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Nevermore

by Nate Cull

Lovecraftian, Literary
2000

(based on 22 ratings)
3 reviews

About the Story

"A short tale of mystery and madness inspired by Poe's "The Raven"." [--blurb from Competition Aught-Zero]


Game Details


Awards

Nominee, Best Setting; Nominee, Best Puzzles; Nominee, Best Individual PC - 2000 XYZZY Awards

7th Place - 6th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition (2000)

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


An adaptation of Poe's "The Raven," though a very loose adaptation--the author has embellished considerably on the scene set in the poem. The result is highly imaginative and, in many ways, faithful to the gothic Poe spirit, though it may be difficult to get used to if you're familiar with the poem and expecting the story to track what's in the text of the poem. The puzzles are mostly good, despite some game design sins--there's repetitive death, for one thing, and a bunch of guidebooks whose "consult" routines are randomized. The atmosphere is nicely done, though, and in a Poe adaptation, that's the most important thing. Has a hint menu.

-- Duncan Stevens

SPAG
This is sounding more negative than I mean to be, because there were parts of Nevermore that I genuinely enjoyed. The ending, for one thing, is terrific--dark and dripping with irony. (In that respect, quite faithful to Poe himself.) Some of the action turns on flashbacks, which also struck me as genuinely Poeish--a protagonist for whom the past is more real than the present absolutely belongs in this game. [...] Through no fault of the game, however, it didn't really connect with me, and I gave it a 7 in the competition.
-- Duncan Stevens
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SynTax
Described as an interactive gothic, Nevermore has intricate inventory-based puzzles and a spooky tower to explore [...]
-- Dorothy Millard
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>INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction

Nevermore is IF with marvelous writing and a chilling gothic atmosphere, but until its fundamental design problems are repaired, it will remain as lifeless as Poe's lost Lenore.
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Member Reviews

5 star:
(6)
4 star:
(6)
3 star:
(9)
2 star:
(1)
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Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 3
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A beginning close to Poe and an ending close to Lovecraft, February 3, 2016

This game gives me mixed feelings. On one hand, the constant hunger issue (or addiciion issue) is annoying, and the big puzzle is a "collect an enormous number of items and decipher the formula for a magic spell" puzzle, which I am terrible at.

This game is loosely based on The Raven, diverging into Lovecraft horror near the end.

On the other hand, I loved the beginning of the game, exploring, not knowing what is going on. But I lost interest about a third of the way through. I read through a transcript to see what kind of things were necessary for the rest of the game. It looked interesting, but hinges on a very difficult puzzle.

I recommend everyone at least start the game, and then see how far your interests take you.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Well written, really puts me in the scene., February 9, 2018
by nixisanalien (Iowa, USA)
Related reviews: 2018

I was genuinely entertained for hours as I ran this work. The storytelling vividly captures the vibe of ancient mystery and really provokes the imagination.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A good, but flawed, adaptation of Poe's The Raven, May 9, 2023
by Cody Gaisser (Florence, Alabama, United States of America, North America, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Known Universe, ???)

Nevermore is a loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven. You assume the role of a sad, drug-addled alchemist who seeks to resurrect his lost love Lenore, whose life was claimed by one of his own misguided experiments. The text is moody enough, and the drug-use mechanics are a great touch. However, the game is hamstrung by some convoluted puzzles with vague hints (the alchemical process is inscrutable, and I believe it is possible to lock the game in an unwinnable state by using an item in a certain way before you are done with it). If you enjoy horror IF (particularly Poe and Lovecraft), Nevermore is worth a shot; but don't feel too guilty about using the game's built-in hint system or even resorting to a walkthrough.

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Nevermore on IFDB

Recommended Lists

Nevermore appears in the following Recommended Lists:

Noteworthy Games Which Can't Be Played on the Web by Walter Sandsquish
Because TADS 2 is still missing a TADS Web UI or Glk server or a JavaScript 'terp.

Forgotten Treasures of IFDB by MathBrush
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Lovecraftian games are oddly overrepresented in IF, both among IF in general, and among great IF games. They seem to be a good fit for the exploratory form of parser IF. Most of these games hit up all of the big-ticket Lovecraft items:...

Polls

The following polls include votes for Nevermore:

forgotten gems by Marius Müller
I'm looking for games that don't show up in the IF histories or recommended lists, for what reason whatsover. Old games that maybe weren't boundary-pushing or noteworthy, but still give you a fun play experience. If you ever thought...

Birds in IF by Wendymoon
What games can you think of with birds in them? What's the bird? Is it important to the game?

im looking for a good horror game by nick love
I'm looking for something with a creepy environment. It also has to be very challenging.

See all polls with votes for this game




This is version 6 of this page, edited by Paul O'Brian on 7 May 2022 at 12:02am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page