take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die

take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die is a neat little game that I enjoyed, and one that I immediately started over again as soon as I finished it. (Partly because it was relatively short, and partly because it is a game that invites another replay once you reach the end.) It took about 15 minutes to play, and it is an entirely linear adventure -- the only interaction from the player is clicking a button to see the next line of text.

I think the graphics and aesthetics were super cool and very polished. They definitely added to the atmosphere -- and most importantly supported the "twisting" nature of this IF due to the implications of the graphics. The shadowy figure on the shore, the stark and sometimes unsettling fonts/text, all gave off this "evil, brooding villain" kind of vibe, which fits with (Spoiler - click to show)what the writing implies in the first quarter of the game. At the start, it is made to seem as if the narrator is some kind of stalker or jilted ex-lover... someone who was obsessed with Elizabeth and might have actually killed her out of jealousy or resentment. But that couldn't be further from the truth, and it was fun to discover that as I progressed through the game.

Part of the fun of this piece was the way it toyed with the player's expectations. What the story was -- what I thought had actually happened to the narrator and to Elizabeth -- kept changing and changing as the game progressed and as I got more information about the both of them. This is entirely intentional, and a neat way to keep the player engaged in what is essentially just a click-through game. The game we are actually playing is a game of our own expectations -- the game of figuring out what really happened to the characters.

I liked the prose, and found that it fit the vibe of the game: stark, sharp, desolate... and rather barebones at times, but in that good way where it's intentional and lets the emotions shine through rather than having the author show off with some fancy flourish of words.

Another part I really loved -- my favorite aspect of the game in fact -- are the themes it deals with, and one theme in specific that I really resonated with. And that theme was (Spoiler - click to show)a discomfort with the expectations of others -- and one line in the game suggests it's also gendered expectations specifically, which I really related to and appreciated the author's treatment of. I think it's pretty common to feel constrained by others and how they perceive you: what they expect of you and what they want from you -- and most importantly how you feel you don't match up... Or even worse, you do match up, but you don't want to, and you horrible about it. I appreciate Elizabeth because she's not necessarily a character who hated herself... (though you can view it this way, I think that's a valid interpretation.) But my view was more that she hated the person other people saw her as. And that's who she wanted to kill... this twisted version of herself that wasn't really her. She wanted to be "reborn" as the person she felt she was deep inside. Which I personally found very relatable and I loved the author's emotional, exploratory treatment of such a theme.

All in all, very nice experience that I enjoyed. Definitely a game I'm glad I played.