Dead Man's Fiesta

(I posted this review years ago in a non-public message board, but I feel enough water has gone down the river to post it here, now)

Thematically, this game feels like an homage to the Big Lebowski, and not just because of the scenes where we have to strew peoples’ ashes into the wind. The PC seems to be exactly the same kind of guy as that film’s protagonist, who has had little success in life, mostly because he couldn’t really be bothered, even though he is not dumb or unempathetic and it’s fitting that he’d end up with a cheap car (a treat for himself, now that he’s inherited some money) that is not just filthy but actually haunted by its former owner’s three(!) ghosts. They seem to symbolize the dead man in various stages of his life, but I couldn’t quite figure out how this mapped exactly and I got the feeling that it didn’t matter which discovery about his life I used to exorcise which ghost. My impression is that this story is essentially unlosable (or unwinnable, whichever you prefer). Essentially, we go on this road trip because we happen to have time for it. I have to admit that the Big Lebowski is not exactly my favourite film, but I know other people like it a lot, so I’m sure there will be an audience for this title that is able to appreciate it more than I could.
The game comes with a number of background images for the choice-based narrative, which are pleasing enough. Unfortunately, they were too big for my screen and instead of shrinking them to fit, the game forced me to use the scrollbars to play.
What I liked most was the writing. The voice in Dead Man’s Fiesta is consistent and fits the setting and story very well.