Reviews by manonamora

Familiar Problems is a fantasy puzzle parser in which you wake up as some experimental familiar in a magical school, realising your creator is nowhere to be found. What to do then? Escape and plot your revenge, of course! Is it doable? As a blob of green slime, it’s going to be challenging but not impossible. Along the way, you encounter other familiars, each with different abilities, which you can consume and acquire to move around the map and solve the different puzzles. The game also includes a map and hints/nudges to progress.

It’s a well polished game, with a satisfying gameplay, and just charmingly fun! You start with limited actions, with a set of commands that builds up as you gather more power (i.e. consume things and others). The progression makes sense, as each power is there to solve a subsequent puzzle/block (sometimes even working in combination!), and the puzzles have the right amount of difficulty that it feels really good when solved (the nudges and map help a ton when stuck, but good old trial-n-error did most of the work for me). As well, the game does take advantage of the Dialog program, enabling players to choose whether to input commands or clicking on the actions (or both, in my case, especially for the map and fast travelling the places).

I really enjoyed helping the lil’ blob getting its bearing and figuring out how to get out of the building. There are a tons of fun stuff to discover in the game (the announcement messages got me to chuckle every time), that really adds to the funky atmosphere here. Honestly, one of the strongest parser I’ve played recently!

An Admirer is a horror conversational parser, in which a immaterial presence really really wants to talk to you, whether you want it or not. The conversation is mainly non-linear: you enter actions or keywords to get different bits of text (and open more topics). It is not always clear how much you can actually progress in the game, and how to reach anything but the mandated ending when inputting QUIT.

This might be one of the creepiest game I’ve played in a while. You can’t get away from the creepy voice that insists upon itself (no movement) nor can you really fight it (it’s not physically there) - only endure what it wants to tell you, all that it knows about you from watching you (on point with the stalker vibes), all the feelings it has for you, the made-up scenarios about you. It really felt that creepy, from the way the voice talks about you, how it is so sure it knows you, inside and out. Creepier still is what it wishes from you, what it plans for you. Escalating bit by bit, every time it slips up (feels on purpose) until you can’t take it any more and input QUIT to stop the madness.

This was wholeheartedly unpleasant, but in a good way. Skin crawling experience with a surprisingly responsive chat-bot.

Museum of Paranormal Phenomena is a relatively short parser made as an homage to the movie Ghostbusters. In the game, you visit the titular museum, whose rooms are decorated like scenes in the movie. Except some things seem out of place or missing. And Slimer keeps roaming around. You end the game by returning the rooms to their counterpart scenes. Knowledge of the movie isn't really required to complete the game (though it will help with speed), as the game only accepts one specific item in each room.

As is, it's a fine fetch-puzzle game, which is well built and without issue. But it didn't do much for me. It's definitely a game that plays on the nostalgia factor (hinting about the referenced movie at the start without explicitly mentioning it. So if you're not familiar with the movie (or if you don't enjoy it), the whole nudge-nudge-wink-wink will fall flat for you. The idea of having cleaning up the museum is neat, and I weirdly wondered when each room would come to life (or have some actual paranormal activities).

Forevermore: A Game of Writing Horror is a poetic Twine game in which you play as famous brooder Edgar Allen Poe, in search for inspiration for his newest poem. Except, he’s having a hard time staying on track, lacking the words and feelings for his pen to translate to paper. And distractions keep breaking his flow, when he finally gets it. There are five different endings, which the game tracks for you, and you can keep the stanza you created then too (some of them are pretty hilarious).

It’s pretty funny to see the contrast between the Brooder-in-Charge struggling to get into the mood, especially when you learn a bit more about his life. It feel a bit too fake: you practice the occult with a plaster skull, your dark study where you brood has been cleaned a bit too well by your maid (yes, a thick layer of dust is needed for the ambiance, you see), and you’re living a pretty cushioned life (a nice little cottage and a maid that cares for you). Truly, the fresh scones and tea do not bring upon the so needed ravens.

Overall, it’s a really fun game with a good sense of humour. And it’s especially fun replaying it, to find the other poems/endings (I got the “bad” ones first which were hilarious). Seeing the ChoiceScript-like stats bar on top of the screen change as you try to brood or enjoy the day.

Dark Waters on the Night Shift is a spooky puzzle game made in Twine, where shenanigans happen on your night shift at a sewer plant. You play as Oscar, a regular guy working alone at the plant on Halloween. Expecting some teenagers and their tricks, it is a succubus, Lucciana, that come entertain your night (and, in passing, literally bring hell to the plant). In order to resolve the sudden chaos, and put down the fire, a friendly ghost comes to help ((Spoiler - click to show)turns out to be some poor soul who had died at work some Halloween's ago, probably because of Lucciana).

The game provides a fun playground to explore and interact with, as the access to the different parts of the sewer plant changes with Lucciana's interference. The larger puzzle itself isn't too complicated, it's traversing the map that will be the most challenging. There are multiple locations and levels you need to take into account, especially as soon as you use the remote. I screenshot the map* before diving into the cart to make things easier on myself (and it did help!).
*Fun fact, which I realised when I beta tested: the map is an SVG element, made completely from scratch!

What worked the best for me was the descriptions of the plat itself, especially as it changed throughout the game. The acid fumes turning into hellish flames or the cool water in the tanks (which hurt me to waste... but that's for a good cause). Created a really nice horror ambiance and a sense of urgency (the fire, obviously and the countdown, even if you actually have enough time).

The Depths of Madness is a short horror piece made in ChoiceScript inspired by “The Call of Cthulhu” from Lovecraft. After receiving in a hurry the research of a now-passed coworker, you delve into one of the tome just before going to sleep. The research deals with the occult, particularly the myth of Cthulhu. It is, obviously, unwise to fall asleep with that kind of reading on your lap (unless you like thrills… or nightmares!).

So you fall (or more like sink) into the depths of a dark body of water, of which you do not see the end. The decent towards the bottom, where shadows still catch you unaware, is pretty oppressing - there’s no way but down. Only madness accompanying you. Here, the inspiration from Lovecraft is clear, and the writing does a good job at conveying this otherwordly horror.

Since the game provides you with choice at multiple point during the story, I got curious to what other paths would bring me (as I played essentially a rational chicken the first time around). It was a bit disappointing to find that few of the choices really did something, only there to provide and illusion of choice (which, is fair, you can’t really refuse the call of Cthulhu). It is most obvious with the final choice, bringing the abrupt ending.

On the other hand, the choice of palette and imagery for the interface was well done. The dark theme and ocean greens add some depth to the atmosphere.

The Little Match Girl in the Court of Maal Dweb is a fairly long parser game in Inform 7, where you play as Ebenezabeth Scrooge, the Little Match Girl who can travel through time and space by looking at fire. In this episode of the LMG series, you are tasked to take down a big bad werewolf, called Imrath, who has been terrorising people through time and space. The game includes hints, and as far as I could tell, does not have a failure state.
This was also my entry into the series.

Though you are supposed to be teaming-up with three other characters, you end up doing not only most of the search and prep for the werewolf, but also take it down. The game itself is relatively simple: explore the Woods and the different worlds (through the flames/torches), try to find information about the werewolf and how to take it down, and help the people in those worlds along the way (some back-and-forth between world is necessary).

While I managed to get through most of the game without needing hints (I think I was lucky in the order I ended up visiting the different realms, it made sense which things I had to get to next), it was the final showdown that gave me the most troubles/confusion. Before (Spoiler - click to show)you can complete your preparations, you come face to face with Imrath and are forced into some sort of mental battle. It really made no sense as to why the violin was there or why I had to play it (my guess is that LGM's violin play is central/greatly mentioned in another game. Still, it *somehow???* takes Imrath down? While the other puzzles made some sense (though I did wish there would have been more use in the kit we get at the start), this one really broke my brain.

I did enjoy the post-game content, going back to the different worlds and (Spoiler - click to show)heal everyone again with the violin. After taking Imrath down, I figured why not, and just rolled with it. But was a bit bummed to not find the missing element required by Maal (did it ever exist?), or what's on the pole, or that Mattin didn't want to (Spoiler - click to show)read my fortune.

I was a bit apprehensive of the long playtime, especially compared to other Ectocomp entries, but it was pretty fun nonetheless. The different worlds are rich in details and implementation, and super varied. Seeing your companions (Spoiler - click to show)fall one by one to the cursed state, like some weird slasher movie where the ingenue(-ish) to save the day, made me snort. They must not have forgotten their plot armour :P

You promise is a short Faustian horror game made in Twine, in which you make a deal with a mystical being (devil? or maybe fae with the insistence of giving your name?) to solve your money problems. Like any magical deals, it's a lot about give and take... and *how* you take. I found 7 different endings, with only one "good" one.

This was a fun take on the deal-with-the-devil trope, giving you different options to deal with your Honoured Guest, each branch as entertaining as the next. Trying to trick HG into giving you what you want without, essentially, paying the price, was trickier than I thought. Getting away with it *is* the challenge, and HG will take you up on your words - *the exact words* you utter. After all, you promise It your words are true.

And the consequences are... varied - your literal words thrown back at you (heart, soul, and all) - and fitting to each path taken (in a sort of monkey-paw kind-of-way sometimes). The styling of that final passage is particularly on point, as tension builds and the danger is imminent. Like a creepy Cheschire Cat about to devour you whole because you slighted it.
Though after the second or third ending found, the timer on the animation drags on a little too long. Great the first time around tho!

One final point on the "good" ending, because while there is a way to best HG and get the money, it doesn't *feel* good, or like you actually won. (Spoiler - click to show)You don't even touch it when you see it in your account, you wait weeks and months, and still you wait. As if, the second you spend the money, HG will appear still and give you your comeuppance. The tension is still there, lingering. Finding this one last really felt like a full circle moment.

Fireboad is an action parser, in which you incarnate Captain Kent Decker, a senior fireboat captain of the NY fire department, on the Hudson river, when the ghost of your grandmother appears before you, with dire news: a terrorist is planning to blow up the Big Apple! You ready yourself to thwart its plan, going up/down the Hudson river with your trusty boat.
There are two endings, incl. one bad which is obvious enough (and clearly hinted that (Spoiler - click to show)you shouldn't touch the trailer) and one where you save the day. A walkthrough is also provided on the game page, though if you follow the explicit "crumbs", getting to the end is just a matter of remembering where to go.

Because you are eagerly told what to do, head on, the game feels pretty railroady: the game presses you to do the things it tells you to do, rushing you almost before you can take a breath. It's a somewhat understandable, seeing as you have an exploding plot in your hands, and you're a seasoned captain that knows what do to. But it felt a bit like exploring/examining objects around you to be... futile/pointless. At times, I wondered if some of these hints/pressure points would have been better behind the *HINT* command, for those needing that extra help (especially since (Spoiler - click to show)notes left around by the ghosts tells you exactly what to do.).

I liked that inclusion of the spectral presence leading you along the way, and how it only appears when you "need" it, or the ghostly objects disappearing when you completed their task. It made keeping track with your task's progress much easier. Though, the whole (Spoiler - click to show)Liberty Statue section felt a bit out of place, and stilted a bit the pace of the story, especially considering the urgency of the issue.

Yet, it was genuinely fun to play and I really enjoyed being able to move the boat around the river (that's such a fun movement function!). And kuddos to the Chief Mate for being so good at his job!

Your Little Haunting is short horror parser, where you get to explore an abandoned house and interact with the limited elements within. In this dark night, your goal is to find a light source. Except it doesn't go the way you hope it will.

Though under-implemented ((Spoiler - click to show)the bedroom is essentially empty, some elements not interactible/reachable like the (Spoiler - click to show)lamp you see through the window), which is understandable considering the Speed-IF time limit, it's pretty chilling: the empty neglected house come to (un-)life as you interact in specific way, a sort of ghostly mirror to what you did.
>But even as ghosts might appear, your presence in this house feels ghostly too. You haunt these halls, turning on/off appliances, moving objects just because. The ghosts themselves don't seem to care about or acknowledge you... (Spoiler - click to show)until the very end, when the veil is removed from your eyes.

I would have loved being able to explore/interact more with this dreamy, liminal space, but my stay in this abandoned house was just right.

A Puzzled Soul is a short timed parser made in Inform, in which you are trying to escape a creature hunting you, by solving some questionable puzzles to get to the next section. If you take too long solving them, you’re sent back to the start to try again. There are two endings, dependent on your choice at the very end of the game.

Each section has multiple puzzles you can solve (though only one is necessary to get to the next section, and you won’t have time to do them all in one playthrough anyway), with seemingly different difficulty (really puzzled to how to solve some of them, I gave up pretty quickly). It was interesting to get branching in a parser, and giving the player agency in how to get to the next section… which is ironic because you are essentially forced to do awful things to progress and escape the creature (like (Spoiler - click to show)stealing from a confession box, poisoning a well, or desecrating a grave). Coupled with the sense urgency from the timer, it creates a pretty fun environment.

On the other side, I did struggle quite a bit with the implementation of the puzzles with regards to the timer. Because we have a limited amount of commands before the creature catches you, there’s only so much you can do/test before you’re sent to the start. And when it’s not always clear what you need to do to solve a puzzle (or what command to use to do something, because some are custom, like crossing wall instead of going west, where we’re told we can go). It became pretty frustrating at times, but with a bit of persistence (and Saving at every new room), it is possible to get to the end.

Die Another Day is a short resource management game made in Twine, where you play as a person who gruesomely dies at the end of every day, only to wake up the morning after as if (almost) nothing happened. And you can’t stop this groundhog-like cycle either - you will die no matter what - only exacerbate it. There are 3 endings, with different outlook on your future, dependent on your choices.

Aside from the obvious but effective metaphor for living with disability/illnesses, it makes an interesting point on the triviality of death. Forced to die again and again, each day, death just becomes an inconvenience: you don’t know when your body will stop working. What if you pass out in the middle of the street or in front of friends? What about the mess you need to clean the day after (bodily fluids/broken belongings)? What if you hurt yourself even more?

And so you must work around it - do you prioritise potential discomfort for an easier tomorrow? or convenience for (financial/social) struggles down the line? While you can prep some stuff, it’s not like you can really plan your day/life when you don’t know your state days/hours ahead - compromises can only take you so far. Your body essentially forces isolation from the world (how can you go out when your body might give out?) and yourself (can you spare the energy to do something for yourself?).

And so you die, every day.

Like a Sky Full of Locusts is a western/monster-y parser game in which you play as an Army man in the Far West, whose tale is derived from the titular epic presented by Rattlesnake Yates at the Castle Balderstone Horror Convention in 1969. Returning to the Fort after some unexplained adventure, you find it in disarray, and crawling with monsters. Simple man of arms that you are, you shoot them until they perish/disappear. There's one major puzzle to unlock the final scene, but as the *hint* command indicates: just explore and shoot.

The most trouble I had, while playing, was finding the glyphs. While most where in plain sight, a couple were hidden behind descriptions (so I went around the map maybe 4-5 times before finding them all. But that's essentially my fault for not drawing a map from the start. I was a bit anxious looking at the bullets in my inventory (knowing shooters, it's always an issue), but was pleasantly surprised that you don't ever run out ((Spoiler - click to show)I don't think I even used any of the other guns available, and still got to the end unscathed) because the game provides and doesn't let you waste the bullets anyway.

There's another layer, wrapped around the game, in which we are only privy to by being a guest to the convention, listening to Yates's epic poems (of which we get snippets through the game, the amount of rhyming is pretty impressive), or the other participants' criticism of the poetic tale. This entry being essentially my introduction to the Castle Balderstone anthology, that whole section after the first end kinda went over my head.
However, if I were able to add to the other authors' criticism, I wouldn't have minded having the choice to (Spoiler - click to show)decide the face of the Colonel, as the whole mess is essentially his fault, and honestly, considering the damage he'd done in the Fort, doesn't really deserve being saved just before the end.

Overall, a pretty engaging parser, even with the limited agency you can have, with an intriguing framing (story within a story).

Roar is a comedic action-focused game in which the animal kingdom has had enough of men and decided to wage war against them. You play a lowly soldier trying to survive to the increasing animalistic mayhem. Because of the focus on the action, it’s pretty fast-paced (expected), which is accentuated by the reading mechanic (scroll to display the next section/paragraph).
On this point, there was a bit of friction when I played, as I often ended up scrolling too far, which would show the next paragraph before I clicked on the cycling choice or display the chapter header (which covered the whole page) before I was done reading. This meant the game either made the choice for me, or forced me to scroll back to read the last missed sentences. But, considering this was completely custom, and made in 4h, it’s still pretty impressive.

Overall, it’s a zany game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, playfully overdramatic, with a fun twist at the end.

No More is a short horror one-room parser made in Inform, in which you, a young woman, are given an opportunity to escape your abusive preaching father before reaching the nunnery meant to imprison you. It uses a simple and limited command list, there is no losing state (merciful) and it includes a StoryMode for non-parser players (or see what you missed).

Stuck in a carriage with the patriarch, which you were forcefully thrown into, you wait for the right moment (and having enough courage) to strike back and set yourself free. On a bright full moonlit night, only a little push is needed to transform yourself. Examining your environment drives most of the story at first, until you get to that culminating point, where it hits that sweet sweet spot of cathartic.

It is most obvious (and pretty neat) in the shift in perceptions of the characters - how the description of the father and yourself change as the story progresses, when the newfound confidence and self-assuredness grows within you. The obvious shift in power marked in the mirroring descriptions of those two characters: your body shivering, which you try your best to stop, leading you to be scolded by the mighty patriarch VS the old powerless man shivering in fear as you tower over him. And that mirror is also seen between you and the objects in the carriage (with the lantern being another cage, the closed curtains as a wall between you and freedom).

It is also interesting how the story uses the werewolf to convey this story of breaking chains: the woman turning to an actual monster to regain agency and power in the unbalanced dynamics, because who else but herself can save her (probably not the nuns). Rather than monster to be feared, a way to freedom.

39 Trillion and 1 is a body horror game made in Twine, in which you embody a virus that infected a woman, with the means to spread further (but at what cost...). There are 6 endings to find (a couple are v similar), depending on your choices.

This was an overwhelming piece to go through, not just because of the lengthy passages filled with gruesomely detailed description of body horror (as the virus take over the body, expanding its reach, and how the body reacts to this) - not really letting you catch a breath - but also in the way it chooses to interact with the environment (the unconscious victim having little to no say in the matter). Those in contact with the virus/infection are subject to pretty graphic internal violence, depicted in a pretty disturbing way ((Spoiler - click to show)the ghoul-like section, where the infected woman is turned into an infectious puppet is particularly chilling), as the hosts become completely hopeless in the face of the illness ((Spoiler - click to show)whether they becomes food being toyed with or tool for its infectious goal).

In the excess found in the genre, I felt 39 Trillion and 1 crossing the line into the too much territory, to the point of cheapening the whole, making it look more edgy for the sake of edgy. I don't think it helped with how the illness being referred to with interchanging pronouns (It/He) or how confusing it changed who was controlling the body (the infected woman, the virus, or the voice (was that the hive mind of illness? something different/godlike? I'm still not sure).

This was particularly most obvious in the section where (Spoiler - click to show)the woman is not just a body fighting a losing battle against the virus, but having stronger thoughts and voiced opinions, and being able to interact "like a regular person". Up until that point (and through the other paths), humans were just there, ripe for the taking/infecting, just existing. Almost unreal. But now, two women have names, and background and layers, and the POV switches away from the virus. The switch is pretty jarring and feels out of place.

how to fly a kite is a short interactive piece made in Ink, based on poem by Refaat Alareer. In it, you play as a spirit in a war-torn setting, crossing path with a young child. Being able to inhabit and move objects around you, you help the child to build a kite. While it is mechanically pretty repetitive, the poetic prose shines here. The way it contrasts the bleak environment, revealed bit by bit, with the child’s joy in gathering the materials and building the kite is both haunting and touching.

The Column is a Cluedo-like game made in Twine, where you embark on an expedition to explore a desolate island, with a strange and cursed structure. To life the curse and save themselves, the team must trust each other - though the curse will try hard to break those bonds. There are two endings, which can be easily found (the game lets you skip back to the first choice to retry).

It’s beautifully written, with a very enticing introduction. A rag-tag team, each with its own specialisation and personality, stuck together on an island with no other choice but trust each other to get out? Sign me up! And the reveal of the column really built up my expectations for what was to come. That introduction does a pretty good job at laying down what you need to get to the mechanic.

And it’s an interesting mechanic, as a social experiment, focusing on your deduction skills from the information provided - though it doesn’t really punish you if you miss the mark in the combination of choices, even for the high stakes. Not knowing is the hardest thing, and the game forces you to rely on your assumptions to make a choice… and accept you might fail.

It’s a pretty tightly built game overall, but the selfish part of me kinda wished there was a bit more (especially with the introduction being about half of the game) - like getting a few more in-game days, or talking to the NPCs before/after the choices and make them sweat a little. Then again, there was a lot already for a made-under-4h game!

Hotel Halloween is a collection of short scary games created by young students (of the Seneca Thing group), centred around the theme of horror hotel. We have 8 different rooms, each with a different take on Halloween, or creepy elements, or horror. Overall, it's pretty diverse and creative!

Room 10 is a simple story, which follows a person on a holiday, given a key to the titular room and finding a pool of blood by the door. Follows a branching sequence in which you either realise (Spoiler - click to show)you are dead or find a way out. I think there were 3 different (non-repeated) endings to find.

Room 16 is a survival story, in which you decide to relax before the Halloween Quest Game, except there are weird things happening in the room. At every turn, you are given a choice, where your (in)actions will mean life or death. You'll need a bit of trial and error to get to a Good Ending (there are multiple), and advanced to (Spoiler - click to show)an unfinished level 2 :( . Because of the arbitrary consequence of each action, the comedic tone of the writing works pretty well (the Bad Endings line were absurd, in a good way).

Room 102, strangely located underground, is another survival story, where you must escape your room to live. It was a time a bit confusing, which actually makes sense, since (Spoiler - click to show)it's all happening in a dream, though we don't really find out how or why this all happened. I liked the details of the hotel, that made things unsettling.

In Room 113, we play as a werewolf staying at the hotel for a vacation. This hotel is not dangerous for humans, but also magical creatures, which means that with one wrong move, you are out. The consequences are sometimes very sensible (like (Spoiler - click to show)why would you try to pet a dragon xD ), and sometimes pretty arbitrary (like checking into the bathroom). But it does so with humour, so that helps.

Room 444 is doll-themed, with a bunch of creepy dolls in various state throughout the room. And you are given an ominous warning if you decide to stay. The writing does a good job at describing the unsettling nature of the dolls, and your transformation if you get too curious. Very creepy.

Room 505 is another escape room situation, where you are magically transported into a dangerous maze, and given binary choices to find the right path and leave. It's really a coin toss on what you should to pick to get to the end, and I kinda found myself more interested in the Bad Endings after finding a couple (they are pretty funny).

Room 555's puzzle is centred completely around one very important object, which will determine whether you live or die (in various horrific ways). It reminded me a bit of the towel in HHGG in that sense - there's no real reason to need it, and yet... Both Good Endings were pretty nice, but the very matter-of-fact plug-the-wall one was very funny in context of the whole.

Room 666 is probably the darkest game of the collection, with a focus on body horror (and I think no "good" endings). The recurrent attention to the eyes really gave me the creep - I kept hoping I wouldn't have to see it again. It was a good utilisation of the haunted mirror trope, no matter the outcome.

Jumpscare Manor is a silly tiny jumpscare game made in Twine, where you explore the titular Jumpscare Manor, for if you stay a whole night within its walls, you will own it. There is only one end, which will happen randomly (otherwise it wouldn’t be a jumpscare).

It’s really silly, filled with jumpscare red herrings (like the dusty armour stand in the entrance). It was funny trying to go through the rooms and realising they’re all connected to another (Spoiler - click to show)through a secret passage, so you’d start on the ground floor and end up two stories higher - not surprisingly I lost my sense of direction pretty quickly. It’s really a gag entry, one you’d expect from Damon Wakes, and it does what it sets to do.

Sundown is a surreal horror game made in Twine, where you play as Dolores, an old woman exploring her house as she looks for her dog. As you go through the motions, the game hints at the peculiar situation she is in, leaving you to fill in the (very obvious) blanks. You’ll expect the twists coming, but when it does arrive, it still hits like a ton of bricks.

From what seems like a slice-of-life story, with Dolores, trying to find her footing as she wakes up from a nap, and to reminisce on her past, it progressively gets stranger before downright getting disturbing. She’s seems surprised at the presence of guests, at their frustration when she asks again and again the same questions (what are they doing here?), but most importantly, it seems, at why she can’t find her beloved pet, no matter how many times she calls it.

It is a pretty tragic tale, enhanced by the interface and the background score (creepy as heck). We experience Dolores’s confusion, through that semi-confusing maze (or maybe I’m the problem, forgetting where things are), her inability to find things (only available after a specific conversations) or remember events (which are obscured to us too). The only insurance that we are advancing the story is the changing colour palette (reminiscent of the sun setting). Still, in the context of the story, that change is incredibly off-putting.

While the first section of the (Spoiler - click to show)Charlie act brought things to a new level of scary and creepy, I am not sure if their conversation really added to the story as a whole. We didn’t know/learn/explore enough about their past, their relationship, and the consequences, for that revelation to make a real impact (compared to the other ones). It seemed a bit out of place. I would have preferred a focus with Dolores’s child instead in that section - I think it would have made the final section even stronger.

Overall, this was a great piece of writing, especially being good at conveying that confused state of Dolores, and the frustrations of those around her. Pretty heartbreaking.

At the Strike of Twelve is a short horror games made in Twine, where you explore a nightmare-like setting after waking up at midnight in a wet graveyard. Depending on your choices, you can reach one of 5 endings: two good ones (though one is pretty bad still), two neutrals (which might still be pretty bad), and one bad one.

The game includes a lot of horror/creepy elements, starting in the graveyard, the creepy random phonecall, the sense of dread from losing time, and, of course, the monsters. The focus on the senses, especially the sounds, with the recurring bells ringing, is a nice touch. As well, the shift in the story, where you suddenly become transported to a detective's office and (Spoiler - click to show)body, while it was still alive, really flips the game upside down and adds to the uneasy vibes.

I think the text would profit from a touch more formatting to help the player digest the conveyed information along. Like paragraphs breaking longer passages into smaller section (helping the player breathe a bit) or page breaks (have two regular passages instead of one, can help build tension). More interactive options can also be considered, such as timed text (in moderation) to delay the inevitable, or click-reveal elements to give the player a bit more agency/control (even if they don't really).

Still, for a limit of 4h, it's pretty effective in creating a creepy and unsettling/dark atmosphere. My favourite ending is probably the earliest achievable one (which is a good one, of course), with the other good ending being 2nd best (it's way more creepy/gruesome than you'd expect).

do not let your left hand know is a horror single-choice game made in Twine, in which two women, Monica in 2017 and Lisa in 2024, struggle to keep hold of their bodies, something tries to take over. The game switches back and forth between the two as they are faced with revelations. This body and psychological horror story has two endings, through that final and only choice.

The game has an interesting discussion about identities, the persona we choose (or are forced) to bring forward in any given situation, and our relationships with our bodies. Monica feels like she is borrowing her body while travelling, as if pretending to be someone else and experience their life (want for happiness?). Lisa has a stable but boring life, but finds herself missing days on end, unable to remember things that she may have (not) done - like blanking at her desk for three days. Both harbour feelings that their body is not quite theirs, that it has somehow a mind of its own. As is, it makes for quite the distressing tale...

... but when it is revealed that (Spoiler - click to show)Lisa and Monica are just different sides of the same coin, that's when the horror really sinks in. Who was there first, really? Or (Spoiler - click to show)did they enter the body, like some parasite? or maybe even split following some trauma as some sort of response? Are there maybe more identities that neither Monica nor Lisa acknowledge? And who is actually in control, after all? technically you...
But the game doesn't care much in answering these questions, and is, instead, more interested in who should be in control of this body? This is what you are faced with at the end of the game, to choose between (Spoiler - click to show)Lisa with her boring life and unassuming personality, which makes her so forgettable that she'd spend three full days being catatonic before someone notices OR the social Monica who forged relationships in the past, made connections which brought her heart pumping. It's just one or the other. The left or the right hand. Whose side will you take?

While this is a powerful choice on its own, especially with the build-up of the previous passages, getting more and more distressing and gruesome, the game also makes it way to easy to impede on the significance of this choice. The interface lets you UNDO that choice with just a click on the bottom arrow (or save at the choice, then reload). And it doesn't make that final choice feel final.

I also struggled a bit with the formatting of the text. Mainly with the alignment of the text not always being contrasted enough between the left right and centre blocks (especially with long sentences/paragraphs) - smaller width would help section those blocks better. As well, a bit with the dialogue/thoughts lines, I wasn't always sure who was talking or whether it was inner thoughts (until the context kicked in, but it took me out of the immersion a few times).

Overall, a cool piece of horror, with a great sense of mystery and build-up.

Narthex is a tiny Moiki game, where you meet the eponymous character, a helpful little creature on your way to a party. The short story centres around challenges meant to be overcome (your anxiety towards the party and Narthex's imminent growth/evolution) and how external elements can empower one's will to confront those challenges (Narthex's enthusiasm calming your fear and the punk rock beats giving them power).

An intriguing point about the title: Narthex, which isn't just the name of the little creature, but also an architectural element in churches: its entrance, opposite to the main altar. And here you start, before the narthex of your party, unable to enter without that little push, even though it is meant to celebrate you, to see you front and centre (as if on an altar?).

Another, darker, take that crossed my mind was how I first interpreted the illustration of the party. Because of the simple drawing, of people waiting around, without a clear face drawn, I wondered for a moment whether this party (Spoiler - click to show)was supposed to be your funeral, and Narthex being there to help you accept the fact that you are dead/guiding you to peace (especially with their final winged form).

But I think, overall, it's meant to be a very sweet story, enhanced by adorable little illustrations and dope music.

Dark and Deep is a parser adaptation of a collection of poems, in which you incarnate a priest, called to an old woman’s bedside as she is about to die, to provide comfort in her final moment. Throughout the conversations, you learn more about the woman, and how certain rumours about her peculiar abilities fare true - which she temporarily shares with you. At its core, the story is one of loss and grief, regrets and deeply buried secrets.

I can’t say much about the adaptation of the poems, as I never encountered that poet prior to playing this game, though I do not believe being knowledgeable in English poetry is required to enjoy the story. I was hooked from the start. It is beautifully crafted, depicting life in all its glory and failures, all the good it can bring, all the ugly sides it can reveal, and all the bad you unearth.

The central mechanic offers a unique perspective, by flipping between the conversation between the priest and Mrs. Lajway in the present, and snapshots of her life in the past. The way the conversation deepens as you explore her life through her answers and those past snippets is really engaging. The further it goes, the more I wanted to know about this interesting woman and the life she left. It gave layers and complexity to an old woman, discarded by society.

In a way, that structure reminded me a bit of After the Accident, with the shift between past and present when “touchstones” are interacted with, yet still feels completely different and fresh. It enhances the codes of horror, by playing with your senses, as you see different things in the priest and Mrs. Lajway’s eyes, making you question reality (is all maybe just a trick of the mind? influenced by the bewitching words of an old woman’s tale?).

A very engaging and, at times, disturbing game. Would recommend in a heartbeat to horror fans.

Resurrection Gate is currently a demo for a larger dark fantasy RPG-like Twine game, in which you play different characters to explore themes of life, death and all that is between. Currently, only Yasha, a shellshocked hussar, and Laurence, a resurrected duke (my fav so far), are available, and only includes the first section of their respective paths.

As expected from this author, the game is highly customised, with distinct interfaces and styling for different sections, portraits of the protagonists and other NPCs in the scenes, as well as soundtracks and SFX to help set the mood. It also includes QOL settings: sound volume, fonts, theme, saves (I’d love a toggle for the animated text, the movement made me a bit nauseous). Similar to more visual novel programs, you can also use the SpaceBar to display the next section of the text (though you will still need your mouse to move to a new passage or click on dialogue/action options).

It took me a while to get into the game itself, as it throws a lot of information at you from the start, while expecting the players at time to already have certain knowledge (it’s a pretty long intro, and you also see this happening further in the demo). I don’t think I managed to immerse myself into the universe until after being introduced to the first protagonist. It quickly gets balanced by the RPG mechanic/choice options, which is very fitting for the this dark-fantasy setting. I think it was also smart to have a Trait-check from the start (making sure that central element is important in the gameplay), where it locks certain options if your level is not high enough. Honestly, it made me intrigued about what is hidden behind those locked choices (especially with the first PC).

It’s very obvious that there was a lot of care put into the demo (which, looking at the devlog, has been years in the making). There are a lot of intriguing elements that make me interested in seeing the final product (especially Laurence’s arc), and it makes me wonder how the game will evolve in subsequent updates. I’m interested in seeing how each character will move forward, as well as seeing how the different paths join (assuming the different PCs will meet at some point).

As the Eye Can See is a short emotional kinetic Twine piece, about the day before Halloween, and its meaning for the narrator throughout the year. From the contemporary date (Oct, 30h, 2024), the story portrays multiple vignettes of that day throughout the years, in reverse chronology.

It is both beautiful and haunting, in the way those recollection threads the life of our teenage narrator. It tells us her life has become quite lonely, following the loss of (Spoiler - click to show)her mother (an event that her father does not (wish to) discuss with her, nor does she seem willing to ask) - going as far, even, as rejecting the connections between those memories and things tied to them (like the familiar beautiful cottonwood which makes her feel too sentimental). With the writing focusing on details and things, all is actually said in hushed words, fleeting unacknowledged mentions, and unrecoverable memories. As if ghosts of the past were omnipresent, but unreachable or ignored.

This was a very melancholic piece, full of beautiful hidden meanings deepening with each new iteration of the day before Halloween.

your life, and nothing else is a short surreal horror interactive game made in Twine, where you live in a shared house with some peculiar individuals, a few of whom you’ve previously interacted with. You can wander through the building, check the common rooms in the lower floors, or see if your housemates want some company or require help with something. Whatever you can do to pass the time somehow.

Because you are essentially stuck in this monotonous life of waking up/checking on your neighbours/helping them with something/going back to bed, stuck in this shared house (unable or unwilling to leave?), stuck with yourself. But while your day-to-day doesn’t ever change, your surrounding does… and so do you.
Evolving slowing in this forced confinement, your health takes a toll, both physically (which you ignore to help your neighbours) and mentally (unease/paranoia building), while the building gets significantly hotter and filled with smokes.

The writing does a good job at creating this increasingly oppressing situation (which you both ignore, moving on with your day as if nothing was wrong, feel its effect on your health, but also question its happening) and the unsettling feelings that come along (what is this place? can we even get out? why can’t we??). The building of the tension is really well paced, helped with the cycle of different days/request to fulfil, and the formatting of the text (colours + timer) adds to the disturbing/disorienting feeling the changes bring.

YARRY is a short psychological horror choice game made in ChoiceScript, in which you play as young parent named Larry, whose two-year-old has decided to call him by the titular 'Yarry'. While one could brush it off as a toddler learning how to speak (yet able to pronounce complex sounds), the game takes a more unsettling approach: the child doesn't just misname you, he is suddenly repelled by you.

From loving parent, you are, for no clear reason, relegated to a stranger by your own flesh and blood. Worse still, it seems that people don't seem to care or mind about your discomfort ((Spoiler - click to show)your wife even shows to know more than you do about your son's reasons for acting this way, but doesn't care to share or (Spoiler - click to show)the daycare employee brushing off your concerns or uneasiness as a usual period for kids that age), as if they are all in on a joke and excluding you.

And there is truly little you can do to help with the situation: no matter you actions, your son always cries in your presence, wishing you wouldn't be there. Whether you make peace with this new form of your name, pretend nothing is wrong, or fight for your identity at every turn, you are always hopeless against your environment.

It is very unsettling, that even with a change seemingly so minor (just one letter in your name not being pronounced correctly) affecting you so deeply, yet your feelings are never really acknowledged or accepted.
It questions even the validity of your feelings: are you in the right, fighting for your name/identity (fighting your child?) or just overreacting (his just a kid, after all)?
And as a player, you have to wonder: is the narrator telling us everything with regards to how we got here (the sudden change being random or building up over-time? are we maybe just exhausted as a new parent and it's clouding our judgement?) or purposefully obfuscating information (are we a bad parent? did we do something wrong? or is there something nefarious at play)?

The writing really does a good job at making you question everything, and creating this unsettling environment (where clearly something is wrong, but why are you the only one seeing it???).
However, I do wish the game was longer, where you'd have the option to confront the child, or at least your wife (even if you end up looking like a crazy person in the process), or have more situations where you name is wrong (an exchange with your family/friend?) or actually someone saying your name correctly... but as a joke! But, for an under four-hour-created story, it manages to be just enough to give you the creeps.

Contaminated Space is a short sci-fi horror-y Twine piece, where you embody a lone(ly) spaceman, dealing with the consequences of entering a contaminated space. In this lonely trip, taken as a break from reality, moving further and further away from home (escaping? fleeing?), silence and space are your only companion. Perfection found in quiet, cleanliness, and simpleness (like the overall formatting).

All contrasted with the contaminated space, quarantined sections of the universe due to their potential danger, horrors that could infect and destroy worlds. None who enter are allowed to leave. Careless with your safety in your goal to reach an impossible unsullied state, you miss every warning sign… until it is much too late.

In your wish to be alone, you are taken over by a whole. In rejecting your personhood, turning into a husk of yourself, you become a host, a filled shell for another. In your aimless journey, a purpose is forced upon you. In your deliberate want to be unbothered, you are disturbed.

This was disturbing to read (in all the best ways). The glitchy-ness of the text, jumbled/broken thoughts, the back and forth between the entities, made all the wrongs so wrong, but all so good too.

Mathphobia is a decadent puzzle fest of a text-adventure.
While your classmate rejoice in the Halloween break counting their candies, you are stuck at home solving a metric-ton amount of maths problems. As the night progress, and you are no closer to be done on time (it’s due in the morning!), you are visited by a strange character, who takes on an adventure in a faraway fantasy land, terrorised by Archfiend of Arithmetic, and… where maths is the only way to defeat them.

So you go on this adventure, where maths solves everything under the sun, travelling the land, helping folks with their measurement problems, and defeating in each region a villain specialised in one type of arithmetic (subtractions, divisions, multiplications…). The calculations starts off pretty easy, amping up in difficulty when moving to a new section of the game. While some of the latter problems may be difficult (or annoying/impossible to solve if you are mathphobic), you get as many tries as you need (or check the cheat-sheet - which I’ve done for the last-ish problems)!

The premise is really silly (but down-right tortuous for this poor child!), but the writing hooks you so easily (even if, like me, solving maths puzzles isn’t a fun time). The humour is full of charm and levity, and of puns (especially the villains, that cracked me up). It’s was downright impossible for me not to cheer for the kid, and do my best to help them save the land. And by the end, weirdly satisfying to actually solve that many maths problems without help.

Anyway, it was silly fun (that made me do maths against my will, gasp)! I’d even recommend it to tweens.

Ghost Hunt is a tiny Adventuron game, where you must find and catch the ghosts of long passed family members (all because you wanted to use a casket as a decoration for Halloween). Since catching a ghost is not an easy affair, the ghost of your great-grandfather gives you a box that will do the job for you, if you manage to find the ghost in the first place.

It is a pretty simple parser, with a very limited map and verb list, and generous directions on how to proceed with the descriptions/responses. It’s a polished parser starter-friendly game.

Boo. is a short spooky story, made in Moiki, in which you investigate the strange whispering voices you start hearing in the middle of the night (even though they keep asking you to leave).

While the search is fairly simple and to the point (the main block in the path can be resolved within a couple of turns), it excels in creating a genuinely atmospheric creepy environment, through both the simple dark interface, sparse and uneasy background sound/SFX, but most importantly the voiced dithered whispers. The voice creeps and disappears, climbs up your spine and runs back down double speed, jumps and leaves you just as fast - making you expect it at any turn to scream until kingdom come.

This game knows what is it doing, and doing it it extremely well. It keeps you on your toes, both bare and rich in content, on point with timing, and doesn’t stay its welcome.

SPILL YOUR GUT is the third instalment of the GUT series, after GUT THE MOVIE, and the spoof GUT THE MOVIE 2: GUT ves. TER THE TWOVIES, where we check in on the original cast of GUT, Gemma, Uma, Tilla, and their manager Stace, after the movie was completed (or was it ever made?). There are four paths to follow, one for each individual, with the request to follow the above order.

Now, I don’t like being told what to do and started with Stace, essentially spoiling myself with the outcome of the previous paths… or did I?
Confused by the tone of that path (reminding me of the vibes of GUT2), I reloaded and followed the instructions in the game. Granted, there was a good reason for that.

Gemma’s, Uma’s and Tilla’s paths are completely different from Stace. While the later is in the third person, with the same interface as the starting page, the formers focuses on inner thoughts and bright, duo-tones, stylised and distinctive and restrictive interfaces. But more so, the gameplay of each path builds on the previous one: Gemma’s deep taunting red in a limited N/S direction, Uma’s cool emotional blue opening to all four main cardinal directions, and Tilla’s envious and tortuous greens adding the up/down option. All to finish with the linear definitive and decided Stace section, looping us back to the start.

But the contrast is not just in the visual and gameplay between the paths, but also in its content. The RBG section is enmeshed with anxious vibes, in the way the characters talk about themselves, their fears and insecurities, and the repetition of screens (indicating the end of content in that direction). Gemma, in kill the internet, feels hopeless and lonely, and struggles to find a purpose moving forward (funnily, you can only move back and forth between sections). Uma, in call your girlfriend, ruminates over her past and current relationships, the good, the bad and the ugly, and their inability to stay emotionally connected while with someone (her thoughts littered in a maze without much sense). Tilla, in sell your dreams, hides her true feelings (about the movie and herself) behind a criticism of society, which she has left being by moving to the Moon (layers discoverable by taking the elevator). Each are tortured in their own ways, either barred from opening a specific door, or unable to ever find that wanted exit.
On the other hand, Stance’s section has a more absurd take. She isn’t riddled with insecurities or worries, only caring really with eating chips. She flips the script on its head, going against the expectations, taunting the monster instead of being taunted (who breaks itself and sorta the game), unbothered with the change of/breaks in the environment or herself - as long as there are chips, she is content.
This contrast is made extra obvious with the repeated “I am lonely/scared/tried” screens in RBG, which Stance’s action can be reduced to “Eat chips”.

Strangely, though most of the game is very different from the previous iterations of GUT, it is surprisingly still much in line with the series as a whole. Through RBG, you are forced through these anxious-riddled paths, tortured along the characters, unable - like them - to escape (unless you reload the page), stuck in their head… Only to return to the absurdity of Stace’s section, greatly enhanced as it calls for the opposite almost of feeling. Stace is never stuck, whether she acts or not, circling through a death/rebirth unending cycle, always moving, and changing - while still staying the same. Stace is both the anchor of RBG, and the much needed comedic relief.

A third opus I didn’t know I wanted or needed. Neither better nor worse than the previous GUT. Only leaving me with the want of more sequels!

Through the framing of a told tale about a cowboy, his/her choices, and their consequences, the game mixes a western setting with some fantastical elements, bringing an interesting take on 'the Devil's Deal. Because of this framing, the game utilises different interfaces to demarcate the present and the told story (as you are both listening and playing through the tale).

As usual with this author, the imagery is quite vivid through the extensive prose, especially the descriptions surrounding nature and the start of the second part of the story. Though the choices are limited and the story fairly linear, the interactivity in this game (or lack thereof) is nonetheless pretty interesting, especially through the first part.

I particularly enjoyed the endings, revealing much more than the fate of John Cassidy King. Surprisingly, that extra reveal stayed longer in my mind, especially the one of the earliest ending.

I'm still not sure what to make of this, as the game weaves multiple strands of story (POVs, but also past/future) together. Even through my confusion, I think I managed to piece some things at the end: a couple of peeps are trying to save someone (whose relationship is unclear), each with a different view on how to do so; they end up being hunted by religious zealots for some reason; and one of them meet the/a Devil? I think I took out of this a short take of heartbreak, betrayals, and a trip to Hell?

A certain positive: the portraits were pretty neat, I liked the coloured ones the most.

Forenote: I played this entry in English.

Even though the game is fairly short, I only had the stomach to reach two different endings. The writing is quite gruesome, with violent imagery, which considering the events happening around the release of the game made it very hard to read (personally) - even if they are probably not related.

The interactivity and choices available, as well as the responses from those choices, are pretty confusing, which makes total sense since this is supposed to be some sort of nightmare. The branching also seemed quite complex, with paths seemingly looping back.

Pretty impressive for something made (originally in Spanish) in 4h!

A short but effective horror tale, leaving the unsaid shape up the story. Framing the story through a questionnaire seemed strange at first, but works surprisingly well (since the protagonist is still in school), and even adds to the eerie/uneasy setting. It was a very interesting use of interactivity.

The writing was on the wall from the start, but I still was distracted by what was not and missed the hints. The end shocked me more than I thought it would.

And, as with any test, I scored poorly: only a crescent.

You lose or your lose... the question remains, how bad can you lose?
Well, pretty badly depending on your choices. But that's fine... end up fine, right?

You are given a pile of scenarios, randomly ordered, for which you must choose a course of action. Each action has a different level of success (which is 'lowest loss') for different faction of society (Culture, Military, Religion, Social Classes, Colonial power...). The further you go into the game, the worse your success will be, the deeper you fall. [I picked the worst options on purpose :P]

The writing in this game is humorous, taking jabs at different historical events, groups and countries (the French, the poor, the communists, women wanting to get votes...). Though, it is very much a British kind of humour: dry and prickly. And that's what makes the whole thing funny.

Still, there were some confusing aspects to the game (which I ended up figuring out after replaying). Such as what the percentages next to the choices were: where they success rolls? difficulty rolls? Even with different percentages in one list, since the links are all the same colour, it wasn't clear whether an option was "good"/passable or not.

Another one regarded the statistics. When choosing an option, the changed state blinks* at the bottom of the screen indicating the amount of loss. However, it was hard to make any informed decision, or targetting a specific element, without knowing the starting states of each groups. Some stats bar would have been welcomed here**.
*this happens way too fast. If your eyes are not staring at the bottom of the screen you will miss it.
**and also at the end of the game, to see how bad we messed up with which group.

Still, always fun to destroy the British Empire.

This was one twisted story. Starting already strange becomes bleaker with each passage, as you get deeper inside the man's values, morals, and outlook on life/society.

Though well written, this was far from easy to read, due to the implicit and explicit violence depicted in the text. While the main body gives some indication of what is happening outside of the man's thoughts and spoken words, it is brought even further through the list of choices. It is subtle enough to give you pause, as well as showing how insane all of it is...

I know there are multiple endings to this game, some of them "better" than others, but I didn't have the stomach to hunt them all down...

This was a collaboration project between two authors of different styles, where a cosy slice-of-life and horror mash up was attempted.

There are indeed some horror elements to this game, especially at the start and towards the end of the story, but I found them being muddled through the rest of the text, its gripping effect drowned in lengthy passages and passive interaction, diluting the tension and fast pace. By the end, the horror aspect resembled more a list of references weaved through the quirky slice-of-life concept.

Granted, mixing up genres, especially when they are so different, is pretty difficult. But I can't help but wonder how it would have looked like if the writing focused more on the slice-of-life or more on the horror rather than make both genre work on the same level. The concept of a single mom with two kids trying to survive Halloween is already a neat concept, adding the cookie haunted house they live in adds to the charm, but I fail to see how the murder clown would fit in there. On the other hand, if the horror aspect was taken further, the single mom having to deal with a haunted house on Halloween was already a solid plot!

I think more interactivity and player agency would have greatly helped the game in general. There are many instances in the game where you go through multiple lengthy passages, with only a click-to-continue link, pulling the reader through the story, rather than making it an active participant*. It is a bit of a shame, especially as the blurb sets expectations of choices with decorating the house, or going trick-or-treating, or pulling a prank... While you have some small choices, the bigger aspects happen without requiring the player. I would have loved to be able to** place particular decorations in specific places (which could affect the prank later on), or choosing a different costume to go trick-or-treating (rather than that one or nothing), or responding to passers-by/candy-givers during the trick-or-treat phase. The added agency for the player would have helped with the pace of the story (and potentially added to the horror aspect - oh, but what if I had chosen another path...)
*even if the PC is supposed to have a set personality, many of the choices made for you could have been interactive.
**most of those don't require more than an extra line or two of variation in the text.

One final gripe with the accessibility of the game itself: when the passage has an image for the background, the text is often very hard to read, even when a dark-ish overlay has been added. Either the dark overlay needs to be darker/less opaque, or the image should be less bright (a combination of both would be best).

One thing that I noticed however, was how the prose and style stayed consistent throughout the writing, even with the switch in tone and genre. This is pretty impressive considering the writers have quite different styles. This speaks volume about the synergy during the creating process.

The game is fairly shot, showcasing a neat puzzle about numerology through different interactive elements. Some attention needs to be paid to the text from different locations, and some translation of numbers is necessary to unlock the puzzle. Then parts fall naturally where they should, and it's fairly simple to reach the end.

The moral of this game is: don't mess with time.

Games with word-plays are in my experience notoriously hard*, as they either require a specific type of knowledge of the language or are based on a certain accent. But add a little bit of zazz here, some funny writing there, and a whimsical setting, and you can get away with it. Or at least, most of Andrew's wordplay/rhyme games tend to manage that.
*ESL reader ;-;

This game falls definitely in this category of fun word-play game. The prose is absolutely absurd, the rooms are nonsensical, and the gameplay whimsical. But it's also hard. When you don't get it, the game is frustrating, and makes you feel a bit dumb. But when you do, it's honestly fun, and you feel so darn smart about it!

Still, I didn't manage to finish on my own, even with the walkthrough and map next to me (got too frustrated - 23/50-53). But, starting a new file and following the walkthrough to the letter worked!

What a riot of a game this was, and so, so well done. The writing is hilarious, and had me wheezing at every passage. The premise is honestly insane an absurd, with the moral of the story essentially being that fixer-uppers are not always the way to go... (/jk)

It was honestly so fun essentially running around the house, at night, half-asleep and needing to go to the bathroom, trying to survive the crazy amount of danger in that house (realtors are always sus, of course they'd downplay the bad stuff!). Everywhere you end up, there is something that wants to hurt you. So you die, respawn, try something else... and repeat!

And even with its simplistic look, it is such a polished entry. The writing is impeccable, balancing the horror and comedic aspects brilliantly - it is never too dark or too comical. You're never really stuck, as the game includes check points to “undo” your last action when facing a dead end, as well as indicating whether a path lead you to a dead end before.

And there are 20+ different endings to find, some of them being secret endings. Trying to collect them all was a hoot and a half, each of their title being a joke by itself (the alliteration were fantastic!).

I really enjoyed playing this game! Laughed so hard it hurts.
Might be one of my favourite game of this year!

The witch and the vampires were the most funny thing I encountered

Tiptoeing the other-wordly aspect of horror, this short game shines in its pacing, starting slow before picking up fast enough to hold your breath until the end. The writing does a good job at hinting during the first half of the game of something not being quite right, while still keeping the stake low, keeping it subtle enough to leave you confused until the reveal - though it can be easy to guess the kind of twist the story has.

I could have seen the ending going a different route than is currently there, where you don't make it out, pushing the horror aspect even further.

Moody abandoned church? check! Two kids with not enough fear to know better? check! Spooky shenanigans? check, check, check!

The game plays like one of those horror movie, where dumb kids do something they shouldn't, stumble on a weird thing that definitely means them harm, and try they best to escape - hopefully in one piece...

The writing is quite moody and creepy, and with the quick page, it gives little space to breathe (you have to act now or else...). The reluctance of your PC towards your sister/more-than-friend/acquaintance's wish to explore without care is understandable, from the uneasy descriptions of the abandoned church (and all the horror warnings of not breaking off ranks). Endings can come quite fast, depending on the choices, with some leaving you with a sense of dread for what happened.

As is it quite easy to pick the "wrong" choice, and reach a bad end, the game gives you the opportunity to "rewind" to the last choice made, and try something else. While there are many ways to fail the game, it is also a short one - so getting back on track doesn't take too long.

Another interesting bit of this game, was how the text/ending was affected from the first choice: what relationship you have with the other girl. Different tactics are required for different relationships...

Anyway, going back to hunt the last of the achievements~

The theme of the game is made clear from the start that this is about having social anxiety and how it affects you. You are described or you experience situations where you are forced to interact with others, which makes you uncomfortable due to the awkwardness or embarrassment you take from it. Navigating the world is difficult, and the game doesn't shy away from telling you that.

Still, even with this disorder plaguing your life, you find yourself going to a haunted house, to win some cash... if you manage to stay inside during the allotted time. So you can go about, explore some rooms, meet some long-forgotten acquaintances (and be embarrassing), maybe help someone and get a treat in return... trying your best to stay collected to get that prize. The scenes in the haunted house brings some needed tension and unsease, as you'd expect from this kind of place

However, the game suddenly threw me off, changing the scenery without warning, before ending quite abruptly*. Felt like a whiplash...
It leaves quite a few threads behind and brings more questions than it answered.
*so I have a whole theory about it [in spoiler]

(Spoiler - click to show)My theory about the abrupt switch is that, you were not really going to a haunted house to win some cash but actually going to a clinic to get the help you need for your social anxiety. But, your brain tricks you, making up this whole weird spoopy scenario to actually get you there. Because, for some reason, you can't get yourself to go to therapy or something...

This was a fun short parser, mixing some surreal elements with the horror tropes. Late at night, you find yourself back at work to fix one darn bug that's been bugging you for a while, and mess with your colleague. Of course, because you're in an empty building, in the middle of the night, completely by yourself, you hear some strange noises that prompt you to investigate, as they get weirder.

The writing is pretty fun, and plays on horror tropes to give a very eerie vibe, to the point that you question whether what you are experiencing is real or you are hallucinating. I also quite enjoyed the in-game commentary ( * ) while playing, and even typed the command even when there weren't any indicators (there are no hidden one, but the response is funny).

I've only had to use the walkthrough once, for the middle puzzle (yay for in-game walkthroughs!), as the rest was pretty intuitive.

This was a fun time!

This was a short VN, a sort of sequel to wretched star, where, during a resurrection of a loved(?) one, you ramble to them about your past and your motivation for this resurrection, like a madman would. There seemed to be multiple actors at play, but it was not always clear who was talking when (or which sprite represented who); as well as some required background/knowledge was required to understand what was going on (and since I found the other linked game super confusing, I didn't end up with much when I was done with this game). The prose here is very cryptic, bordering at times on nonsensical, which is very much the author's style.

I didn't really get it...

This was my introduction to Andrew's rhyme game series, Prime Pro-Rhyme Row, and it took me a while to "get" it - as in, I went to download the walkthrough because I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Like other games in this series (which I have not played as of the writing of this review), the gist of the game is to... make rhymes. Word plays is at the centre of it all, with commands having to match the name of the room to progress, rather than your run-of-the-mill parser commands (examine, take, etc...).

On top of the quirky gameplay, the premise of the game is very silly, which makes sense considering the commands you need to input to solve the "puzzles" and progress through the game. The writing, in the rooms and the responses to commands, is pretty funny as well!

Though quite difficult*, the alliterations are pretty fun - see the title of the game for an example. And if you love rhymes and puns, this is probably a joy to go through. If you are not good at those, or if English is your second language, it will not be a simple walk in the park.
*cries in ESL, it was so freakin' hard.

Since it was done in such short amount of time, the only help you will find will be in the external walkthrough (if you don't want to keep guessing forever). Though, I did run into an issue where a command would not work, blocking the trigger for the next "event" to clear.

Final score: 14+1/23

This was a fairly short light-horror interactive poem about walking in the woods, with a bit of a Romantic vibe to the style. I found the different lengths of the lines making the cadence while reading them a bit wrong, which adds to the horror setting. Since the stanzas are consistent, it kinda makes things a bit uneasy to read through.

Through your walk, you are given different choices, which will lead you to the different endings. Depending not just on your choices but their order, you may or may not find your path out of the forest... or be corrupted forever. It took me a handful of tries before I could reach a different ending to my first playthrough (I even questioned whether there were other endings at all).

I thought that having a fear meter in the on the main page felt a bit distracting, as the poem holds on its own just fine. Keeping it only in the stats panel would have been better.

A little bit Frankenstein, a little bit Build-a-bear, a little bit of making the body your own. It is both creepy and strangely soothing, ans you get to pick and choose how you want your body to look like. Kind of like any character creators, but a bit more spooky and personal.

Though the underline is fairly sad and a bit depressing, the responses of your choices are still quite playful and with lots of charm. It's pretty fun to reload the game and try a new body, getting as close as possible to becoming a specific kind of “monster”, or mix-and-matching the different parts given. The stats at the end sort of taunt you to min-max them, which is fun!

While part of me wishes it was longer (control yourself with this new body and interact with other people), it is also quite perfect the way it is now.

Now, that was something different! Instead of going through a dungeon, fighting your way through waves of monsters, and solving crazy puzzles, all for a measly reward... you shape up the maze and fix up some traps to stop some annoying adventurers from desecrating your place of work (and avoid loosing your job).

This is the kind of game that is deceptively small (and so darn hard!), the kind you could spend hours trying out different combinations of maze formation and traps location, to stop adventurers from getting to the treasure. It is both a great brain-picker and a time-waster...

How this was done in only 4h is a mystery. Even with freely available extensions, which were mostly made by the author, the amount of content and writing within the game is impressive, and honestly insane. Do you have access to some time-wrap or something? Can you share?

Anyway, I'm going back to try to foil the adventurer's plans again...

This is a short but a bit of an obtuse parser (definitely not beginner friendly), working as a survival entry in a creepy cult-like village. It took me restarting a few times to manage reaching the end (the first time, I managed to move about, exiting blocked spots and maze, by chance more than anything, before finding myself stuck again).

The lack of hints or walkthrough made some puzzle a bit convoluted to solve. Some actions require specific words, whose usual synonyms were not implemented (e.g. drink for glass), and it feels like there was supposed to be more places to explore or more puzzles to solve? As a whole, story-wise, your escape relies quite a bit on luck...

But if you look at everything, explore every room, and take everything you can find, you may be able to reach the end... somewhat unscathed.

In an alien abduction sci-fi setting, this game takes on the Game Theory/Prisoner's dilemma, discussing ethics and morals. After a short interrogation, you are brought into a room with other abductees to take part into an experiment, where your actions could mean life or death (for you or others).

I managed to “save” everyone on my first play (maybe I'm too much of a goody-two-shoes, but it was pretty easy), but It is possible to reach a state where the others turn on you, or you are the only one left standing.

Though the game starts with quite a bit of text, it ends up pretty bare after the experiment starts. Out of the 11 rounds, I was asked only two questions (in the first two rounds), and the rest was met with little reactions. This imbalance of text amount makes it feel like the game is incomplete, especially since you can't do much aside from following the directives (pass the plate or press the button), and the background of the other prisoners does not ever come into play either (not sure if those descriptions were much needed?).

A cute and short parser, with the Dee Cooke (tm) graphics and vibes, a sequel to last year's entry, with simple and limited commands. Listen to some spoopy tales around the campfire with your friends, but watch out, some are more dangerous than it seems...

Though it might not be obvious, there is a way to get to a winning state. I had tried a bunch of actions but only reached a bad ending, which was frustrating (it felt like there was no way to "win"). But there is one combination of conditions that will work. Talking to your friends before the story starts is the way...

This entry took a subtle approach to horror, using the rambling of an older woman through a voice message to her son. Complaining about everything and nothing around her, the message verges by the end of the piece close to paranoia (or full on paranoia depending on the path taken). While there might actually be something wrong with the woman's surroundings, she also seems not to be of sound mind either. Some paths will make you question whether the woman might just be out of touch, or whether her neighbours are as difficult as she portrays them to be, or the reason why M left...

If I were her son, I would honestly have deleted her message (if she sends it first, that is...

Dungeon crawlers, my other nemesis. The difficulty of this one is not understated - not for the commands, as it uses the basics cardinal directions, attack, examine, and take; or the size of it, as it is pretty small; but for the combat part. It is quite difficult, and you might need the RNG God on your side (or maybe undo-scum). There is an order to which the rooms should be visited to avoid getting hit by the monster guarding it (and it is possible to avoid killing some of them to win). I've died A LOT and not managed to pick up more than 40 gold pieces.

Though it is hard, the game takes a more humorous approach in its writing. You are some sort of adventurer wanting to steal all the gold of a vampire in that dungeon. and won't back out until you reach it (or die). It's silly, but fun!

I kinda wish you could include more images in parser, because that cover is pretty dope.

This was quite a difficult parser to play, not much because it is a parser (and those are usually difficult for me), but more so because of the subject of the game. It is about dementia. But more so, it is about experiencing advance dementia.

Honestly, I think not being good with parsers makes the experience all the more compelling and heartbreaking. It helped me, at least, understand the game better, through my frustration, through my fighting the needed commands. Like the PC, I felt like I did not have control over what I was doing, what I wanted to do was wrong (error messages), and what I managed to do brought hurt. I felt like I didn't understand what I was supposed to do next, what I could expect after doing something, or couldn't remember what word to use. [Type hint at any point, see what you want/need to do]

You know there is a fork on the table, but you can't use the word fork here, it's a pointy thing you can grab and stab other with, because this is the only thing that makes sense to you right now. You know there is a TV in the corner, but you don't remember what it was called or its purpose, and you don't understand what the shrilled noise are saying, and it's confusing you, and you want it to just stop! What can you even do?

This confusion and frustration felt throughout the game does just work narratively and interactively. The game manages to capture the psychosis in a way I've never seen before: it is real, it is raw, and it hurts.

When I saw the game pop up on my feed, I honestly thought Autumn had built a new program and had just uploaded a legit but bare documentation for it. But now, this is an actual IF, pure science fiction (I hope...) bundled up in an unusual format.

The whole gameplay feels like going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole (you know the ones, where you open links on the current page into a new tab to read later, because who knows if you'll find them again, and now your browser is lagging and it is 5h later) mixed with an incomplete and obtuse documentation for a program that doesn't exist (at least here) and doesn't seem to have a clear use (by going from the starting page/game blurb).

As you go deeper into the pages, finding that this program was lead by a university professor and eir students (some of which have left the projects in suspicious ways), it is possible to piece the mystery together (or the big picture at least). The implications of what is afoot is quite frightening, and bleak.

An impressive amount of content for just 4h!

You know how cooking blogs have those insanely long recipe posts, in which they talk about their whole life, often mentioning things that have absolutely no link with the recipe, tongs of pictures (but not of the dish!) and sometime parsing the steps of the recipe throughout those irrelevant bits, so that it becomes impossible to get clear instructions? To me, the entry emulated that to almost a T.

Though, instead of your run-of-the-mill regular folks with quirky recipes, this one is much more eerie and uneasy to read through, emanating a more sinister vibe than you'd expect from a cookbook (unless you read the blurb before hand). There is something quite wrong there, pushed forward by the interface and the eerie music, but it is not explicit in what - though the game hints at it with wink-wink-nudge-nudge jokes enough.

Some frustrating elements in with the interface: the animated background is pretty distracting as it is much brighter than any other element on the page (I had to turn it of with the console); the text block is quite small, especially for the length of the passage, forcing you to scroll a lot; and the typed text speed is way too slow (can be helped by pressing the Spacebar, though).

While quite short, this entry was very effective in conveying feelings of sadness, griefs, and longing, as well as joy and hope, even if fleeting. With little lords, the writing is quite powerful in its descriptions and depictions, leaving a lot of unsaid between the lines. The player is left feeling the holes and connecting the dots, to see the full picture (or at least a clearer one). It is quite tragic, and beautiful.

Silly games are my favourite kind, especially the ones that know that the premise is silly and continue to go full speed ahead towards MOAR silliness. And this one knocks the silliness out the park.

Three friends have 20 bucks in their pockets* and a dream to make a horror movie called GUT (like their band name) in hopes to cash out. Each bandmate has an idea on where to spend the money (actor, scenery, costumes), or they could follow their manager and just get some chips. If the former option is chosen, the movie is film and shown around. But the movie is not yet perfect. So you go back to the drawing board and invest a bit more money. More shenanigans ensue! Very chaotic, much laughs.

While playing through it is fun, I felt the game shined even more after a replay or two, trying the other paths or different combinations of choices, as you'll get some very special flavours of chaos. It's very fun!

This is a short parser letting the players use only one command: examine (X / L), where the point is to examine the abandoned house, and its different element, as if you were exploring it. Examining an element gives you a description, which focuses on other smaller elements, which if you examine those will describe further details, and... so on and so forth until the details are simply too small to see, or until you examined all elements to reach the end.

The gameplay reminded me of Nested, where checking an element gives you details you can look out, each if checked will give out subsequent details, and... Except, unlike Nested, TLH doesn't loop back to repeat ad infinitum if you take one specific path.

As for the whole, it felt a bit voyeuristic, especially in the descriptions of each details of the house, as, even if it is abandoned, you sort of see yourself opening the door or looking out the scenery from the window. You wish you could be inside the house, but you can't. You're on the other side of the fency, gazing with envy at the house. It's pretty eerie...

Also: +1 for including a walkthough! -1 for not being able to pet the dog (/jk)

This kinetic bitsi is more of a meta/philosophical musing about creative writing (or creating in general) and an author/creator's relationship with its creations - the positives and negatives, the blank and the whites, and the muddled greys in between. For some, it might be dreadfully existential, others will find themselves in the sentiments conveyed.

Linearity aside, I found the interface quite fitting, with the high-contrast monochrome backgrounds following the points of the text, as if adding another visual representation to the words on the screen.

It's an interesting piece, more so for the message than the interactivity.

This game might be short and concise, but it is quite well-written, impactful and heartbreaking. From the start, there is something not quite right with your son's interruption of your sleep, even if it is a yearly occurrence. Things just don't quite fit all to well, especially when your daughter appears or when the mother is mentioned (in hindsight... 🥴). But is is not clear until the end what is truly going on here. What seems at first like a slice-of-life with some spooky halloween aspect, turns downright terrifying. The reveal is not only depressing to internalise, but the implications are frankly hitting much harder than what you'd expect from the blurb and warnings. The final choice is, again, heartbreaking, whichever way you choose...

This was an incredible game. Using the framing of a game within a game, it taps into the creepypasta vibes and lost content, by adding voiced commentary (amazing voice!~) and an interface of an old glitchy computer. In the game, you play bits of games and demos, created in binksi, from an author who had previously found success, but struggles to put out his next game.

Throughout the game (the one you play), commentaries from the narrator can be heard (in French, subtitled in English) at specific moments (especially the starts and ends of the games-in-game), explaining the state of mind of the author, his motivations for creating certain demos, or links between his games (often in symbolisms and writing on the wall). Most games-in-game are unfinished, explained by the narrator as to why.

The interactivity might not be traditional IF, as you are playing binksi (requiring more movement than choice), and is sometimes obtuse (especially the hidden mazes and paths, though they are not hard), but it reflects the commentary of the narrator on the subject. There are clear reasons as to why a level is built the way it is, why you can't reach certain element until much later down the line, why some demos look polished and some are messed up version. The mirror between what you see in the games-in-game and you hear/read with the commentaries is fascinating, as well as very creepy.

Throughout the game, tension builds up, with all the strange and creepy bits adding onto the pile, culminating to a climax that twisted my stomach. Every bit is linked, right up until the end.

And impressive game, taking you on a choke hold.

Utilisant le motif de jeu dans un jeu, avec des commentaires d’un narrateur (génial, la voix~!) et une interface de vieil ordi qui glitch un peu, on joue à des extraits de jeux/démos en binksi. Les commentaires du narrateur sont activés à des moments clés (souvent début et fin), expliquant l’état d’esprit de l’auteur ou ses motivations lors de la création du projet. L’interactivité du jeu (très binksi) est parfois un peu obtuse (surtout le labyrinthe caché), mais elle reflète le commentaire du narrateur. Ce miroir est fascinant et un peu flippant.

Le suspense monte tout au long du jeu, culminant dans un rebondissement choquant (j’en tremble encore, évidement la clé!!).

Starlight Shadows follows Lyra, a teenager with some sort of telepathic and prescient skills/powers, trying to figure out what to do after she gets a message that something wrong is about to happen at this (costumed?) party...

This short game is quite simple: you have one hour to gather your fighters before a fight with those strange entities is about to break out, and fight them. Unlike Autumn's other time/resource-management-gameplay games, you are able to interact with (and potentially recruit) every named individuals: your twin brother who's annoyed by you derailing his party and would only relent to help with threats, your (maybe more/less) ex who's witnessed your powers before and know you mean business, the social butterfly who's just a school acquaintance and is really into that one old book series, and the underprivilege gifted kid who is a loner. Whether you convince them is a different story...

When you have recruited your agent(s) - you need at least one - you wait until the clock strikes 8 to run fight those strange entities. Follows a turn-based beat-em-up fight against one entity, (Spoiler - click to show)revealing two endings: one failure where you are saved and told you require more training*, one winning where you realise there will be more fights ahead.
*This was an interesting ending, teasing something a bit ominous, maybe an experiment?

The game feels more of a preview of a larger one, where you'd follow Lyra as she takes on fighting different entities, and save the world (or maybe not...) (and maybe explore that past incident?). But considering it was constrained to a 4h deadline for writing and coding, it is an impressive rounded piece on its own.

Even with its limited sizes, there are a handful of Easter Eggs from Autumn's previous work: referencing A Paradox Between Worlds in the book Cy is reading or during your conversation with Cassie (she is a big fan!) (also Cassie's name feels very APBW too), the mentions of DNA-storage/archiving mechanism from The Archivist & the Revolution*... Also the recurrent theme of the main character not liking being around crowd/attending parties (very Karen from Pageant vibes).
*If the names of some of those characters are familiar, it's because they appear in documents of TA&R, making this game some sort of the latter's prequel...

Final note: only when writing this review did I realise that all characters were named after a constellation... and that is also related to the title...

Forenote: I am not a poetry person. I usually don't vibe with or understand them.

As the piece is quite short (due to the 4h limit from the competition), I have been reading and re-reading it, going back to the start, and round and round I went, letting my brain be spun inside a washing machine of verses, soaking the intricate (and very steamy) metaphors within the lines.

Though the interactiveness of the piece only comes in two forms (the links between the stanza groups and the word buttons revealing further details), the "story" is linear. There is no choice to make (save for exploring the details and continuing through the verses).

I am not well versed (sorry) in poetry, with my knowledge essentially limited to fables and romantic French poems. But it stroke me how easy my eyes flew through the page, even if my expectations of rhymes would not be satisfied. The content of the poem was enthralling and captivating.

The poem starts with almost a prayer to a divine body, aching to be touched, and continues on an exploration of bodies, where one handles the other like a relic, while the other searches for pain. There is hunger within the poem, a devouring desire that cannot be satiated. It descends into a recollection of travels and inquisitions, a search of a home, and a remembrance of who one is and how much one is loved.

Save for the last passages, the hidden details brings forward a more lustful piece, almost akin to BDSM, adding onto the worshipping of one's lover's body. As the poem continues, the details softens into a declaration of love and loss of one's self without the other (and a small revenge).

I don't think I am done with this piece... for after many readings, I would still discover a new metaphor or a different take on an imagery. I don't think I will ever be done.