Reviews by Audiart
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Not memorable, but fun, February 27, 2017This fairly linear game is expansive enough to make the extensive exploration rewarding while at the same time not taking itself too seriously. Nothing novel here in the way of puzzle solutions; no character or plot development to speak of, just an old-fashioned crawl through a medieval setting.
I really enjoyed drawing the map, and solving the puzzles was simple yet satisfying. The multiple endings made me groan, however, as it requires a certain action at the very beginning of the game. Let it be said that this game really has little to no replay value. (I just read the transcript to see the different ending.)
While not particularly memorable, Castle Adventure is a solid game that won't drive you crazy and is well worth a play. I think this game would be great for a beginner.
Disappointing in its brevity, February 27, 2017I was disappointed that this game was so short. Most of the objects and space are not interactive or usable. In fact it could have been a one-room game and been pretty much the same. At first I was enchanted by all of the rooms and exhibits to explore. But alas, these are for naught.
The most notable thing about this game is the combat system, which was easy to use but didn't add much to the game for me. If you are familiar with Veeder's other rat games you will want to play this as a light snack, but don't expect an epic.
Obviously this game was intended to be short and simple, so in that sense it delivers. There are no bugs and everything was fully implemented. The most redeeming feature was the point of view of the rat when examining our (human) culture. The game is peppered with little bits of typical Veeder wit and humor.
I wish that this game had been drawn out into a real puzzler explore-fest like some of the longer Veeder games. The setting and characters have a lot of potential. I would love to play a longer version of this game if the author chooses to develop it.
Replayable, intuitive, quite short, February 24, 2017Sparkle is very replayable and small enough that the constant walking back and forth is not too tedious. The gameplay revolves around transforming objects, which is taken to the depth expected for so short a game, but really leaves me wanting more. A list of "achievements" keeps you coming back to try new ways to approach the puzzles.
The puzzles are difficult enough to produce a satisfying "eureka" feeling upon solving them, and I believe true failure is impossible. There are not a lot of suggestions in the game to lead you towards the solutions, but fortunately the answers are very intuitive and quite down-to-earth for a puzzle with a fantasy theme at its core.
Sparkle reminded me in some ways of classic Emily Short puzzles - albeit in a much condensed form. I would very much like to see the transformation mechanic and spiritual theme turned into a larger game with more emotional depth.
Solid coding, but unsatisfying, November 3, 2016Theatre People does not have bugs or typos. It has a clear goal with straightforward solutions and good character development. The puzzles are intuitive but not too easy. The writing is not too wordy, nor too sparse. It should be a solid game but... there's just something missing. I just never felt motivated to care about the protagonist, or the theatre. The game felt tedious at every turn and wandering about the theatre felt like walking miles even though it's only a few rooms. It's hard to describe but although technically nothing is wrong with it, I just didn't enjoy this game.
Like EVO, with hats!, November 3, 2016While technically IF, "Lifeform" is more like an online teen survey ("What is Your Inner Spirit Animal?" "Which Gilligan's Island Character Are You?") than anything else. Except that, unlike a teen survey, it is funny, well written, and not a complete waste of time. Although it's a hypertext game, it is not tedious like the Twine genre and is ultimately an enjoyable, quick, puzzle-less diversion worth playing once or twice if you feel like something light. Or you could fill out a Meyers Briggs Test. The results may be remarkably the same.
Like Stationfall with Sentient Plants, October 21, 2016Chlorophyll is a well designed game reminiscent of Stationfall (shorter, fewer balloon animals) in which the protagonist explores an abandoned space station in an attempt to restore power (Spoiler - click to show)and save your mom. There is a "food" requirement (significantly less annoying than in Stationfall) and Floyd has been replaced by a robot plant, but the eerie-wonderful feeling of wandering through an empty building doesn't fail to deliver.
However this game's true strength lies in the subtle revelation of the intricacies of the plant folk and the amusing parallels to our own world. No expository text dumps; you learn about the world room by room in the description of items, books left lying around, and the thoughts of the protagonist. The puzzles are not difficult and are mostly vehicles for delivering details about the clever parallel world of sentient mobile plantfolk.
Where Stationfall suffered greatly from "guess-the-verb" and "find this tool to put in this slot" the puzzles in Chlorophyll are a joy to perform. They are generally easy to figure out but not lacking in the pleasure of a subtle Eureka moment. The basic premise of returning power to the station is not a series of grumbling repetitive chores, but rather a series of playful experiments, especially (Spoiler - click to show)seeing how many illegal activities you can perform.
There are a few red herrings that are simply for your own amusement, (such as (Spoiler - click to show)going to the barber shop) but the plot elements are so seamlessly and naturally resting amongst the idle amusements of the mall that you cannot right away tell which are for fun and which are for the solution. As a result, it's all fun. You are encouraged to play with everything, explore, and basically, be a kid wandering through an abandoned mall.
Chlorophyll is just the right length, not long enough to draw a map (like Stationfall) but long enough to satisfy. Very well written with a great background story, and a likable protagonist, with intuitive, easy yet satisfying puzzles reminiscent of Infocom (without all the diabolical stuff.) Lots of fun, good for a beginner or someone who wants to recall the Infocom style without spending a week on a game.
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