Reviews by streever
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Interesting, fair, and fairly-short puzzle-fest, December 5, 2016This is an interesting little puzzle-fest that may be narratively thin for readers who don't subscribe The Mysterious Package Company. The "MPC" is a real-life delivery service that mails intriguing packages with facsimile artifacts to their customers, and this game appears to be a tie-in to their service, with optional content for subscribers.
Being locked out of the optional content didn't detract from the overall experience, but I did feel like I was getting only part of the story, due to the many narrative references to stock mysteries and tropes, such as a jackalope skull in the starting room. Many of these references ended up feeling like window dressing instead of depth, and it'd be interesting to see what would happen if the piece was gently disconnected from the underlying MPC structure or if it better explored that structure: why am I really in this room? What's my relationship to a figure known as the Curator? Why does the MPC do this work?
I'm being tough on the lack of scene-setting and urgency not because this is a bad piece; in truth, it's a very good piece with fair, fun, consistent puzzle design, much better than most puzzle-centric pieces. If you really enjoy puzzle-centric work, you'll like this quite a bit; if you really want more narrative depth in a work,you might feel a little nonplussed.
There is a huge level of delight in solving the many puzzles scattered about, and the design isn't difficult due to the fairness and consistency of the puzzles, leading to a number of 'happy' moments when just the right thing works in just the right way.
Still good after the 5th--and 15th--playthrough, November 30, 2016This steampunk retelling of the classic Around the World in 80 Days is one of my favorite pieces of interactive fiction of all time, so much so that I almost feel it's unfair to other interactive fiction.
It's a commercial work, and worth twice what I paid for it. The polish shows: gorgeous visuals, an easy interface, and a beautiful soundtrack accompany the elegant prose.
Characters are fascinating and engaging: I wish I could abandon the main storyline to just travel with some of the many memorable people I meet, but alas, as a simple valet, I must follow my master on his quest!
I can't recommend this one highly enough. It's a brilliant mix of historical fiction with contemporary values and quality writing, and the entire package together is well-worth the price of admission.
Strong writing and characterization in this linear narrative work, November 29, 2016This City Knows You seems to be a strong debut twine-like work, posted as Tumblr entries. The linear narrative allows some choices, but more in tone and flavor than in plot-direction: you are a fairly passive presence, travelling alongside a group of dynamic, active women.
The blocky illustrations are beautiful and bring to mind Kentucky Route 0 or Sword and Sworcery. The aesthetic makes me think of the 80s, although this futuristic piece takes place in a presumably post-apocalyptic city, empty of people.
This piece raises many questions--who precisely are these people? What happened to the city? Why are we here?--and the author bravely leaves them largely unanswered. This contributes to the compelling quality of the plot and story, very engaging despite a slow start. The opening suffers from a lack of urgency and struggles with pacing issues, due to the heavy amount of new information presented. I think it'd be interesting to see the opening tightened up a little bit, and the details of the characters broken up somehow. =
After the slow start, however, pacing is excellent and compelling; I really enjoyed my time with this, and I'm hoping to see more by the author. I've given three stars because this is an exceptionally strong character-focused piece with a fresh voice, but the early pacing issues and unconventional format may be challenging. I recommend sticking with it even if it doesn't immediately grab you; it really grows and becomes something astonishing by the end.
Very dark short work, November 27, 2016This minimalist parser work is competent, smart, and well-designed. Content is very dark, dealing with themes of family violence and possibly the occult, although I have questions about what happened and the reliability of the narrator. I replayed it multiple times, wondering if there was more: an alternate ending I missed, additional context, something else to provide a sense of closure. This isn't a negative, although I would have liked something more, although I can't actually name what I want.
The plot and pacing are well-done in this fairly minimalist work, and the implementation of rooms and objects is well-done although sparse. All in all, a chilling, dark piece which engaged and fascinated me, leaving me to muse over the themes and speculate about influences, inspiration, and more. I'd love to see a post-mortem on this, and I feel very optimistic about Nordlander's future works.
The competition this was entered into is quick and places considerable time pressure on entrants, so I was pleasantly surprised to find such a technically competent and complete entry. I would love to see this work fleshed out into something with more endings and complexity.
Great investigation mechanic based on dialogue and robust conversation, November 23, 2016I enjoyed this murder mystery work, a fairly short game focused on collecting statements and identifying the places where they didn't line up.
The writing was skilled and the mechanics were enjoyable, but I didn't ultimately feel as connected to this piece. While the overall polish is high, the mechanics are excellent, and the writing is evocative and tight, but for whatever reason, I failed to have a sense of deeper connection with the piece.
I finished the piece two days ago and have been mulling over my disconnect since. The characters feel real and believable, but the flow of the story and the pacing seems to break down; I had a sense what had happened fairly early in the story, but didn't feel a sense of satisfaction when I had solved the puzzle. I think it might benefit from some more steps, or some other modifications to the pacing; maybe keeping a sense of mystery even at the climax? I'm not sure what the answer is, precisely, but I'd still recommend this piece "as-is" to anyone who enjoys detective work and investigations in interactive fiction.
Fun, short little work referencing the convoluted Sierra classics, November 23, 2016This short Twine piece satirizes and mocks the conventions of early Sierra adventures, making the simple task of "making a sandwich" a twisting and convoluted mess of converting to orthodox Judaism, befriending former President Jimmy Carter, and committing arson.
The death states (there are many) evoke the incredibly cruel and unexpected failure states of early text games, with unpredictable and seemingly disconnected events resulting from simple verbs like "read".
I enjoyed it, but I feel like it could be deeper. You can probably investigate the entire piece in under 10 minutes. I think a longer game with more material could come out of this, and it would benefit from more storyline spread out over the material.
Atmosphere: check. Subversion: check. Parser puzzles in Twine-like: uh.., November 22, 2016Detectiveland is a well-written call-back to the interactive fiction of yesteryear: the terse room descriptions and unguided exploration of a classic Scott Adams work mixed with the contemporary themes and concepts present in modern interactive fiction.
Music, sound effects, and visuals all work together to provide a compelling and tight experience. The writing voice is strong and firmly in line with the hard-boiled potboilers of detective fiction, while avoiding the blatant sexism and nihilism that pervaded noir.
There are many laugh-out-loud moments throughout the piece, and some of my favorite endings are the "bad" ones, which aren't differentiated outside of your experience. They all end the same, but the last moments, as chosen by the player, are relevant and and meaning.
The puzzles were a nice touch, and show a way for twine-like pieces to recreate classic "do what with what" puzzle design. Some of them were a bit obtuse at first, but the game aspect is very forgiving, and it's easy to attempt again. The game aspects deviate from classic IF in not being cruel; the game state can't be made unplayable.
This was a satisfying detective romp, and it's obvious why it won the 2016 IFComp. Very recommended.
Tight little piece with strong voice and sense of place, November 16, 2016I loved this short horror work by Dias, set on a scrubby little island where rich New Englanders bought cottages and displaced the sheep herders and fishers who once eked out a living.
The voice of the main protagonist/narrator is strong and realistic; I could imagine this man talking to me in a dark bar. Little details complete his character--he doesn't just chain smoke, he makes a snide comment about vaping, too.
The house is navigated by clicking text links--room to room--and I quickly made a mental map in my head which looked an awful lot like the small Cape Cods and saltboxes of the coastal towns from my home state.
The ending is perfect: as far as I can tell, you have two choices, and it is worth playing a second time to experience both of them. There are other small choices throughout, but most of them function more as "which to do first", although a few conversational options are binary.
Highly recommended. I would love some appropriate audio in the background too, although I recognize that I'm getting greedy as the overall quality of Twine-like games improves. I imagine the quiet clink of glasses and low murmurs, the jukebox of a dive bar...
My only complaint is the candle UI, as it was; you use candles to communicate with the dead, and the game cleverly displays your candles at the bottom of the interface. I may have been wrong, but I had the sense that my candles were limited, and could be used up prematurely; it would be nice to have some way to know that this isn't the case, as it would remove a bit of, I think, unintended tension from the experience.
Another strong entry from Hennessy, November 15, 2016Hennessy writes with a strong voice and distinct characters, representing a broad spectrum of sexuality and identity, interwoven with contemporary themes and a strong vein of magical realism.
If you played Birdland, you're familiar with Hennessy's oeuvre: unrequited or unrealized young love, the surreal and supernatural, and a free mixing of reality and fantasy.
Anime conventions, hyperbole, self-awareness, and irony run throughout the dialogues and settings, and a memorable scene includes the use of emoji instead of words.
This piece could stand on its own, although the ending would be unsatisfying as the finale. Thankfully it's part one of a planned four part series. I'm interested to see where it goes, and am looking forward to the next installment.
Powerful material, solid writing, held back by pacing and UI decisions, November 14, 2016Emotionally powerful writing that lightens the mood with the humorous concept of putting you in the story as an anthropomorphised bear who communicates via gestures.
The story is linear, but the choices feel meaningful and deliver a sense of agency. My only negative feeling towards the work is that the UI forces pauses between sections of text, and prevents you from advancing, which slowed down my sense of pacing and urgency. I suspect the plot plays a part too, as it is predicated on moving back and forth through time in a way that usually works, but sometimes feels like it could use a little more attention.
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