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Beat Witch.zip
Contains Beat Witch/Release/Beat Witch.gblorb
Requires a Glulx interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links. (Compressed with ZIP. Free Unzip tools are available for most systems at www.info-zip.org.)
Online version with sound (Release 3)
"Play On-line" button above links to a version without sound. This link will let you hear the music.
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Beat Witch

by Robert Patten profile

Horror
2023

Web Site

(based on 6 ratings)
2 reviews

About the Story

An interactive loneliness

The beat witch killed thousands with a thought. Now you venture into a city of death to face her. Flee your pursuers. Save a world that fears you. Stay away from music.

Content warning: This story contains dead bodies and some violence.


Game Details


Awards

37th Place - 29th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2023)

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Number of Reviews: 2
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Woah., November 6, 2023
by Max Fog
Related reviews: IFComp 2023

A crazy story with some extremely vivid moments (the bridge of bodies, falling, and the immediate aftermath with LIVE. I loved that.) and a strong sense of madness to it. Unfortunately I didn’t understand the whole bit from the eating of the headphones to the bridge (who was that other person? What was actually happening?) but overall pretty good.
An extra bonus point for the US Government speech. That was really, really good and I think people need to read it. It gives off a strong vibe with lots of meaning: people who have been born with no voice in the world (no say in what they can do), and are not even treated like people because others know they have the power to fight back.

Song: Paranoid Android. Personally my favourite song. Some of the lyrics relate really well.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Linear thriller about music-based witchcraft, November 22, 2023
by MathBrush
Related reviews: about 1 hour

This parser game had a really strong storyline and distinct worldbuilding, with some pretty fleshed out characters and interesting UI.

You are a beat witch; you see, some adolescent girls wake up one day with the power to be hurt by music and to use music (and other things?) to affect others.

The entire city has been blasted by an EMP and thousands are dead, so everyone’s blaming you, and you have to set things straight.

Music is frequently mentioned in the game, and is included in the game itself through vorple. Color is also used, and there is frequently either timed text or text that scrolls when you hit a button (I think it’s mostly the latter).

The story is at times gruesome and at times cruel, with some kindness mixed in. There is a lot of control, whether through magic or force, and a lot of deception. The villain is a definite villain, and some of the lines are darkly effective, although some are a bit weird (I swear at one point they said (Spoiler - click to show)I’m gonna squeeze you like a fart.)

The gameplay seems entirely linear; at times there are choices you can make which are remembered and mentioned later on in the game, but mostly it seems like the game is designed for you to find the trigger for the next cutscene. Its generally smooth and I rarely had difficulty finding what to do.

So, overall I’d say this is pretty high quality. Something for me seemed slightly missing from the story; maybe more breathers from the intensity of the action? Something to add more contrast to make the dramatic moments pop out more. But the styling is excellent and the writing is very descriptive.

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I use this list to remind myself what are good games and what to replay. Also, you guys might agree! (By the way, I can't see what I'm writing so I didn't describe the games fully!)




This is version 14 of this page, edited by Robert Patten on 23 November 2023 at 7:43am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page