Reviews by manonamora
independent release
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A light-hearted grocery shopping trip ft a late customer, January 19, 2024This was such a different experience from when I do grocery shopping. From arriving just before closing time, to having the option of berating the poor employees, or just choosing items that are definitely not on the list... there are so many way of getting on the wrong track - and, at best, disappointing your wife.
And that's also what makes this game fun: you can be pretty chaotic, to run down the clock or feeling your terrible-manchild fantasy or being an absolute horror of a customer. Who cares about the consequences, just start again!
I did get the best run on the first go, because I can't be mean to service workers or not following lists...
Still... good thing this is just a game. Cause I'd feel bad for the wife of this person.
Entertaining chaos nonetheless.
This binksi game is an text-adventure adaptation of the *Jabberwocky* "poem", with hand-drawn background to represent each location/bit of the story. The text is quite a faithful adaptation to Carroll's whimsical (and slightly dark) style, and I'd even see the illustrations being part of a printed edition. While I managed to beat the monster on the first try (completely at random, because I forgot how the poem went - a poem included in the game, btw), it was fun restarting the game and try other directions, finding other monsters - ones you are not prepared to fight...
I think the synopsis says it all: it is a reformatting of an old short story, accompanied by contemporary pictures and music. This is supposedly meant to enhance the ambiance of the short story. You can go back and forth in the story, which is shown a couple of paragraphs at a time.
Though I do like adaptation of older work into an Interactive format… It didn’t really work for me, especially when portrait-oriented pictures were included (forcing you to scroll up/down the page). I found the contemporary pictures kind of going against the story, not finding the link between the specific picture and the text shown on the screen. I think it might have worked better if the adaptation also included more interactive text…
The context to which the game was first released (the *Worst Game of the Year* Jam) helps understand this pretty strange game. This short minimalist bitsy game introduces a handful of "maze" screens, where you must find the element to interact with (often a "sense") to move to the next screen. It is pretty silly and nonsensical, and if you manage to pass the first screen (I think your cursor is "invisible"?), you'll be in for a wild ride...
Pocking fun at hardcore fans?, January 12, 2024In this short Twine adventure, you play as a "fake Star Wars/Trek" fan, excited to see the anticipated new movie. Fan as you are, you even have a whole costume, with accessories, ready for the event. But *oh noooo!*... you didn't manage your time correctly and find yourself unable to get inside the movie theatre. Your goal is to find a way in and see the movie, whatever the cost!
The game provides you with different possible actions, branching into different fail/success scenarios - some funny, some pretty embarrassing. It's clear the PC feels very entitled to a spot in the event, even if it was their own fault they didn't get there - ready to even start a riot, if that is what is needed.
This kinetic (and looping?) entry spans a conversation, between two unnamed/undefined pixel characters, about a vague subject ("it") -- how it was made, what value it has, and whether to end it. The game advanced by clicking on the pixel circle appearing on the screen, rather than through choices or other active participation.
It is a bit strange and quite confusing.
What is this "it"? Are *we* the "it" those those characters talk about?
The snippet is much too short and vague to provide any answer.
The low-res interface is pretty neat tho! with the little animation of the background and the characters.
Slightly tedious and silly fetch quest, January 12, 2024The game is a short-ish explorative game made in bitsy, reminiscent of point-n-click (except you use your keyboard arrows instead of your mouse), where the goal is to find all treasures of the Dwarf King. There are about 20-30-ish screens that you must go through to find all treasures, some where you will find the wanted objects, others where an element is interactive. This "fetch-quest" relies on your memory of having already explored a certain screen or not.
The game is a bit silly in its premise, with (internet?) trolls having taken treasures and hidden it. And the design of each screen, with it's 3-colour palette, is reminiscent of old school games. But it is made extra tedious by the choice of program, as bitsy relies on pressing arrows to move the cursor around...
Min/Max-ing US politics, January 12, 2024Interactive Fiction has an immense potential in making educational topics fun, especially concepts and procedures that feel pretty unapproachable and complex. Gamification and all that!
As much as bill passing can be explained simply (representatives vote on a bill they read, and it can pass - or not), it is clear there is more to the process. With needing to find support, raising funds to change minds, but not taking too long before submitting the bill to a vote... the process includes a lot more stakeholders, each with their own agenda or influence. From the Assembly to the Office of the President, you will need to min/max your way to pass your bill.
An interesting way to get a bit more of an insight into US politics (as a non-US citizen).
As a sidenote: Bill reminded me of Clippy.
What good will it do?, January 12, 2024This almost kinetic visual novel follows three (vigilante?) fighters inside a bunker plotting against a controlling (otherworldly?) organisation called VIRGIL (Big Brother-vibes). The latter’s control is so spread and wide that the only way to fight it would be to essentially nuke the Earth - or it would regenerate. Away from “real life” to ensure their safety and so their plan wouldn’t get discovered, the three characters uphold different view on how to approach the issue - discussions turning more into arguments with the “weapon” being ready.
While there aren’t meaningful choices, none that really affect the story at least, the story is quite engrossing. The story sets up enough to get an understanding of the conflicts, but stays vague, forcing you to piece things as you get more information. The culminating scene is satisfying even if as a player I barely has anything to do with it - putting an end to the MC’s struggles with their goal and their wavering will.
The visuals, with the limited palette and sprites looking like they were sketched, complements the writing and the scenes, with blinking and shaking elements, and an interesting focus on gazes.
I stiiiiiiilll… wished we could have had one choice at the end, rather having the PC making that choice for us (even if it made sense story wise).
Doors. Just... doors., January 12, 2024*Door(s)* is a tiny game where you are shown doors on the screen, which you can click open or close, and throw them off the screen. Mess around enough with them and the screen will change, showing a different bit of text. Though it is obviously interactive, there isn't much narrative wise - the text only amounting to a sentence.
I guess the concept is interesting in a philosophical way, in that doors can open and close before us (opportunities/paths), or we can leave them behind (changing direction), but that they can still be there? There is only so much you can extrapolate from just a sentence...
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