Cape

by Bruno Dias profile

2015

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Reviews and Ratings

5 star:
(11)
4 star:
(17)
3 star:
(12)
2 star:
(4)
1 star:
(1)
Average Rating:
Number of Ratings: 45
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- sirjiles, June 4, 2016

- kybrsmith, May 12, 2016

- E. W. B., February 23, 2016

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A grungy look at superhero origins in Undum, February 3, 2016
by MathBrush
Related reviews: IF Comp 2015, about 1 hour

Cape is, in my opinion, one of the best web-based interactive fiction games of all time. It is an engrossing story about a young petty criminal who has 'greatness thrust upon them' as a result of their crimes.

The most influential choice you make in this long Undum game is the choice of your super powers. I've heard some people say that the powers end up seeming the same, but I felt that all three big options were very different from each other. I think what people are talking about is a fact that the actual story is the same; just the details of it change from choice to choice.

Your superhero comes to grips with their powers and their crime-fighting. They are simultaneously uncomfortable and thrilled by their powers. There is an interesting mystery leading to a thrilling climactic confrontation.

The feel is grungy, dark; I lived in Manhattan for a while, and this really reminds me of the feel of the Lower East Side at night. I just loved this game. Loved it loved it loved it. (Note: whenever someone hypes up a game to me, I am always disappointed in it, so you might not like it as much as I did. I just happen to really like grungy superhero stories).

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- Onirim (Argentina), December 31, 2015

- <blank>, December 27, 2015

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Strong themes and excellent use of medium, December 27, 2015
by streever (America)

Cape is an engrossing take on the superhero genre, avoiding or subverting many of the worst tropes, while remaining faithful to the more noble themes from the genre.

Bruno Dias explores themes of class conflict, gentrification, and the corruption of authority in this impressively long choice-based game. Interactive elements feel meaningful and clearly telegraph your agency as you tell the origin story of a superhero.

There is no sense that you're closing off parts of the story, and the writing is fairly clear around choices, so you may or may not feel a need to play this one twice. I felt completely satisfied with my choices; the excellent writing made all of my decisions well-informed ones, and the sense that the story didn't change (just my character) left me feeling satisfied that I'd learned all there was to learn.

Plot-wise, the climax was less satisfying than expected; the writing is solid throughout (both in characterizations and plot development), but the ending feels somewhat quick and unsatisfying. This may be a very subjective bit of criticism; others may enjoy this as a self-contained setup for future stories (which seems to be the intent), but I couldn't help but feel like the pacing loosened up at the end.

To be frank, this is a quibble, and shouldn't detract from the rest of the experience. Cape is friendly and welcoming for newcomers and veterans alike, and is an excellent way to spend your time. I highly recommend it.

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- Aryore, December 12, 2015

- Doug Orleans (Somerville, MA, USA), November 19, 2015

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Brilliant, evocative, original writing, November 19, 2015
by Felicity Banks (Canberra, Australia)
Related reviews: IFComp 2015

This blew me away.

I loved the story and the world and enjoyed the way the room-mate related to the PC.

I really enjoyed the mechanism of having two ways to highlight words - one to add detail to the scene, and one to move on. I clicked on all the extra bits, feeling supremely confident that the high-class writing would make it worth my while (normally I'm desperate to get to the resolution of a story, and I rush through as quickly as possible).

I was terrified the end would suck and ruin everything, and it didn't. It was more like the ending of a prologue than the ending of a story, but it worked.

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- E.K., November 19, 2015

- Oreolek (Kemerovo, Russia), November 18, 2015

- Cat Manning, November 17, 2015

- Simon Deimel (Germany), November 12, 2015

- Karl Ove Hufthammer (Bergen, Norway), November 9, 2015

- Sobol (Russia), November 5, 2015

- Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, Minn.), October 31, 2015

- Pegbiter (Malmö, Sweden), October 28, 2015

- rwallace, October 26, 2015

- tekket (Česká Lípa, Czech Republic), October 10, 2015


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