EJ

Top 25 Reviewer
Member since November 21, 2010
Last visited November 21, 2025
Profile ID (TUID): jxjn9bqsk8khe5bw

My games: https://ejoyce.itch.io
My reviews: https://ejoyceif.wordpress.com/

I've been here since I was in college, so if anything I wrote 10+ years ago sounds dumb, that's why.

I give out 5-star ratings mostly to my favorite 2-3 games of the year, and the difference between a 4-star rating and a 5-star rating from me often isn't one of craft but of whether a game has the certain je ne sais quoi that makes me a little insane about it.

Interactive Fiction by EJ

Winter-Over, by Emery Joyce and N. Cormier (2024)
(31 ratings)
Pickering Station, Antarctica: A place of science, knowledge, and deep isolation. When the last plane leaves for the winter, you and your colleagues may as well be on Mars. At least this...

Lady Thalia and the Case of Clephan, by Emery Joyce and N. Cormier (2025)
(16 ratings)
Former gentlewoman thief Lady Thalia has given up her life of crime to join the detective agency of her greatest rival, Margaret “Melpomene” Williams. The life of a private detective turns out...

Lady Thalia and the Seraskier Sapphires, by Emery Joyce and N. Cormier (2021)
(25 ratings)
Navigate fraught social situations by day and pull off heists by night as Lady Thalia, the not-actually-aristocratic thief bent on making a mockery of British high society.

Lady Thalia and the Masterpiece of Moldavia, by Emery Joyce and N. Cormier (2023)
(13 ratings)
Lady Thalia is back in London and back to her old tricks, putting up with Britain’s social elite by day so she can steal from them by night. But that doesn’t mean things are easy, what with her...

Lady Thalia and the Rose of Rocroi, by Emery Joyce and N. Cormier (2022)
(11 ratings)
Everyone who’s anyone summers in France - which means master thief Lady Thalia is there too, attending garden parties by day and stealing masterpieces by night. Unfortunately, this holiday is...

See all 21 games by EJ

Recommended Lists by EJ

Odd spec-fic games that I love despite jankiness or other objective issues - 8 items   October 1, 2025
... from IFComp, specifically! Most years, I encounter one game out of the IFComp bunch that makes me go "This won't score well and...

Polls by EJ

Investigating your own death - 16 votes for 11 games; created October 18, 2024
Games that substantially revolve around a dead protagonist trying to find out (or even remember) something about how they died.

Reviews by EJ

Phobos: A Galaxy Jones Story, by Phil Riley   November 18, 2025
"The Galaxy Jones games are a pulpy sci-fi series starring an action heroine with a super-suit, some sort of an energy weapon, and the..." - See the full review

Backpackward, by Zach Dodson for Interactive Tragedy, Limited   November 18, 2025
"Backpackward is about a put-upon wage slave who finds that when he wears his trusty backpack, the cellar at his neighbor Jan’s house..." - See the full review

A Visit to the Human Resources Administration, by Jesse   November 18, 2025
"I was on SNAP (colloquially known as “food stamps”) for a number of years. That I’m not anymore is a matter of luck and not..." - See the full review

*OVER*, by Audrey Larson   October 28, 2025
"*OVER* is a long, sprawling game about a large family at what is obviously Disney World, although it is carefully not named, in the..." - See the full review

Pharos Fidelis, by DemonApologist   October 28, 2025
"This story takes place in a world where magic-users make pacts with demons to do their bidding. The protagonist, Finnit, has a natural..." - See the full review

See all 90 reviews by EJ
See all ratings and reviews by EJ

EJ's Played Games List

Winterstrike, by Yoon Ha Lee
Invunche, by hechelion
Endymion, by Daniel M. Stelzer
Ancient Treasure, Secret Spider, by C.E.J. Pacian
Detective en habitación cerrada, by Strollersoft

See all 957 entries in the Played List