| 5 star: | | (32) | | 4 star: | | (34) | | 3 star: | | (9) | | 2 star: | | (3) | | 1 star: | | (0) |
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Number of Ratings: 78
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Previous | << 1 2 3 4 >> | Next | Show All - Bartlebooth, December 7, 2018
6 of
7 people found the following review helpful:
Beautifully presented, but could have been better written, September 3, 2018This game left me feeling a little unsatisfied.
There were strong horror vibes that I felt could have been emphasised a little more, which would have added greatly to the atmosphere, even if the piece as a whole was not aiming to be a horror story.
Dialogue felt somewhat canned, and at times melodramatic, punctuated with grammatical inconsistencies. The conclusion also felt simplistic, with the tensions between the protagonist and each of her two friends left unaddressed. While another outburst wouldn't have been desirable, I think a little more resistance from Lex and Becky, and from the protagonist herself, wouldn't have been amiss. (Glancing through the other reviews, however, which praise the game's writing, I seem to be in the minority here.)
I think a large part of my disappointment with the game can be attributed to how much promise it showed. The cover art is gorgeous, as are the title screen and the neon text prevalent throughout the game. Given the coherence of this theme, I was expecting an equally high level of crispness for the story, which unfortunately fell short, in my opinion.
2 of
2 people found the following review helpful:
Welcome to the Cactus Blue Motel: you wont ever want to leave!, July 15, 2018Please bear with me as this is my first review ever!
Cactus Blue Motel feels a bit like a "walking game" (Dear Esther or Edith Finch). And as such, it is pretty easy. BUT that doesn't mean it isn't fun or engaging. It avoids soooo many pitfalls common to these types of games. Dalmady manages to paint a vibrant world without being overly verbose. More specifically, I feel that Dalmady manages to walk that fine line between describing the world of the Cactus Blue Motel and giving us as players something to do. Finally, (without giving away too many spoilers) Dalmady inserts so many symbolic characters and objects that you cannot help but to "get the point(s)" of the story eventually.
The dialogue is fine as well, but God help all budding Interactive Fiction writers if Dalmady ever studies script writing!
I do sort of wish some of my choices had a bit more of an impact on the game world, but really this is a minor complaint in what otherwise is a fantastic game.
- Karl Ove Hufthammer (Bergen, Norway), July 13, 2018
Not much of a game, exquisitely written, July 12, 2018
I encourage you to play this Twine: despite being quite light on the "gaming" part, it is expertly written and touching.
The game sports "multiple ending", but I was satisfied with just one walkthrough.
It is quite short (say: half an hour to an hour).
6 of
8 people found the following review helpful:
A Very High Recommendation From A Die-Hard Parser Guy, July 12, 2018I'm a parser guy. I once believed that I'd never be able to give five stars to a Twine game for various parser-bias reasons. Then I played Cactus Blue Motel. And then I subsequently redefined my IF schema. Intriguing, Engaging, Inspiring, Thought Provoking. Life-Changing? Perhaps. This is an interactive story; this is a game; this is literature; this is art. Do yourself a favor and experience it for yourself.
- DustyCypress (Hong Kong), May 19, 2018
- Stas, April 1, 2018
- airylef, December 26, 2017
- Dominia, December 23, 2017
- thedigitaldiarist (Canada), December 10, 2017
- Prosilire (New York City), December 4, 2017
- helado (a small ceramic bowl), October 5, 2017
- Julia Myer (USA), August 29, 2017
- Wanderlust, August 3, 2017
- Spike, July 22, 2017
- Ivanr, July 20, 2017
- John Ayliff (Vancouver, BC), July 17, 2017
- lastplaneout (Boone, NC), June 22, 2017
- IFforL2 (Chiayi, Taiwan), June 14, 2017
5 of
5 people found the following review helpful:
A heavily location-based long Twine with excellent styling, May 23, 2017It took me 209 choices to complete this game on my third playthrough.
This game took third in IfComp 2016, but as of this writing, it has the highest rating and number of ratings on IFDB.
In this game, you arrive at and explore a mysterious old motel with a supernatural flair. The game uses two main types of links: mostly-static location-based links for movement, and then conversation/emotion links for small scenes that play out as you move.
The two kinds of links are very consistent, making for some great gameplay. The styling is also good, with some nice animations and fonts and colors.
- NJ (Ontario), May 19, 2017
- Laney Berry, May 18, 2017
- gapaot, April 27, 2017
- Ismarus, March 11, 2017
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