Moondrop Isle

I'm going to structure this review in two parts.

-A brief description
-Something for authors (players don't need to read)
-Something for prospective players (not intended for authors)

First, a description. This is a game that uses Vorple to combine nine other games. It was built around a code scheme that autosaves information from Inform and shares it with other games. Clicking links in one game autosaves your info and opens the other seamlessly, with a color-based transition. Two of the games are special: one is completely choice-based and the other is a hybrid parser like Gruescript (I believe it's in the author's custom language though).

The idea is that you are exploring an abandoned resort just for fun. As you explore further you realize that there is a rich group of other explorers and former workers that have both left clues and still explore to this day.

Okay, first for the authors:
(Spoiler - click to show)Congratulations! You all did something remarkable. Each area seemed like it was made with love. The writing was all good, all contributing to a feeling of decay and exploration and wonder and feeling. Something I loved about each area:
-Shore: I love language puzzles so this was fantastic. Favorite part of the game.
-Fortune teller: really clever meta puzzle, and the change of pace was relaxing and fun. Really adds to the piece.
-Tunnels: creepy. I love your work in general and the one easter egg reminded me of the chumba wumba earworm in your Cragne Manor piece. Best atmosphere imo.
-Gardens: I was so shocked during the big change in this area, great effect, and love how the area is initially so surprising in its change in interface.
-Moonlight Meadow: I felt like I was really there. I could smell the rotting, sodden tent in the pool, feel the plywood on the slide, feel the damp concrete under my feet, hear the creaking of old equipment in the wind, see the color of the sky. Great writing.
-Shopping Center: This had the most variety and reminded me of my favorite old parser games, especially Not Just An Ordinary Ballerina.
-Lunarcade: This had the most interactive content (imo) and felt like a really substantial complete game on its own. Most well-rounded area I think.
-Sanctuary hotel: the emotional centerpiece of the game, great character work and lovely feeling. Gross tangle of sheets in that one room.
-Monorail system: Loved the mechanical feeling. Reminded me of Fitter Happier from radiohead. The extra dials were neat.


For prospective players:
(Spoiler - click to show)This game has a lot of great content but it's spread out and mixed with red herrings and unnecessary or empty parts. Think of it like the best drink you've ever had that fills a glass, poured into a pitcher and filled with water to reach the top.

The beginning is just a vast empty void where you do little besides find room after room where you can do nothing. Objects in one area are used far away in areas you might not even conceive of.

Room descriptions are vital. Important exits can lurk in the middle of dense paragraphs. Over and over again key items and objects are named in inconspicuous places. Sometimes you just have to hit every room over and over to see if new things you have are useful.

This game is best enjoyed by those who enjoy detailed maps and careful lists of inventory and unsolved puzzles. Running through recklessly is futile, especially with tons of non-intuitive map connections and diagonal or vertical directions.

Is it worth it in the end? The journey is the real goal, here; the ending is neat but not substantially more than the rest of the game, so I'd take your time and enjoy the roses.

This is a big sprawling puzzly game built with a web interface that stitches together nine separately-written games to share inventory between them. It's an interesting idea, but as with many first takes on a new idea, it's more notable for the technical gimmick than being a stellar-quality game.

The biggest issue for me is the pacing: you know how in a metroidvania there's that early/mid-game rush of finding new abilities that unlock new areas and secrets ...and then they always peter out with that tedious end-game hunting around for those last lousy points and do you even care enough to scour the map for every last thing that you missed, and did you take good enough notes the first time around?

This game starts with that. There is a big multi-part map, there are a lot of items, and it feels like the progression gating is relatively stingy so you have to find the right one (or right few ones) first. So it took several hours of wandering around mapping before I felt like I was getting anywhere, and even then... I don't know if I care. A lot of the ideas are creative ((Spoiler - click to show)there's a metal detector; a pair of waders; I haven't found it yet, but it's strongly suggested that there's a viewing device for autostereogram posters) but a lot of the time it feels like they were invented as an excuse to link the various parts of the game or limit progression rather than because they were necessary for any story purposes or were a cool mechanic in themselves?

I don't know. The overall design feels very slapdash and "(slaps roof) look how many wacky ideas we can fit in this bad boy" rather than a thoughtful design process of "how will this feel to the player? Does adding this really improve the feel?"

And there's not a lot of story. Again, it's wacky bits and pieces and the narrative is super-spotty here. I'm four or five hours in and I still have no idea who I am or why I'm here or what I'm trying to do, other than wander around looking at silly stuff and solving puzzles because they're here. What's so important that I was reckless enough to take a kayak across the ocean at night to explore this island? Why am I such a feckless idiot that I didn't bring any supplies or even a light source? (that's one that really REALLY feels like "nobody thought about this AT ALL; they just needed a way to gate off some areas until you found an item. And it's super inconsistent and nonsensical; sometimes you can read things by the light of (Spoiler - click to show)the jellyfish in an inlet and sometimes you can apparently see fine in some (Spoiler - click to show)underground tunnels with no explanation. I don't get it. Don't ask questions, just play along).

So if you're looking for a sprawling world with lots of puzzles connecting the bits, if you like making maps and taking notes so you can find that one weird spot again later, if you like realizing that "oh, now I can make progress over here," this is probably right up your alley.

If you need a reason for solving puzzles other than "they exist: of course you want to solve them" or a story motivating the thing (that's not just shallow facile "what wacky random things can we shove in here?") or something where you always have a puzzle to make progress on instead of mostly wandering the map looking for one of the few places where you can make progress... don't waste your time. I've poked around 7 of 9 of the regions and I wouldn't say this is any of those authors' best work.

It is important to approach Moondrop Isle in the right frame of mind, because if you want to go the distance and complete the game, yours will not be a short visit. Mine must have lasted 20-30 hours, though I wasn't counting.

The island is huge and intricate, with a wide variety of puzzles, some of which are devious. The game is sedately-paced and ideally, you need to be prepared to explore methodically and make a map (there are over 300 locations).

The basic theme is urban exploring, where you are visiting an abandoned holiday resort in the middle of the night. The writing is generally atmospheric without ever feeling like it gets in the way of the game demanding to be played.

If I hadn't made a commitment to play this game I would have probably given up after my first session and found something that offered more immediate satisfaction. I am glad I didn't because I did enjoy the game immensely, though it is some distance from perfect. You will spend your first hour wandering around, looking for items to collect, looking for puzzles to solve, and looking for a story thread to follow, and you will likely come up short on all three counts. All three ARE there, and the first two in abundance. The story comes into its own in the final act, when you get there, and you will be fully invested by that point. It will take at least ten hours to even get to the first hints of a narrative!

There is a huge amount of content, some brilliant puzzles (and a few that aren't so great), loads to discover, mysteries to uncover, and a fair few time sinks - like attempting to play golf or arcade games - with a text interface, naturally! There is an element of guesswork and randomness to these that is frustrating and some may find off-putting. You will also encounter the occasional problem with the parser, such as commands that work in one area of the game, but not another.

After a while, I did start to feel like an urban explorer on a real adventure simply for my own pleasure and curiosity. That's when I really got into it and the game was there in my head, pleasantly in the background as I yearned to make more progress.

There is a difficulty spike in the puzzles around 3/4 of the way through and I recommend taking a few hints, as I did. A number of the tougher puzzles can be skipped, and this can be done by accident, which is not ideal, though it makes this one of the few text adventures with replay value.

I ended up feeling that the whole venture was very ambitious and it is rather wonderful that it was attempted at all. It is essentially nine games stitched into one, which does bring some problems with mechanics and consistency, but in the end raises the whole into something truly interesting, with some bold and unexpected design decisions.