Alone In Cinder

I normally do not like CYOA-style games. I prefer a parser, because choices in a game made with Twine or Inkle most of the time do not require much thinking. A choice is right or wrong, and if it is wrong, do it different when you start up. In this game it is similar: Some choices, some of them lead to points already known, some later lead to death or win.
I liked the writing, and this is an important thing for CYOA stories -- they have to create atmosphere by the prose, and the author succeeds in my opinion. I recognized two typos or so, but the rest is flawless and creates nice images.
The actual flaw of the game is something else.(Spoiler - click to show) It is a contentual shortcoming: The author starts the story with an often used trope (amnesia -- someone awakes in a room and does not know how he arrived there), and the conclusion is the victory over the beast. But in the end the author simply forgets to resolve the initial situation of amnesia. He also created a new problem: The player is trapped on the island, as the barge drifted away, so what is he/she going to do? As a reader I was not be fully satisfied with the ending. But the game was not too long, the considerable length of a medium sized short story, so I recommend to give it a try and enjoy the existing prose.

This is a simple horror game, playable in under 15 minutes.

It seems extremely merciful; I completed it and won on my first go-through. I tried a second time, deliberately choosing what seemed like the few bad choices available, and found the game was quite good at hinting me toward the satisfying outcome.

The writing is good, although I could use a little more story. I'm not sure why things are happening, and the island has a number of nooks and crannies which could provide exposition for those seeking it. The game gives small tidbits which should be expanded upon, delivering more background and more plot.

There are a number of areas implemented which don't provide anything, and I'm not sure how they advance the game or the story. It would be interesting to have these side paths provide insight and context--perhaps a page of a diary entry here or there--in the same way that Miasmata and Bioshock did.

I think this small twine narrative would be good for a newcomer, to give them a basic sense of what the medium does without being difficult or frustrating.