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Showing All | Show by Page - Zape, December 15, 2023 - Egas, December 2, 2023 - Max Fog, November 10, 2023 - Arioch, October 30, 2023 - gattociao, August 11, 2023 - Drew Cook (Acadiana, USA), July 26, 2023 - Bell Cyborg (Canada), July 21, 2023 - HawkeyeFierce , May 20, 2023 - Kastel, April 12, 2023 - Amun100 (UK), July 27, 2022 - aluminumoxynitride, May 29, 2022 - Canalboy (London, UK.), May 5, 2022 3 of
3 people found the following review helpful:
Outstanding game! By far my favorite text adventure!, March 13, 2022by Sven Largone I've been playing this masterpiece off and on for years now, always getting sucked back in by the masterful descriptions, the quaint English settings and sense of humour. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- cgasquid (west of house), January 31, 2022 2 of
2 people found the following review helpful:
Well-crafted, self-scaling, puzzle-filled labor-of-love!, December 9, 2021by dvs I spent a glorious year playing Curses with my nephew over Zoom. The puzzles are well-crafted and usually obvious in retrospect. Although it starts with wandering around your attic, pretty soon you have adventures in many locations, all of which are cleverly presented and contained. There is so much joy in the witty responses and the vocabulary-expanding descriptions. The in-game hint system (once you find it) is a delight. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Ry (Philippines), November 1, 2021 - TheBoxThinker, October 16, 2021 - Frodelius, September 19, 2021 - Karlok (Netherlands), April 14, 2021 4 of
4 people found the following review helpful:
Mystery and humour, December 5, 2020by Wynter (London, UK) I came to Curses! as a relatively new, but not completely inexperienced, player of IF. I had recently completed Emily Short's rich and beautiful game Bronze, and was looking for a game to fill the gap, one with a fascinating atmosphere and which was long and challenging enough to get my teeth into. Curses! was everything I wanted, and more. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- peachesncream, November 15, 2020 - mifga (Brooklyn, NY), October 14, 2020 - heasm66 (Sweden), August 10, 2020 - kierlani, May 1, 2020 - patytrico, November 14, 2019 - erzulie, September 24, 2019 1 of
4 people found the following review helpful:
Classic and brilliant adventure, September 3, 2019The game is huge, well-written and thoroughly enjoyable. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- wisprabbit (Sheffield, UK), June 21, 2019 - lcs70, February 20, 2019 - JoQsh, February 18, 2019 - Stian, January 18, 2019 - mirandamiranda, October 2, 2018 - e.peach, August 2, 2018 - faffpaper, April 11, 2018 - Autymn Castleton, December 18, 2017 - ifMUD_Olly (Montana, USA), April 21, 2017 - Spike, February 26, 2017 - Greg Frost (Seattle, Washington), February 11, 2017 10 of
11 people found the following review helpful:
Stuck and rage quitting, December 6, 2016by piffling-paka (State College, Pennsylvania) I really enjoyed the game in the beginning. Sure, I got stuck almost immediately, but I pulled up a walkthrough to get a general idea of what I was supposed to do. I made my way through a large chunk of the game, while writing down important pieces information and hand-drawing maps. I was starting to feel good until I got stuck again. I then realized I'm messed something up ~15 save files ago. Never would have guessed it was a mistake. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | View comments (3) - Add comment
- JcmMike, September 20, 2016 - miren, July 25, 2016 - NinaS, July 3, 2016 8 of
9 people found the following review helpful:
Not for the beginner..., June 9, 2016by IFonthebrain I am a seasoned veteran, having played most of the old Infocom games during my teenage and into my 20s(I am now 46). So, I went into this game thinking that it would be an easy one, thinking that I would 'whip' it in only a matter of days. It took me almost 3 weeks. The game is incredibly intricate, covers a lot of territory. I would not recommend it to a beginner, the Zork series is difficult enough--in Zork, you have only ONE wand(which is not even yours), in Curses!, there are more than TEN! This game also has teleportation, time travel to various places, the obligatory maze, plenty of NPCs. There were a couple of places where I had to start over, because I had missed an object irrevocably---I was in the kind of space that most IFers dread, where you flounder about, wondering what to do next and get this strange feeling that you had missed something, then finally give in and consult the walkthrough, only to find out that you were really to supposed to take X or do Y while you were in Z location and time(in addition to doing what you DID do), when you thought you were done with that area(and, of course, there's no way of going back). Yes, there were a couple of places in this game where I thought it wasn't being 'fair' in its description of the place or clear as to what was to be accomplished in this or that area, and if you are not accustomed to examining EVERY object, or searching EVERY possible place, and mapping EVERY accessible passage and room, you might get stuck. There were a few objects that were hidden in places that were not prominently or directly referred to in the room descriptions. Also, I think something must be said about the sequence in which the various areas(and there are many) in this game are played and solved--some must be solved before others and there is at least one that must be completed during your first--and only--visit. With all that said, I had fun with this game. I am a veteran, so while I was a little frustrated with the inconveniences mentioned, I must admit that they are par for the course in games like this and the author, if asked about them, would probably just say, 'That's life! It's part of the challenge!' I had fun with the hint system built into the game(and the reader will understand what I mean when s/he encounters it). In fact, I would advise any player, new or experienced, to save the game very often, at every new discovery, and use the hint system to 'the max', by saving his/her position near where the hints are being offered(which is easily worked out). Again, this is a big game, with many fronts, puzzles at every turn, especially at the house. A tour-de-force for the experienced IFer. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Denk, February 21, 2016 - Teaspoon, January 30, 2016 - Snave, January 12, 2016 - Janice M. Eisen (Portland, Oregon), November 16, 2015 - Catalina, November 9, 2015 7 of
7 people found the following review helpful:
Too clever or too smart?, September 28, 2015by jmmelko Of course, this game is very well written, and there is a lot of findings and innovative ideas, even two imaginary languages have been created, making the gameplay quite unique. There are some humorous comments, there are parts which are very realistic while others are oniric (and sometimes absurd). Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
4 of
4 people found the following review helpful:
The quintessential interactive fiction game, April 5, 2015Curses is the first game I think of when I think of interactive fiction, together with Anchorhead. Sprawling, light-hearted, with a compelling backstory and cast of supporting characters. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Thrax, March 11, 2015 - prevtenet (Texas), January 27, 2015 - morlock, January 14, 2015 - Floating Info, January 6, 2015 - BlitzWithGuns, August 4, 2014 - Jason McIntosh (Boston), April 15, 2014 - shornet (Bucharest), March 23, 2014 - Deychrome, March 20, 2014 - KidRisky (Connecticut, USA), January 22, 2014 - Brown_Cow, March 20, 2013 - ptkw, March 7, 2013 - ProminencePen, August 24, 2012 - E.K., July 31, 2012 - kala (Finland), May 25, 2012 - Jim Kaplan (Jim Kaplan has a room called the location. The location of Jim Kaplan is variable.), March 25, 2012 - [delete this account], January 10, 2012 - Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), December 17, 2011 - MonochromeMolly, December 10, 2011 - Nav (Bristol, UK), November 24, 2011 - trojo (Huntsville, Alabama, USA), October 10, 2011 3 of
10 people found the following review helpful:
Curses, indeed, September 17, 2011by Deboriole (San Diego, CA) I really liked this game when I first started. Finding a map in the attic sounds like a wonderful puzzle! Unfortunately, my curiosity got me stuck very early on and I had no idea how to progress. (Spoiler - click to show)I read a book from the bookshelf and was transported to a garden. I had no Idea how I had gotten there or how to get back. It was completely frustrating and disorienting. I am not sure I want to even try this game again, if this sort of thing is bound to happen. I like games that make logical sense and so far as I can tell, this one doesn't. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | View comments (1) - Add comment
- dacharya64, September 4, 2011 - troels, August 8, 2011 - calindreams (Birmingham, England), July 14, 2011 - André St-Aubin (Laval, Québec), May 31, 2011 - RandomExile, May 20, 2011 - Felix Pleșoianu (Bucharest, Romania), March 18, 2011 - dryman, February 4, 2011 - Walter Sandsquish, February 2, 2011 - snickerdoddle, January 27, 2011 4 of
9 people found the following review helpful:
Curses, lagach, December 21, 2010I'm of an age so I remember playing adventure games on 8 bit computers... I was bored and discovered google's "Twisty" app for android and thought I'd give it a go. It comes with Curses pre-loaded. Without a walkthrough and lashings of hints I'd have got nowhere. But even with a heavy dose of cheating and a poor input device the game is still totally absorbing. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Alder (San Francisco), August 15, 2010 - Muskie, August 13, 2010 4 of
12 people found the following review helpful:
Grr, May 27, 2010by tggdan3 (Michigan) Okay, I tried to like this game. The writing was good, and the concept seemed simple enough- but I just couldn't quite get into it. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | View comments (2) - Add comment
- lavonardo, April 28, 2010 - Azazel, April 2, 2010 - lupusrex (Seattle, WA), October 4, 2009 - Alessan, August 21, 2009 - jahilia, August 2, 2009 - GDL (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), July 8, 2009 - Guenni (At home), June 3, 2009 - Mark V. (Madrid, Spain), June 2, 2009 - Hipster Scumbag, May 4, 2009 - Mastodon, March 26, 2009 - John D, March 14, 2009 - ., March 3, 2009 - albtraum, February 8, 2009 - Shigosei, February 1, 2009 - Katt (Michigan), January 17, 2009 - Linnau (Tel-Aviv, Israel), October 31, 2008 - burtcolk, September 3, 2008 18 of
21 people found the following review helpful:
A long lasting puzzle-fest, September 1, 2008by Maze (Rome, Italy) This game is a puzzle galore. It is long. It is tough. It is great. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Remove vote | Add a comment
- Genjar (Finland), August 31, 2008 - schifter (Louisville, KY), August 17, 2008 - Martin Braun (Berlin, Germany), July 30, 2008 - LisariaUS, July 17, 2008 - Timo Saarinen (Finland), July 15, 2008 - Lonedale (Tula, Russia), June 30, 2008 - Zoltar, June 22, 2008 - Mike Ciul (Philadelphia), June 4, 2008 - Dave Chapeskie (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), April 23, 2008 - brattish (Canada), April 8, 2008 - jfpbookworm (Hamburg, New York), February 25, 2008 - J. Robinson Wheeler (Austin, TX), February 22, 2008 - Dan Schmidt (Boston), January 31, 2008 - juandesant (Granada, Spain), January 2, 2008 - oddgrue (California), December 30, 2007 - Tyrog, December 14, 2007 - Miron (Berlin, Germany), December 11, 2007 - VK, November 26, 2007 - Jonathan Harford, November 19, 2007 - ErWenn (Bloomington, IN), November 18, 2007 - Alan De Smet, November 12, 2007 - Wesley (Iowa City, Iowa), November 11, 2007 - Stephen Bond (Leuven, Belgium), October 26, 2007 - Sami Preuninger (New York City), October 23, 2007 - zer, October 22, 2007 - Emily Short, October 19, 2007 Baf's GuideIn this game, you play the current owner of Meldrew Hall, a stately home of England. You start innocently enough, searching the attic for a map of Paris, but quickly start discovering occult gateways to other times and places linked to your family's increasingly mysterious history. Needless to say, there is a family curse, but just what is its nature? A very large game, with atmosphere galore - Meldrew Hall has a rich history, given mostly in the form of offhand comments in room and object descriptions. Well-researched, well-crafted, and pervaded by dry wit. Locations vary from the ordinary to the exotic to the bizarre. Puzzles are tough but logical. Hints are available from characters in the game, but many of the harder puzzles are covered inadequately. Contains tarot cards, a T. S. Eliot scene, and a couple of small, benign mazes. One puzzle requires what I consider to be an abuse of the command syntax, but this is arguable (and has, indeed, been argued at great length.) In general, though, this is an excellent showcase of Inform's capabilities, and a good example of what you get when a whole lot of people sit down and discuss game design for several years while one person listens and takes notes. -- Carl Muckenhoupt
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