Ratings and Reviews by ChanceOfFire

Echoes is an anthology of three games in one. I didn’t do the Labyrinth one as it didn’t appeal to me that much. Treasure of the Deep is also a fairly short and very linear tale, such that it’s more of a story than a game. It was a fun read, but not really an interactive one.

Still, the one I did enjoy was Sticks and Stones, a humorous multi-part adventure where you travel around a dungeon, solving puzzles and collecting items, while trying to reach the next part of the game. Navigating the dungeon was tricky at first, but I managed to handle this by visualizing a grid in my mind. There are a good number of interesting puzzles there, and finding the different items to proceed also didn’t feel overly challenging, even though I went around in circles a few times. There is also a pretty basic but fun combat system, and the game allows you to retry whenever you lose a fight.

The writing is entertaining and there was good art to accompany the writing, such as the backgrounds for the linear Treasure of the Deep story. Overall, I’d say the full product is pretty solid, although I tried just two thirds of it.

Chronicles of the Moorwakker has plenty of content which will keep you occupied for some time.

Your task here is to investigate the death of your mother, on a journey that takes you through fantasy medieval Germany. As a twine game, it felt really well-designed with that open-ended adventure vibe, as you decide which way you will travel and the things you can do in each location. There are some sections which will require you to go through different rooms to hunt down the various items you need to unlock stuff and proceed, including the section right before the final boss. It added to the feel, but it can get tedious at times.

I failed the starting battle twice, with my opponent suviving with one health point on both occasions. (Something must really hate me.) Afterwards, I decided to do this true story mode, and skip all the battles. A lot of work must have went into scripting the battle system, and I liked all the little details, just that I felt that it required a lot of clicking. You are allowed to retry or skip battles (I can't remember which difficulty I picked) so the game is still pretty forgiving there.

Once you finish, you can restart the game entirely, or at a chapter of your choice.

The art and sound, along with the gray color scheme, also fit the game pretty well. That said, the art is at least partially AI generated, with some human modifications.

With solid writing and an interesting story which keeps the tension going, Canvas Keepsakes provided a pretty entertaining experience. As an artist, struggling to pay the rent, you have the strange power to travel in your own paintings and retrieve things from them. Of course, things quickly go awry as you meet a buyer who seems secretly out to mess you up, and your paintings come out to mess with you.

I liked the cat companion in particular. Pixel is pretty adorable, plays a strong role in the story and also provides some entertaining commentary.

One thing I didn't like was that the game didn't really introduce the story elements very well. For that, I recommend reading the blurb before you start, as the game does not explain quite a number of story elements otherwise.

As for one thing I really liked, the use of visuals and sound to convey scenes. Shaking and glowing letters, background color changes and sounds all work in tandem to add oomph to the different scenes. Special effects are one thing this game does very well.

It was a good bit of entertainment.

I first played Heroes Rise well over a decade ago, when Choice of Games was first inviting authors to write for their professional label. Heroes Rise received quite a lot of criticism for its railroaded design back when it was first released. A long time later, I’m taking another look at this bit of CoG history.

As has been said before, the story is quite railroaded. Speaking of which, this railroad does forcefully take you to a couple of sections where you get brutally defeated before crawling over to your next challenge. The plot also feels very convoluted, with twists and revelations thrown at you in a chaotic fashion.

There is also a RO whom I simply didn’t like. That said, the game gives you plenty of choices to say no, then disregards them all anyway. (why??) After making clear (multiple times) that I was (sincerely) not interested in her, she planted a kiss on me anyway and the game went on to suggest that we had a thing going on. Honestly, I love having romance in games, but this didn’t feel good at all.

The writing is fairly solid, with plenty of action-packed scenes in the middle of the madness and chaos. It’s fun, but could have benefitted from a more organized plot. Additionally, the game also touches on some hot issues like nuclear arms and real-life geopolitical matters, but these were handled so lightly and fleetingly that I think the game would have been better without them.

On my latest playthrough, my performance was about average. Despite the linearity, the game does build up a numerical score for you over your playthrough, and hands you your report card at the end. Still, this magic number still felt detached from the various experiences I had over the course of the story. I could have played again to try to obtain a better score, but simply didn’t feel like it.

Heroes Rise was probably solid at a time where there were few good choicescript games. Nevertheless, I feel that this hasn’t aged well.

Heart of Battle had a really slow start, as you learn more about the oppressive situation you find yourself trapped in, and get to know the fellow gladiators and other people around you. There is also a slight bit of romantic scenes in the earlier chapters, which felt tastefully done.

Still, the story and plot picks up really quickly, as you start discovering avenues to freedom and a better life, through peaceful or forceful means, and get to decide how you really feel about your gladiator life and how much you want to help the people in the same predicament. For the middle and the end of the story, my interest picked up and I felt more invested in the tale.

The romance, to my surprise, was another very strong point. All of the ROs were interesting, playing various roles in the story, and I was actually struggling to the very end to decide who I would pick. Ultimately, I went with the healer, but it was a difficult choice, and that's a compliment.

The choice of a gladiatorial setting seemed unusual at first for a romance game, but I later felt that it made the romances feel stronger. In a world filled with struggle, relationships feel much more valuable. Also, some of the ROs also allow for the exploration of power dynamics in this setting, another part which I liked.

That said, there is plenty of violence as well as harsh situations in this game. For folks looking for romance stories in the more gentle settings you'd see in a typical HC game, reader discretion is strongly advised.

The plot and writing felt a bit weak at some points, but I really liked this game as a whole. As a romance title in a less usual setting, this is one I can recommend.

As someone who has struggled with a lot of negative emotions, I suppose I could relate to the player in multiple ways.

You walk around the house, looking for ways to occupy yourself (mostly by cleaning some parts which really need it) and getting a wave of negative feelings every now and then, which you will need to make a decision on how to handle. There are also plenty of restaurant menus within the house, showing how even food can relate to difficult or heavy memories. That said, I would not recommend this to people facing similar situations (and the game also carries a similar warning at the start).

The music and sound is minimal, but they are well-chosen and help to convey the theme. The art is also similarly minimalistic at some parts, but I think it also does convey the lens in which one views things under darker circumstances.

I felt that this was a pretty thought-provoking entry. That said, do heed the content warning on the front page.

I probably would have given this game three or four stars. However, I am declining to leave a star rating as I’m not sure how I should really score this game. This isn’t the first RPG maker game I’m reviewing on IFDB, but I’m personally very conflicted as to how much of an IF game this is.

I did one playthrough. Going by the game’s screenshots, there are probably other paths or bits of content I’ve missed. You play as a crook, impersonating a legitimate businessperson, coming to an island to steal some sea eggs. On the way; you visit different parts of the island, sometimes having to figure out what to say or do to get an inconvenient person out of the way. Once you reach the end, the game gives you three choices as to how to proceed. Still, from what I can tell, the game ends about as soon as you’ve made that choice.

The art is simple, but does have that old-school charming feel to it.

It was a fairly entertaining short game, but it feels much more RPG than IF. I’m not sure if that’s something which should affect the final rating, so I’m not leaving one for now.

Recently, I have seen a few IF games include mentions about AI, automation and how it could possibly lead to mass unemployment. Well, now we have once which puts this topic front and center (more or less, I suppose). You need money for... (the game gives you some options here)... and there are pretty much no jobs left for you to take to earn that money, due to the AI and employment crisis. Well, maybe except one. Being a medical test subject.

This game is pretty short, although there is a slight bit of branching where you can choose to back out halfway, screw the big corp with an illicit deal and so on. It's somewhat thought provoking, particularly in the context of a world where you need money and are running out of ways to earn it.

It was a fairly good read, and certainly gets one thinking.

The writing is solid, in a game which takes you in a dream featuring various environments, where you have to work your way to solve a puzzle to get through each stage.

Still, much of the puzzle largely involves visiting different areas, obtaining a certain key item to unlock another area, and so on, until you unlock the final task in a key area and move on to the next stage. Brute forcing your way through the puzzles by selecting as many options as you can could also get you through most of the story. Still, a few of the sections require you to think and read the text clearly to get through, so some challenge is there. It's not overly difficult or complicated, however, which is a plus for me.

You will also have to repeatedly wake up to feed a fire, or it's game over, but it still felt more like tedium to pad out the gameplay rather than an interesting part of the puzzle.

It's a short and fun bit of entertainment, and the undo option also means you can't really lose, since it's possible to rewind back to an earlier stage of the game. It's good for a bit of entertainment.

Tin Star was the first choicescript game to cross one million words, and was the only member of the million plus club for quite some time. That said, quantity isn't the only thing the game has going for it. With solid writing which conveys the western setting and a wide range of encounters from the massive wordcount, you'll find yourself immersed in the game for quite a while.

There is an extensive stat system, with plenty of opportunities to raise and test those stats. The game's structure is broken up into a set of stat-changing activities you can perform, before a chapter mission picks up. The missions are interesting and really provide a sense of adventure, as you work to discover the enemy and uncover their plot. Furthermore, there is also a good bit of branching here, with hidden content and branches for players willing to try something different.

Still, the prose tends to be heavy and ramble at times. There is no doubt plenty of content here, but sometimes, it's hard not to feel that the wordcount was partially the result of over-long prose. Nevertheless, I'm not taking off a star for this, as there is certainly still an extra large dose of quality content here.

There is also an interesting cast of characters, along with romances. There is quite a bit of variety in the characters you can romance. Won't spoil anything, but there are also two other unexpected characters you can marry as well.

When it comes to the ending, the game also leaves on a strong note, with plenty of detail of what happened to different folks and places, as well as a recounting of your own achievements. This is another part that allows the end to feel satisfying.

Overall, this is a solid game which provides as much in quality as it does in quantity. It's a solid recommendation if you want a long adventure in the choicescript world.