Ratings and Reviews by seryph
View this member's profile
The wallpaper isn't actually relevant., June 29, 2013IMPRESSIONS:
I though the first half of this game was really fun. A definite 5 stars for the first half.
If the second half was presented on its own, it might get a 3 or 4. It wasn't necessarily bad, but I didn't find it as interesting or captivating. And I felt like it required a lot of trial-and-error.
DESCRIPTION PART 1:
This is a puzzle-y game. The subtitle in the splash screen talks about a murder mystery, but the goal of this game isn't really to solve any mysteries or murders. Some people are describing it as a "maze" which I don't agree with. But the first half of the game is a puzzle based on how you travel through the rooms of the house, so perhaps that's the reason?
Once you accept the fact that you can't physically interact with anything (apart from walking over things), you have to figure out just what you can do to affect the world around you. I think this made for an ingenious puzzle, which involves traversing through the rooms of the house in the right order so as to achieve the effects you desire.
I wonder if those who were frustrated with the "maze-like" aspect thought to plot a map of the house as they went? I never once thought of the house as a maze since there was almost always a clear way to travel from one room to another. The key was just to make sure you travelled through the rooms in the correct order on your way to your destination. This isn't difficult as long as you have a map detailing the different entryways and you remember to keep the in-game notes in mind.
DESCRIPTION PART 2:
I didn't particularly dislike the second half, though I can understand why some people did not find it as enthralling.
In the second half you no longer have to worry about the house. Instead you focus on the guests that have finally arrived. The goal of the second half of the game is to place "intentions" onto the characters or object in the rooms in order to manipulate the characters into a certain action. This did not feel difficult but (for me at least) it required mostly trial-and-error to get a final result. The notes seem to hint at a specific configuration but I couldn't find a way to arrange the intentions exactly as the notes suggested.
PUZZLES:
They weren't difficult, though the second puzzle took a lot of trial-and-error.
The house puzzle was internally logical. The cause-and-effect actions were always consistent and the notes were indispensable for keeping track of them. The behaviour of the house never felt random or like the game was trying to trick me
I can see similarities between the two main puzzles of the game, since they are both in a similar vein of strategizing. In the first, you want to strategically plan your routes through the rooms so as to manipulate the house appropriately. In the second, you want to optimize your arrangement of the intentions to ensure everyone gets a conclusion. But it feels like two different games.
PROS:
A very helpful part of the first puzzle is that the notebook you keep on you will automatically update itself and help explain to you just what effects you have had on the house (in case you missed the alerts in the text as I know I often did).
The language is nicely stylized. It has a sort of Victorian flair that lends to the atmosphere about the game. The narrator seems to get distracted by wallpaper on occasion, though I still don't understand why.
CONS:
You aren't given an initial motivation to explore the house, nor are you given a goal at the start of the game. I assume the player is meant to eventually realize that they should be trying to open all the closed doors, but it isn't ever explained why. (You are eventually rewarded for your efforts with an item that you need that leads to the second half of the game, but I don't recall the game ever telling me I was looking for it, or even that I was searching for something at all).
(Also, though I say "all the rooms" I still never figured out a way to open the uninteresting doors).
STORY:
In regards to story, from my understanding the purpose of this game is to present the "mansion murder mystery" from a new perspective. While you are able to observe the guests while in the house, you know nothing of them outside their behaviour in the mansion, and you can not interact with them in any substantial way. However, once you reach the end and learn who (Spoiler - click to show)(or what) the player character really was, I think it helped that aspect of the game make sense (the house still wasn't explained but I'm happy to leave it to a willing suspension of disbelief).
Don't get your hopes up for a scientific or real-world explanation for what happened. There is an air of supernatural about the story throughout (the house responding to your movements, for instance; as well as the message you receive if you try to touch anything) which is reinforced by the short concluding blurb. Even though it was only a couple sentences, I felt like the ending conclusively explained the character's motivations (but I'm sure some people might not agree with the sort of "non-explanation" explanation that was given).
OTHER:
My biggest advice is make a map. And label the types of doorways or arches or entrances. It will make this game immensely easier than if you don't. (I use Trizbort for maps, and there is plenty of other map-making freeware out there).
short but entertaining, June 12, 2013Short game, puzzle-based.
The game requires you to travel back and forth through multiple settings without ever actually moving in any directions. I thought the gimmick with the "items" was a rather clever and succinct way to deal with the puzzles.
Pros:
Creative idea. Simple puzzles that are conceptually fascinating. Simple environment with no mapping required (if you prefer that). No worries about being bogged down by items.
Cons:
Some might find the puzzles too simple. On the other hand, no hints or help provided which may make it difficult to play for newcomers to the medium. Not really any narrative or character development, if that's what you're looking for.
Also, I don't see much replay value in the game since the puzzles only have one method of solving them. As far as I could find there was only one ending (which alluded to a sequel that doesn't seem to exist).
Personally, I love puzzle-y games, and I especially love when those puzzles could only exist in IF. My favourite games are those with linguistic puzzle or ones that require you to "take [abstract concept]" which wouldn't be possible in the real world, or even in visual gaming. This is my favourite aspect of the IF medium and I think Dual Transform takes a good shot at implementing this idea.
The game is short - took me about half an hour. I wouldn't call it challenging, but I thought it was really fun to run through and would recommend it to someone who wants a quick, puzzle-based game to play.
Short and cute, June 11, 2013Title pretty much says it. Super cute game, super short. I think part of the adorableness is imagining everything at the scale described in the game. Just trying to picture the tiny little ninjas made me happy. I liked that they were also given their own little personalities with the bit of dialogue they had.
I loved it, but you need to know what you're in for. Takes maybe about 10 minutes. The "puzzles" are very straightforward and the game dialogue guides you through pretty well.
Would recommend, June 11, 2013Personally, this is the type of narrative that I prefer from an IF. A narrative that reveals itself gradually with each item and room you explore. For me, it promotes the interactivity aspect to have the story only told if you take the time to look around and interact with your surroundings, rather than having large chunks of exposition thrown at you. It also helps that the writing of Moonlit Tower has a poetic simplicity about it. The details of the narrative aren't necessarily explained to you outright. Rather hints are scattered here and there and tidbits are provided for the player to piece together.
As for the gameplay, it requires you to make sure you pore over each little detail in the rooms you occupy. Certain interactions will give you a response that hints at what move to make next. I'll mention that in order to move certain items, you would have to say "take items" or "take item with ___" rather than the usual "move" items. Also, in the HELP menu it will tell you some of the game-specific verbs you will want to know. If necessary, there is a hint system that will give you a lead as to where to go but won't tell you precisely what to do. However, if you are patient and meticulous enough, you should not need the hints too often (in my first playthrough I think I only needed them to figure out (Spoiler - click to show)how to find the thing that got dislodged by the kite). A cute feature after the game ends is the option to see a list of amusing things to try in the game for your next playthrough. Also I should mention it's fairly short. A little over one hour for my first playthrough, and I think I got most of the puzzles.
Overall a sort of melancholic atmosphere, and an emphasis on exploring and interacting with every detail in order to both piece together the narrative, and to continue further through the game.
(On a personal note: I was only able to find two endings to the game. If anyone knows of more endings maybe you could message me? I read through the ClubFloyd transcript but they only found the same two endings I'd already discovered.)
Two thumbs up, May 30, 2013Short (couple hours), puzzle-based, nice in-game hint system, light on the reading.
Would recommend for someone who wants a puzzle-based game and doesn't need a detailed story behind it.
Good things:
I think the thing people will remember most about this game is the second level. (Spoiler - click to show) Figuring out the language of the stranger ended up feeling really rewarding.
Minimal reading. Story elements are only there in order to justify why you should complete the level. Personally I'm okay with minimal story if I'm just looking for good puzzles and I think the explanations are sufficient to justify the gameplay.
Something I thought was neat: for my first playthrough I failed level 1, and the game showed evidence of that when I completed level 2, even though the two levels were otherwise unrelated.
Bad things:
I did have a slight issue with this hint system. Since it only showed one hint at a time, it didn't matter if you had already done the actions it suggests. You would have to enter the level, do those actions again, and then return to the etchings to see the next step. I ended up repeating the same actions several times because I had thought ahead of the hints. The only time this was really an issue though, was in level 1 where time management is important and you can't afford to be running back and forth to check the etchings.
I suppose some might have issue with the lack of narrative. I don't know that I felt particularly connected to the character or the NPCs. The endings felt quite clinical, where I was sort of expecting it to acknowledge the other characters that I had interacted with. For example, (Spoiler - click to show)when I chose to pick level 2 for my ending, I thought it would acknowledge my family or the stranger I'd befriended. Instead it only talked about my discovery of language. But this game is set up to be an allegory of human evolution so I guess it makes sense that it only chose to acknowledge the ways that you have "progressed" as a human.
Ambivalent things:
Regarding hints, if you're stuck check the etchings within the Edifice again. They will change to give you clues on how to proceed. I didn't learn this right away and ended up pretty stuck before learning about them. On the one hand, this was a clever way to integrate the hints. On the other hand, it felt kind of counter-intuitive to leave the level before completing it so I didn't realize I should be checking them until I consulted the HELP.
And just a warning, I believe it's possible to put it in an unwinnable state. I failed level 1 with my first playthrough and as a result I couldn't figure out how to achieve a complete ending.
1-7 of 7