Reviews by ChanceOfFire

Being very honest, I do feel quite bad about giving this game a three star review. After all, I do see a lot of passion here. Deciding what rating to give was something I really struggled with.

The writing here is strong and moving. However, this feels like a better fit for a linear novel than a twine game. The game is largely linear, and with one exception, the only times you get choices are when you hit one of the branching points in the game. (There are three paths in total, so do the math.) While the game is well written, the prose is a bit on the heavy side, and without a steady stream of choices, it was harder to feel invested.

Still, I appreciate the work which went into this. The writer also left some detailed notes at the end, which I recommend reading even if you decide not to try for all three endings.

Thalassaphilia had something of a slow start, but the intensity of the story soon picked up with a mystery plotline. I won't spoil the details, but it certainly kept me turning the page, wanting to find out what happened next. Sadly, the entire tale ends on a cliffhanger, but what was there certainly kept me transfixed.

There is some form of romance in the game as you choose from different members of the crew to interact with, and try getting closer to them. That said, this isn't completely a romance game. In fact, the previously mentioned mystery takes up a good part of the bandwidth.

This entry also seems longer than most of the other entries. There is plenty of content to keep you entertained, along with choices when interacting with different characters. I admit, the mystery had me applying the text rollback just to get a fuller sense of the mystery and decide what would be the best choice coming up next.

Meanwhile, I'll need to get to playing Infinite Stars at some point.

It's a short but sweet VN, with pretty art, nice music, and two characters who are no longer quite themselves. There are a few interactive parts, such as being able to visit different parts on a village map, as well as interacting with the characters by touch. The writing was a little rough in some areas, and I spotted a few typos, but otherwise, it was still entertaining to read.

I ran into a crash by selecting some options, and ultimately finished the game by rewinding the game and selecting a different set of options which no longer caused a crash. That said, I will not take off any stars for this since the game is explicitly listed to be in a prototype stage.

The Daily Blackmail feels pretty short. Even taking into account the 30k wordcount, the prose is a little wordy and can lead to the feeling that you are getting less time than you should. Still, this is a short and free HG title. As far as games in this category go, this one is good from a writing standpoint. There is a simple stat system which plays a small role in the game.

Still, some parts of the plot really stretch the suspension of disbelief. Given the length of the game, I understand that some things have to happen to push the plot along fast, but still.

I tried to keep the next part spoiler-free, but I've hidden it anyway in case anyone doesn't want to be spoiled in the slightest.

(Spoiler - click to show)In one part, a senior person working for the press, who is also involved in some shady dealings, leaves incriminating evidence behind in a nonsecure drive and the trash bins outside her place. Really? Given her line of work, she should know that journalists do dig for dirt in trash cans. Maybe be a little more conscious that you're doing something illegal?

A politician meets you to leak out incriminating information. It is quite a stretch that they would reveal their identity and give you all the good stuff without at least 1) ascertaining if you can be trusted and 2) knowing where your loyalties really lie. Furthermore, the chosen location could mean unwanted surveillance or unexpected interruptions, neither of which would be convenient for said politician.

Additionally, some choices involve you picking a response for an NPC. The player character (you) says something, and the game gives you a choice of replies the NPC will say. This felt very jarring, and as a result, I sometimes got mixed up as to who was doing the talking. Plus, it reduces the sense that your character is a player in the story.

It's a short story which might entertain you if you are willing to suspend your disbelief, and if you don't mind picking what the other guy says. Other than that, the writing was good and I didn't spot any typos.

I am personally of the opinion that the writer genuinely has some good ideas for a game. Still, I can't praise the execution here.

The game description is compelling, and really filled my heart with those warm feelings. In this game, there are two player characters, one male and one female (you can customize their names.) Initially working with different factions, the story slowly brings them together and has them work together and build a relationship with each other. There are a few stats, including one which measures the relationship between both characters. Stat changes are communicated to the player, which again, is good in my book.

Still, the writing here is rough, and this problem is aggravated by long infodumps which can be difficult to break down for that reason. I lost track of the plot and story very quickly, and never really found myself back on track.

Interestingly, there is a puzzle in the game, but I was able to solve it perfectly on my first attempt by largely picking at random. (Hmm...)

I really liked the twin flame concept, and the idea of controlling two characters who are initially opposed but eventually get drawn to each other. The idea is great, but just I can't say the same for the execution.

Spacing Out has some good ideas which could have been made into a pretty promising game. The worldbuilding is pretty solid as far as short and free HG games go. There are a couple of interesting scenes. Unfortunately, the plotting and writing is on the weaker side.

The writing is rough. Some parts of it feel technically correct but still strangely written. There are a few typos, as well as code typos. (Basically when stat changes are not correctly typed and show up in the game as text instead.) The short plot has a good dose of adventure as you meet a new alien species and build a relationship with them. Still, it felt a little hard to follow at times, and I was spacing out towards the end.

There is something of a stat system here. Some decisions can increase your stats. I didn't see anything which looked like a failed stat check, so maybe I was lucky, or maybe the stat checks weren't too hard. You'll get prompts whenever stats or relationships go up or down, which is a plus in my book.

There is romance... in a sense. I had pretty much forgotten about the RO until they showed up at the end. When they did, I affirmed our relationship, the achievement popped, the game ended quickly and I shrugged my shoulders.

Still, it's a short and free HG, so might as well take a look for that little bit of entertainment.

As far as free HG titles go, I’ll say that Dual Nature isn’t good but isn’t egregiously bad either.

In a different take on zombie games, you play as a zombie who hasn’t been fully zombiefied and still retains some humanity. The plot has a few interesting moments, but feels pretty chaotic as a whole, as you start by convincing your human girlfriend that you are still… you, before going on a wild adventure which ends with the destruction of a cult, then ends suddenly. Speaking of which, this is one of the few titles with a fixed player character and a fixed romance, although it’s not something which bothered me personally.

I was wondering if my zombie side would consume me fully at some point, but that didn’t seem to happen. After ending a pretty high stakes final battle with plenty of physical action, I felt pretty human after it all. There were some interesting moments with the human-zombie idea, such as convincing a loved one that you are not a threat, but it felt underdeveloped as a whole.

The writing is slightly rough, with a few typos here and there. There are parts where you get pages and pages of words before reaching a choice. Some action scenes were fairly enjoyable, but that’s all I can say for this.

It’s possibly worth a read as a free title. Still, I didn’t head back for a replay after beating the game and the bad guys.

You're dead and a ghost. Now, you'll have to figure out who took your life. Sadly, the murderer is determined by RNG.

The first section involves visiting different locations and trying to establish the identities of the different suspects. That said, as far as I can tell, this section does not change based on who the murderer is.

Once that is done, you'll need to figure out who the murderer is. Still, it's entirely a crap shoot. You have a small number of attempts to investigate (by random selection) the suspects and determine who killed you. If luck is on your side, you might find out, but otherwise, the final decision on who the murderer is will just be another random guess.

The writing is as rough as ever, and finding the murderer is pretty much picking at random and hoping that you've stumbled upon the right one. I can't even recommend reading this for fun.

The world is on fire. :( Anyway, while playing games and writing reviews here, I’m going to take a 100% politically neutral approach. I have plenty of political opinions, but these will not be mentioned here, and will not affect my reviews in any way.

Onto the game itself, you’ll have to deal with a linear array of scenes, handed to you in random order. Decisions made in these scenes may affect any number of four stats, which must be kept within certain levels to avoid a bad end. To get the good ending, you’ll need to complete all scenes without letting any of the four stats slip.

Other than the randomization, the gameplay is pretty straightforward. A lot of the jokes have a blustery feel, but just didn’t feel particularly humorous or witty. The writing is technically sound, but I don’t think the humor really worked for me here.

Honestly, if you want to read political commentary with an extra-large serving of satire or parody, you’ll probably find better content by reading a political blog or going on an online discussion forum. There’s more of this sort of stuff on the Internet than I can shake a stick at.

The People's House is a massive and content-filled game. The omnibus lists the word count at 460,000 words, yet it somehow feels larger than that. Not to mention, with a whole array of President stuff to do, like foreign trips, managing scandals and so on, this is one title which can keep you entertained for a long time.

There is a fairly detailed character creation system, where you pick the usual stuff like your name and gender, along with your background, political party, state, college and so on. It does a good job of setting up the backdrop for this political adventure. There isn't really romance in this game, but as President, you can start with a spouse and kids, with some degree of customization there.

Of course, being a president isn't a fun job, or a clean one, despite... appearances. You'll have to decide priorities, international relations, your relationships with other politicians and so on. Family might get thrown into the mix. There will be plenty of times people of power will offer the choice to do something dubious in exchange for certain benefits, and it can be a hard decision to decide if you want to do the right thing with other problems on the line. It was hard to get a sense of how the game was doing the math behind each choice, but there were plenty of times I stopped to ponder each decision and worry about the consequences.

Ultimately, I felt really bruised and battered after my first term, between all the political pressures, and decided to not to run again. I did somewhat better on my second attempt. Perhaps sometime, I'll figure out that perfect run and be a President worth something.

It's not a perfect experience, but if you're into political games, I can fully recommend this. If you're not... I'd say it's still worth a look.