Sublime Moments - an IFDB Poll
by Sam Kabo Ashwell
RSS FeedI've been thinking about games that provide really brilliant moments. This is not about the overall quality of the game: there are plenty of excellent games that never deliver a clear, standout moment of unalloyed excellence. And surely there are plenty of second-tier games that briefly pull off something spectacular. Share yours? *** WARNING *** : by its nature this is likely to get spoilery.
| Spider and Web, by Andrew Plotkin 12 votes "The solution to That Puzzle, obviously." [+]"The solution to That Puzzle, obviously." ( ) --Emily Short... "IF's Crowning Moment of Awesome." [+]"IF's Crowning Moment of Awesome." --Kate McKee... "That Puzzle and the moment of shocked clarity that followed" [+]"That Puzzle and the moment of shocked clarity that followed" () --Stephen Gilbert... "When you finally get That One Puzzle, definetly. " [+]"When you finally get That One Puzzle, definetly. : To be honest, this game is full of sublime moments. " () --Ismarus... "That Moment" [+]"That Moment: It's really *much* more than just solving a puzzle." ( - Full review) --OtisTDog... "The frame-story..." [+]"The frame-story reveals itself." () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --zer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Cheryl L... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Meredith... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --RichCheng... "The moment when..." [+]"The moment when you realize what you did in the interrogation room." ( - Full review) --Simon Deimel... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol...  Vote for this game | |
| Photopia, by Adam Cadre 11 votes "The maze!" [+]"The maze!" ( ) --Stephen Gilbert... "The impact of..." [+]"The impact of discovering my substory-self had wings has stuck with me for years, a moment of expert manipulation of the player in the midst of the larger, much less impressive manipulation of the reader." --perching path... (No comment) [+](No comment) --alexeduardo... "'Solving' the..." [+]"'Solving' the maze is a chillingly memorable moment. " () --Cheryl L... "Finding my way..." [+]"Finding my way out of the maze - a cathartic experience!" () --NorkaBoid... "The maze, so very..." [+]"The maze, so very much." --matt w (Matt Weiner)... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --RichCheng... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Make It Good, by Jon Ingold 6 votes "The moment of realizing what you are *really* trying to accomplish." [+]"The moment of realizing what you are *really* trying to accomplish." ( - Full review) --Emily Short... "This has a..." [+]"This has a couple: the first one comes when you knock at the front door, having behaved like a Standard Adventurer and taken everything in sight." () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) --DustyCypress... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Meredith... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Audiart... Vote for this game | |
| 9:05, by Adam Cadre 5 votes "The ending made me laugh out loud! " [+]"The ending made me laugh out loud! " ( ) --Second Lemming... "I can't believe..." [+]"I can't believe no-one's voted for this yet! The bit just after you get to the office, obviously." () --RichCheng... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Shrapnel, by Adam Cadre 4 votes "As I Died" [+]"As I Died" ( ) --zer... "At the very end,..." [+]"At the very end, the game quits." () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) --DB... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Fail-Safe, by Jon Ingold 4 votes "For me, there..." [+]"For me, there were two Wow moments in this short game. The first was adapting from the surprise of the uncommon second-person perspective. The other, and stronger, was the wonderful plot twist in the end." ( ) --Fredrik... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Cheryl L... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Molly... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Shade, by Andrew Plotkin 4 votes "**SPOILER ALERT!!!!** The subtle moment when the door suddenly appears made me literally snap my head back and sit straight up in my chair. My girlfriend thought something had physically happened to me. Brilliantly done." [+]"**SPOILER ALERT!!!!** The subtle moment when the door suddenly appears made me literally snap my head back and sit straight up in my chair. My girlfriend thought something had physically happened to me. Brilliantly done." ( - Full review) --John Daily... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Cheryl L... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Edo... Vote for this game | |
| Anchorhead, by Michael Gentry 4 votes "reaching the slaughterhouse - creepy" [+]"reaching the slaughterhouse - creepy" ( ) --Denk... "Before you go to..." [+]"Before you go to sleep, you must venture downstairs to shut and lock the door." () --Sam Kabo Ashwell... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Cheryl L... Vote for this game | |
| Slouching Towards Bedlam, by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto 3 votes "But where's the "good" ending... oh! Ah. I see." [+]"But where's the "good" ending... oh! Ah. I see." ( ) --Stephen Gilbert... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Jubal... Vote for this game | |
| Worlds Apart, by Suzanne Britton 3 votes "Healing Lia's and connecting with Lyric's minds" [+]"Healing Lia's and connecting with Lyric's minds: Very heartwarming" ( - Full review) --r6144... "The Will-o-the-Wisps." [+]"The Will-o-the-Wisps." ( - Full review) --Rovarsson... "SPOILERS! Filling..." [+]"SPOILERS! Filling in all of the gaps in your memory and discovering why you had amnesia at the start of the game. We also learn about what happened to Kitara in an emotionally charge flashback that wows your socks off. " () --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
| Eat Me, by Chandler Groover 3 votes "Spoilers" [+]"Spoilers: when the Baron d'Boeuf eats you" ( ) --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Malasana... Vote for this game | |
| Cragne Manor, by Ryan Veeder, Jenni Polodna, Adam Whybray, Adri, Andrew Plotkin, Andy Holloway, Austin Auclair, Baldur Brückner, Ben Collins-Sussman, Bill Maya, Brian Rushton, Buster Hudson, Caleb Wilson, Carl Muckenhoupt, Chandler Groover, Chris Jones, Christopher Conley, Damon L. Wakes, Daniel Ravipinto, Daniel Stelzer, David Jose, David Petrocco, David Sturgis, Drew Mochak, Edward B, Emily Short, Erica Newman, Feneric, Finn Rosenløv, Gary Butterfield, Gavin Inglis, Greg Frost, Hanon Ondricek, Harkness Munt, Harrison Gerard, Ian Holmes, Ivan Roth, Jack Welch, Jacqueline Ashwell, James Eagle, Jason Dyer, Jason Lautzenheiser, Jason Love, Jeremy Freese, Joey Jones, Joshua Porch, Justin de Vesine, Justin Melvin, Katherine Morayati, Kenneth Pedersen, Lane Puetz, Llew Mason, Lucian Smith, Marco Innocenti, Marius Müller, Mark Britton, Mark Sample, Marshal Tenner Winter, Matt Schneider, Matt Weiner, Matthew Korson, Michael Fessler, Michael Gentry, Michael Hilborn, Michael Lin, Mike Spivey, Molly Ying, Monique Padelis, Naomi Hinchen, Nate Edwards, Petter Sjölund, Q Pheevr, Rachel Spitler, Reed Lockwood, Reina Adair, Riff Conner, Roberto Colnaghi, Rowan Lipkovits, Sam Kabo Ashwell, Scott Hammack, Sean M. Shore, Shin, Wade Clarke, Zach Hodgens, Zack Johnson 2 votes "Peccable's room was amazing, as well as Hanon's and others" [+]"Peccable's room was amazing, as well as Hanon's and others" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... "HORSE." [+]"HORSE." ( - Full review) --Lance Cirone... Vote for this game | |
| Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis, by One of the Bruces and Drunken Bastard 2 votes "the end scene with the Peanuts characters" [+]"the end scene with the Peanuts characters" ( ) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... "The chessboard scene" [+]"The chessboard scene" ( - Full review) --Audiart... Vote for this game | |
| Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed 2 votes "The blue flashes in the later part of the first chapter" [+]"The blue flashes in the later part of the first chapter: I can really feel the swift passage of time, which gradually becomes heart-wrenching." --r6144... "The reassessment..." [+]"The reassessment (or reaffirmation) of your earlier choice between art and love." --Sam Kabo Ashwell... Vote for this game | |
| Christminster, by Gareth Rees 2 votes "Overhearing the villains conversing while you hide." [+]"Overhearing the villains conversing while you hide." --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Felix Pleșoianu... Vote for this game | |
| Metamorphoses, by Emily Short 2 votes "Discovering what..." [+]"Discovering what the furnace does." --Christina Nordlander... "Realizing you can..." [+]"Realizing you can transform your inventory." ( ) --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
| Savoir-Faire, by Emily Short 2 votes "ENDING SPOILERS" [+]"ENDING SPOILERS: using the Lavori d'Aracne to help Marie kill her captor from a distance" --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Lance Cirone... Vote for this game | |
| The Act of Misdirection, by Callico Harrison 1 vote "The magic show is..." [+]"The magic show is wonderful all the way through, but the bit where the trick takes an unexpected direction made my heart race like few other pieces of art have." ( ) --RichCheng... Vote for this game | |
| Rameses, by Stephen Bond 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --DAB... Vote for this game | |
| Digital: A Love Story, by Christine Love 1 vote "Realizing it" [+]"Realizing it" ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Midnight. Swordfight., by Chandler Groover 1 vote "The way the..." [+]"The way the descriptive text subtly changes when you are wearing the Red Death's costume" ( ) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| The Dreamhold, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "Learning to use the hot and cold berries." [+]"Learning to use the hot and cold berries." --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Changes, by David Given 1 vote "SPOILERS! When..." [+]"SPOILERS! When the protagonist is absorbed into the Mother Tree in the endgame and is reunited the starship Concerto and its remaining survivors. It is also an incredibly bittersweet ending because the player, who spent the gameplay possessing different bodies of animals to survive, becomes the Mother Tree and is the one who integrates the other characters into the planet's shared network of consciousness." ( ) --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
| Violet, by Jeremy Freese 1 vote "You shove the key..." [+]"You shove the key under the door. There is a brief pause, then Julia shoves it back." ( ) --Sam Kabo Ashwell... Vote for this game | |
| The Edifice, by Lucian P. Smith 1 vote "Breaking the language barrier with the Stranger" [+]"Breaking the language barrier with the Stranger" --Jubal... Vote for this game | |
| Surface, by Geoff Moore 1 vote "Switching between..." [+]"Switching between characters quickly in a dramatic scene." ( ) --Floating Info... Vote for this game | |
| You Will Select a Decision, by Brendan Patrick Hennessy 1 vote "Book 2: The..." [+]"Book 2: The story-telling sequence in the haunted house." ( ) --Molly... Vote for this game | |
| Hallowmoor, by Mike Snyder 1 vote "Finding out that..." [+]"Finding out that you need to use both your host bodies to solve a puzzle" ( - Full review) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Vespers, by Jason Devlin 1 vote "The moment on the..." [+]"The moment on the tower when you are trying to do something that a monk would not do -- and the surprise how it works and pushes the story forward." ( ) --Simon Deimel... Vote for this game | |
| Opening Night, by David Batterham 1 vote "When you hear a..." [+]"When you hear a phone ringing and realize something is wrong." ( ) --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| Endless, Nameless, by Adam Cadre 1 vote "The meta-game moment" [+]"The meta-game moment" ( ) --Audiart... Vote for this game | |
| The Baker of Shireton, by Hanon Ondricek 1 vote "It hits you like a frying pan what's really going on" [+]"It hits you like a frying pan what's really going on" ( ) --Audiart... Vote for this game | |
| Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom, by S. John Ross 1 vote "Allowing yourself to fall into the clutches of the doxy when she's ...not really a doxy." [+]"Allowing yourself to fall into the clutches of the doxy when she's ...not really a doxy." ( ) --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Under, In Erebus, by Brian Rapp 1 vote "Discovering the Cyclops speaks Latin and has a long memory." [+]"Discovering the Cyclops speaks Latin and has a long memory." ( ) --perching path... Vote for this game | |
| Solarium, by Anya Johanna DeNiro 1 vote "Reuniting with your lover" [+]"Reuniting with your lover" ( ) --Molly... Vote for this game | |
| Plundered Hearts, by Amy Briggs 1 vote "The correct application of the laudanum, which is gratifying and gets a great NPC reaction." [+]"The correct application of the laudanum, which is gratifying and gets a great NPC reaction." ( - Full review) --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| STARFLIGHT: A Cosmic Adventure, by Chris Lampton 1 vote "Killing the evil entity near the end" [+]"Killing the evil entity near the end" ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Coloratura, by Lynnea Glasser 1 vote "The Newsong" [+]"The Newsong" ( ) --Edward Lacey... Vote for this game | |
| Illuminismo Iniziato, by Michael J. Coyne 1 vote "Seeing the Pterosaur again near the end" [+]"Seeing the Pterosaur again near the end" ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| The Shadow in the Cathedral, by Ian Finley and Jon Ingold 1 vote "The automated apothecary was superb." [+]"The automated apothecary was superb." ( - Full review) --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Kaged, by Ian Finley 1 vote "The ending" [+]"The ending" ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Dunnet, by Ron Schnell 1 vote "Figuring out the relationship between the world and the computer " [+]"Figuring out the relationship between the world and the computer : For me, the revelation was mind-blowing, and then disturbing in a way that lingered for a while." --mjhayes... Vote for this game | |
| Worldsmith, by Ade McT 1 vote "Meeting someone on the planet you have created" [+]"Meeting someone on the planet you have created" ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| A Matter of Heist Urgency, by FLACRabbit 1 vote "The text aligning..." [+]"The text aligning with the music as you learn the protagonist's backstory." ( - Full review) --Lance Cirone... Vote for this game | |
| Horse Master, by Tom McHenry 1 vote "killling your horse to win the competition" [+]"killling your horse to win the competition" ( - Full review) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... Vote for this game | |
| Sunset Over Savannah, by Ivan Cockrum 1 vote "The castle of the glass-ants." [+]"The castle of the glass-ants." ( - Full review) --Rovarsson... Vote for this game | |
| So Far, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "The dark world..." [+]"The dark world sound puzzle." --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| The Archivist and the Revolution, by Autumn Chen 1 vote "MAJOR SPOILERS!!!..." [+]"MAJOR SPOILERS!!! Finding out that you are Liana Xu's clone. If you make certain choices in the gameplay, she swoops in to save you at the last moment." ( ) --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
| PataNoir, by Simon Christiansen 1 vote "Diving into the..." [+]"Diving into the metaphorical lake" --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| The Grown-Up Detective Agency, by Brendan Patrick Hennessy 1 vote "Being told the reason why the "missing person" did not tell where he went." [+]"Being told the reason why the "missing person" did not tell where he went." ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| The End Means Escape, by Steve Kodat 1 vote "The passage involving the personality of inanimate objects." [+]"The passage involving the personality of inanimate objects." --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Tethered, by Linus Åkesson 1 vote "Realizing something strange is going on" [+]"Realizing something strange is going on" ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Necrotic Drift, by Robb Sherwin 1 vote "Realizing how your character screwed up, in the endgame." [+]"Realizing how your character screwed up, in the endgame." ( ) --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| The Gostak, by Carl Muckenhoupt 1 vote "The moment of fluency - when you start to think in that language" [+]"The moment of fluency - when you start to think in that language" ( ) --Audiart... Vote for this game | |
| De Baron, by Victor Gijsbers 1 vote "The ending text" [+]"The ending text: There isn't one. The game gives you a vast number of ways to end the game, then refuses to tell you whether they will actually fix the characters' situation." --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Pantomime, by Robb Sherwin 1 vote "The intervention of the sun." [+]"The intervention of the sun." --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Hoist Sail for the Heliopause and Home, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote ">OUT ..." [+]">OUT Yes! Set sail." ( - Full review) --Sam Kabo Ashwell... Vote for this game | |