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Showing All | Show by Page - gattociao, August 19, 2023 - Kinetic Mouse Car, August 5, 2022 0 of
4 people found the following review helpful:
Immensely Overrated, May 6, 2022by Blake This game has some of the most annoying puzzles I've seen. Ones where the logic required to solve them just barely holds up. At every step, you're required to make some massive leaps of intuition, performing ridiculous actions that have little cluing. Even when I had the general idea, the actual steps involved were bizarre. (Spoiler - click to show)Getting the crab, for instance. Tie a strap from some goggles to a shingle (huh?), then tie that strap to a shrimp (huh???), then put the whole assembly into the crab's home, and it'll float to the surface carrying the crab (WHAT). How the hell is a goggle strap big enough to tie around a shingle - a shingle big enough that we also use it to dig six feet into the ground? How does the shrimp not slide out? This is so convoluted and stupid. Or how about those benches? I typed "push benches south", which worked just fine, but then I'm expected to key in "put benches against wall". Why not be consistent, and just let me type "push benches southwest"? Obviously, I can't get specific without spoilers, but know that if you want to solve this without hints, you'll need to be prepared to try a lot of things that don't really make sense, and learn not to be surprised when they end up being correct. Also, there's several times where you have to perform the same action multiple times, in one case with no clue that you need to do so. (Spoiler - click to show)(Searching the trash barrel.) Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
Mr. Cockrum integrates the ordinary and fantasy elements skillfully: those parts of the story that go beyond ordinary experience are few, carefully chosen, and clearly surprise the player-character as much as the player. Just as importantly, those elements are out of your control and mostly independent of your actions, so the feeling of ordinariness juxtaposed with the fantastic is enhanced.
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| Direct link | Add a comment >INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction Sunset Over Savannah (hereafter called Sunset) is one of the most impressive, enjoyable, and successful games of the 1997 competition. Interestingly, it shares a strategy with another very successful game, She's Got a Thing for a Spring: both games present a natural world where fantasy-style magic is subtle to the point of nonexistence, but which nonetheless is suffused with wonder, divulging incredible sights which move the spirit as strongly as ever did any of Gandalf's fireworks. The game takes place on a beach whose implementation is exquisitely complete, a small space which allows a great number of options within it... narrow but very deep. In itself, implementation of this depth carries a kind of magic, the kind of delirious sense of possibility inherent in all the best interactive fiction. The magic goes beyond this, though. The puzzles in the game (at least, the ones I had time to solve) are focused on a single theme: finding magic and wonder in a seemingly mundane world. As you wander the game's beach and find ways to ferret out its secrets, those secrets display themselves in fiery sequences of enchantment and glamour. It's an effect whose emotional impact could not be duplicated in a graphical game, only imitated. The arresting visuals would be there, but they would only carry a pale shadow of the reverential awe conveyed by the author's excellent prose.
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| Direct link | Add a comment - penguincascadia (Puget Sound), March 24, 2022 - Edo, February 8, 2021 5 of
6 people found the following review helpful:
A shining pearl., October 21, 2020by Rovarsson (Belgium) Playing Sunset over Savannah is a marvelous experience. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- kierlani, June 25, 2020 2 of
2 people found the following review helpful:
Buggy but playable and enjoyable, December 18, 2019Played this game in its original form (back in the day) and in the non-competition form (today). The story is good, and I always found it cathartic to play not for points but instead to increase satisfaction in life’s joys with the ultimate goal of quitting an unliked job. However, typos (a shrimp in a boiler being described as a shrimp in a bottle) and programming bugs (in relation to a mite, and I’ll say no further) do not lend to a fully rounded 5 star review. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Jan Strach, April 19, 2018 - Guenni (At home), February 1, 2018 4 of
5 people found the following review helpful:
Beautiful but confounding, July 11, 2017by Cory Roush (Ohio) This is one of those games that makes you feel great after finishing it... with the help of a walkthrough. Unfortunately, no amount of verbose prose and wonderful descriptions of a setting that I can immediately transport myself to can make up for a lack of purpose. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- E. W. B., February 23, 2016 3 of
3 people found the following review helpful:
Mid-length vacation game with great text and game world interrupted by puzzles, February 3, 2016by MathBrush Sunset over Savannah is a relaxing, enjoyable read. You are a vacationer contemplating quitting their job, and looking for a sign or signs that there is more to life. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | View comments (1) - Add comment
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2 people found the following review helpful:
Magical realism, October 6, 2015by Hysteria (California) A short & charming game that I really enjoyed. Thanks! Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Mike Root, April 24, 2015 - Thrax, March 11, 2015 - Sobol (Russia), December 28, 2014 - lynd, February 2, 2014 - kala (Finland), September 30, 2013 - Adam Myers, September 19, 2013 - Egas, August 15, 2013 5 of
5 people found the following review helpful:
Look through rose-colored glasses, April 14, 2013by Andromache (Hawaii) "Sunset" was a breathtaking journey of beautiful imagery, some humorous game responses to wrong solutions, and a wonderful blend of realism and fantasy that somehow worked. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
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2 people found the following review helpful:
Dont miss the Sunset, March 23, 2013by hyst3ria Really enjoyed this short story game. Only a few small problems with "guess the verb" and wouldntcha know, "examine" is different than "read". Still, I enjoyed the game. It was quite the charming day at the beach. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Felix Pleșoianu (Bucharest, Romania), March 24, 2012 - aparrish (NYC), September 15, 2011 - MKrone (Harsleben), August 3, 2011 12 of
13 people found the following review helpful:
Early Slice of Life, July 11, 2011by Emily Short Though listed as fantasy, this game departs from most contemporary fantasy tropes and focuses on the magical in the real world. Sunset Over Savannah is the story of a man disenchanted with his current life and work, spending some time at the beach and rethinking his situation. It's an almost entirely inward journey: the protagonist's mood changes over the course of the story, and he begins to think about ways to improve his life. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), June 25, 2011 - Walter Sandsquish, February 2, 2011 - Softbagel, November 6, 2010 - Mark Jones (Los Angeles, California), July 6, 2010 - freeform (Taiwan), May 14, 2010 - Azazel, April 2, 2010 - Divide (Wroclaw, Poland), November 26, 2009 - C.E.J. Pacian (England), November 11, 2009 - GDL (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), August 10, 2009 - Michael R. Bacon (New Mexico), April 28, 2009 - Mastodon, March 26, 2009 - Shigosei, February 19, 2009 - Karl Ove Hufthammer (Bergen, Norway), January 12, 2009 - Audiart (Davis, CA), January 8, 2009 - Stagrovin, November 10, 2008 - Genjar (Finland), September 1, 2008 - Martin Braun (Berlin, Germany), August 7, 2008 - LisariaUS, July 17, 2008 - Lady Sarah (Portland, Oregon), March 7, 2008 - jfpbookworm (Hamburg, New York), February 25, 2008 - J. Robinson Wheeler (Austin, TX), February 22, 2008 - Emily Boegheim, January 24, 2008 - Miron (Berlin, Germany), December 11, 2007 - Wesley (Iowa City, Iowa), November 11, 2007 Baf's GuideMesmerizing. You're on the last day of your vacation, trying to decide whether to quit your job, and the wonders you uncover as you wander around the beach guide your decision. There's no scoring system; instead, the game tracks your emotional state, which not only tracks your state of mind regarding your job but also records a wide variety of your reactions to the environment. A few puzzles require destruction of other people's property, which breaks the feel somewhat, but it's a minor flaw: the atmosphere is rich and the writing top-notch. Some difficult puzzles, but there's a hint menu. -- Duncan Stevens
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