I Didn't Know You Could Yodel

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>INVENTORY - Paul O'Brian writes about interactive fiction

I would be very surprised if anyone (outside, perhaps, of the authors' circle of friends) is able to solve the game without a walkthrough. Many of the riddles (and yes, there are many many of them) left me baffled, even after I knew the solution. Moreover, the abrupt, patchwork nature of the game gave me the impression that in several situations only one action would do, and how anyone would guess that action is beyond me. By the way, if you're offended by descriptions of "swimsuit babes acting out your wildest fantasy" or borderline-racist, stereotypical depictions of Indians (Native Americans, not Bengalis), then Yodel is probably not the game for you. If, on the other hand, you're in the mood for something lowbrow, then grab a walkthrough -- Yodel is not entirely without its rewards.

This game manages to be offensive on almost every level without being actually obscene. If you want to play a game based on massive diarrhea, being rude to your mother, offensive racial stereotypes (including Injun Jim and Italian and Mexican characters who add 'o' after every word), sexism, entering giant bodily orifices, senseless murder, and random drug use, this is the game for you.

The parser itself does an okay job of recognizing commands, but it has some actually brilliant innovations, like little popup windows that tell you what's going on elsewhere, and a great implementation of hangman. But why its put in as an implementation of an childish and offensive BIG game whose favorite puzzle form is the obscure riddle is beyond me.

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- Audiart (Davis, CA), January 8, 2009

Baf's Guide

Childish in the extreme, offensive now and again, and just plain irritating most of the time. Packed with bathroom and sex humor (well, "humor" is generous), and generally pitched at 10-year-olds, except that I wouldn't let any 10-year-old I know see it. The puzzles, for their part, turn on jokes or riddles that completely escaped me. The only thing saving this from one-star-land is that the programming is actually pretty good--the parser is built from scratch, and the authors do things like inset windows quite competently. Unfortunately, the competent programming just makes it less likely that you'll be distracted from the game itself, which is thoroughly repulsive.

-- Duncan Stevens