Reviews by ChanceOfFire

This is a surprisingly cute and entertaining game. Likely inspired by spore, you start from a microorganism in a rock pool which gradually goes through various stages of evolution, building a civilization and going on to rule the galaxy. Most decisions are reminiscent of the game, from choosing evolutionary paths to deciding whether you want to befriend other species or eat them. The writing is also humorous and conveys the feeling of the 2008 game well. If you’ve played Spore, this is certainly an interesting choicescript adaptation to try out.

I have a terrible weakness for fur babies, so this game gets five stars. Especially after the onslaught of cute cat pictures.

Anyways, you play as an aspiring cat breeder, and can choose from different breeds to raise. This involves meeting with an interesting cast of characters with their own backstories, and cats. There is a slight bit of resource management here, where you can decide what sort of goodies you can buy to spoil your cats with. There is also some discussion on disability, which I also felt added to the game’s depth. I think there’s an optional romance as well, but I wasn’t able to trigger it on my playthrough.

Gameplay is pretty straightforward and fun, and the story is engaging. I largely splurged on the most expensive things for my first playthrough and landed in the negative for a while, but managed to pay back my debt and then some by the end of the game.

It was short, but a good bit of fun. It seems that the game managed to find my weak spot.

An apocalypse (of an unspecified nature) takes place, and you decide that it’s best to take refuge in a Zoo. I’m not sure I buy the game’s reasoning, but let’s keep going anyway.

Much of the game consists of making decisions to maintain this zoo and manage the animal inhabitants within. You may also get a companion to join you, for better or worse when it comes to the zoo. There is some level of branching, as well as a final battle of sorts where you can reach a bad end.

Unfortunately, it’s just hard to have an engaging story and gameplay with this sort of setup. The writing is good, and it is interesting to think about choices regarding the different types of animals within, as well as to learn more about them. The product, as a whole, just isn’t as entertaining. The game’s branching does allow for some replay value, but it was difficult to motivate myself to go for another round.

All in all, it’s a polished and competently made game. Just that it wasn’t something which I really enjoyed.

This is a fairly solid title where you play as a starship captain, working alongside an obnoxious onboard computer to achieve mission success. The story and ethical dilemmas, while not the most original, do a fair job.

Your job here is to aid humanity in a conflict against an unusual alien race. Along the way, you find out more about the motivations of the different players in the conflict and the stakes involved. Some of the revelations did leave me scratching my head a little, but it was mostly ok. For the record, I picked the ending to wipe out the enemy completely, gaining vast riches in the process.

There is a fairly deep skill and upgrade system in the game. I had probably failed or messed up a good number of checks, but still managed to reach the end of the game.

It’s not difficult, and the story is likely aimed at a younger audience. It’s not the most outstanding game out there, but it does a fairly good job.

You’re trapped in a nightmare, and need to pick the right choices to understand what’s happening to you.

The game’s design is pretty straightforward. It’s a linear adventure through a series of scenes in a nightmare. Well… dreams (and nightmares) can take all sorts of forms and generally don’t make any sense, and that’s the case here too. Still, your objective is to get a certain stat above a certain level to get the ‘good’ ending. Additionally, you’ll also need to raise another stat to unlock more options and better outcomes.

You’ll need to deduce which choices in this nightmare will bring you closer to the stat increases you need. It could take some trial and error to reach the ‘good’ ending.

There are a few typos in the game, even if the writing is generally ok. Unfortunately, there’s just little in the way of plot in a series of nightmare scenes. The trial and error based gameplay may or may not cut it for you, and even if you reach the ‘good’ end, it’s pretty short and doesn’t say much. You could play with it for a bit, but it’s probably not a game you’ll spend plenty of time with.

The plot behind this game is simple. You’re a thief, you’ve heard of an opportunity, and now you’re out to liberate some gold from a vault.

Gameplay is quite heavy on trial and error. There is one (or maybe multiple?) true path to reach the good ending and obtain the gold. A few choices will test your thinking and calculation, but most choices appear to be the sort you work out by trial and error, to figure out a path forward which does not lead to a dead end. There are no stats here, just choices which will bring you forward or to a premature game over.

If you’re looking for a more traditional choicescript game, this isn’t it. This is mostly a short challenge to complete a story by working out the best (only?) path forward, possibly through numerous game overs and restarts. Still, it is a decent way to pass the time if that’s your thing.

Island of Carnage is a fairly solid short game for a bit of entertainment. You play as a journalist, traveling to a dangerous island for a special investigation. However, said island is filled with red-eyed mutant people looking to make you their next meal.

The game is pretty combat heavy, with a lot of action/horror scenes and fight or flee options. Health is a stat within the game you have to keep track of, as letting it fall to zero could lead to a game over. There is also a simple inventory system, with consumables which can restore your health, and a few rare chances to pick up other items. It’s a simple system, but it’s serviceable.

There are some plot twists and moral decisions, but the game’s plot is generally quite heavy on action and fighting.

If you want a fast paced game with a mix of horror and action, this short game should do a fair job.

For some reason, I decided to dig through one of my oldest memories, the second choicescript game I played and the first one ever made.

Unfortunately, as with Choice of Broadsides, this hasn’t quite aged well. The game starts you off with a lot of character creation options, including gender, but this does not seem to affect the game in any way. It does not even get a mention on the stats screen.

The stat system is a mix of opposed stats (e.g. brutality/finesse) as well as regular stats (e.g. infamy). To beat most stat checks, you’ll need to focus on a certain stat and stick to it consistently, hence staying on one end or the other of the opposed stats. The infamy stat can be used to beat some checks in the game. The wealth stat keep tracks of how much money you have, but to the best of my knowledge, this is rarely tested in the game and is largely a personal progress meter.

There are some characters in the game, but most have little in the way of development or personality. There are ROs as well, but these feel like no more than stat checks.

It’s a short and fun romp, if you want to see the very first choicescript game which started it all. Nevertheless, if you are out hunting for free choicescript games, there are longer and better options on the CoG and HG omnibus.

Interactive Bonbons is no typical choicescript game. Instead it is a bunch of minigames made in the choicescript engine. A couple of these minigames have very small plots around them, but this is mostly mild flavor.

If I were to rate this game on the basis on creativity, uniqueness or technical chops, it would be five stars, no question about it. There is a very interesting use of the engine's code to made this game, as well as an interesting use of sound, emojis and other gimmicks.

However, this game feels more like something I'll play with for a bit, get bored with, then return to the shelf. After being wowed by the technical display, a lot of these games really struggle in the fun department. Games like snakes and ladders are probably more fun to play as an actual board game rather than through the choicescript interface.

It's good for playing with for a moment, but it's not something which I'd keep for the long term.

If I had an award for “Best Game which nobody but me liked,” this probably would be it. Arthur: A Retelling wasn’t too warmly received in terms of ratings, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

The game is a parody of the original tale of King Arthur, with strong vibes and references from Walt Disney’s The Sword in the Stone. As with the Disney movie, Merlin is a comical and bumbling mentor, leading young Arthur on a couple of misadventures. Sir Ector is a tyrannical master, sentencing young Arthur to a life of pointless drudgery. The game is also one which doesn’t take itself seriously at all, with countless modern references. Humor is a tricky thing to pull off, so it may or may not work for everyone.

You get to pick your gender, although you’re stuck with Arthur as your name, despite the apparent option to choose something. There is something of a mild romance option with Guinevere (but this isn’t a romance game so set your expectations accordingly). There are no stat checks from what I can tell, although there is a fair bit of branching with all sorts of humorous options.

I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. Perhaps I’m crazy or perhaps everyone else is crazy. Maybe both. Honestly, since it’s free to play, I would personally recommend giving it a try if you’d like a short story with a few laughs.