All Roads

There are competing schools of thought in IF. Many in the new school believe the story is paramount, and that puzzles and other game-like qualities are sometimes nothing more than unwanted throwbacks to the primitive days of mere "text adventures". "All Roads" is the first piece I encountered that made me think the new-schoolers might be on to something.

It's been a couple of years since I played this piece, and I don't really recall any puzzles at all. They were there, but they seemed so easily solved that it was clear their main purpose was to keep the reader involved, and not to delay completion of the story. What I do recall is the very intriguing plot, which, like a dense film along the lines of "Memento", kept me both enthralled and slightly disoriented until the very end. As with "Memento", I still can't say I fully understand "All Roads", but I don't hesitate to recommend it.

This story's setting was beautiful, and the story was riveting, although I must admit I'm still rather confused about some of the details. There were one or two moments scenes in which I became stuck while playing this - it took me forever to notice the existence of a certain location, for example, but I've never been very good at puzzles in interactive fiction. The implementation was generally smooth, and the prose was polished and stylish. Overall, it's very fun to play. I recommend it.