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A pleasant experience, December 27, 2019Island in the Storm feels like a classic game in a brand new interpreter. Classic, not only in the type of story and puzzles, but also in the sense that a lot of the verbs and shortcuts we take for granted are absent. There is no such verb as “move”, and pronouns are generally not understood. As the engine behind it is still in early development, such things are not entirely unexpected and may change in the future. I also met a few bugs during my play, including one which I believe has prevented me from completing the game.
That said, both the game and the interpreter were pleasant to experience.
The interpreter has quite a modern feel to it, with an enjoyable layout and style featuring differently coloured frames around the text. For being in early development, the look of it certainly gives a sense of maturity. Some aspects of the engine feels still a bit rough around the edges though, especially the default responses (such as “The passed out villagers doesn’t sell a drink in the villagers’ cups.”)
The game felt rather old-school in many ways: You can die, and there is no “undo”. It’s not strictly necessary to map it, but it does help with finding your way back. There are dark caves and number puzzles and beaches and keys.
Island in the Storm was not at all as hard as the old games I have tried, however, which was much appreciated. None of the puzzles are absurd or outlandish, but I did have to think and search around for a bit. If it weren’t for the bug, I think I would have been able to get through it in around two hours. I would definitely recommend this game after a bit of polish and bugfixing.