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Number of Ratings: 32
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Showing All | Show by Page - Ms. Woods, July 26, 2023
- bkirwi, January 23, 2023
- VanishingSky (Nanjing, China), August 9, 2022
- Kinetic Mouse Car, August 4, 2022
- Vulturous, April 26, 2022
3 of
3 people found the following review helpful:
The lake is still..., March 19, 2022Stark, dry, rhythmic prose.
Dark, hazy, evocative art.
The whole becomes more than its parts.
Unseen others stalk you on your descent.
An otherwordly realm.
(inspired by the Adventuron-port
of the game)
- wisprabbit (Sheffield, UK), June 10, 2021
- Durafen, March 20, 2021
6 of
6 people found the following review helpful:
Extraordinary and unique, March 14, 2021Swigian has a limited vocabulary, a limited range of expression, at every level: the text level, the story level, the gameplay level. This doesn't sound promising, but in the end it's the key to making this game extraordinary and unique.
Descriptions could not be shorter. Things are named with simple words, but there are almost no adjectives, and no details besides the things that there are. "It is what it is". The character doesn't like to describe things, so he gives them unambiguous names. But, despite this sparse and precise language, there is an amazing degree of ambiguity, because of the lack of details. A name may be enough to understand how to use a thing, but not enough to understand what it is.
The story is also full of fog and ambiguity. The narrator knows what they are and what they need, but they never explain it to the player. Fantastic worlds are generally over-explained, particulary in games, where you need to manipulate them; but in Swigian, the world is wonderfully under-explained. Players don't know what they face, or why they have to do the things they do. The puzzles are simple, but intuitive instead of logical. This heightens the myth-like feeling.
And the limited vocabulary of the text also fits perfectly with a limited parser with very few available options. That is of great help to players not very good at parser, like me.
My only complaint is that I wish it was longer, with more puzzles. I wish I could play a longer game like this.
- J. J. Guest (London, England), December 20, 2020
- xkia, November 16, 2020
- Zape, July 22, 2020
- nf, February 18, 2020
- Jacic, November 8, 2019
- Bartlebooth, July 21, 2019
- ramada, July 16, 2019
- jakomo, July 16, 2019
- Denk, August 27, 2018
- Sobol (Russia), August 27, 2018
- dgtziea, May 9, 2018
- IFforL2 (Chiayi, Taiwan), March 31, 2018
Dhakajack
In the Epic Age, heroes didn’t ramble on, they just did stuff. In this game, that’s how it works. Why? Because that is how it is done. Period.
- E.K., November 19, 2017
- tekket (Česká Lípa, Czech Republic), November 17, 2017
- Karl Ove Hufthammer (Bergen, Norway), November 17, 2017
- Sam Kabo Ashwell (Seattle), November 17, 2017
- Spike, November 16, 2017
- sushabye, November 7, 2017
- lobespear, October 31, 2017
- Squidi, October 20, 2017
5 of
5 people found the following review helpful:
A minimal escape, October 18, 2017Swigian is a text-sparse parser game. You are an outdoorsy person of no distinct description (“You look like me” is… suggestive) and… well, let’s start by building a fire.
The player’s only stated motivation is escaping an unnamed group: “them”. I would usually prefer more explanation, but here, in this style, that is enough. You are running from them. That is all I need to know.
Objects are barely described – “That is what it is” – encouraging the player to take the writer at face value. Object manipulation for puzzles is simplified, though most of the usual parser commands have been preserved.
Solving puzzles opens up new areas of the map. While the in-game map actually covers a large area, you only ever spend a short time in each area; often, there is exactly one thing you need to do there. The writing is evocative, but firmly rooted in reality – no metaphor for this, unlike, say, baby tree, another text-sparse parser game.
Overall, a solid game which I enjoyed playing, set firmly in parser’s traditional penchant for object-oriented puzzles.
- Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), October 7, 2017
6 of
6 people found the following review helpful:
Not a "text adventure"., October 7, 2017This game is about being inside a simple, animal-like, childish mind. And so, it all revolves around this premise. The minimalism is not plainly esthetic. Guessing who you are may be simple. Guessing at what it's happening still puzzles me, instead. Very nice at setting... the setting; very low in putting up some fight (the game is ridiculously easy).
As a side note: this game would really love having some old-style, pixelated graphics as room descriptions. I would do those for free. :-)
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