Recommendations by egostat (Purgatory of Social Ineptitude)
I was going to make an "All-time Favorites" list, but that's quite a burdensome title, so I decided to make a "Solid Favorites" list instead. To be honest, I made this entirely for myself since I'm so bad at keeping track of things, and I want to be able to properly remember my favorites! This list isn't in any particular order, by the way!
1. Lost Pig by Admiral Jota (2007) Average member rating: (493 ratings)
egostat says:
At the top, a famous classic—for good reason. Totally cute and memorable... I fell in love with all of the characters—albeit three in total—as well as the assortment of silly commands! This was my second ever text adventure after The Dreamhold (whew, a well-needed break!), and I will never forget it.
2. Midnight. Swordfight. by Chandler Groover (2015) Average member rating: (85 ratings)
egostat says:
This was the second work of Chandler Groover's that I played, and also the one that probably rekindled my burning love for dark surrealism. It's also absolutely hilarious. I still have only found 15 endings (no progress since my review), but I'm sure I'll get back to it sometime soon...
3. The Lonely Troll by Amanda Walker (2022) Average member rating: (17 ratings)
egostat says:
Wholesome and simple. That's why I love it. I love kindhearted characters who are usually seen as cruel in classic fantasy, and I love baby dragons. I am a total sucker for this short and sweet game.
4. Toby's Nose by Chandler Groover (2015) Average member rating: (118 ratings)
egostat says:
I am such a big fan of this game! I'm noticing that I'm usually quite a big fan of non-human protagonists. I'm a huge dog person, though that's not the main reason I love this work. The mechanic is very fun! I will admit that I was a bit embarrassed when my friend greeted me and only caught glimpse of the sentence "You are wearing a leashed collar," to which they gave me a slight gasp and a long, long look.
5. The Wizard Sniffer by Buster Hudson (2017) Average member rating: (136 ratings)
egostat says:
Again, wholesome and amusing! I dedicate so much of my time to searching for dark surrealist stories, and yet I always manage to stumble across such cute stories that I just can't help but fawn over.
6. Absence of Law by mathbrush (2017) Average member rating: (48 ratings)
egostat says:
This is, again, very warm-y; I loved all of the cute endings! I definitely have a thing for wholesome mad science. The friendly tone of the AI was also very nice to have!
7. Alabaster by John Cater, Rob Dubbin, Eric Eve, Elizabeth Heller, Jayzee, Kazuki Mishima, Sarah Morayati, Mark Musante, Emily Short, Adam Thornton, Ziv Wities (2009) Average member rating: (122 ratings)
egostat says:
I thought this wasn't going to be anything special, as the supposed "twist" I was expecting was so obvious, and I didn't think it'd have much more for me besides the character interactions. Oh, how wrong I was. The depth was very surprising. I wasn't expecting any of those other twists at all.
8. Eat Me by Chandler Groover (2017) Average member rating: (105 ratings)
egostat says:
And this is the first work of Chandler Groover's that I ever played. Incredible first impression! Fantastically gruesome! Beautifully disgusting environment! I loved how I was able to eat virtually everything.
9. Three-Card Trick by Chandler Groover (2016) Average member rating: (68 ratings)
egostat says:
"Chandler Groover again...?" Yes. Yes, Chandler Groover again. Despite how linear this game was, the ending sequence still made my heart pound; the feeling that even the smallest mistake would doom the protagonist was somehow transferred to me as well. Dark surrealism for the win!
10. Oppositely Opal by Buster Hudson (2015) Average member rating: (68 ratings)
egostat says:
Another cute one! I adore stories with amusing usage of classic fantasy cliches... as you may have noticed already if you're reading this. Witchy witches for the win!
11. Erstwhile by Aster (formally Maddie) Fialla, Marijke Perry (2018) Average member rating: (60 ratings)
egostat says:
All the works here so far have been parser-based, but this... could it be...? Yes, it's not parser-based, but Twine. I'm a sucker for parser-based IF. This work is fun because of the connection of clues! The voice of the narrator/PC is very amusing as well!
12. Dead Like Ants by C.E.J. Pacian (2009) Average member rating: (59 ratings)
egostat says:
I enjoyed this one much more than expected! Very short, but very lovely. I was very amused by the NPC interactions, and I was surprised by but quickly understood the premise and mechanics of the game!
13. Gun Mute by C.E.J. Pacian (2008) Average member rating: (156 ratings)
egostat says:
The characters are fun and it was an easy playthrough. I played through once or twice more to get a full score. Actually wouldn't mind playing it again even though it's linear and essentially the same every playthrough. How lovely!
14. Alias 'The Magpie' by J. J. Guest (2018) Average member rating: (68 ratings)
egostat says:
The Magnificent Magpie strikes again! What a lovely little game. Clever, simple, funny, and quick.
15. ♥Magical Makeover♥ by S. Woodson (2014) Average member rating: (59 ratings)
egostat says:
BANGER! Another Twine game. Body horror dressup game with multiple endings and I adore it.
I honestly completely misinterpreted the story of this one, but that misinterpretation was impactful and even after confirming the true story of it, I still very much enjoyed this.
I almost feel ashamed to put this on my list. I got the good version first. Then got the shitty version eventually and couldn't stop snorting. Amazing. I love you, Dick McButts. Your endless pain brings me endless amusement.
18. Ad Verbum by Nick Montfort (2000) Average member rating: (134 ratings)
egostat says:
I totally forgot to add this to the list. I love wordplay and I love this game.
