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Previous | << 1 2 3 4 5 >> | Next | Show All - Ashen_, July 23, 2019
- Bartlebooth, July 19, 2019
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1 people found the following review helpful:
Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here. A good problem!, May 9, 2019I've always enjoyed games that take place in space, especially on failing space vessels (e.g. Mission Critical, Seedship). I fell immediately for Fail-Safe's hook, which entails playing the role of mission control talking to the lone survivor on a failing space vessel.
Ingold does an incredible job at building a tense atmosphere based entirely on conversation. His decision to disable most basic interactive fiction commands (save, restore, inventory, etc.) was perfect in keeping the player locked into the moment. It wouldn't work in a longer game, but given the brevity here it was the right move.
The only thing that pulled me out of the game a bit was that mission control had some jargon that mission control would know but were not obvious to me, making a couple of things less clear. However, the decision to have (Spoiler - click to show)an unreliable narrator is pulled off very well. It's a huge risk for sure, as it can seem like pulling the rug out, a cheap trick as it were. However, there are a few clues sprinkled in that I didn't pick up on that in hindsight I should have. All I could do was tip my cap to the author and replay.
Definitely worth a look if you're in the mood for something short and immersive.
- seltzer, January 17, 2019
- davidar, November 10, 2018
- DustyCypress (Hong Kong), May 19, 2018
- Stas, April 14, 2018
- doodlelogic, July 27, 2017
- Cory Roush (Ohio), June 29, 2017
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2 people found the following review helpful:
Old-school, but in some ways still unsurpassed, June 6, 2017The formal conceit of Fail-Safe is very clever, and in my opinion underutilized (not (Spoiler - click to show)the twist, I mean, just the PC-narrator split). Other than Deadline Enchanter, which was doing a bunch of other weird formal stuff as well, I can't think of a modern game that has really tried this in a longer form. I think "giving commands over a staticky radio" was a great formal conceit in terms of reducing the artificiality of the interaction, and made what would otherwise have been some pretty hum-drum sections much more engaging.
From a modern perspective, some of the puzzles in this game are probably slightly "unfair" (for example, at one point you have to remove an obstacle to moving in one direction, but even after you've successfully removed it, the text doesn't make clear that you can actually proceed). Normally, I can't stand stuff like this, and it makes it hard for me to complete a game, but Fail-Safe is so short and straightforward (puzzle-wise) that it wasn't a big impediment, even for me. This is a classic that absolutely holds up.
- Denk, June 6, 2017
- CMG (NYC), June 6, 2017
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2 people found the following review helpful:
Remarkable atmospheric game is actually too effective, March 1, 2017Although I did not enjoy playing Fail-Safe, I had to give it a good rating for its very effective and innovative narrative voice. Jon Ingold is really a master of this and it shines brightly in this early game. In fact I think the brevity of the game really accentuated the tantalizing and creepy atmospheric effect of the narrative.
It would be a shame to elaborate further on the nature of this narrative voice, for it would ruin the experience of playing the game, and as the puzzles and plot are fairly unmentionable, this would seriously detract from the merits of the game.
However: Fail-Safe, by so exquisitely rendering its eerie atmosphere, produces a distinctly uncomfortable feeling; there is blood, you are trapped, it is an emergency. I would not recommend this game to anyone who is not fond of such scenarios, because the game is, from its first line to its last, so instantly and totally immersive.
In this way, its greatest strength can be its own shortcoming (for some players) -- the narrative method is so effective that I sincerely disliked the feeling of being immersed in the world of Fail-Safe, as it felt so very real and urgent and disturbing.
- lkdc, February 1, 2017
- Godel23 (Paris, France), January 2, 2017
- Sobol (Russia), August 13, 2016
- NinaS, July 3, 2016
- Aryore, December 12, 2015
- CasualGamer33356, October 14, 2015
- hoopla, September 25, 2015
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3 people found the following review helpful:
A clever game with a sci-fi setting, August 6, 2015Fail-Safe is my absolute favorite Jon Ingold game. The game has an unusual plot device which you discover quickly. I won't talk about it in this review, because the game is strong enough without it.
The game is set in a damaged spacecraft that must be explored. The difficulty and fun lies in trying to figure out how the spacecraft actually worked.
The game has some timed events (which are fun but hard) and some hard-to-find exits (which is annoying but fun if you can find them).
This game can be played enjoyably multiple times and has a several, interesting endings.
- Thrax, March 11, 2015
- Janice M. Eisen (Portland, Oregon), November 22, 2014
- glasslioness, November 6, 2014
- RobMagus (London, UK), August 22, 2014
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