Palazzo Heist

Some games in the Neo Twiny Jam seemed like they might have had to leave something out due to the word count, and the authors did a good job of packing the right stuff in.

Palazzo Heist does that and more. It works both as a standalone puzzle and something greater, and of all the entries I played so far, this is the one I most can see and, maybe, want to see expanded into something much bigger. You may guess that 500 words is too much to describe a full heist, and you'd be right. It takes a bit of time explaining what you want to steal and why (not just riches.) Then it simply has you try to enter the palazzo.

It's a neat puzzle, with all concrete details and no knowledge of Venice needed. But it has misdirection which adds to the atmosphere without being unfair, and everything you need to know is pretty much contained in the description. It has the feel of a parser game where you need to examine everything. And I mean everything!

There’s also a way to sort-of fail that I found amusing. I didn’t try it at first, because I was trying to get through, but I was glad to expand the author's world a bit.

This game seemed almost intimidating at first, like a puzzle box unfolding.

You are outside a palace on a gondola, intent on breaking in. As you explore links, more and more of the text unfolds, allowing additional links, additional interactions.

Once I solved the first big puzzle, the game ended. This, then, is just a prelude, cut short to fit into the Neo Twiny Jam.

This seems like it will be truly great, but for now is quite short.

Trying to enter a palazzo at the dead of night is not an easy feat. Less so when you start from a gondola and there are no clear way to break in. Maybe that door or the window would do? I really liked the interactivity of the game, and how the puzzle is quite simple… if you examine your environment properly. I would play a longer version of this game in a heartbeat!