Ratings and Reviews by cgasquid

this one's a real gem -- it's IF in the "existential crisis/surreal location" genre, but for once, the location isn't deserted. the characters in Cactus Blue Motel are interesting people, most of whom one might actually want to get to know, and despite the Twine structure and limited interactivity they come off as nuanced and deep.

there are no mysterious machines, trophy cases to fill, and so on. the "puzzles" in Cactus Blue Motel are generally explorative in nature; where do you go, in what order, and what decisions do you make? they lead carefully and organically towards a single dilemma, and while i feel like the author has a solution in mind, i'm not actually convinced it's the one i'd choose.

just overall fantastic. great writing and pushes Twine to its limits.

the premise is simple: you're a ghost, you were murdered mysteriously, and by going through the minds of the suspects you're able to unearth memories that will either clear them or convict them. the central mystery is very well-crafted; all six suspects are viable and most are interesting characters in and of themselves.

i do regret one thing, though. while the protagonist is obviously tightly focused on figuring out who just killed them, there are things he's clearly not aware of that it's possible to infer from the "red herring" evidence. while i would definitely not call the suspects' relationships "mysteries" -- honestly they're none of the protagonist's business -- since they are presented to the reader, it does feel sort of disappointing that there's no apparent way to confirm them.

it's also the case that i solved the mystery much more easily than i was expecting to just by following the obvious breadcrumbs. i felt like i was just getting warmed up when it was over. of course, "there wasn't enough of it" doesn't really count as a negative, does it?

SCREW YOU, BEAR DAD is a pun-filled jape, full of jokes, slapstick, and a small amount of interactivity. there's no branching storyline, no puzzles, and no deeper meaning; you start the story by crashing through the skylight and landing in a remote, isolated (Spoiler - click to show)toy factory. the story is divided between your experiences as a bear and the antics of the factory's dysfunctional crew. this part of the story is hilarious.

SCREW YOU, BEAR DAD is a very serious exploration of the relationship between a son and his abusive father. it begins with a more recent memory of the father's inability to understand or relate to his son as an adult, but later goes on to a childhood memory where the father has a completely inappropriate reaction to (Spoiler - click to show)his son going missing in the woods and almost drowning. this part of the story is emotional and deadly serious, and shows how things between the two of them got so bad.

i have no idea how these two stories can coexist in the same place, but somehow it works. it feels sort of like the main story is the comic relief for the flashbacks, showing that the son grew up okay after all, even if his choices landed him in a ridiculous and dangerous situation.

the game is divided into two parts: first, a brief "orientation," where you play through a short mockery of The Stanley Parable. (mockery, not parody, because it doesn't really have anything to say about Stanley.)

you're set up with the familiar electric-shock button of the Milgram Experiment, but given absolutely no information about what's going on, why you're doing what you're doing, and so on. it turns out (Spoiler - click to show)it's intended to make you think Stanley is good and right for obeying orders without thinking, since that's what the military wants you to do in the field. it does this in an obnoxious and manipulative way, but given this is supposed to be an in-universe software program you're playing, that's obviously intentional and indicates the kind of organization you've signed up for.

the second and longer part has the player as part of a sci-fi military. while they have joined up intentionally, they know nothing about the organization, its goals, its mission, what they'll be doing, etc., etc. the military is authoritarian and delivers orders that are to be immediately followed. (Spoiler - click to show)it is logical that such an organization would offer the previous orientation, because they want you to think that your orders are always for the best, like Stanley's were.

unfortunately, during this second portion, (Spoiler - click to show)you really only have one meaningful choice. everything is binary; either follow orders (or implied orders) or disobey. disobeying just gets you yelled at before the thing you refused to do happens anyway. the only actual choice you have is whether to keep fighting when the enemy surrounds you, and these choices amount to "get shot in battle" or "get shot because the other military is as authoritarian as yours."

so, what is the message here? is it saying that we are wrong to obey blindly and follow authoritarians? hard to credit when it makes no difference either way. is it saying that we should obey, since the results will be the same regardless and obedience is the path of least resistance? that's a little hard to swallow, but i suppose it could be the intent. many people do think that way (or end up thinking that way after brainwashing). but the milgram experiment is usually cited as a rebuke to that line of thinking.

the lack of clarity or any real interactivity would usually merit one star. however, the writing itself is so good that i'm bumping it up to two. it's just too linear to be interesting, and the meaning too muddled.