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Review
Death at the Rectory
Felicity Banks and I got into interactive fiction at roughly the same time in 2015, when we both entered IFComp (though we had both done a little IF earlier in the year). I associate her with Australia, Steampunk or 'magic in modern setting', and including muslim and queer characters.
This is a short game with some significant branches, so a playthrough was pretty quick for me. It's a classic murder mystery with a group of people who meet up together at a kind of bed and breakfast for a writer's retreat.
While there, a murder happens (of course!) but also, all participants gain powers based on the genre of story they are writing. I was a crime writer, so I had the power to tell if people were writing.
The mystery was interesting, and my initial guess was wrong, but I pulled through in the end and had a successful ending.
The stats were a bit opaque for my tastes, though, not being easily telegraphed. I felt like I was mostly making roleplay choices, and then suddenly I'd get things like 'try to have an insight' but I'd fail because I hadn't raised a stat for that. I'm sure it would go much smoother on a replay now that I know what to look out for.
Overall, a fine addition to the Banks cannon, and a very quick play.
