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Cove.z5
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
cove.z5
original entry
Requires a Z-Code interpreter. Visit IFWiki for download links.
Walkthrough and map
by David Welbourn

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The Cove

by Kathleen M. Fischer

Romance, Slice of life
2000

(based on 20 ratings)
1 review

Game Details


Awards

Best of Landscape, Landscape - 2000 IF Art Show

Editorial Reviews

Baf's Guide


While The Cove does contain specific puzzles and a list of tasks to accomplish, it's not precisely a text adventure; rather, you live through a pivotal moment in the protagonist's life. The goal of the game is to experience the environment as thoroughly as possible.

The text is expansive and rather poignant. The game's one or two puzzles are for the most part self-evident in their solution, and most of the points are scored by simply looking at the right bits of scenery to trigger your character's memories.

The Cove isn't meant to be a game, and it shows, but it is an excellent example of how a story that would be hopelessly banal in a standard format can be compelling and emotional in IF.

-- R. Serena Wakefield

SPAG
The Cove won Best Landscape in Marnie Parker's Art Show in the spring of 2000, and the landscape really does take center stage: there are only a few locations, but all of them are packed with things to experience. In fact, your score increases not with problems solved, but with things seen (or heard, or smelled, or felt), though exactly which ones give you a point and which don't feels rather arbitrary. Interestingly, much of the interaction is purely sensory--there aren't many objects to manipulate, and you can't really affect your surroundings much, though you can certainly be affected by them. The scene itself--a seaside cliff, a beach, a cave--is familiar, but there are enough unexpected elements--a sea lion, an otter, tidal pools--to make it feel fresh, and the game oozes attention to detail. [...]

Unfortunately, the landscape isn't the only thing here; there's a plot of sorts involving a dead lover and a pressured marriage and such that owes much to cliché and adds very little to the game.

-- Duncan Stevens
See the full review

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Member Reviews

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A beautiful contemplation piece set in an 1860's beach, June 27, 2016

This game was the winner of the 'Landscape' portion of the 2000 IF art show, the same art show where Galatea won the 'Portrait' segment.

You play as a woman who has second thoughts about her engagement, visiting a cove to be alone with her memories. Points are given based on memories remembered and animals examined, as well as for exploration.

The writing is peaceful and beautiful.

The game has a very small puzzle aspect that didn't really work for me.

Overall, I recommend this for fans of the IF art show. If you haven't tried any IF art show games, you should.

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The Cove on IFDB

Recommended Lists

The Cove appears in the following Recommended Lists:

IF Romances by Emily Short
IF in the romance genre is rare; here are a few I thought worked well.

Great games in a mostly realistic setting by MathBrush
These are games that for the most part don't contain magical elements or futuristic technology. This includes games where there might be magic or futuristic technology, but you don't know until the end. So several of these games do...

Polls

The following polls include votes for The Cove:

Best Short Games (5-60 minutes) by Sasha Davidovna
I'm pretty new to IF and am having a lot of fun, but in between a toddler and a job and other real life stuff, I'm having trouble finding time to finish many of the longer games I want to play. Can you please recommend me some fun and/or...

Historical adventures. by Rovarsson
I love historical novels, no matter what time period they're set in. They do have to be accurate though. Can you suggest IF-games that are also like that? (In short: no magic.)

ZCode games with non-standard status lines by Dannii
I'm interested in finding ZCode (primarily those written in Inform, though Infocom games could be ok too) which have a non-standard status line. Whether it's with colours, maps, arrows, or more! With such a list I can investigate what...

See all polls with votes for this game




This is version 5 of this page, edited by David Welbourn on 20 June 2015 at 1:51am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page