Each-uisge

I have to admit I was unfamiliar with this aspect of Scottish folklore and I am glad I was able to learn about it through interactive fiction. The author here has a solid grasp of the prose and was able to immerse me in the fate of the horse and the child. Though while I found this to be quite interesting, that’s the strongest emotion I felt while playing. There wasn’t enough knowledge of the characters for much pathos, and the branches of each choice were so narrow they didn’t feel like choices until the very end.

MacLeod the neighbour has a kelpie - the water horse of yore - the same kind of creature that drowned the PC's aunt.

The story was compact; the writing descriptive and the storyline fairly straightforward. Each decision has realistic moral stakes, and if we're talking about moral decisions in IFComp 2019, this was much more convincing than, say, the Milgram Parable. Overall this was a polished piece of work and very competently done.

This game satisfies my criteria for 5 stars:

Polish: This game has been well-tested, includes achievements and stats, has a pleasing choice structure.

Descriptive: The mother, Macleod, the protagonist, and especially the horse were vivid characters.

Interactivity: I felt like I had real choices that could affect the game, and saw the effect of some of those choices.

Emotional impact: I was drawn into the story and could identify with the protagonist.

Would I play again?: I would definitely revisit this. Lovely game.

In this game, you play a young girl who suspects that there is something unusual about her neighbors new horse. She's drawn into a web of tales and choices, and has to decide whether to obey her mother or follow her own mind.