Reviews by Lance Cirone

(Adapted from an intfiction.org post)

For a Change has a dreamlike quality to it. All of its unusual logic comes together and really makes sense, ending up with a truly unforgettable experience. The game’s language is succinct and yet very descriptive: one line in particular that impressed me was The sun beats overhead, lending brightness and warmth, both long distant from the land you know. Items you find are strange, such as a “handlefish” or an “anchisel”, which are minimally described beyond some key traits about their demeanor. The game gives you a lot of time and material to immerse yourself in the world and try to visualize what you’re really dealing with. It wound up feeling rewarding to even figure out what an item or technique was, and then how to use it.

The key plot of For a Change is that you have to figure out how to bring the Sun back to your small land, which is overcast by a long wall. Beings in the meantime have figured out how to adapt to life in the shade. A major mechanic involves a small model replica of your land, closed off by a glass case. Your interactions and what you do to the world will end up making the true concept of the game more obvious. The climax in particular felt really satisfying.

For a Change is a short game (should only take around two hours, give or take a half, on a blind run), so it’s easy to recommend for a quick-yet-high quality experience. I kept the review light on spoiler details because I think it's fun to figure out on your own. It’s not that hard and it has an optional built-in hint system, plus there's no way to make it unwinnable. Give it a try.

Dinner Bell is a one-room game full of silly humor. Your goal is, from inside your test chamber, to find 16 food items. You instinctively put them in a grocery bag, despite starving, due to the conditioning from Dr. Beagle.

In Dinner Bell, it's worth trying some weird or silly stuff to see what it has to say. My favorite joke involved either the bucket of wax pears, or the Shiptogar. The game's theming is also pretty interesting and unique, and I haven't seen anything else like it.

It's a quick game, but there's a lot to like here. I recommend it.

The Mary Jane of Tomorrow has a cute, low-stakes story with a really creative core mechanic: procedurally generated text. You're training a robot called the Pine Nut Queen, and it learns from various books and texts you feed it from around the house. Its dialogue and responses change according depending on what it has learned. Your main goal is to make sure it'll correctly respond to the questions Jenny is going to ask it, but in the process of getting there, you'll teach it all kinds of stuff. The implementation of this is seamless, and resulted in some really funny messages. The puzzles are pretty simple, but still enjoyable.

Also, this game is set in the same universe as Brain Guzzlers from Beyond! While I've now beaten both, I played this game before Brain Guzzlers. I still enjoyed it, so don't let that scare you away -- from what I remember, it doesn't connect to the specific events of Brain Guzzlers, and just involves the some of the same characters.

In a Manor of Speaking is one of the funniest games I've ever played. Every line in this game is some sort of pun, and the writing style is so enthusiastic and excited. For instance, a "piece of your mind" is described as being "very thoughtful", and you can pick eyes off an eyepatch (failing to use them properly results in "Eye don't think that's such a good idea!"). You can walk into a bar (ouch!). You get to literally take a tourist's picture, find the proof in the pudding, and grow birdseed. There's such a manic energy to this game, I love it. It reminded me of Nord and Bert and You are a Chef!

This game may not be an in-depth puzzlefest, or have super deep characters, or an intricate story, but it's just fun. It's a comfort game, and it never fails to cheer me up every time I go to it. That's what makes it worth five stars for me.

Suveh Nux lets you work out what it's all about just by experimentation. Once I got my book, I started off by typing all the spell names. Then I charted down their effects, and what happened if I used them more than once. This just led to more ideas with what I could do, and it feels rewarding to keep trying and learning new spells. There's a small aspect that confused me, and it was (Spoiler - click to show)the ANI effect. I noticed that some of my effects were delayed, but I thought it was a method to make my next spells immediately more powerful; like maybe it would be better than casting it multiple times in a row? Still, the game has a useful hint system, and is loaded with Easter eggs. Try everything you can, and even if you don't, it's still a fun game.

Not the Lord of the Rings is an embarrassingly shallow game. It's full of immature "adult" humor. You'll run into characters such as Dildo Bumbite, Pipdick Brandymuck, and Stam Gangrene. Items you get include old underwear and smoked joints. Nothing in this regard is witty, funny, or even really has to do with the source material. It's just edgy and gross for the sake of it.

The game content doesn't fare any better, either. Walk through a bunch of rooms, pick up items (most of which are red herrings), explore some mazes. Whenever you come across someone, you usually have to give them an item, but there's barely any logic behind it. It's not fun to play, and none of the rooms or segments really stand out.

The parser doesn't respond to ABOUT, HELP, or most other out-of-world commands. The logic is inconsistent: you can't use GREEN to refer to a green key, but you have to use STONE to refer to a stone key, which is even more confusing because you already have an item that's a pile of stones. Even the speed at which it registers text is disappointing, and I had to type slower than normal or else it wouldn't pick up on everything. You also can't backspace and delete text you've already written, or use up and down to scroll through past commands.

Don't play Not the Lord of the Rings. It gave me Stiffy Makane vibes, if anything. There is nothing of value in this game.

You are a Chef! is flat-out one of the silliest games I've ever played. Stuff randomly falls from the sky and you have to put it in a pot. There are jokes like "It's called a parking lot because there is a LOT of parking!" It's a game that consistently makes me laugh whenever I play it, and I love it for that. Not the hardest or most complex entry in the IF catalog, but it's fun to turn your brain off and just laugh at a funny clown getting a safe dropped on it.

(Adapted from an intfiction.org review)

You are the first ever candidate in Arithmancy – a field of magic involving manipulating numbers. You are judged by the fair and impartial Morkan, the more emotive and reactive Berzia, and, most importantly, the rude and irritable Teraboz. Armed with your spell book, sheet of numbers, and list of tasks, it's up to you to win over your superiors by scoring as many points as you can.

While traditional IF can be fun, I really enjoy more experimental games as well: there's an unusual core mechanic that you have to work with, and its execution can make or break the game. Junior Arithmancer in particular reminded me of another game I really liked, Threediopolis.

The main appeal of Junior Arithmancer is that it's about manipulating numbers in surprisingly fun ways. You are given the digits of various well-known functions, such as pi, e, and gamma, and you need to reach these numbers in sequence with your spells. You can't use a spell more than once, but you can attach prefixes to certain spells to make things easier. Your accomplishments will earn you tokens that you can trade in for more spells, unlocked linearly. Once you have all the skills at your disposal, it's up to you to finish as many tasks as you can before you submit your final score.

Junior Arithmancer is a game where it's satisfying to get something right. I was intrigued by knowing what my next spell could be, and how it could help solve my problems. By the time I got them all, I just wanted to keep optimizing my techniques and returning to old sequences with new tools. Everything feels fair; the spells work consistently, the game logic is easy to follow, and you don't have to memorize any number sequences because they're all included on the sidebar. I never felt like I was lost with how the game worked.

Besides the framing device, there's a little story running through the game. Whenever you return to your exam room to trade in tokens, you'll overhear Morkan, Berzia, and Teraboz talking about the academy. Most of the story is carried by Teraboz; she feels that the test has become too easily accommodating for new people, she starts a debate over whether the word “witch” is offensive, she gets in trouble with the fearsome vice dean Merlena. Outside the story, Teraboz reacts in exasperation at your mistakes, which I thought was a fun way to tell me when I was doing something wrong. She even (Spoiler - click to show)delivers the final line of the game, quitting the academy now that you're a part of it.. Teraboz gets way more dialogue and action than the other two characters, which is a shame, because I'd have liked for Morkan and especially Berzia to have some spotlight moments.

Despite the unbalanced character focus, I'd say I liked this story more than I didn't. It's secondary to the puzzles, and even developed in an interesting direction I didn't expect. And with that said, I'd recommend Junior Arithmancer. It's a light, fun game that's easy to grasp, but hard to perfect.

Pytho's Mask is graceful and sophisticated. Everything from the theming to the characters has such a high-class charm and works to make you feel like a part of the world. The romance elements make it such an exhilarating and exciting story; I felt so blessed, assessing each intelligent and proper party guest as a potential partner.

You play as Soteria, a noblewoman who's been invited to a royal celebration, and you don't have a clue what it's about. Talking to the kingdom's rulers, you learn that it's to commemorate the Night of the Comet -- a chaotic event happening every 100 years, that can mysteriously change peoples' motivations and mindsets. Plus, the King is sick, and someone is out to get him... but who?

Pytho's Mask is a conversation game with light puzzles. A majority of this game is spent talking to people, working out their motivations, and piecing together who did it. It's a fantasy story with romance elements -- the Prince seems to have taken a liking to you (even though he admits he could do better), but others will tell you he's not the most faithful. It's up to you to decide whether to go with it, turn him away, or even go for someone else.

The game is good at giving you opportunities to understand its lore-heavy backstory. If you have a question about what something is, go ahead and ask someone who's knowledgeable about it. If you don't know where they are, just strike up a conversation with whoever's nearby and ask them. If you idle in a crowded area, you'll overhear some gossip that hints at where you can go or what you should do next. It's very much possible to figure this game out on your own, since the focus is more on the story, but the puzzles are a nice addition.

The game's writing is simply amazing. These characters all have their own memorable personalities -- I was especially a fan of Avril, who's disrespected by the other attendees for his emphasis on fashion and tendency to judge people based on it, but turns out to be one of the most sensible and likeable people in the game. We shared a mutual hatred of Valkir, how could I not love him? Each character has something unique to say about a given topic. It lets you draw your own conclusions as to who you like and who you don't, and there's a lot to play around with.

Pytho's Mask is an absolute gem, and ranks among my favorite interactive fiction pieces, period.

I had been working at this game for four months. I cannot believe how it turned out. It is one of the longest games I have ever played. This is one of the most insane experiences I have had playing a game. I feel like a totally different person now that I've finished it. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, and I never knew what would be coming next. It is unpredictable, it is difficult, it is different.

Cragne Manor is what happens when you take over 80 authors' contributions and intricately weave them together into a whole game. Every room is written independently, so just one step away is something totally different. Despite this, Cragne Manor has a method to its madness, and can feel amazingly coherent at points (props to the Carol arc). I kept going because I wanted to see everything and hopefully run into another engaging set piece, bizarre cultural reference, or well-developed puzzle. I wanted to know how the game could possibly end, and how everything would come together. You are given a basic goal -- find your husband Peter by uncovering bits of information in and around the manor -- but to list everything you have to do would be crazy.

I'd like to give shout-outs to some of my favorite, or most memorable, parts of the game. These are rooms that just blew me away. Please don't read these until you've been to the actual rooms!

Estate Agent's Office: (Spoiler - click to show)By far one of the best and most comprehensive rooms in the game. Everything Bethany says, everything she does, your inexplicable obsession with getting a lion sex book, the writing style, it had me laughing so hard. I actually came back here midway through just to make sure I asked her about everything. Some suggestions: Read the lion sex book and ask her about it. Ask Bethany about yourself, Peter, Jedediah Beaverhat, and Maple Kate.

Meatpacking Plant: (Spoiler - click to show)Cut up the corpses of dead animals! It's described in the most disgusting way possible. My stomach was churning by the end of this, and I actually had to put the game down before and after doing it because I was so uncomfortable.

Meatpacking Plant Bathroom: (Spoiler - click to show)How do we not talk about this one? It's iconic. Banish a boneless horse by using demonic rituals and a time-traveling toilet. It's worth trying everything you can here, because it accounts for most of your interactions; I spent a while trying to pee on every surface imaginable and I got a funny response for everything. Reading the diary is also a highlight, and the various "unfortunate baby names" gave me a good laugh.

Nursery: (Spoiler - click to show)Carol and Christabell offer up one of the most surprising moments in the game. There is an interconnected narrative between these two rooms. You get to watch Carol grow up from a kind yet lonely child to a politically-obsessed mastermind who wants to summon Cthulhu. Also, the part about Naomi apparently being pregnant really shocked me and made me want to know how the arc could possibly end. Christabell even comes in to wrap everything up! Carol apologizing, and the memento she leaves behind, made me genuinely sad.

Music Room: (Spoiler - click to show)A room that contains a bunch of small sub-rooms to tell an incredibly gruesome and disturbing story! Francine is messed up. Seeing her child self vomit, and then opening up a bag of body parts, actually made me feel sick and I had to put the game down for a bit. Not a pleasant story, but a memorable one for sure.

Workroom: (Spoiler - click to show)Cast magic spells and learn about the Cragnes' family history. The mechanics are fleshed out, there's a lot of optional deaths, and it's a nice break from some of the other more horrific parts of the game. It's a satisfying puzzle.

Curiosity Shop: (Spoiler - click to show)I like Jessenia. She's fun to talk to and she has all kinds of interesting items to trade. This is really late in the game, but I enjoyed it.

Narthex: (Spoiler - click to show)This kind of bizarre Catholic high school drama, complete with demon possession and tragic tales of love that was never meant to be, had me engaged. Brandon's eventual suicide attempt had me horrified and emotionally shattered, and even Naomi's shaken up by the whole thing afterwards.

Inside the Shack: (Spoiler - click to show)One of the last rooms in the game, this thing is surreal. The descriptions are disturbing and paint very horrifying images, there's a lot to do while you're in there, and messing with Naomi and Peter's history is a harrowing yet beautiful experience.

That's not to discredit the smaller rooms, though. They deserve appreciation for how they just tie everything together and they all draw inspiration from various sources. It's fun to have a few minor puzzles or transition rooms in between the game starts going off the rails and destroying you emotionally (yet again). I had visceral reactions to this thing; I almost threw up twice. I screamed so many times. It was great.

The main complaint I had with this game was an unavoidable, inevitable problem; sorting through your items gets hard. Attempting to use a noun like "dial" or "key" in a command will result in everything showing up and you needing to use disambiguations. Sometimes I'd just throw out my backpack before I went into a room so I wouldn't have to deal with it. The mildew was also a massive misstep that I wish was toned down, and if I were to give one piece of advice to anyone before playing the game, get rid of it as soon as you can. It made me begin dreading opening my inventory and filtering through items, because it inflated it with useless text and ended up taking the entire screen.

My review has only scratched the surface. Play this game, don't let the content warning scare you, just go with it. Play it to the end. There's always something new waiting. Jenni Polodna and Ryan Veeder, both absolutely amazing authors and people in general, thank you so much for this. I'll never forget Cragne Manor.