Reviews by manonamora

Le chaudron d’Anaritium is an interactive mystery made in Open Adventure (the author and system is one), set in a Gaul village at the dusk of a dreary winter. You play as Isara, a bard-in-training tasked to find a missing artefact before the gods turn on the village. Will you find the artefact and its thief? and figure out the why and the how?

On the Open Adventure platform, you are introduced to the mystery at hand, and the different paths you can investigate, whether it be visiting locations or talking to other characters. As you find more clues, new paths may be open to you. Along with two large maps, some paths are also illustrated, in a watercoloured comic-style.
Every path taken is listed one below the other, in a way that you can re-read them with ease. The engine also lets you know when you’ve already visited a section, and only puts forward on the main page the most interesting location for you to visit.

The prose is quite lovely as well, bringing to life an atmospheric setting, filled with mysticism and legends.

And when you believe you’ve solved the mystery, you can fill in your answers to the different questions in a text box, before how correct you were and get the epilogue. But, because of how the game is set up, you’ll never truly be wrong at the end. The website collects the answer and gives you the solution right away, regardless of how close you were to the truth. So while the mystery was interesting, and fairly simple to figure out, I wished there would be a bit of a consequence to who you accuse of the crime or explain how you think things happened.

Le Dernier Serment is an old school parser adventure made for the Amstrad CDC, in which you must rid your village of a nasty curse: losing their freewill, leading them to their death. The adventure includes a nice range of puzzles, and an external manual/feelies pdf. There are no hints, help, or walkthrough included. There are also 5 endings listed (though I am not sure whether one of them is possible?).

I definitely had a few difficulties going through some of the puzzles, but it’s probably more due to me not being good at (French) parsers or just not reading the manual correctly, or whether the puzzles are actually obtuse (which, for an old-school parser, wouldn’t be too surprising). But figuring it out (and seeing the environment change before your eyes) felt so darn good! The puzzles are pretty varied, going from interacting with your environment to timing puzzles. I struggled with one so much because it dealt with opposites and transposition.

The game is also GORGEOUS! Every screen includes pixel art, one part showing what is in front of you (directions between rooms can change) ~ each being distinct from the others, and another showing yourself (and your state). The font used might not always be legible, but its design is so atmospheric.

A beautiful neat game!

Le Bastion de la Porte is a fantasy game made in Moiki, where you play as Salma, a Trimolienne in the land of Sargh, as the newly appointed lonely guardian of the Door up high in the mountain. Your task is to guard the door, and try (but not pressure) any passers-by not to cross it. What is behind the door? No one knows, as no one has ever come back from it. How will you handle that task? Will you let everyone through or force them to turn back? Will you go through the door yourself as your predecessor has?

The job, however, is a lonely one. Aside from your monthly delivery (with the best boi Ernest!), few climb up the mountain, wanting to reach the mysterious landmark. But when they do, you get to listen to their stories, ask some questions (and maybe answer theirs), maybe share some wine, and potentially change their fate. There is never a right or wrong answer, though maybe some will make you question your ethics and morals. It is touching and emotional, and makes you reflect on what is important.

Throughout the story you get may be able to ponder on the meaning of the door and what it could represent. One character might make you think it is simply an allegory for moving on to the next plane, another as a escape from danger and difficulties, a final one as a celebration to dive into the unknown. It is quite interesting how one single thing can represent widely different concepts.

While it is already pretty entertaining (and with an impressive count of over 900 screens), I wished we could have had more during the downtime. You are able to interact with elements around the house, though it is sparse and does not change much between periods. You can always take the same shower, reel in some water from the well, pick up some dried meat, and look yourself in the mirror or at you sparse house décor. And when you do, the text seems to be the same (or fairly similar).
It would have been interesting to maybe do some activities to spruce up the hut, like gardening or fixing the roof, remark upgrades done by the Fédération after you complain about things, picking up a hobby…
And, being able to wait for time to pass in other spots than your bed, like at the desk doing some writing or doodling, or sitting by the fire, and when during the spring/summer, maybe waiting outside on a log enjoying the nice weather.

The game page indicates further updates, which would include missing chapters and other types of gameplay, are to be expected. I’m looking forward to those.

Les Trois-cités : les préludes d’une odyssée is an incomplete RPG game made in Twine, wherein you play as a dwarf looking to save their brother from a magical mushroom-related illness. The game based on CYOA gamebooks with dice-gameplay elements, with options to choose your class, getting equipment and potions, and levelling up your stats. RNG will be your best friend and greatest enemy here.

There is a lot you can do here. Along your main fetch-quest to find the required ingredients to save your brother, you will quickly stumble upon other side-quests – exploration of the city and interaction with other NPCs being necessary to get the ingredients. As in any fantasy setting, quests will range from finding missing characters, fighting brigands and thieves, resolving arguments, helping the less-than-fortunate, and even levying the taxes.

Though it is not in its complete form, you will easily spend a handful of hours to get through what is currently there: three cities are mentioned, two being accessible, and one being complete with dozens of neighbourhoods.
While maps are provided, showing where you are on the page and a couple of the available locations, you cannot click on it to move to other place – only adjacent spots are selectable through a list of links (no teleporting or fast travel unfortunately, it’s a bit annoying when going from one end to the city to the other).

It is obvious there was a lot of work put into the game, and even if I think I found myself stuck in an impossible place, it was pretty neat. If the other cities end up becoming as thought out and detailed as the starting one, it would make for a pretty epic adventure.

Immobilistes is a micro interactive piece made in Decker, where you are tasked to determine the danger/risk level of a radical group called "les immobilistes". You are given instructions and a database of elements to analyse and render judgement (not dangerous, maybe a bit, suuuuper dangerous). That is... if you find how to access the database: (Spoiler - click to show)in the textbox, press the letters very slowly, there's a delay between you entering a letter and the game reacting.

The documents are fantastic to go through. Between pictures, exchanges between the characters, transcriptions of journals, formal interview... everything creates a strange and almost conspirational web around the two instigators. The political and judicial climate of the game feels extremely real and topical. It is both chilling and strangely hopeful, in some way? Having to make the decision at the end is hard, no matter how you read the file...
ha, 42


Though short, the game is very intriguing, whether it is the lore or the setting, or even the reasons for you to investigate the group, forcing you to fill in the blanks at times. It is becoming a trend with game from the author (which I really like, all the unsaid and mystery).
I would be *very* interested to play an extremely long version of this game where you also to the investigating... or having to deal with the consequences of your judgement.
And please, let us (Spoiler - click to show)search that database at least!

Decker is a very fun system but also finicky...

Larme à gauche is a slice-of-life game made in Twine, when you play as Gloria, a young woman living in Brussels, who drove down with her partner Lucy to the Pyrenees for the funeral of her grand-father, a former general in Franco’s army. She had not seen her grand-father since she was very young, as well as most of the family will may be meeting today.

Don’t speak ill of the dead. Family must stick together. Family above all. These were the perfidious sayings that kept crossing my mind as I was going through the different paths and learning about the different characters and their relationships. Sayings written white on black on the screen, said even by some of the characters, as Gloria struggles to find her place in the matter. Between her grand-father who committed atrocities, a father who could not see the truth, and other family members who didn’t seem to care much about her, what is she left with…

The game deals with difficult topics, uncomfortable ones. But does so with a strong and touching story.

Yorouba Un prince venu d’ailleurs is a kinetic Twine story about a non-human being (re)incarnated as a man, and the mysticism around him. Part of the story in the human world is set in and around Gombe, a commune of the DRC.

Due to the writing style, it is quite hard to get into the story. With the peculiar and unusual syntax, the prose will often go from one topic to the next with barely a punctuation mark or a return to the line. Often, characters will change name, going from to the other without much of an explanation (I think they are the same people, just a different way of writing the name).

I did struggle to try to find sense in this story, which was not helped by the way it was structure on the page and from one page to the next either. The game starts with Episode 1, moving then to Episode 7, then coming back to a different Episode 1, which was followed on the same page with Episode 2 and 3. Where were the other Episodes? Were they locked behind the unselectable choices? (A closer look a the file shows that they are nowhere to be found.) Am I missed something?

Trying to piece out the elements to make something cohesive proved difficult. I think I left the game more confused than when I got in…

La Fabrique des Princes is a philosophical satirical story made in Twine, inspired by Machiavelli’s The Prince. Here, you play a Prince on its last of Prince-in-training. But before you can set your behind on a thrown and rule the lands, you must prove you are worthy enough of the title, by winning a debate. Unless, you choose another path…

Though you could march right down the corridor and be done with the debate, the game nudges you to get ready for the fight, with the right costume and tools in your arsenal, which you can buy with coins, which you can earn by testing your knowledge of The Prince. (It felt good to get all the answers right, not going to lie…) But there are also other actions you can take, like listening to some tales, or exploring the surroundings of the building.

The debate is essentially a one-punch fight, a fairly arduous one, where chance matters quite a bit. I wasn’t sure whether you were actually supposed to win the fight (I kept reloading my save, and trying again without success), but there is. You need to have juuuuust the right tool and be incredibly lucky. Though, having found the other ending, I’ve been wondering if you were meant to win the fight, after all. As, instead of following the path predestined to you as a Prince, you choose your own, one where your name may not be remembered.

Aside from the passages with the timed text (which weren’t as fast as they maybe should have), it was a pretty interesting experience!

La roche tombée du ciel. is a short fantasy demo made in Moiki, where you play as some sort of old herbalist getting ready for the tax collector’s visit in a couple of days. The problem is, you are certain you won’t be able to meet what is demanded in time, your bones are too old and it is too early in the season. Until, something comes visit you at night…

Out of the 4 expected playable day, you are able to play two of them: one where a neighbour warns you of the early tax visit, and one where that “something” arrives. Each of these days, you are able to tend to your garden, checking on each plant, watering them or giving them extra fertiliser, or check your notes. To keep you warm, you might even need to cut down a tree and get some wood. There’s EVEN A DOG YOU CAN PET AND PLAY WITH!

But you are limited in what you can do. Because you are old, these actions will take you quite a bit of energy (expect playing with the dog), which is only filled up by sleeping (which includes too many empty passages imo). Honestly, I could have played this loop for the rest of the game and feel very content with the game (I’m a sucker for those management-type games).

Still, I am intrigued to see how the mysterious “something” will come to play here.

Un foyer étudiant is a relatively short interactive game made in INK, when you are a student, moving to the capital. Not being able to stay with relatives, you check out a student residence, to see if it works for you. The game is meant to be a prologue for a larger project.

Though the setting might seem mundane, the game has a lot more than it lets on. Sure, you can learn about the different accommodations in the building, and how the current residents are behaving, or what you should expect. You can talk to the receptionist for information, a group of bros (limited questions), and a woman reading silently, each being more or less useful in giving you answers. And then… there’s the bulleting board. Filled with flyers of all sorts, you might end up going down a rabbit hole of informations, both random and relevant to the setting. From available activities to random art pieces, students looking for love or pawning their books, there is a lot you can learn there.

This game is very rich in details, and it makes you wanting to learn more about what is truly happening in the building (there are some hints of a mystery afoot). But I wished we knew a bit more about our character, considering the implications of certain elements. Finding accommodations as a student requires money, and the NPCs mention that as well when describing the different room types, but when you sign up there are no mention of this (who signs up for a room without even checking the prices?).

I do wonder how the story will continue.