External Links

Story File
Available on itch.​io.
Play this game in your Web browser. (Compressed with ZIP. Free Unzip tools are available for most systems at www.info-zip.org.)

Have you played this game?

You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in.

Playlists and Wishlists

RSS Feeds

New member reviews
Updates to external links
All updates to this page

The Domovoi

by Bravemule profile

Horror, Folk Tale
2014

Web Site

(based on 7 ratings)
2 reviews

About the Story

Your friend, a folk storyteller, has offered to perform her latest work. As her audience, it is your task to advise how her tale should unfold.


Game Details

Editorial Reviews

Rock, Paper, Shotgun
This particular tale is plucked from Slavic folklore and the actors are new to me, which made playing through the brief encounter a pleasant educational experience. It helps that the story is delightfully – if sparsely – illustrated, flickering with a glow that fits the setting and mood.
See the full review

IndieGames.com
It's a truly beautiful Twine, in which you help your storyteller friend perform their latest work, in a game that's not merely about forgotten fables and high fantasy, but also about the relationship between storyteller and audience, the perception of stories and even the experience of violence itself.
See the full review

Tags

- View the most common tags (What's a tag?)

(Log in to add your own tags)
Tags you added are shown below with checkmarks. To remove one of your tags, simply un-check it.

Enter new tags here (use commas to separate tags):

Member Reviews

5 star:
(0)
4 star:
(4)
3 star:
(1)
2 star:
(1)
1 star:
(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 2
Write a review


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
The fluid nature of storytelling and grim folklore, May 1, 2016
by verityvirtue (London)

Your friend is a storyteller, and she's polishing her latest work about a domovoi, or protective house spirit, lingering in a guttered hut. You are her audience.

The Domovoi is a game about storytelling. Like Whom the Telling Changed, you get to influence events in the story, but where the PC works against an antagonist in Whom the Telling Changed, here the story is a collaborative work. Your friend may express doubt or satisfaction at your choice, and the PC's perspective outside of the story in the making allows for in-universe commentary. The unnamed NPC in Domovoi has her own views, after all, and if you suggest something with which she disagrees, she will probably slant the story to include that, but make her feelings known.

This game is also a pleasure to play, not least because it is styled attractively. Like Beneath Floes, it features illustrations that set the mood and whose colour schemes demarcate changes in perspective.

Perhaps true to oral tradition, the story you help to tell can vary between play-throughs, depending on the choices you make. The game didn't dwell on the meta aspect much, though, focusing instead on the meat of the story.

In summary: The Domovoi is an introspective work which taps into Slavic folklore, with a lively NPC and a story within a story. Recommended, if nothing else than for its luscious illustrations and sound effects.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
., May 31, 2016

This guy has the best story telling, it feels like I'm reading a children's book, but for my age group, I guess I can say. It reminds me of the tale of Anansi. I guess we all got stories about spiders. (It's a little bit more than spiders.) I also like how the macros are used to progress sentences, it just has a really nice touch, instead of using the replace macro.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 




This is version 7 of this page, edited by Kevin Snow on 11 March 2018 at 8:24pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page