Doomed Xycanthus

Baf's Guide

A game about exploring a jungle area and the ruins of an ancient city. Some of the imagery is intriguing and quite memorable, and the game does a fair job of implying the existence of a larger world and history beyond the boundaries of the narrative you experience. The pacing seems somewhat off, in that for much of the game it seems as though you're exploring what must be merely the prologue, and then suddenly you have already arrived at the conclusion.

All the same, worth playing if you're in the mood for a brief game with archaeology and fantasy themes.

-- Emily Short

The opening scenes of this game left me with the impression that I was playing a hunt-the-wizard adventure but that turned out not to be the case. Instead the wizard Malevol, initially portrayed as the game's main villain, doesn't make another appearance and Doomed Xycanthus is actually about the exploration of a ruined city (the Xycanthus of the title) and what you find within. No big problem really as the city itself and its surroundings make for an interesting if frustrating adventure. Death strikes the player often, many times killing you off without so much as a warning; other times warnings are given in such a vague way that you might never even notice them. Several difficult puzzles - including one with a statue - really gave me pause for thought but I can say this was one game I enjoyed playing.

-- David Whyld

IF-Review
Short and Unpretentious
It's an unambitious, unpretentious piece that can be enjoyed in a fairly short play session. Some of the backstory is intriguing, though I would have liked to know a bit more about it - here, having the world-building better fleshed out would have been nice. On the whole, I found that I enjoyed it most if I approached it on its own terms, rather than expecting the same sort of experience I expect from a full-length game in one of the major IF languages.
-- Emily Short
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SPAG
It has some intricate puzzles -- the one involving the snake and the pool is an interesting one (if a little on the overly-complicated side), as well as the letters which allow you access to the ruined city -- and the locations are often lengthy and detailed. The style of writing is overall very impressive, lending the game an eerie atmosphere, particularly during the times when you wander around the city of Xycanthus itself.
-- David Whyld
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