To Spring Open

To say this is one of those titles that begs the player to play it more than once is a complete understatement. And to say I wasn’t confused to my surroundings and what the fudge was going on, well… that’d be an outright lie.

In, To Spring Open, you’re thrown into a fantastic world of costumes and masks you’re forced to wear depending on where you are within the city. Right off the bat, the player is given the feeling that not everything is what is seems with the possibility of darker undertones; and living within the rules of a control society is evident.

I won’t put out any spoilers, but will say that the world itself and all the subtle points and events that take place around you, despite this work’s length, does a great job in creating a world you soon find yourself immersed in.

Technically, it was really neat to see an interactive fiction like this being created with an engine like Twine. Allowing simple things like a subway ride to actually feel like a subway ride to the reader.

Unfortunately, this piece is incredibly short and the ending felt abrupt. In game puzzles were minimal, and even a person with no experience in interactive fictions or text adventures would probably breeze over any obstacle. Play time for myself lasted around 15 to 20 minutes, and I was a bit disappointed that the adventure had ended so quickly.

The writing is decent, simple, and to the point. There isn’t anything spectacular being done, but the world that Two-Bit Chip had created pleads for more. Hopefully we see more from this creator in the future, as I overall enjoyed the work.

In the end; it’s short, it’s sweet, and a good utilization of Twine. It’d be easy for a beginner in the InFiction genre to pick up, and definitely has some great ideas going for it.

I rank this:
7/10. For being a speed fic; it’s definitely a nice take with the software, and worthy of a look.