Isolated

I saw this game that had recently been released on IFDB outside of any competitions and wanted to try it.

It uses different colors for text, which is neat. It starts with you injured and in the dark outside a creepy building. It builds up to some creepy shenanigans with a computer in an office.

I couldn't finish it, though, due to implementation errors. Most scenery is not implemented, like debris or our wounds. So if you try to examine them or search them, they're not there. Most objects are just listed at the end of the paragraph rather than being incorporated into the text. I needed to get an important item from a cup, but trying to take the item from the cup said that I had to take it out of the cup first, and trying to take the cup said that I had to take the object first.

The design decisions seem punishing for no reason. There is a strict 7 item inventory limit. The game starts you on a timer before you die that barely gives you enough time to reach something to bandage your wounds, but trying to reach that part of the house encourages you to visit other areas (which can't heal you at all) first, so you have to dip in and out in one second. And the game ends the game and closes the whole interpreter if you UNDO because you're not a 'real adventurer'.

So, I was unable to finish it. I think the author has a lot of potential (so one of my 2 stars in the rating is for that potential), but I don't find the game enjoyable in its current incarnation.