The Lift is a Twine-based survival horror CYOA that appears to be set in some kind of monster-containment facility (think Cabin in the Woods meets the Umbrella Corporation headquarters). With an amnesiac protagonist and scant background details, there isn't a whole lot of emotional investment. So far, so typical, which means it has to rely on its design to work. Unfortunately, author Colin Capurso seems more interested in getting to the action than building a sufficiently mysterious atmosphere to draw readers in.
In short order, players are expected to choose their weapon, and ride the titular lift to one of the building's four levels. Each floor has a different kind of archetypal (read: cliched) horror threat. Each option is played completely straight, without the necessary deftness or panache to create a unique experience. The end result is a repetitive set of semi-consequential choices that branch out in thoroughly linear style. (I didn't even bother to check if the seemingly gratuitous porn-and-tissue diversion proves to be some kind of Chekov's Gun in any of the other endings.)
In the hands of a more skilled writer, the basic premise might have led to a fun but derivative CYOA. Unfortunately, Capurso's work falls short of both the writing skill and game design savvy to pull it off. For what it's worth, if he ever revisits this idea after honing his craft, I would probably give it another shot. But until then, this lift is out of commission.
A brief, whimsical joy -- especially ideal as a 'gateway game' for getting younger children into interactive fiction. Mr. & Ms. Kyratzes (his writing, her illustrations) capture the playful, timeless sense of being a mundane-kid-in-fantasy-land, without ever talking down to the player/reader.
Admittedly, the point-and-click interface has its shortcomings -- for example, conversation topics give away crucial plot points, before they've been introduced organically. But i'm honestly willing to overlook such (potentially fundamental) design flaws, because it's outweighed by the detail-rich wonder of discovering the world-at-large. Even more impressive, most of the puzzles can be reasoned out quite sensibly, in spite of the patently surreal setting.
Needless to say, if you're fond of the narrative tradition that includes the Oz series, Labyrinth, and a sizable chunk of Neil Gaiman's work, then you probably ought to give The Book of Living Magic a solid playthrough.
If you're willing to take moody atmospherics and tense exploration (Spoiler - click to show)-- followed by an intense timed escape sequence -- over a well-developed or unique plot, then this Lovecraftian mansion crawl is fair game. Boasting some genuinely unsettling scene descriptions, The Hunting Lodge lets its creepy backstory unfold in the first 'act', before abruptly shifting gears into an nerve-wracking cat-and-mouse (or rather eldritch-abomination-and-plucky-human) game.
Worth noting for Twine fans and developers alike: this game takes full advantage of the tool's variable-setting functions, with a small virtual inventory needed to advance the story, simulated turn-based events (e.g. (Spoiler - click to show)countdown that decreases by 10 seconds each click), and a monstrous pursuer that moves about in (randomized?) wumpus-style fashion. With all the conditions in play, it truly shows off the mechanical possibilities of the authoring system, beyond the obvious CYOA type functions.
I admit that I still haven't beaten the game yet. But I don't need to -- I already recognize how satisfying it is, even when it ends in death-by-creature or (Spoiler - click to show)a fiery, explosive demise.
Kitty Horrorshow's version of Hell is part unsavory criminal underworld (with its own infernal power struggles), part vicarious thrill ride, and 666% compelling IF experience.
Stygia throws players straight into the action with a well-defined mission sequence (Spoiler - click to show) -- a contractual haunting, including some playfully sadistic options, before segueing into a colorful exploration of the title setting. It has plenty of familiar narrative elements, seemingly influenced by adventure games (Grim Fandango), film (Beetlejuice), TV (American Horror Story), and comics (Mike Carey's Lucifer). But it plays with these tropes uniquely enough to feel like a novel experience.
The whole effort is well-suited to the text-heavy, hyperlinked Twine format -- the descriptions set the mood effectively, while allowing your imagination to fill in the blanks.
The replay value seems a bit limited -- the whole thing feels like a self-contained 'pilot episode', with variable hows all leading up to the same what. But i'm willing to overlook that: merely experiencing the game's setting is so compelling that it doesn't need multiple playthroughs to satisfy.