Miss Duckworthy's School for Magic-Infested Young People

Note: This review was written during IFComp 2024, and originally posted in the authors' section of the intfiction forum on 11 Sep 2024.

This is another ChoiceScript based game from the author of last year’s Bali B&B and the memorable Fine Felines.

It’s a very Harry Potter esque game, where you are a young person going to a magical school. But much darker themed than Harry Potter. There are many new people to meet, mysteries to uncover, and big decisions to make. Will you survive to the end?

I liked a lot about it. There’s even a cat! But I did find the text over lengthy in places. I was playing for about 40 minutes to the end. Under the estimated 90 minutes. I’m a fast reader! And yes, a lot of text in places, especially early on. I also at times found the number of new characters overwhelming to make sense of. Though to be fair that would reflect the real life experience in that setting.

However I felt engaged in my choices. It felt like I was playing a form of a roleplaying game, and getting into character helped me decide what to do in places. And there was very much a sense of tension in key moments.

Not as big a hit for me as the author’s other two games that I mentioned above. But enjoyable, well designed, and a fun experience to play through.