The liberation

It has been a few years now since I've played, or reviewed any interactive fiction. The game mechanics of "The Liberation" are an example of the current generation of the genre. Gone is the parser where the player types out commands, replaced by what amounts to a "Choose Your Own Adventure," style of interface with limited options. The focus is on the narrative of the story rather than the immersive game play, reducing the interactive nature of interactive fiction.

The strength of this format is that it allows readers to easily explore the consequences of various actions taken during the course of the story. However, the actual branches are few and for much of the game the player is on a tight track, with few options that affect the course of the plot. This story offers a variety of endings, though I'd be hard pressed to say which is the ideal ending for a refugee from a totalitarian regime. I found the tone to be depressing and devoid of hope.

From the point of view of the game mechanics, it was well implemented, but exceptionally brief. There appear to be a few minor idiosyncrasies with the translation from the original French version, but I felt this enhanced the atmosphere of the story.

Overall "The Liberation" succeeds in delivering a tale of dark desperation.