Evertree Inn

Most good Choicescript games at 250K words are either fairly linear with a long story or very branching with a short story, and this is the latter.

This is a mystery game, unusual for Choicescript since the format revolves around replayability and playing a mystery twice generally spoils the mystery. This is partially solved here by having many separate mysteries that intertwine and by having a customizable character.

You can choose between different races like elf, dwarf, brownie, etc. and you can focus on skills like magic, combat or perception. I went as a brownie with full magic. The game was very generous; I never ran out of magic despite using it at every opportunity.

The cast has several very distinct characters, many of which can be romanced. I went with Daisy, a gnome. The game has sexual encounters but provides few details, focusing more on conversation.

Each chapter is brief, playable in 20 minutes or less for me. You can choose where to go, what to do, who to talk to, etc. The last two chapters involve more direct conflict.

Overall, I was impressed by the real-feeling conversations, the ability to keep a central plot despite strong non-linearity, and the well-thought-out setting and real-feeling stakes.