External Links

Play Online
Story File
IFComp 2015 release
Requires a TADS interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
Walkthrough
This is a pseudo-format used to represent download adviser records that apply to multiple formats.
Walkthrough and maps
by David Welbourn

Have you played this game?

You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in.

Koustrea's Contentment

by Jeremy Pflasterer

2015
TADS 3

(based on 7 ratings)
2 reviews10 members have played this game. It's on 16 wishlists.

About the Story

A tiny community of immortals receives a newcomer named Koustrea, who makes an unsettling discovery while struggling to find a paradisial niche, as the others have long ago.

Awards

Ratings and Reviews

5 star:
(0)
4 star:
(3)
3 star:
(4)
2 star:
(0)
1 star:
(0)
Average Rating: based on 7 ratings
Number of Reviews Written by IFDB Members: 2
Write a review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Haunting, Funny, and Challenging, November 23, 2015
by BA
Related reviews: IF Comp 2015

Koustrea's Contentment is an evocative, funny, and challenging work that is impressive on a number of levels, and it is obvious that great effort went into making it so special. I judged it during the 2015 IF Comp, which limited play forming the basis of judging to two hours, and finished it more quickly than I would have otherwise, after a while making heavy use of an abbreviated walkthrough that the author provided. As a result, I would like to give the work more time in order to look for more connections that would help me understand its story and challenging puzzles more thoroughly. None of this, however, prevented me from appreciating the ending.

Other writers have discussed possible improvements that could be made, and I have seen the author take positive and negative feedback seriously and with appreciation. However, I am emphasizing the work's many strengths out of a desire that more people might find the kind of joy and satisfaction from the work that I did.

The work has excellent technical implementation and a house full of oddly and wonderfully named characters that resonated with me. In particular, the things that one character said amid the sounds that surrounded him I found particularly spot on, in a way that both made me laugh and disturbed me. That feeling reflects the work as a whole: haunting and humorous, fun to play and thought-provoking. Its original and otherworldly setting hints at insights about our own world. By the way, how intriguing, at its beginning, to find a majestic stone hall containing images of such things as an owl, a jukebox, and a pinball machine!

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A long TADS game about immortals and ennui, February 3, 2016
by MathBrush
Related reviews: IF Comp 2015

This game was the longest game entered in IFComp 2015, and I enjoyed it. It is complex and long, and well-detailed.

The game is centered around the tedium of immortality. You find yourself a brand new immortal, in a sort of retirement home or country club for immortals. Each has immersed themselves into some sort of activity, whether artistic endeavors, sports, art, or insanity.

The game has a very ancient and purposely static feeling. It implements a 'zz' command that lets you wait for a very long time. It has a few puzzles requiring long patience, and repetitive actions.

This all meshes very well with the story, and when things finally start changing, it makes it more exciting.

Overall, the feeling of this game was similar to the Myst series, but with more people. I recommend it.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment 

Tags

- View the most common tags (What's a tag?)

(Log in to add your own tags)
Search all tags on IFDB | View all tags on IFDB

Tags you added are shown below with checkmarks. To remove one of your tags, simply un-check it.

Enter new tags here (use commas to separate tags):

Game Details

Koustrea's Contentment on IFDB

Recommended Lists

Koustrea's Contentment appears in the following Recommended Lists:

My new walkthroughs for March 2020 by David Welbourn
Quite late on Sunday March 29, 2020, I published new walkthroughs for the games and stories listed below! Some of these were paid for by my wonderful patrons at Patreon. Please consider supporting me to make even more new walkthroughs...

RSS Feeds

New member reviews
Updates to external links
All updates to this page


This is version 5 of this page, edited by David Welbourn on 29 March 2020 at 10:41pm. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page