| 5 star: | | (4) | | 4 star: | | (9) | | 3 star: | | (10) | | 2 star: | | (3) | | 1 star: | | (0) |
| Average Rating: 
Number of Ratings: 26
Write a review |
Previous | << 1 2 >> | Next | Show All - gattociao, August 16, 2023
1 of
1 people found the following review helpful:
Pun-filled hilarity, January 6, 2023In a Manor of Speaking is one of the funniest games I've ever played. Every line in this game is some sort of pun, and the writing style is so enthusiastic and excited. For instance, a "piece of your mind" is described as being "very thoughtful", and you can pick eyes off an eyepatch (failing to use them properly results in "Eye don't think that's such a good idea!"). You can walk into a bar (ouch!). You get to literally take a tourist's picture, find the proof in the pudding, and grow birdseed. There's such a manic energy to this game, I love it. It reminded me of Nord and Bert and You are a Chef!
This game may not be an in-depth puzzlefest, or have super deep characters, or an intricate story, but it's just fun. It's a comfort game, and it never fails to cheer me up every time I go to it. That's what makes it worth five stars for me.
- Edo, July 29, 2022
- TheBoxThinker, November 19, 2021
- Stian, February 23, 2019
4 of
5 people found the following review helpful:
Some Real Gems - but Gamer Loses Em, February 27, 2017Amazingly similar to Nord & Bert, this game is in some ways better than that Infocom classic. It is much funnier, but far less polished. Some of the anagrams and palindromes are genuinely brilliant and laugh-out-loud hilarious - though much of the humour is more groan- than chuckle-inducing.
Much like Nord & Bert and Ad Verbum, Manor has different areas to pass through with different types of wordplay, some of which are amazing, some of which are a real bore. Admittedly, it's hard to make a coherent game based solely on wordplay, and given that consideration, the narrative is pretty solid. Naturally, it tends towards the surreal as objects are manipulated by your punnery.
Unlike Nord & Bert, Manor is a continuous narrative and is not subdivided into sections. In some ways this works to its advantage, giving the game a goofy & surreal, yet cohesive feel. However, since you cannot skip around to different sections at will; I found myself trying to get through some parts of Manor as quickly as possible just to get that section over with.
Ultimately, the real gems in this game got lost in the overwhelming heap of mediocre puns and sophmoric humor. It would have been better to shorten this game, to pick out the real winners and help them stand out.
In short, if you liked Nord & Bert you'll like this. But if you're expecting Counterfeit Monkey, you'll be disappointed.
10 of
10 people found the following review helpful:
Smooth-playing sprightly punning, July 18, 2016(I originally published this review on 21 October 2012 as part of my blog of IFComp 2012. This was the 23rd of 26 games I reviewed.)
I don't claim to have played many wordplay focused IF games before, but I loved this one. In a Manor of Speaking is an adventure beyond the Bermuda Triangle through a world ruled by puns. Lord Dashney is the evil figurehead who needs to be overthrown and you are the person who needs to do it, using only colloquial expressions and a bit of lateral thinking as your weapons.
The game's implementation in Release 3, the one I played, is very strong. Its puzzles are numerous, amusing and served by an excellent contextual hints system. The game's humourous tone and aesthetic are entirely coherent and the prose is hiccup free. In short, this level of quality is what I ideally want from every adventure in the comp. The immersion which results when every part of a game is working smoothly and the flow of words and actions is unbroken is hard to beat, and with only a few games left for me to review now, I can say that In a Manor of Speaking is the only game to have achieved such frictionless immersion for me in this competition. Therefore unless you hate wordplay (and this is a pretty user friendly version of it) I advise you, and all and sundry, to try In a Manor of Speaking.
Paradoxically, I find that this game's accessible comedy style makes it hard to discuss at length. Its meanings are consistently transparent, whether they are silly sight gags (metalheads whose heads are made out of metal), riffs on timeworn sayings (Spoiler - click to show)(the pudding which contains the proof) or misdirections (the game is full of bars, but only the first one is a metal rod). To write about the game's jokes like this makes them sound only groany, but puns are fascinating because while they do often prompt groaning or cries of "I hate puns," almost nobody genuinely hates a pun, except for people whose souls are broken and ugly as pitch. You know, people who are to be pitied. In fact most people enjoy being the opportunistic revealers of puns in conversation once in awhile. In a Manor of Speaking takes you into a world and mode of writing where the puns are so numerous that they are the source of all the meaning. This pushes them beyond the context of goofy pleasure and shame which often accompanies isolated real-life punning into a place where anyone is likely to enjoy them more freely.
I only encountered a couple of tiny bugs in the game and both were related to the object "a piece of your mind" and the kangarude. The solidity of implementation also extends to the majority of the parser's blocking messages, with idiosyncratic jokes on hand for most kinds of command rejection. The numerous instant deaths (which you can instantly back out of, as well) become something that you can easily anticipate, as a good number are attached to invitingly stupid actions, but you're likely to find that you still enjoy trying each one.
In a Manor of Speaking is a funny and engaging adventure with a lot of personality and a near seamless delivery. That last point is a clincher for me, whether a game is light, profound, transparent or opaque.
3 of
3 people found the following review helpful:
An amusing game based entirely on puns with some juvenile humor, February 3, 2016This game made me smile. You crashland on the island of Calembour and have to explore it to find Handsome and give him a bag.
The whole place is full of puns and silly jokes. For instance, you can walk into a bar (ouch!) or talk to a brick wall. The solution to many puzzles made me laugh or groan. When I finally found out what to do with magic marker, I shook my head and giggled.
There is a lot of dumb juvenile humor, with perhaps too many double entendres, especially about breasts. It reminds me of my friends when I was a fourteen year old boy, so that could be a turn off.
Only recommended for fans of puns.
- Sobol (Russia), September 12, 2014
- E.K., November 17, 2013
- Hannes, November 16, 2013
- DJ (Olalla, Washington), May 9, 2013
4 of
5 people found the following review helpful:
Territory We've Seen Before, March 18, 2013A clever opening to a game premise that's been done before. Quite a few times.
For originality points, I will say that this is the only game or story I've played that uses the premise that I've crash landed in the Bermuda Triangle, and that's why things are so wonky. That's where the originality ends, though.
This is Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It / Ad Verbum territory, which is territory I love, but this one doesn't rise and shine as its predecessors did. That said, I laughed a few times, and I won't say that I didn't enjoy it. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed those other games, and it's pretty much impossible to not make the comparison.
- Silentobserver, March 16, 2013
- pcbrannon, February 25, 2013
- Beable, February 13, 2013
- EJ, November 30, 2012
- Nusco (Bologna, Italy), November 20, 2012
- Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), November 17, 2012
- Edward Lacey (Oxford, England), November 16, 2012
- Sam Kabo Ashwell (Seattle), November 16, 2012
- Karl Ove Hufthammer (Bergen, Norway), November 16, 2012
- Squinky (Canada), November 16, 2012
- Yuna, November 12, 2012
- stadtgorilla (Munich, Germany), October 31, 2012
Previous | << 1 2 >> | Next | Show All | Return to game's main page