction (and being able to skip the intro is nice), but some of the consequences felt at times a bit too simplistic.

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

one way is a short kinetic dialogue through text between Syn and Lily, though it feels more like a monologue, as the latter doesn’t respond much. In the messages, Syn talks about the writing progress (or lack of) on a story, and the struggles of being relatable, even when drawing on one’s identity. The messages go unanswered, worrying Syn, who ends up confronting Lily for a sign of life.

Because of that one-sidedness in the exchange, and the minimal formatting, I thought at first I was reading Syn’s diary entries (the first few pages being pretty relatable, being in a writing rut is not fun). Though it was after going through the passages again did I wonder whether we were playing as Lily, clicking the arrow link to forward time, as if reading but avoiding answering, making Syn’s plea for a response all the more heartbreaking.
Or maybe I’m reading too much into it, and we’re simply a complete outsider.

story of my life is a tiny kinetic slice-of-life piece, centred on a couple of linked memories, snapshot seemingly mundane at the time but with hindsight and reminiscing may look important. It seems like a reflection of things seen and said, or more what was experienced differently and what was never said. This disconnect is made all the more obvious on the last screen, where the narrator admit they could actually say something… but still end up avoiding the subject through a more light-hearted question, further the miscommunication.

Sanguine: The Stygian Shore is a tiny Twine adventure, where you incarnate Ash’Garekh, a mercenary stranded on Lunaris after a storm at sea. Still, you need to get to your original destination, so you travel north and do your best to avoid the traps and the dangers, and maybe thwart a plot in the process.
The writing reminded me a bit of those darker fantasy pulp stories, with danger to overcome, some damsels to rescue, and cliché shouts, but all the good ways of those. The only negative thing I have to say about it, is that it ended way too quick. I would love to play a longer version of the game with trials and tribulations and puzzles… until I finally reach my destination!

Lunar Fall is a mini make-out-sim where two women, L and E, embrace each other for a while. With a short tangent about relationships and love (do we min-max one’s feelings by our actions?) and the definition of sex (is there a line to what or what isn’t sexual), the main focus of the game is the actual make-out part. Depending on the starting position (spooning or facing each other), you have two to four actions, one being one-off while the other options being repeatable, before you end it altogether.

I’ve tried multiple combination of actions, and always seemed to end with the same words and the same thanks, but I wonder if there are multiple endings to it.
Am I min-maxing enough this make-out session?!?! No matter, I’ll go make out with E again anyway.

Find a parser beta tester! is a short reflection piece on beta-testing, particularly when having your parser work beta-tested by others. Whatever the program used when making a game, beta-testing is the most painful part of the process: you not only need to have people play a game that isn’t complete and probably has too many bugs it’s embarrassing, but you also have to FIND THOSE PEOPLE IN THE FIRST PLACE. The pain…

The game give multiple options, between parser and non-parser players, players who know and don’t know you, so you would get a wide array of feedback, allowing you to fix it all before the deadline (though it is never truly fixed…). It is a pretty sound advice, having a wide-range of different testers, to ensure you’ve covered as much as possible the potential players base.

Testing is one of the most important part of game making*, as it can be the difference between receiving glowing reviews and… a torrent of negative comments because everything is broken. Not just that, but depending on the amount of issues with your game, you may feel guilty for having put them through such gruelling efforts (especially if they are not familiar with parsers).
*I say that but, lol, but I barely do that myself