Detritus

Ben Jackson has had several smooth, polished twine games released in recent years, so I had high expectations for this game, and I feel it delivered. At one point I thought to myself, "I wonder if I would ever be able to make something like this."

It leans hard on classic sci-fi tropes, including the classic 'wake up from a pod on a destroyed spaceship while you have amnesia' and the evergreen 'work with a ship's AI that you can't be sure is working for or against you'. They're classics for a reason, because they can work great in an interactive fiction setting. And here, the author has expanded on them to give them a distinct and unique touch.

You play as a crew member on a ship that has been 'reprinted' as a backup after all crew have, presumably, died. Most of the ship is lacking oxygen, and you have to get out to explore.

The author has used escape-room puzzles in past games like codes and minigames, and this is no exception. We have a lot of doors to open and a few other code-style or 'which item will help here?' puzzles.

But the major change here is recycling and fabricating. Throughout the ship, we can find floating clouds of debris that include things like fabrication recipes and junk. Throwing the junk into the recycling bin, we can get materials in 5 or 6 different categories which are used to make new items.

I enjoyed the progression of the game, especially when I reached a point where I could build equipment that completely solved several long-term problems. It reminded me in a good way of Trigaea, one of my favorite twine games where you gather resources, come back to base, fabricate new stuff and get new recipes.

I hit a wall with two different puzzles. The first turned out to be optional and was hard on purpose, although I feel like completionists would have found it more easily due to trying out everything else in the game. The second was the final puzzle, where I thought I had locked myself out of victory (but turned out not to have).

I felt like both crafting and storytelling had 'real' decisions. My decision on how to handle the AI early on radically changed parts of the game, and the order in which you get upgrades can make a big difference in your play experience.

Like others, I enjoyed the final plot twists, which seemed well-hinted at but still surprising in the exact way it plays out.

Overall, a lot of fun.