Reviews by manonamora

Le Père Potlatch is a a mocking Christmas-Day story, where you incarnate the titular Père Potlatch, who unlike our known Santa, tasks himself with burning received gifts. On his list this year: some rich billionaires and their new toys. It’s as funny as its premise is silly, and definitely satisfying (unless you choose to leave them alone). Happy belated dream Christmas!

Taxathoustra is a short humorous and surreal adventure, in which you play as the titular mage, whose best trick: tax evasion. Waking up from a nightmare where he'd lost it all, he leaves his house hoping to win big! Twists and turns occur along the way, pulling you along with some Dr. Seuss-y vibes. It's a pretty fun short time.

Maasdreniev, district d'Azotja is a short hyperlink piece made in Twine, where you read about the history of the Kostin's family moving to "7 rue des Ramendeurs" a few generations prior, and how they fair now. The narration, with its repetitions and unsaid, paints a very dark atmosphere where hopes and misery cohabit.

Paye tes impôts Isabelle ! is a short Moiki game, where you play as actress Isabelle (Nanty, if the end is to be believed), trying to do her taxes last minute. It doesn’t help that she doesn’t remember where she put all her documents (or that you’ll find them in improbable spots)! It is a pretty light-hearted setting with a comical tone, with multiple different endings. It’s silly… and remind us that lying on our taxes doesn’t always pay :P

Famille P. LOISEL is a short cinematic Moiki story in which you spy on a family, whose business meant the death of your brother. While learning that (Spoiler - click to show)your target is actually not here, which means you can't yet follow through with your plan, you also hear tit bits which makes you reexamine (a bit) what you thought about the family.

The game ends with a little chase (defining your ending), and left me hungry for more! Granted the word limitation could only give us this short scene, I would play a larger version of this game in a heartbeat ((Spoiler - click to show)maybe confronting your target? or some sort of break-in to figure out what's the deal with the daughter refusing to eat).

dénanti is a CYOA booklet, in which you switch bodies with billionaire Arnaud Bernard (and definitely not the French businessman, *wink wink*). Armed with this incredible fortune, you get to choose how to spend it... except, it's *really hard* to spend a lot of money like this. If your actions are not stopped because it looks fraudulent, you actually end up richer by fixing the (speculative) economy or through tax-loophole! In both the setting and gameplay, this entry reminded me of You are Jeff Bezos. It was a pretty funny 5min going through all the options!

Maasdreniev, taudis de l’Est is a short hyperlink story created in Decker, in which you follow a hungry and cold man in an unnamed dilapidated neighbourhood (though the vibes are evocative of Eastern Europe, just after the Iron Wall is constructed). Lost and left behind, these beings do what they can to survive, even if it means turning on each other and losing more of their little humanity. It is very bleak and as immersive (especially with the uneasy tune of the background music).

La Valise is a short speculative fiction made in Ink, in which you decide the fate of humanity, as nuclear bombs are about to decimate your side of the world. Contrasting with the imminent destruction of your country (and maybe more), is a banal and calm prose (maybe resigned already? with the state of things), rendering the scene both comical and pretty depressing. Regardless of your choice, little changes for you, but it is nonetheless impactful.
A great piece of speculative fiction in so few words!

In this tiny game, you play a child chimneysweeper on the first day of their job. You'd expect the chimney to go straight up to the top, but... multiple paths strangely lay ahead of you: take one and find yourself in a strange world, the other takes a more creepy and suffocating approach.

You never know what's around the corner...

Why bother with the philosophical questions when you could just make the trolley dilemma a humorous light-hearted murder-fest? Yes, you read this right. With a plethora of endings, from not even starting the trolley to just roll over absolutely everyone, this is a truly absurd take on the dilemma.

The writing is minimal, but to the point and poking fun at many things. It shouldn't be taken seriously...
There are many branches, some even looping, to lead you one of seven endings - some more funny than others, some more satisfying than others too.

In this micro CYOA booklet, you play as Aoda, a hotel accountant prone to falling asleep, dreaming of other worlds. Sectioned in small paragraph (about a sentence), the story takes you on a seemingly cyclical journey where you travel from dreamworld to dreamworld, only to be awaken in burst... and falling back into the arms of Morpheus.

The prose is incredibly dreamy and poetic.
There are no other word to explain it, it's just beautiful.

I also found the mechanic quite playful, with the tiny subtle enigma (which may or may not lead you to a secret ending). It will push you to go into the cycle again and again, making the story feel much longer than just 500 words.

In the formatting, the game forgoes the use of numbers for each passage, like you'd expect in a CYOA book, but words representing the section - which you can click like you would a hypertext game. This little subversion adds to the dream-like ambiance of the game.

😱🔤😱 is a short and wordless interactive game, that relies only on emojis to tell a story. What story? Well, it is for you to figure it out!
Because I certainly didn't...

There is something so interesting about using a "language" that is know to all (emoji), but used so differently depending on people. Is 🔣 unknown words or insults? What does 🔤 mean to you? Is 💨a wind, a sigh, a fart???
When combined in a string, how do you decipher it into a proper sentence? When a whole page is full of them, how to you turn it into a coherent sentence?

As a whole it's a very fun puzzle! A very confusing one, and a very novel way to tell a story.

Deux ans. follows a conversation between a man and emergency services after an intrusion at the former's home - where he currently is. You play as the emergency responder, trying to diffuse the situation and help the man.

The game is full of tension from the first second of the "call", with a bit of a twist when the intruder can finally be "heard". With vague unsaid, you can imagine what happened two years ago (title of the game) - though it will never be explicitly revealed in the story. There are three endings - one I found more satisfying than the others (and which I got first!).

The game takes advantage of images to visualise the different callers, as well as uncomfortable background sound, to create a captivating and chilly ambiance.

In this mini-entry, you play as Artour, an elf taking part of a protest because the King is at it again with his shenanigans. People are angry, walking towards the castle for (I guess) reparation. You must watch out for the "vouivres" (winged police?), or you'll end up burning to ashes.
Following the Partim500's theme, you can take a little detour and get into some shenanigans yourself. Whatever you do, however, the end is the same.

The writing style is incredible silly and je-m'en-fous-tist - the description of the game does warn you of what is ahead - and includes very unusual words (still unsure if they are part of the "youth" dialect or just made up for the game).
Still, with a good dose of French tradition (protesting and walking to the king's castle for demands) and a fantasy setting, you end up with a pretty funny entry.

As a tiny Choose-Your-Own-Adventure booklet, based on the 1958 of the same name, you play as a young child playing with your friends. The game: throwing pebbles at passers-by.

Pebble in hands, target acquired, you must roll some dices to determine your chances at a hit. You are then met with a choice: wait a bit longer (the target is not close) or throw it now - sending you towards one of two different endings.

The writing style of the game is very playful, almost childishly so, which works so well since you are a child doing childish things. It is also very visual in the limited descriptions - especially with its even-numbered passages.

A cute thing to play for a five-minute break!