Number of Reviews: 4
Write a review1 of
1 people found the following review helpful:
Big, puzzly hybrid parser game about possession and archdemons, November 10, 2022This is a complex, rich game written using a custom parser-choice hybrid system similar to Robin Johnson's Gruescript, in which you have traditional parser actions like NESW movement, taking, and dropping, but all through a choice interface.
You've been trapped in hell too long, and want to get out. Fortunately, you are capable of transferring your consciousness between others, able to possess all but the lowest beings (gross!) and the highest beings (that's what got you into trouble in the first place).
The map is laid out visually on the screen in a perfect grid, and has several affordances to allow you to travel around the map.
This is primarily a puzzle-fest. For those who like parser puzzles (including me!) the ones here are excellent, with timing puzzles, pattern recognition, and required leaps of intuition. I got through most of the game but needed a major hint for finding the last 4 or 5 squares of the map.
Some of the best parts of the game involve finding a way to defeat all 7 arch demons, each representing a different sin. This part was very clever.
There is some sexual content in the game but very non-explicit, more just hinted at or left to the imagination.
The only drawback I found was the sparseness of the text. Minimalism in games isn't a bad thing; there are many minimalist games I've played that can evoke great effect. And some areas of this game were very well-developed. But I feel like some more parts or people in the game could have used a little more shine, especially since I've seen lots of bits of excellent description from this author both in parts of this game and in past games; I may not even have noticed the sparseness in, for instance, the statue rooms, if I didn't know what he's capable of.
Still, I think the broad majority of parser fans will like this one, it's very clever and fun.