Aisle

by Sam Barlow profile

Slice of life
1999

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Reviews and Ratings

5 star:
(88)
4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:
(24)
1 star:
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Average Rating:
Number of Ratings: 319
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- Bartlebooth, May 5, 2017

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Recommend To All, March 18, 2017

This is another game that is made to be replayed. And the player can choose how many times they want to replay, or how much of the story they want to uncover. I tagged it "mystery-ish" because, while it's not a puzzle game with a mystery and clues in the traditional sense, the player uses the previous play-throughs to know how else they can interact with the setting and, therefore, uncover more back-story and characterization. You put a small amount of effort into the game, and receive an increasingly rich back-story and characterization.

It's a game that can function as an accessible introduction to IF but the beauty of the narrative is for anyone. I consider that I've "played" the game but I haven't yet reached a point where I feel I've "finished" the game. I'd consider it a short game though I haven't yet reached an "end" and I don't know if there is one.

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- Greg Frost (Seattle, Washington), February 11, 2017

- lkdc, January 31, 2017

- TheAncientOne, January 29, 2017

- SciFinn (Alberta, Canada), December 14, 2016

- piffling-paka (State College, Pennsylvania), December 6, 2016

- Audiart (Davis, CA), November 3, 2016

- sadcarnival (Australia), June 19, 2016

- Dhary, May 6, 2016

- Rollersnake (Rogers, AR), May 1, 2016

- kala (Finland), April 13, 2016

- Matt Bates, April 5, 2016

- Teaspoon, March 26, 2016

- E. W. B., March 7, 2016

- ThatoneguyT0m (Oakland, California), March 6, 2016

- TotallyAMokoi, March 6, 2016

- iwk, March 5, 2016

- Mergath, February 26, 2016

- Kevin Snow, February 19, 2016

- Latmey, February 11, 2016

- Oreolek (Kemerovo, Russia), February 6, 2016

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A one-action game with over a hundred endings, February 3, 2016
by MathBrush
Related reviews: 15-30 minutes

Aisle is a well-known game with a strange mechanic; you are inside a grocery aisle shopping for food, and you only get one action before the game ends.

One-action games such as Rematch or Pick up the Phone Booth and Aisle started appearing soon after Aisle's publication. It became a mildly popular genre, and still is.

What makes Aisle successful? Part of its success is its specific details; you're not just in any aisle, you're by the gnocchi, and gnocchi remind you of your trip to Italy; the woman by you isn't just a stranger,or is she?

Another reason the game is fun is that the endings contradict each other; the story of who you are and what your past is actually changes based on your decision, so that your one action generates an entire past.

The third reason I think many people enjoy it is the wide variety of moods in the endings, from pathetic to hopeful to violent.

This is a game that everyone should play at least one time.

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- Guenni (At home), January 25, 2016

- Veraloo, January 20, 2016


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