Reviews by ChanceOfFire

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.

Choice of Broadsides is the first choicescript game I played, back in 2010. For some unfathomable reason, I decided to come back to it some fifteen years later. It brought a slight bit of nostalgia, but not much else.

The game breaks a few modern recommendations. There are a good number of two choice options, as well as fake choices which do not even change flavor text. Mini walls of text are present in some of the choice options, making them look somewhat unsightly. Also, while I recommend a long and linear approach to writing CS games, this one is linear to a fault.

Apart from one character who serves as the player’s main rival and final antagonist, a lot of the characters, including the ROs, have only a little more character development than a name on the screen. There is a lot of copy-pasted text for the three ROs, reducing their depth even further. There is one part where you have to choose a subordinate officer, but there is so little development for the selected characters that it’s difficult to make this a meaningful choice.

Choice of Broadsides is free to play. Still, there are plenty of better free choicescript games around, even under the Hosted Games label.

Full Disclosure: I was a beta tester for this game. This review is based on the version of the game I played during the beta testing process.

Leas: City of the Sun is a fantasy story of sizable length. You play as a highly skilled agent, proficient in a selected set of skills and sent on a mission in a mystical world outside, filled with strange creatures.

You have three romance options in the game, each with their own quirky and interesting personalities. I eventually picked Keo, but making a choice was certainly hard, and reading about the romances was certainly enjoyable. RO genders are determined based on your own gender and sexuality. Speaking of which, there are plenty of customization options which you would expect in a choicescript game. Along with your name, gender and skills, you can also customize your physical appearance, hair and tattoo selections.

The skill system is probably a bit of a weakness. Without giving too much away, the skill system isn't too difficult to handle, and beating checks should be pretty straightforward almost all the time. Personally, I think it could be a little harder, and this is coming from someone with a severe aversion to difficulty.

The writing and worldbuilding is solid and does a good job of conveying the fantasy world before you. The pacing is slightly on the slow side, but still reasonable for the most part. If you like fantasy and prefer a stronger focus on romance or story elements, you probably won't be disappointed here.

Oedipus Rex is a tragedy, a man cursed by prophecy to (Spoiler - click to show)kill his father and marry his mother.

However, that does not have to be the case here. The game gives Oedipus the option to avoid the tragedy of the original play through a series of decisions. Additionally, the game also provides some optional hand-holding. You can choose to have the game guide you down the path of the prophecy or away from it, or an intermediate option which gives you the freedom to make choices and decide your fate.

The story and writing is told well, and does a good job of conveying the world of ancient Greece and the elements of the play. There are some mild RPG and resource management elements here, such as managing your supply of the in-game currency and buying things which may aid your adventures, but nothing overly complicated. There is also a riddle section, as per the original play.

There is plenty of branching and different options within the story, where Oedipus can follow the path of the original tragedy or stray away from it. The game is a little short as far as a single playthrough goes, but there is replay value here. All in all, it is a thought-provoking and enjoyable ride.

Oh yes. The most rated game in the HG omnibus. In the Great Tournament, you start as a young boy from a humble background who works his way up to be a squire, and then a knight. Gameplay consists of two parts, a largely linear story section at the beginning, followed by an exploration section for the second half.

The story is actually surprisingly good, with a solid cast of interesting characters. This section is pretty linear, although there are a few combat sections here and there to put your gameplay skills to the test.

The second half is also great from a gameplay perspective, where you get to travel around, visiting various places and interacting with different characters. The sandbox and free-roaming elements are also quite well done.

There are also several romantic interests, with a good mix of different personalities whom you can get to know and build a relationship with over the course of the game. This part is also good.

The game culminates in a final challenge with various choices which will put your skills and past choices to the test. I’ve never really had any trouble beating it, but I’ve always played on easy so…

As with Swamp Castle, this game demonstrates how gameplay elements can work in a choicescript game. In addition, there is a solid story and character cast. I have different thoughts on the sequel, but this game, as it is, is definitely fun to play.

In Swamp Castle, you play as the newly minted lord of a small fief. Gameplay largely consists of making decisions about fief governance, particularly in regard to taxation, construction, dealing with various factions and so on. Still, there is an overarching plot to follow, with a substantial bit of branching, which adds to the replay value. There are also plenty of little secrets here and there for players who try to venture off the beaten path.

The prose is slightly rough and won't win any awards, but it is mostly serviceable and has a nice touch of humor at times. The game also contains art, mostly stock images with little regard for consistency with each other, so it could be somewhat immersion breaking.

The gameplay elements, while straightforward, are actually pretty fun and fairly well implemented. Some management decisions are woven into the story, and battles provide a good bit of strategy, while being provided in doses not large enough to feel tedious.

All in all, the game provides a good example of how management and gameplay elements can be well implemented and fun in a choicescript game.

In this game, you play as a child who is sold into slavery and trained to become a gladiator. There is a pretty interesting cast of characters to get to know. As far as I can tell, the story is largely linear, with most choices affecting your stats or relationships with said characters, or testing those values.

It is also possible to die in the game, which ends in a final battle which will put your stats and decision making to the test.

The most disappointing part about the game is that it is somewhat short and clearly intended as the first part of a much larger story. It is great, but just leaves you wanting more. It is an enjoyable read, and I really wish it could have gone on to its intended end. Just be prepared if you do decide to take a look.

Reviewing this game is tough. In this short RPGmaker game, the developer talks about his own experiences working on previous game projects. Gameplay consists of visiting different houses within a small map, talking to some characters who briefly describe their experiences, and by doing so, recounting the developer's own experiences with developing those projects.

Is this interactive fiction? Given that it mostly involves talking to characters who deliver text-based content, I suppose the answer could be yes. However, being an autobiographical game, it is probably somewhere between fiction and non-fiction.

The bigger problem is that something like this might have worked better as a series of blog or forum posts rather than an actual game. As a game, it's just hard to make this fun. I enjoy reading about the experiences of others, just that I'm not sure that an exposition-delivering game is the best platform for this.

(Spoiler - click to show)There is a final boss in the game which completely destroyed me, while delivering some commentary about the current state of the game industry. I'm not sure if there's a way to beat it, but after 2-3 unsuccessful reloads, it wasn't something I cared to do any longer.

Flashpoint is one of the longer games I’ve tried in the SGC, and one which checks most of the usual CoG boxes. Players can select their gender, name, RO options, physical appearance and so on in the first part of the game.

There is an interesting cast of characters, and much of the first part is spent getting to know them. For the overall length of the game, I felt that a smaller cast might have worked better, but this is a minor complaint on my end.

There is also a basic stat system, with some skill checks when the story heats up. If you fail the checks or pick the wrong choices, you have the option to restart from a checkpoint, thankfully saving plenty of time.

I messed up the combat encounter on my first attempt, but managed to work out the right stats and choices upon a retry. All in all, it’s a short and entertaining game with a good dash of thrill and horror.

It’s an amusing and surprisingly thought-provoking entry, poking fun at how we constantly find ourselves late for something.

Gameplay is generally straightforward and as far as I can tell, the story is largely linear. What the writing actually does is reminding us how it feels to be late, then poking fun at our (often) fruitless attempts to do better next time.

It’s a short but entertaining read, reminding us of one of our biggest challenges in life.