Mangiasaur

An IF implementation of a fairly common videogame trope: eat things to get bigger so that you can eat bigger things. Mangiasaur is a world with the same bright, cartoony colours and magical-logic you'd expect in an early-aughts console game. There are a few notes which come across a shade more darkly, but mostly it's pure entertainment: don't expect involved puzzles, deep content or elegant design, but you will get light humour, satisfying gameplay and occasionally lovely notes of setting.

Adapting videogame mechanics to IF poses a number of problems, and one of the biggest is repetition. IF isn't really well-suited to problems of the 'kill 10 rats' type; the paradigm is hand-crafted, individual scenarios. Mangiasaur takes pretty much the path you'd expect; you don't need to eat a dozen critters to level up, and the challenge is more about finding and identifying your next target, or getting at them with light puzzles. A simple map and a low challenge level maintain a brisk pace.

So: fun, charming. Totally inconsequential, but sometimes that's what you need.

This is a fun little game where you play a voracious dinosaur that wants to eat everything. When you eat certain items or creatures, you gain new abilities.

It really was a lot of fun going around chomping on everything. It's easy and mindless at first. Then you have to use a bit of strategy to know what to eat first. Then there a few puzzles thrown in, which surprised me, but you are generally hinted in what you should do.

I found two endings, both of which were humorous.

Recommended for those looking for a short (30 min) bit of fun.

Mostly uses one short, primary verb for the easily distracted. Reminiscent of E.V.O.: Search for Eden. Nom, nom, nom-- a yummy treat and a quick play, do try.