According to Cain

This was one of my most anticipated games of IFComp '22, but with the number of entries I somehow never got around to it until now. I'm very glad I finally did. Loved the prose, loved the puzzles, loved the solution. The difficulty was ideal for someone of my intermediate-ish parser experience.

As far as the endings, until seeing the other reviews mention it, I didn't even realize that (Spoiler - click to show)it was possible to send your colleague back rather than yourself. I took finding the bracelet completely at adventure game face value--of course it was more important to save the PC. He's dying, man! I might be stupid. Anyway, after schlepping all the way back to (Spoiler - click to show)tie the rope to the well again, climb down, and hand the bracelet back, I think my perspective has changed:

(Spoiler - click to show)Both options end with the PC "going to sleep", which I took to mean that he was not long for this world regardless of medieval medical attention. So rather than taking it as the choice between saving the PC and giving Crado a proper burial, I read it as the PC making the choice to share the truth of Crado's death despite the sacrifice it meant for himself. After the cynicizing events of the game, and the hints about the clergy's politics, where they send these vulnerable young people back in time to do very dangerous things for the sake of pontificating, I almost felt like this was... sending a message? I don't know. I'm still chewing on it. The point is, the more I thought about it, the downer version of the ending has grown on me a little.