Nautilisia

by Ryan Veeder profile

Humor
2012

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5 star:
(2)
4 star:
(19)
3 star:
(14)
2 star:
(4)
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Average Rating:
Number of Ratings: 39
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- francisthe3rd (Horseheads, NY), January 23, 2014

- verityvirtue (London), June 27, 2013

- DJ (Olalla, Washington), May 15, 2013

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Parody of the surreal psychological genre, January 12, 2013

Nautilisia is a short, surreal piece riffing on the many many games that take place within the psychological landscape of a comatose (or sleeping, or deceased) protagonist. In contrast with most of those, however, Nautilisia makes no secret of its subject, telling the player up front of this premise, and explaining each symbolic object as one encounters it.

In this vein, there are three very basic puzzles, and a helpfully explanatory NPC who will answer questions and deliver rewards. The gameplay is straightforward, and is likely to take only ten or fifteen minutes to complete. Some of the imagery is charming or evocative, but the narrative voice is so quick to explain what it all means that one doesn't really have time to contemplate it before having it explained away.

This is an experience that is only likely to appeal to one who enjoys Veeder's flavor of humor: if the first room or two don't strike your fancy, the rest of the game isn't likely to either. Personally, I find it engaging enough to enjoy. Veeder has (in my opinion, anyway) an excellent sense of pacing -- of exactly how many times he can push the player's patience and still be funny rather than purely exasperating; of how much he can get away with nudging the player in the ribs without being tiresome.

Overall, a fine execution of a small concept, rightfully brief so as not to overstay its welcome.

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- E.K., August 1, 2012

- liz73 (Cornwall, New York), June 28, 2012

- HeroRobb, June 6, 2012

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Actually quite amusing, May 18, 2012

Breaking the fourth wall for humurous effect can be a bit hit and miss, but this is mostly hit, it made me smile. Very easy and fairly short, which is good, because I am lazy.

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- Rymbeld (Greensboro, NC), April 28, 2012

- Andrew Schultz (Chicago), April 12, 2012

- Ruth A, April 6, 2012

- Audiart (Davis, CA), April 4, 2012

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
I know, I know, it's serious, April 2, 2012
by Joey Jones (UK)

I finished Nautilisia in no time at all really. It's an achingly self-aware little romp through someone's dream world. The puzzles are just simple pacing devices and the story is almost nonexistent, what motivates the player to completion is the quality of the writing, which remains consistently witty throughout, and the extra little 'amusing' things that reward light experimentation.

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- Marco Innocenti (Florence, Italy), April 2, 2012


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