I haven't played any IF for roughly the past 6 years and am excited to get back into it. So, what have I missed? What have been some of your favorite games released since 2010? Alternatively, what games do you think would serve as a good reintroduction to the genre? I remember most of the IF conventions, but am definitely a little rusty on typical IF logic/puzzles.
Back in the day I particularly enjoyed conversation-based and one-room puzzle games, so I'd especially love to get some of those recommendations.
Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 6 votes "Big, conversation-heavy game with tutorials" [+]"Big, conversation-heavy game with tutorials: Emily Short's largest game ever was released while you were gone. You play a spy in a world where you can change an object by changing its spelling. It has several tutorial features to help new players or returning players." ( - Full review) --MathBrush... "One of the new..." [+]"One of the new classics, very fun, with jaw-dropping implementation. Med-large game." --Danielle... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) --LisariaUS... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --prevtenet... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
Toby's Nose, by Chandler Groover 4 votes "One room, one-verb puzzler" [+]"One room, one-verb puzzler: In this game, you are Sherlock Holmes' dog. By smelling people and memories, you uncover a big mystery. One-room game friendly to newcomers and returners." ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --TheAncientOne... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
Hadean Lands, by Andrew Plotkin 3 votes "Universally acclaimed masterpiece" [+]"Universally acclaimed masterpiece: No less than Emily Short called it "one of the most extraordinary pieces of parser IF ever written." Not easy, but logical and fair." () --prevtenet... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --MathBrush... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Billy Mays... Vote for this game | |
Hunger Daemon, by Sean M. Shore 2 votes "Parser game with..." [+]"Parser game with tremendous personality, pokes a lot of fun at Lovecraftian conventions. I haven't finished it yet, but just thinking about the parts I have played makes me grin. " --Danielle... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --E.K.... Vote for this game | |
Lime Ergot, by Caleb Wilson (as Rust Blight) 2 votes "Creepily atmospheric, surreal one-verb horror game" [+]"Creepily atmospheric, surreal one-verb horror game" () --Harris Powell-Smith... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --CMG... Vote for this game | |
Castle of the Red Prince, by C.E.J. Pacian 2 votes "Mildly creepy..." [+]"Mildly creepy gothic/fantasy quest with unique mechanic" ( - Full review) --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
Hana Feels, by Gavin Inglis 2 votes "Conversation-based." [+]"Conversation-based." () --Sobol... "If you're..." [+]"If you're coming back you've probably seen more Choose Your Own Adventure and "Twine" type stories. This is one of the best of them, very thoughtful, with illustrations, even! " () --Danielle... Vote for this game | |
the uncle who works for nintendo, by michael lutz 2 votes "Probably the first Twine game I genuinely loved" [+]"Probably the first Twine game I genuinely loved: good for getting a feel for the possibilities of the format if you've not been around to see its growth." () --E.K.... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
Brain Guzzlers from Beyond!, by Steph Cherrywell 2 votes "50s sci-fi adventure" [+]"50s sci-fi adventure: Steph Cherrywell seems to have only appeared in the last couple of years and has a really fresh voice - if you like puzzly (but not too hard) adventure romps with well-drawn characters then her stuff is for you." () --E.K.... "Fun spoof of..." [+]"Fun spoof of 50's sci-fi. Some NPCs/conversation." () --prevtenet... Vote for this game | |
Horse Master, by Tom McHenry 2 votes "1) It's fun..." [+]"1) It's fun to say the full title of this game out loud in a WWF announcer's voice (HORSE MASTER!, THE GAME OF HORSE MASTERY!) 2) See Twine get pushed to the limits. 3) Surreal, memorable." ( - Full review) --Danielle... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Space Cowboy... Vote for this game | |
With Those We Love Alive, by Porpentine and Brenda Neotenomie 1 vote "I think..." [+]"I think Porpentine will be new to you. New distinctive voice in the community, best known for "Howling Dogs." Typically does surreal Twine work punctuated by occasional body horror...but man, I love the atmosphere in nearly all her work. I think this one stuck with me due to a more-obvious (to me, anyway) storyline." () --Danielle... Vote for this game | |
Dinner Bell, by Jenni Polodna 1 vote "SO Hungry! " [+]"SO Hungry! : This is a very interesting one room puzzle game. Not heavy on dialogue, but I think that you might like it regardless. I know that I did." () --Matt Bates... Vote for this game | |
Andromeda Awakening - The Final Cut, by Marco Innocenti 1 vote "First IF story I fully immersed myself into in nearly a decade" [+]"First IF story I fully immersed myself into in nearly a decade: I've been out of the loop for years myself. When I came back, I was afraid to try anything new, and now most of the stories were "blorbed," so I had to get new interpreters. I was hearing so much about the Andromeda series, that I had to take a look for myself. I'm glad I did." ( - Full review) --mjhayes... Vote for this game | |
♥Magical Makeover♥, by S. Woodson 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Danielle... Vote for this game | |
Fingertips: What's That Blue Thing Doing Here?, by Ruth Alfasso 1 vote "There are lots of..." [+]"There are lots of good games from the Apollo 18 Tribute Album collection (a very strong thirty-eight game compilation, many of which are one-move/one-room games). This one is essentially "amusing responses for all the regular IF actions", which may be a good refresher." ( - Full review) --Teaspoon... Vote for this game | |
Ollie Ollie Oxen Free, by Carolyn VanEseltine 1 vote "Classic parser game" [+]"Classic parser game: you're a teacher trying to save their students after an attack on the school. Also recommend checking out Carolyn VanEseltine's other work." () --E.K.... Vote for this game | |
Weird City Interloper, by C.E.J. Pacian 1 vote "Pure conversation game, damn good" [+]"Pure conversation game, damn good" () --jakomo... Vote for this game | |
Poll created on May 29, 2016