Return to the game's main page Reviews and Ratings
Previous | << 1 2 3 4 >> | Next | Show All - Xavid, March 6, 2024 - Max Fog, February 23, 2024 - DignitySquared, January 3, 2024 - joes, January 2, 2024 - Tabitha / alyshkalia, December 25, 2023 >INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction I was shocked at how quickly and easily I found myself typing commands like "doatch at droke about calbice". However, the whole experience was completely cerebral, with little of the emotional catharsis I associate with successful storytelling. I felt this effect when I played Dan Schmidt's For a Change, but it's ten times stronger in this game, where words aren't simply rearranged but actually replaced wholesale. Consequently, while playing The Gostak was a strange and memorable experience, one which will surely elevate the game to the rarefied level of For A Change, Bad Machine, and Lighan ses Lion, I found it a somewhat strained sort of fun. Great for a puzzle-solving mood, and certainly worth trying if you're a cryptography buff, but not terribly involving as a story.
You wrote this review -
Revise it
| Direct link | Add a comment - oscar-78, November 22, 2023 - EJ, August 25, 2023 - Bell Cyborg (Canada), July 21, 2023 - aluminumoxynitride, July 18, 2023 - pieartsy (New York), June 22, 2023 - rabbitking, June 22, 2023 - biscuit, February 15, 2023 - ilyu, January 14, 2023 - Cerfeuil (*Teleports Behind You* Nothing Personnel, Kid), October 21, 2022 2 of
2 people found the following review helpful:
I think I should have made a better glossary…, July 4, 2022by Fizzgig …because you ABSOLUTELY MUST make one to play this game. Also, it may help to know what I found out only after the fact: "The gostak distims the doshes" is a linguistic joke, illustrating how humans can derive meaning from syntax even when the words themselves are nonsense. And that, indeed, is a driving feature of this game. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- rowan.du, April 30, 2022 - Titania Lowe, January 24, 2022 - Zape, August 30, 2021 2 of
2 people found the following review helpful:
A Real Treat, April 17, 2021by Avondel I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem. As remarked in other places, this should NOT be the first interactive fiction or adventure game you play. With some experimentation, I was able to figure out the gist of the words. I love that much of the game is left nebulous, so the player can interpret it according to his imagination. After playing, it took some effort to not say to my fellow human: "Just rask the chalm from the hoggam." Wish there was a sequel. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Jonathan Verso, April 11, 2021 - TheBoxThinker, March 4, 2021 - Pinstripe (Chicago, Illinois), December 30, 2020 - William Chet (Michigan), July 20, 2020 - Blind Assassin (Illinois, United States), July 12, 2020
|