Reviews by manonamora

Invited for a visit at or found your way into the Palais Garnier, you are thrust into a world full of dance, intrigue, and superstitions. Your tasks is to separate fact from fiction, and make sense of the mystery afoot. No matter the supposed curse, the future of the ballet, and its corps, depends on you!

Set during the Belle Époque in Paris, Rougi paints a vivid and dizzying picture of the ballet scene and its intrigue. Starting from the prologue, you are introduced to a small cast of characters with links to the Palais Garnier or its ballet crew, their relationships with one another, and the hints of conflicts between them. Even before the crux of the mystery is revealed, the game sets the stage for some delicious intrigue.

Thought the project is only in a development stage, the available demo already lays out an intriguing premise, a compelling and layered mystery and interesting use of interactivity (in picking up clues). The story pulls the player in different direction, through crimson strings towards potential answers or red herrings (and there seems to be many red herrings).
Is the Director behind it all, due to disagreement with the Maestro? or an admirer of the Danseuse Étoile take revenge for the casting choice? or maybe the Danseuse Étoile walks the path of destruction? Could it actually be supernatural or a former foe behind it all? The game seem to take pleasure in throwing the player off the scent...

Further than the mystery afoot, there are interesting conflicts and backstories I hope the rest of the game will explore. Between the seasoned Danceuse Étoile and the naïve newcomer, will they claw each other out for the top spot or is there something more caring behind the façade? Will Élodie's part in the performance create a stir? Were Camille's failures a coincidence or were they external forces at play? What does it all mean for the ballet?

The writing is somewhat reminiscent of French contemporary(-ish) writers, like Flaubert or Balzac, in its flowery descriptions and detailed flow-y and rather sizeable text. The abundant use of imagery and metaphor adds to the strength of the project, enhancing the theatrics of the story. As dance is to ballet, so it is reflected in words here.
The author has also a good attention for details, showing its effort in including the correct terminology in ballet concepts or in the descriptions of the Palais Garnier. It shows that research has been done.
I also liked that the author put the MC in a very secondary/observer position. We are thrust into the setting, an outsider looking in and trying to make sense of established facts and relationships. Navigating this whole affair is both exciting and dizzying. (Is it a commentary that as players we are outsider to any story's game too?)

As a sidenote, while Les Souliers Rouges was not a contemporary ballet to the current setting (late 1800s), nor a cursed one at that, but a more recent invention, the author's plan for said ballet share very few similarities. It will be interesting to see where the story takes us and how the premise of the ballet is reflected in the path the characters will take...

As is expected with a working demo, there were some icks that stood out. Some interactive aspects were a bit out of place (like going through Camille's desk when the following line they are here in the room) or lacked the satisfying formatting of the choice list (even for single choice). Passages were at time getting a tad too long, which is a bit of a issue when saving (as Twine can save when moving to a new passage only) or reloading a page. Along with page breaks, I think a better separation between chapters/beats would help with the flow between scenes and make it a bit clearer in the time passed or in the location (maybe a header at the start?).
And while I liked the UI, especially its dark colour scheme, I think the Belle Époque aesthetic could be pushed even further to complement the setting of the story (or its mystery).

This project had been on my radar since it was first submitted to the Interact-IF jam, and I've been waiting for its return ever since, hoping to bring back my ball of red twine and connects unlikely dots...

I should probably preface this review by saying I've never read Hamlet (or Shakespeare's work) outside of lone lines or loose adaptations (I think the Lion King/Dune applies?). And while I know there are murders, betrayals, unrequited feelings, madness and monologues galore, the game does not punish you for not knowing the intricacies of the text. Because the story is set after Hamlet's death... and it is not really about Hamlet either.

E:aH uses Hamlet as a framing device to explore the themes of grief, the fear of and hopelessness about death, and identity (esp. Asian American), when living through a global pandemic. During this period, many of us have experienced grief and hardship, from not being able to meet people, to losing family members, seeing one's health worsen, or being subject to violence from others... And within its 15k+ words, this game creates a snapshot filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Yet, amidst the depressing setting, the prose is parsed with humour, little gems bringing levity to the story.

The story happens in two folds: you working on your assignment, trying to suppress worries about your loved ones and the state of the world, and your hallucinations(?) set in Elsinore, imagining events following the end of the play. Both somewhat mirroring or criticising the other. You struggle to find something meaningful to say about the the text, while Horatio scolds you for downplaying their agency as people. A "plague" starts in Elsinore, which you notice from a servant coughing. you share comforting words to Horatio and compassion for his situation, recalling times of struggles during the "war" against COVID and the violence some were forced to endure because of their ethnicity.

The game feels like a critique of the text, through the added character of Petra challenging the crown while passive Ophelia goes mad, or a critique of some reading of the text, like with the comments about the relationships between Horatio and Hamlet. The critiques are sometimes a bit more blunt, with the player character roasting Hamlet for derailing his father's quest (meeting his demise) or his poor treatment towards other characters (esp. Ophelia).

While the UI strayed very little from the basic Harlowe base, it does utilise the enchantment macros in an interesting manner, often enhancing the player character's feelings, a few even added to the hallucination assumptions (especially when ignoring the first sign). Some of the strangely formatted text will hide the way to advance through the story. I wasn't particularly fan some typed text (a bit too slow) or timed ones (wait a bit too long), and one hidden link was biiit too obtuse to find - but it didn't detract my overall enjoyment of the story.

But as every story, this too must end. So let's finish with the endings. The game has 7 possible endings. Some easier to get than others; some longer than others; some good, some bad, some neither. I reached the shorter ones more easily than the longer ones. Depending on your choices, the story will confirm these hallucinations were just a dream or will let you believe you are still trapped in Elsinore; you may reach a bittersweet end where your heart lightened, or one sharing the same fate as Ophelia. Out of those, I think I preferred the ones where the isekai theme was the more obvious, regardless of how forceful the return to reality is, as it mirrored best the start of the game and felt more like a closing the circle moment.

This is a Post-Comp Version review. Also maybe biased because I really like Autumn's work.

In a far future, after centuries of conflict, the Earth's population has been reduced to small communities stuck inside arcologies (city domes). In one of them, lives Em, an Archivist (sorta), trying to survive the best she can (sorta), and maybe (re)form relationships to better her situation. Throughout the game, you must ensure Em is on top of her duties and health.

As with her other Dendy games, A&R works in layers. On the surface, it is a resource management game, where your savings, energy level (hidden), mental and physical health (hidden) must be minded when organising one's day or spending.
While you have agency in this, how far you can go with the different actions will depend on whether you've unlocked certain storylets, or Em's current health at the time. Since she has chronic issues, you won't be allowed to churn through hundreds of files for your job, or even do anything at times.

Underneath, two other mechanics come to play: the relationship/storylet aspect with Em's old acquaintances, and the archiving loop, Em's job. Both will affect Em's survival (savings/health) and the ending of the game.
The first is relatively similar to Autumn's previous Dendry games, in which a side-story will be parsed throughout the game, requiring the player to meet specific characters multiple times to uncover the story at large. In this game, clearing more than one path in a playthrough is quite doable.
The latter is a mechanic I had not really seen before in an IF game, but one I enjoyed greatly. Your job entails decrypting and archiving files, each with a specific code (hint hint), requiring to be either placed in a specific slot or discarded (or you can keep it for yourself). Combing through the documents were quite fun.

The first time I played the game, I thought I could survive all on my own, leaving past relationships where they were, focusing only on my job and keeping myself afloat. I remember it being incredibly stressful (I almost cried when Em was on the brink of eviction). Everything felt hopeless, and the almost-clinical-at-times prose, as well as the UI, accentuated that feeling.

This time around, I followed Autumn's advice and shamelessly begged my acquaintances for money. I didn't want to recreate that very anxious feeling I had the last time - and wanted to see what else I had missed. Indeed, it was much less stressful to go through. I didn't really have to worry about money (thanks A-), I didn't have to exhaust myself with work, and I could explore more different facets of Em's life (her past relationships, herself, how she had to navigate the world). The world is still wretched, but there is more hope. You almost believe that surviving through it is... doable.

The storylets manages to offer a bit of levity in this wretched world, in which Em can find a community helping others, rekindle her relationship with a (re)closeted trans person, rekindle her relationship with her ex who you had a child with. In (re)making connections, you can learn more about your past and how you (don't) fit in this world. You can go on a date, cook with someone, spend time with your child... have a "normal" life.
I quite enjoyed how grounded and raw these storylets felt. They, at times, seemed like a commentary on our present, with the tribalism of social media, the lack of trust in the news, the grueling life under capitalism, and the treatment of transfolks. Strip away the sci-fi/post-apocalyptic future, and they could could be right at home with our current time.
I still hated the news part... its description changing the 'a form of self harm' was on point considering the comments...

Even if you don't interact with anyone, you can still learn about the world and your place in it through the notes (essentially a Codex page) or DNA files you decode. From old recovered chats between yourself and other characters, science articles, old journal entries, and documents regarding the Arcology's founder - Liana -, you can build together a bleak image about the world, the state of the environment and human condition, filled with disenchantment and conflict.
Depending on what you do with your day, you may find some Easter Eggs, like the TV Series you can watch or the Games you can play, little winks to Autumn's other games. Some characters of the game, made obvious by their names, share a resemblance to ones from the Pageantverse.

With the implementation of the Autosave, I was able to reach a lot more endings than the first time around, especially less bleak ones, without having to replay the game. Those endings are highly dependent on the actions you took during the game, some being sweet (especially with K-), some being maybe critical (imo A-'s, Alone), and one specifically blew my mind (Ending 1 - didn't find before).
Ending 1 is by far the most interesting one in my book. While it might seem a bit like a Deux Ex Machina or coming from out of nowhere (depending on your playthrough it may feel like a whiplash), it is the one that has not left my brain since I've replayed the game - maybe because of how strikingly different it is from the others. I think this ending might work best if connections with other characters were not made. It also made me wonder whether Em's life would have been that different if her arcology was still in contact with the others, or whether contact was severed between all arcologies. Honestly, it brought a lot of questions about the world after reading through (sequel of Ending 1, when?).

I don't know if there is a point or a moral to the game. If I were to give one to it, it would be that communities are important for people to thrive, maybe even necessary, and that the world can be a very difficult place when you keep to yourself, worse when your situation is dire in the first place. Even if it seems bleak, there is a glimmer of hope and goodness there...

This entry does not give one, nor two, but six and a half stories within one game, all taking a jab at romantic clichés. In the container half story, you are courting Molly, a more-or-less maneater, who coyly tells her different affairs with past men and why it never worked out. Among those: a perfect man she always felt insecure around, a mad scientist who let his work consume the relationship, a literal Don Juan who depleted her savings, a foozball celebrity who partied too much, a royal alongside which she felt too much pressure, and a rockstar who cheated.

While the entries try to make fun of romantic clichés, its prose is none the better, emulating those romance novel of questionable quality, without really fully hitting the mark. Adding on to an unneeded formal tone, this adds to the impossibilities of the tales being reality, removing the possibility of fantasy. With the game switching from a second-POV (you, the player) to a first-POV (Molly), it also fails to give both Molly and you distinct voices, making the transition between past and present a bit strange.

Molly is everything you find in Romance stories: she is gorgeous and yet bland, capable and helpless, confident in herself and insecure around men she thinks are better; and in most situation. She is honestly quite infuriating; worse even when she finishes her tale, taunting you with showing her how you are better than her ex.

The end of the game is none the better. After going through Molly’s retelling of her life with her different exes, you simply throw your hands in the air and leave. Claiming she was looking down at you. Which she had until now. But showing the tipping point being the man who behave the worst towards her left an awful taste in my mouth, when you barely flinched her taunt the other times (and had no choice to give up before then).

At this points, I questioned whether this was truly parodying the genre. Or just trying to make a bad joke. In any case, it felt of bad taste.

This short poetic prose takes you on a drunken melancholic trip filled with stolen glances, caring touches, and repressed feelings. With every sentence, the tension between the two characters is palpable, edging to succumb to their yearning, yet never faltering - no matter their current state, no matter their actual feelings for one another.
With its simple UI design and atmospheric music, this entry managed to create quite a melancholic and somewhat heartbreaking aura to the story.

I’ve had trouble putting my thoughts in order for this one, as I honestly was confused about the story throughout the whole thing. Parsing bits together from what seemed a memory and what was “current time” was a bit of a struggle, as the formatting for either part were quite similar.

I did take from it a story of broken (maybe more than) friendship, filial duties, expectations from status, and feelings kept secret. I was quite disoriented trying to keep up with it (not knowing where to click probably didn’t help). I did find the aesthetic quite artsy, even if a bit strange for my taste.

This kinetic entry recounts the moment a person realised their parent’s relationship wasn’t as loving as it seemed. Through a series of event, they find their mother’s indiscretion and struggle with dealing with the situation. Ultimately, their choice is to keep it a secret, and the facade of a happy family going.

There was something in the prose that felt a bit off. The way the entry was written felt a bit to clinical/academic, quite detached from the event described. Maybe the story could have been from the perspective of an adult recollecting old memories. But it felt so devoid of feelings… I thought it was a bit strange…

Through this quite short entry, we are introduced to Pan and Subsa, two not-quite-human friends who might be more than friends, struggling to put a meaningful and correct label on their relationship. It is very sweet, and kind, and warms your heart.
I quite liked how it ended

Starting in the middle of a conversation, you play as the titular Fynn, a performing poet by day and well-meaning thief by night, hiding Quinn, a cop on the run after an unfortunate incident from a previous installation of the series. With a love-hate relationship with the man, you must confront your dire situation and some consequences of your actions, plan and execute a heist, and try your best not to fall for him.

Even with having to press the spacebar to show every new line, I could not take my eyes away from the screen until I finished the game. I even had a hard time choosing whether to press the options offered to direct the story one way or let the conversations flow by itself (usually picked the second). The characters had so much personality, and you can't help but take a step back and be a spectator to the conversation of the moment, just to see what happens...

The game makes it quite easy for you to root for Flynn (even considering the implications of the previous game) and want everything will turn out ok by the end of the game. Regardless of his not-so-legal occupations (which reminded me a bit of Lupin), Flynn has a bit of a Robin-Hood heart to him.

But, as every heist demands, things don't go to plan. The gunshot, although expected, shook me. So, did the cliffhanger.

Really great entry. I have to check the other ones, next.

Told from the perspective of Terri, a love-inexperienced student, this kinetic entry tells the story of two dormmate hitting off after meeting, moving into a relationship, before breaking things off when unsaid truths were kept silent. And learned lessons along the way.
This entry is what you'd expect from a slice-of-life story, considering the theme of the jam. It is sweet and at times a bit corny (in a good way). Kind of heartbreaking, leaving a bittersweet after taste, overall.

That said, the prose didn't do much for me. While it had some heart, I found it a bit too meandering to keep me focused, dragging some scenes longer than it should, while glossing over beats that maybe should have been a bit more expanded (like the whole avoiding your partner, or going further into Terri's struggle with their identity). There is potential here, it just needs a little more TLC to get there.

I wasn't particularly fond of Terri's passivity either. I think it made sense in the context of the story, but I wanted to shake them so they'd face the issues they created rather than letting Trinity to all the work for the both of them.