Kill Wizard

I had both a good and bad reaction to this game.

On one hand, it's well-polished and I found it a smooth and non-frustrating experience (I did peek into the source code for a hint at one point, but I realized I had ignored a major clue). I liked the puzzles that involved lateral-thinking, and they were the best part of the game.

On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed with the plot. I like Dark Star's past games (I gave the last two five stars) and thought they were creative and interesting. This, though, is a pretty standard fantasy plot and a lot of things just feel both generic and not commented on. We see something, we kill it, we keep going. We wear a loincloth, but I didn't discover any backstory; are we a barbarian? Two moments that would be emotional (the thing that happens to your friend at the beginning and the final battle at the end) pass by relatively unremarked-on. If it were an experiment in writing an emotionally-restrained protagonist, that would actually be pretty cool and it would fit (like there is an enchantment where they can't feel and have no problems with hurting animals or stealing). But I feel like I'm complaining too much; the puzzles work, the writing is descriptive and has some highlights (liked the ghosts). I just really like Dark Star's past work.