Best of 2015 (pre-IF Comp)
Recommendations by MathBrushThese are my favorite games that have been released this year so far. I'm sure I've missed some good ones. I'm also including some I haven't yet played.
PLEASE comment if you think any other games belong on this list.
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1. Chlorophyll
by Steph Cherrywell
(2015)
Average member rating: 
(57 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A science fiction game where you are a plant-girl. Extremely well-polished. I loved the final puzzles, but was put off at first by long intro. Definitely the strongest game I have played this year, and winner of ParserComp.
2. Hana Feels
by Gavin Inglis
(2015)
Average member rating: (57 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A sleeper hit. This Twine game with great graphics came out of nowhere to great acclaim. In this heartwarming alt-game, you play a young woman with a harmful habit who is trying go get through life.
3. Toby's Nose
by Chandler Groover
(2015)
Average member rating: (107 ratings)
MathBrush says:
I haven't tried this one yet, but you play as Sherlock Holmes's dog in a mystery. Winner of Spring Thing. (Edit: Now that I've played it, I love it! Probably the best mystery game I have ever played, when it comes to solving the mystery itself. Fantastic.)
4. Feu de Joie (Session 1): cathedral
by Alan DeNiro
(2015)
Average member rating: (6 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A serial game by the acclaimed author of Solarium and Deadline Enchanter. A bit like Alethicorp,you work for a company proofreading a writeup of a novel about World War I. Strange things creep into the program.
5. Tonight Dies the Moon
by Tom McHenry
(2015)
Average member rating: (13 ratings)
MathBrush says:
By the author of Horse Master. Play one of two factions: earth, or moon. One is an office game, one is a farm simulator, both have surprises.
6. Molly and the Butter Thieves
by Alice Grove (as Cosmic Hamster)
(2015)
Average member rating: (15 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Charming short medieval game with excellent production values. My favorite of the year, with Hana Feels.
7. Starry Seeksorrow
by Caleb Wilson (as Ayla Rose)
(2015)
Average member rating: (18 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A short old-school puzzlefest with a Savoir-Faire vibe. Play as an enchanted doll in a magic garden.
8. The Skeleton Key of Ambady
by Caelyn Sandel (as Adalai Trammels)
(2015)
Average member rating: (8 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Very detailed Twine game. Explore a village over the course of a day, take contracts, etc. as the possesor of a magic key.
9. Oppositely Opal
by Buster Hudson
(2015)
Average member rating: (64 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Came in second in most areas of Parser Comp. A one room valley girl witch game, where opposites come into play. I didn't like it at first, but the puzzles got better and better.
10. Delphina's House
by Alice Grove
(2015)
Average member rating: (12 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Did well in ParserComp, and by a great author. A Calvin-and-Hobbes type adventure in a house with a box.
11. To Spring Open, by Peter Berman and Yoon Ha Lee (as Two-Bit Chip) (2015)
Average member rating: (18 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Incredibly detailed setting. A too-short Twine game about a person who receives mysterious order in a fantasy/scifi world.
12. Secret Agent Cinder
by Emily Ryan
(2015)
Average member rating: (26 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Emily Short suggested this game. I loved it; the game has lavish French-revolution era drawings and a clickable compass rose as Cinder(ella) navigates a palace as a spy. It's like an interactive webcomic, which is an interesting future form of IF.
13. Beautiful Dreamer
by S. Woodson
(2015)
Average member rating: (29 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Another recommendation by Short that came out yesterday, this is one incredible and massive Twine game. Features many subplots that would make great stand-alone games by themselves. A dreamlike magic world like Neil Gaiman's books.
14. Beyond Division, by Joseph Geipel (2015)
Average member rating: (3 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Doug Orleans suggested this Introcomp winning game. It is an intriguing game that somehow reminds me of a small-scale Pacific Rim (no giants, just alien invasion against people who must work together with strange, 'other' things. In this case, wolves)
15. 18 Rooms to Home
by Carolyn VanEseltine
(2015)
Average member rating: (5 ratings)
MathBrush says:
Though not finished, this is a very well-written series by Carolyn VanEseletine, also suggested by Doug Orleans. Each of the 18 games in the series contains all of the material of the preceding games, plus one scene before it, so you can affect the ending more and more.
16. Scroll Thief
by Daniel M. Stelzer
(2015)
Average member rating: (13 ratings)
MathBrush says:
A detailed callback to Infocom's Enchanter series. Won Introcomp last year.
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