Uncle Zebulon's Will

This game was the cowinner of the first IF Comp with A Change in the Weather by Andrew Plotkin.

This game has some very ingenious puzzles. It focuses on alchemy, metals, and a bit of mythology. There was a puzzle with bottles that I thought at first might have been like Emily Short's later bottle puzzle in Savoir Faire, but then the solution was very different.

I didn't really enjoy the middle of the game. After exploring all the areas, including the tower, I was overwhelmed by the number of items and possibilities, and just felt like moving on to a different game. However, I've been wanting to finish games, in case there is better material at the end, and that was the case this time. Following the walkthrough, I accessed the end puzzles, which were really good; it almost made me wish I had just stuck it out and experimented more.

The story was not that great, but it's not a bad story; I feel like the very first and very last scenes got the most work, and the rest were pretty unmotivated. The rooms are sparse; there is an in-game reason for the emptiness of the house, but it felt forced.

Puzzle lovers will love it; story lovers should just use a walkthrough to catch the best bits.