The Xylophoniad

by Robin Johnson profile

Humor
2016

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A humorous, polished old-style IF set in ancient Greece, February 23, 2021
by MathBrush
Related reviews: Spring Thing 2016

The style of this game should be familiar to those who have tried Portcullis or Draculaland by the same author. You wander around a fairly small map in the Scott Adams tradition of short descriptions, 1-2 items a room, and well-characterized NPCs with a few interesting lines.

Like those games, this game evokes the same feel of adventure and exploration as the early text adventures. However, the author has managed to remove a great deal of the frustration inherent in those games by providing well-thought-out hints and gentle guidance.

You play Xylophone (pronounced in four syllables), a Greek woman accused of various crimes and given 3 labors to perform. You travel to Minos, Hell, and Troy to complete these tasks.

The game is chock full of puns and mythology jokes. It made me chuckle.

Some of the puzzles felt a bit tedious in the middle, as you were mostly matching things (Iron door? Find an iron key. Need to get past a bear? find some honey. Not that these are real examples). This isn't necessarily bad, but some of the other puzzles were quite clever (giving some nice Eureka! moments), so it made me wish for more.

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Rovarsson, February 23, 2021 - Reply
Ahem, "...so it made me with for more."

Did you temporarily develop a lisp and then lose it again? :)
MathBrush, February 23, 2021 - Reply
I used to type all my reviews on my phone, which led to lots of spelling mistakes and a lack of credibility lol
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