The Domovoi

The Domovoi
by Bravemule profile

Horror, Folk Tale
2014

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Number of Reviews: 2
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

., May 31, 2016

by Wei Yuan Lee

This guy has the best story telling, it feels like I'm reading a children's book, but for my age group, I guess I can say. It reminds me of the tale of Anansi. I guess we all got stories about spiders. (It's a little bit more than spiders.) I also like how the macros are used to progress sentences, it just has a really nice touch, instead of using the replace macro.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

The fluid nature of storytelling and grim folklore, May 1, 2016

by verityvirtue (London)

Your friend is a storyteller, and she's polishing her latest work about a domovoi, or protective house spirit, lingering in a guttered hut. You are her audience.

The Domovoi is a game about storytelling. Like Whom the Telling Changed, you get to influence events in the story, but where the PC works against an antagonist in Whom the Telling Changed, here the story is a collaborative work. Your friend may express doubt or satisfaction at your choice, and the PC's perspective outside of the story in the making allows for in-universe commentary. The unnamed NPC in Domovoi has her own views, after all, and if you suggest something with which she disagrees, she will probably slant the story to include that, but make her feelings known.

This game is also a pleasure to play, not least because it is styled attractively. Like Beneath Floes, it features illustrations that set the mood and whose colour schemes demarcate changes in perspective.

Perhaps true to oral tradition, the story you help to tell can vary between play-throughs, depending on the choices you make. The game didn't dwell on the meta aspect much, though, focusing instead on the meat of the story.

In summary: The Domovoi is an introspective work which taps into Slavic folklore, with a lively NPC and a story within a story. Recommended, if nothing else than for its luscious illustrations and sound effects.