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Review
Note: This review was written during IFComp 2024, and originally posted in the authors' section of the intfiction forum on 23 Sep 2024.
This is a very large parser game, sort of X-Files meets Slow Horses meets a weird 80s film with lizard people wandering around! Oh and add a touch of Douglas Adams for bonus. I also liked the repeated references to another fictional work!
I liked a lot about it. It’s very bizarre, but in a good imaginative way. And it has a good variety of puzzles, using a clever map layout to work within. Slightly sprawling - especially in one area - but manageable.
The game’s noted as merciful on the Zarfian Forgiveness rating. I don’t think you can get it into an unwinnable state. Though you may get very stuck.
There are hints in game, but they weren’t complete enough for me. They’re very generous early on in the game, but in the large mid section I sometimes looked for help in the hints, and there wasn’t anything relevant. I think this needed beefing up.
I also had a bit of fighting the parser to contend with. There were lots of things I would never have managed without the walkthrough or hints. And there were some unimplemented things. Though equally other stuff I especially loved.
As I say I liked an awful lot about it. I just think it needed smoothing. And the hints needed some hefty extension into other areas people might get stuck.
But well worth playing!
