Reviews by manonamora

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"I am inventing all this and it is about to disappear, but it does not”, by Dawn Sueoka
A somewhat meta meditation…, August 24, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice


My first thought after playing this game was: “what the frick did I read?” Then: “I wonder what the other soda do…” And finally: “Is this like… someone’s brain spiralling and using the mundane choice of a drink as a way to ground themselves?” I still had to play the game a few times to get to that point… And I sill don’t think I grasped all of the subtleties… I think.

The author mentioned being inspired my multiple works, one of which I actually recognised: Computerfriend. And I could see how: in the stylistic and formatting choices, or the almost nonsensical train of thoughts, and the grounding mechanism… Though I did find this piece easier to digest, as it deals more with a sort of strange meditation than a mental health crisis (or maybe it does actually, just differently?).

Within the rambling of thoughts, the author discusses the path that led you to this moment (and the paths that didn’t or could be? Still confused on that) and what it all means. It questions the futility of wanting to link all choices, events and thoughts, as some sort of random occurrence, and sheds light on the insignificant moments and how it can change the trajectory of a life.

The game is also somewhat meta with the theme of choices. Not only does it give you a choice by the end (a very mundane one), but the topic of choices themselves. How some will matter and some won’t (who gets to decide one is or is not?), how some will be connected to others, or have consequences for others, or run in parallel to others… Choices is sort of a constant in our lives, and whether we realise or not, we constantly make choices… Only in games can you only have one.

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Ranaway, by TrexandDrago Development
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A short kinetic parser, August 24, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice


I think this was the first time I’ve ever encountered a kinetic parser. Following the Single Choice rules, you can only do one specific action at a time before the story ends. You go through two “rooms” and do a few different actions, like looking around you, picking up some items, and move some place else. There is only one path and one path only.

It is not just the game railroading you into this one path (you truly do not seem to have a choice), the text provides you with the action you need to write next to advance the story. There is no guesswork, no puzzle, no thinking. Which means, the focus is on the text alone…

The entry calls itself a remake of a previous game of the author. While it provides some missing information for The Last Notebook (all those games are connected), it also gives very little. Your home life is really not great; so one day, after another altercation, you decide to run away. You look around your room, check yourself, get a few supplies and you are out the window. Some action descriptions are a bit confusing, and there isn’t much more than what’s on the screen.

It would be interesting to see more kinetic parser pieces, but I don’t think this one’s implementation puts that mechanism to a good light.

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Knight With a Message, by Andrew Schultz
The only way I will play chess, August 24, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice

I like things with logics and rules, and doing things strategically, so you’d think chess should be right up my alley. But nope… the rules enter in one ear and leaves the other. And thinking of what my opponent could do just… turns me into a deer in headlight.

BUT… while chess if a major component of this game, it doesn’t asks you to play an actual chess game, but a more logical puzzle where there is only really one answer. Framed in a medieval/fantasy setting, you are a messenger on your trusty horse, ordered to share your message to every village in the region. But, in order to avoid getting caught, you cannot take the same path or visit the same place twice.

The games prompts you with two difficulty modes (hard/normal) and three types of play. You must complete the latter to end the game (the game returns to the play screed to pick the next one to complete*). You are them prompted with a chess board. When the puzzle is completed, the game tells you how long you took to do so (my record: 135s on normal).

Even though there are technically multiple square you could land on at ever turn, the game only lets you click on one. If you are playing on the normal mode, the moves are highlighted for you, making it easier to click on the correct; on hard, you just have your trusty steed and your sword (mouse) to go on.

This was fun, even if a bit… grindy by the end. The more you advance, the clearer it is which block to pick (there are only so many squares left). I think it could have worked just fine with the two first modes. The mirror mode was too similar to the corner one in my opinion.

A nice short lesson in Knight use. But I’m still not going to touch a chess board, not even to save my life…

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Goncharov, by Ju / smwhr
A small taste of unreality, August 23, 2023*
Related reviews: singlechoice

While this was probably one of the shortest entry of the Single Choice Jam, its subject matter has a special place in my heart (having been part of the Goncharov craze). And, following in those footsteps, the game took its own part of the canon, recreating the setting for the confrontation between Goncharov and Andrej.

To save the most precious thing in his life Goncharov made a deal, one which would involve betraying his friend. You choice here is to either follow through with this plan, or double-cross the dealing party. Which ever option you choose, the scene ends abruptly. But the consequences… they wait for no one.

Though the game is very short, I did enjoy the way the scene was set - in some sort of a Previously in Goncharov serialised way. It gave the fairly intricate (overall non-canon) story some touch of humour.

This was a treat.

* This review was last edited on August 30, 2023
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Zenith, by Hituro
A climb of faith…, August 23, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice

Before you is a seemingly neverending tower, a mark of a different time, rising up the the heavens. Few can claim they’ve reached its top and stood on its final platform. And by golly, you will be one of them!
That is… if you climb up the right path… and don’t fall…

Through randomly displayed storylets, the game will take you on this impossible climb - a Daedalus climb… or maybe Icarus one if chance is not by your side. Those tit bits are quite varied, from finding nests of birds, empty offices, and many failed climbing attempts, along the way - sometimes you even get a treat (item)!. And since they will randomly appear, not one climb will ever be the same.

Halfway through the climb, I wondered if I would ever reach the top (spoiler: you eventually do), as well as the futility of the climb. What will you achieve when you do? Is there truly something that will change your life? Or will you realise that all you needed was on the ground? Why climb this Babelian tower, riddled with remnants of past and forgotten times?

The game kind of reminded me of TTRPG sessions, with the Herculean quest, the journey meeting others and finding items, and the visual descriptions found in the writing, or the randomness aspect from those darn dice rolls.
While a neat experience, it sometimes felt a bit grindy when having to climb the tower again (but I’ve also felt this way with those RPG games too).

I think what caught my eye the most was the very sleek UI of the game, with the text cards of previous passages stacking on top of one another (hover over them, btw!) or the inventory pouch displaying your items (some angles were a tad difficult to read though). Having both the settings and restart button being so custom was a nice touch too! I especially liked the background changing as you go up the tower… the stack, on the other hand, made me a bit height sick…

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A Beef with the Chimichurri Steak, by chimeriquement
What a twisted meal…, August 23, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice

Your relationship with your husband is at best rocky, and at worst… Tonight won’t be as different, and yet, nothing will ever be the same. To please your husband, you’ve tweaked your chimichurri dressing to his taste… well, for your sake. Will you obediently serve him his dinner? Or give him a piece of your mind?

The writing does not shy away from violence, far from it. It will list the nitty gritty details of the offences, from the little ticks to plain and simple assaults. Your husband is not a good man, not just breaking his marriage vows, but breaking you as well. Really, this game is not for the faint of hearts!

And don’t think this will be a painful run-of-the-meal story. You did tweak the recipe. You’ve been pushed past your limits. And, when you think you got all figured it out… did you really?
Part of me really want to spoil it… I saw coming maybe one of the twist for one of the choice, but definitely not the others.

I think for me, one little downside that broke my immersion, was the way-too-youthful visual of the husband. Though built like a brick, and having a bit of the chav haircut, the man looked barely 20 in my eyes. Not that young people can’t do what’s being described in this game, I think if he had been aged a biiiit more, it wouldn’t have been as distracting.
But this is mainly my only complaint on the visual. The choice of animating certain text, or changing its colour, or even changing the focus of the different element on the screen, gave the game a more cinematic vibe.

Quite well rounded short game. I will definitely not play it again. Too gruesome.

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The Inimitable, by Deborah Sherwood
Would you take the deal?, August 23, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice

Invited to a fancy party, you are given the opportunity to take part in a strange game. One you would refuse, but which could award you the greatest of prizes… if you are hungry enough for it. A one-of-a-kind watch that can grant you the unimaginable. A watch that, according to your host, chooses its winner.

If I am being coy about what it does, it is because it is essentially the twist of the game. The text hints at the reason for the presence of each guest (leaving yours up in the air), a reason for why they would want the prize. It raises an interesting question about free will and its consequences, the guilt and regret from actions.

Still, something did feel a bit lacking. If you do play the game, and go through the instructions left for you… most of it is just vague. You, the player, could fill in the blanks, but I felt it did somewhat break the immersion. I think it might have worked best if during the phone call, the player could fill in those blanks in a textbox, even if the information is not saved in a variable. It would probably make the ending all the more sweeter… or fulfilling.

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Threads of Snow, by Butter Blanc
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Monologue of recollection, August 23, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice

This small game is a kinetic visual novel, where, unable to find sleep, you confess your deepest secret to your resting (unconscious) lover. One that would probably freak out a lot of people if they were told - think speculative fiction trope meets romance.

Aside from the promised weather metaphors and alliterations, the game is essentially a monologue, recalling how the MC got to this point. One thing feels pretty murky: the MC might be a very selfish person for prioritising their feelings above the well being of her lover (as she knows what is to come) or this is a tragic groundhogs day tale where no one wins/breaks the cycle at the end.

At the end of it, neither the prose nor the visual* really grabbed me. It is still quite a feat for a first game to write this many words, and put up the visual and code it all though.
*I don’t know if it was intentional, but the sprites were all pixelly during the page loadup.

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Toast, by morgana
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
To burn, or not to burn…, August 22, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice

… that is the ultimate question. A slice of toast in hand, you are faced with this conundrum at the start of the game: will you cast the yeast to the fire or let it be?
A simple decision, right? Who doesn’t want to have a nice golden slice of toast? What’s the worst that could happen?

Either path taken, the game will dive into absurdism - one path kind of reminded me of a Monty Python sketch. It is silly, and it knows it. It is silly and it wants you to have a silly time as well.

Great for a short silly break!

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If You Had One Shot, by Wade Clarke, Victor Gijsbers, Hanon Ondricek, Brian Rushton
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
There is no UNDO command in life…, August 22, 2023
Related reviews: singlechoice

If You Had One Shot is my favourite kind of parser out there: simple, short, and you will always reach the end. So short even, you can be done with it in a few minutes, 10-max for all endings. Simple enough it only has four commands: N/W/S/E. And very much like Aisle, you will reach the end at the end of the action, no matter what.

But IYHOS goes further with that mechanic and its ‘One Shot’ premise: you can truly only choose one thing - the game locking any possibility of restarting the game, even when prompted*. It does hammer on the consequences of your action. Like life, you cannot go back, undo, restart… you can only move forward, with your regrets, your guilt…
* Well, you can, but not while the game is open…

As for the story, it is written by four different authors, each focusing on a different choice and its consequences. Honestly, unless you are familiar with their works, I found that their style blended so well that I couldn’t tell had written what. I think it speaks to the strength of each author, as well as Mathbrush’s choice of having those authors on board.

Kind of like Aisle, each branch will give the player a bit of information about the MC, the characters around them, and their relationship. Though, unlike Aisle, aside from the direct consequences of your action, the provided information is connected with one another. I thought the twist from them was quite funny, but also kind of sad. You kind of feel for the oblivious MC…

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