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A remarkable tour de force, February 21, 2012When I discovered Make It Good, it was the first IF game I'd seen since I played them avidly as a kid in the late 80s / early 90s. I had thought the genre was extinct, and so was quite excited to discover Make It Good and realise that actually there was still a very active community around.
However, the fact that it was Make It Good that re-introduced me to the genre has been a double-edged sword; it's simultaneously re-ignited my interest, and spoilt IF forever. Why? Because now I've played Make It Good, I worry I'll never find any other game to compare.
Make It Good is an incredible achievement. It draws you in and keeps you gripped from an early stage. The writing is strong, the style evocative. There are numerous well developed characters - not least the PC himself. The plot twists and turns and there are some amazing developments, but you are drawn into this slowly and piece-by-piece, such that you always feel like you know what you're trying to achieve and have ideas as to how to do it - you may feel confused, but rarely lost.
As you progress further in the game, your path will become clearer, but the steps to achieve it are numerous and complex. It requires many playthroughs, many restarts, many save & loads. But by then it will have you hooked - you will be compelled to try over and over, tweaking your strategy, researching new avenues, trying new things, in the search for the missing links. And when you do figure out a vital missing piece, the satisfaction you will get is huge.
It's also great fun to play with a friend. I played it a lot with my girlfriend (using Skype screensharing), and our eventual completion of it came down to important contributions from both of us. There's so much to solve and piece together, that you may well find it most satisfying teaming up with someone to battle it together (though no doubt you'll still find yourself working on it on your own, unable to resist the urge to continue without waiting for your partner!)
Technically the game handles very well - I experienced no bugs of note, there's a comprehensive vocabulary, and there's a good range of convenience functions (like go to <room>) to make playing fun and not tedious, even on the 20th replay.
It's a masterpiece of a game and any IF player should try it.
I just don't know when, or if, I'm going to find another as good!