Vain Empires

by Thomas Mack profile and Xavid profile

Espionage
2020

Go to the game's main page

Member Reviews

Number of Reviews: 4
Write a review


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The opposite of poor impulse control lets bad guys have all the fun., December 1, 2020

This is a spy thriller where the main character describes life-or-death thrills as a minor bureaucratic hassle. The dry, aloof descriptions of people, places, and things provide a lot of entertainment.

As a supernatural entity, you explore a seaside chateau that has been converted to a luxury hotel and casino. Heavy velvet curtains and whirring slot machines are of little interest to those who inhabit the spiritual realm. It's an elegant trick of perspective to gloss over details that might divert players from the main story.

It's difficult to create characters in Inform that feel like real people who can interact with the player and with each other. Vain Empires sidesteps that issue by having a main character that doesn't want to interact with people. His celestial nature makes him distant and unconcerned with the mundane actions of the human realm.

Every human is expected to behave like predictable machinery, and you alter their behavior to get what you want.

Was this review helpful to you?   Yes   No   Remove vote  
More Options

 | Add a comment