forgotten gems - an IFDB Poll
by Marius Müller
RSS FeedI'm looking for games that don't show up in the IF histories or recommended lists, for what reason whatsover. Old games that maybe weren't boundary-pushing or noteworthy, but still give you a fun play experience. If you ever thought "Hey, everyone mentions Zork but not..." That is the kind of game I'm looking for.
| Worlds Apart, by Suzanne Britton 5 votes "Still n°1 on my list." [+]"Still n°1 on my list." ( - Full review) --Rovarsson... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --MerelBlackbird...  Vote for this game | |
| Augmented Fourth, by Brian Uri! 5 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --DJ... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Audiart... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Pinstripe... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Karl Ove Hufthammer... Vote for this game | |
| Christminster, by Gareth Rees 4 votes "Great atmosphere, fitting with the coherent story." [+]"Great atmosphere, fitting with the coherent story." --Biep... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --IFonthebrain... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Victor Gijsbers... Vote for this game | |
| Adventurer's Consumer Guide, by Řyvind Thorsby 4 votes "Solidly fun puzzle game." [+]"Solidly fun puzzle game.: I've put it on a few lists myself, I suppose, but for the most part I don't see people talking about this one as much as I think it deserves. It's thoroughly silly, but the puzzles are inventive and clever and it's a big, rewarding piece." ( - Full review) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Kenneth Hutt... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Ryan Veeder... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... Vote for this game | |
| The Edifice, by Lucian P. Smith 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... "An intelligent..." [+]"An intelligent work with excellent, involved puzzles and a setting rarely seen in IF." --Christina Nordlander... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
| First Things First, by J. Robinson Wheeler 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Sobol... "Probably one of..." [+]"Probably one of the largest and most ambitious games people don't really talk about anymore. Not all of that ambition works, but it's still a great, epic experience." () --Pinstripe... Vote for this game | |
| Gourmet, by Aaron A. Reed and Chad Barb 3 votes "Wickedly funny" [+]"Wickedly funny: A tremendously entertaining farce with some occasionally difficult bits and the most fiendish lobster in history. Doesn't get discussed as much as Aaron's later work, but good stuff." --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Karl Ove Hufthammer... Vote for this game | |
| Degeneracy, by Leonard Richardson 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Emily Short... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Sobol... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Pinstripe... Vote for this game | |
| Bolivia By Night, by Aidan Doyle 3 votes "A lighthearted..." [+]"A lighthearted romp of a superhero story based on exotic mythology, Excellent use of superpowers in a text adventure." ( ) --Felix Pleșoianu... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Kinetic Mouse Car... (No comment) [+](No comment) --jakomo... Vote for this game | |
| Guess the Verb!, by Leonard Richardson 2 votes "A minor IF comedy classic" [+]"A minor IF comedy classic: I don't see this game on the "best of" lists very often, which is a shame, as this is a very clever and often inventive, if somewhat flawed, take on IF conventions and cliches. The puzzle involving the finicky parser is an early highlight." --Molly... "Another oldish..." [+]"Another oldish classic that doesn't seem to be talked about much. Bite-sized, well-written, with great jokes and puzzles (I particularly like how you convince Lalrry to take your payment), plus the format means that on replay you have a shot at skipping the areas you didn't like." ( ) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| The Plant, by Michael J. Roberts 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game | |
| Blighted Isle, by Eric Eve 2 votes "One of my favorites..." [+]"One of my favorites...: It is strange that this game is so little talked about, compared to Eve's other works." ( ) --strivenword... "Big, ambitious,..." [+]"Big, ambitious, many-NPC work." () --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| The Mulldoon Legacy, by Jon Ingold 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --ifwizz... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --IFonthebrain... Vote for this game | |
| Worldsmith, by Ade McT 2 votes "Only one rating the last two years" [+]"Only one rating the last two years: A masterpiece" ( ) --Denk... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --jakomo... Vote for this game | |
| Halothane, by Ravi Rajkumar 2 votes "not perfect, but a good story, a lot of fun, and greatly overlooked" [+]"not perfect, but a good story, a lot of fun, and greatly overlooked" ( ) --Anya Johanna DeNiro... "Nothing special..." [+]"Nothing special in terms of gameplay, but the writing and story are very good." --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Nevermore, by Nate Cull 1 vote "Another of my favourites that rarely shows up on polls" [+]"Another of my favourites that rarely shows up on polls: a dark, excellently coded and written adaptation/expansion of Poe's "The Raven"." ( ) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Gnome Ranger, by Pete Austin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Orevore Courier, by Brian Rapp 1 vote "A brilliant little thing;" [+]"A brilliant little thing;: one of my favorite games that no one really remembers. Simple but fun characterizations and a fun pulpy setting mixed with one great little puzzle." ( ) --Pinstripe... Vote for this game | |
| Stationfall, by Steve Meretzky 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Enlightenment, by Taro Ogawa 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) --Emily Short... Vote for this game | |
| Breakers, by Rodney Smith, Joe Vierra, William Mataga 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --kala... Vote for this game | |
| Redemption, by Sam Ruby 1 vote "Great Eamon game" [+]"Great Eamon game" ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| On Optimism, by Tim Lane 1 vote "A very good surrealist game." [+]"A very good surrealist game.: I think it just came out in a bad time, when the IF community was tired of surrealism. I think everyone thought it was just another "Blue Chairs" -- but it does have much of the appeal of works like Blue Chairs and So Far, at least to me." ( ) --strivenword... Vote for this game | |
| La Canción del Bardo, by Bruce Humphrey 1 vote "Castilian language - Well written, fun, polished... and unheard of." [+]"Castilian language - Well written, fun, polished... and unheard of.: This game doesn't even show up on caad.es (the Spanish equivalent of IFDB). The author put a lot of work into it, beta tested it, entered it into a contest, and revised it again afterward. It works well, has good puzzles and narrative, and I just enjoyed it. The title is entirely misleading, I suppose; it isn't written in verse, and the PC is more like a wizard than a bard." ( ) --IFforL2... Vote for this game | |
| Ingrid's Back, by Pete Austin, Peter McBride, Godfrey Dowson, Graham Jones 1 vote "Great and obtainable!" [+]"Great and obtainable!" ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |
| Small World, by Andrew D. Pontious 1 vote "Unique and fun..." [+]"Unique and fun setting, some really cool puzzles, and just generally very well-written and polished -- why isn't this better known?" ( ) --Christina Nordlander... Vote for this game | |
| Scapeghost, by Pete Austin 1 vote (No comment) [+](No comment) ( ) --Denk... Vote for this game | |