MisterPibb316

This user has not published any games publicly yet.

Reviews by MisterPibb316

03 Sep 2015
This site has a lot of short games that I suppose one might call 'troll games', or perhaps 'joke games', but that could be quite forgivably confused with anything in the genre of comedy. In short, this game is a goofy little (and by little, I do mean little--it's over before you know it) comic sans thing that makes light of the current U.S. President and his supposed propensities for... stuff. Anyway, if you think you'd enjoy that, play it, but don't expect anything more.
(1)

Review for Caroline
28 May 2015
Did I get the right ending? Or was it just a game over? I'm not sure. I know that I kept being given one line and told to type in something, though occasionally I was given two choices. I'm in line with the IFDB's consensus on this one. There's a disturbing short story in here, and one I'd happily read, though there isn't much 'game' here.
(2)

24 May 2015
It many ways this feels like a playable hipster movie. For fans of such, this will be the ultimate text adventure experience: nearly two hours of exploring themes of existential love and other such philosophy seem to float many critics' and players' boats. It truly is interesting, that a story that asks us if real IS real often feels the *most* real to many. (Which is fine, if it does: this is just an observation.)

Then the issue of 'as a game' pops up, and a constant question in the world of TA criticism is asked to oneself: does a good novel per se make for a good game? Furthermore: am I really willing to spend another couple hours testing if the decisions I could've made would have led me to game overs (there don't seem to be any), or any other sort of substantial change in the outcome--am I willing to play through all the less important decisions again to try to make those big ones? Such questions may be up to the individual. The game itself even asks these things in a curiously meta way.

I think CSaW is solid enough as an interactive game. Plenty of choices respond to changes in other characters' responses to yours, and if that's what you're looking for, you'll find it in large doses here. That's the crux of what this game's experience aims to be. It is very specific in what it tries to do: is that specific style of interest to you?
(3)

Review for Monsters
24 May 2015
Victor summed this one well. It has the feel of a short tech demo that was publicly released as a game.
(2)

24 May 2015
Quest has many zombie-themed survival horror games that are split into short chapters that end around the time you start feeling like you could get into the story. This is one of them.
(2)

Review for Cobblestone
24 May 2015
A brief and amusing enough premise, though not particularly good/memorable in any other way.
(2)

Review for Karen Part 3
23 May 2015
A clear step up from parts 1 and 2--you get all the plot you need (even if some of it could've been introduced in parts 1 and 2, to make the series a little more balanced), and enough choices (SPOILERS... in particular, the last fight) to make this feel like a game rather than an intriguing short story. For future games, I recommend use of a points system based on the player's decision making, and fleshing things with out with more situational decisions unrelated to battle--but what we have here is an enjoyable 20 minute play for sure.

I feel like with what the author does give us, he does it quite well.
(3)

Review for Karen Part 2
23 May 2015
I continue to enjoy the story itself. I am also pleased that this chapter is a bit longer than the first part. But again, there is a serious lack of interactivity here--a good story that needs much more 'game' to it. Seriously, just a couple more links would've *easily* raised this from a 2 star rating to 3.
(2)

Review for Karen
23 May 2015
The writing style is straight to the point--it's blunt and doesn't sugar coat the consequences of dystopia, and I appreciate that. There are a couple ways to get a game over, so there is some degree of choice here, but even for a Part 1, this is is very, very short.

The reason for the low rating is not that this is bad, because it isn't. It's just that there isn't enough content.
(2)

23 May 2015
This game had a tremendous amount of potential: it starts you on an immediate cliffhanger, and presents you with immediate choices that would seem to have immediate consequences, until, as the previous reviewer mentioned, you realize that they have no actual bearing on where the game is heading.

In terms of writing style, this game works, and it does make you curious about what happens next. You'll be done in 5 minutes or less, though.
(2)

Review for Thyme
23 May 2015
Include me in the list of people who love this game! The humor style and all of the jokes had me smiling, and I found the continuity of the maps endearing and comforting. In that regard, I'm reminded of Day of the Tentacle--going through time and noting both similarities and differences was a blast. I feel like there are a lot of games that outsmart themselves with the challenge of their puzzles, and don't provide enough detail for the player to realistically solve them, yet for the most part, this game had exactly the right amount of challenge.

My reasons for going with 4 stars instead of 5: when playing online, the text sometimes runs off into the right pane (meaning you don't always see the ends of sentences... fortunately, that won't keep you from being able to understand import details, or progressing through the puzzles), there are some minor glitches (for example, when attempting to unlock the glass box, there is a scripting error--thankfully, that didn't stop the game from running), and there are some misspellings and the like, though I personally didn't mind ignoring those. Very good game, and one of my favorites on this site.
(4)

22 May 2015
How this game works: a) massive wall of text, crammed together in a narrow column, b) quick trial and error decision here, c) repeat process. I also found the jokes stale, to the point that I almost cringed. I promise I'm not trying to bring anybody down, and I'm glad some people have found enjoyment in this game, but I'm not one of them.
(1)

22 May 2015
Some varied commentary:

* The writing style is, in my mind, perfect. It immerses you into feeling that the character is indeed you, and even though you never learn why you're in the predicament you're in, the journey to get out of it proves to be quite an engaging one in and of itself.
* This gamebook does commit what is generally considered a boo boo: it almost always only greets you with two choices. Fortunately, I had fun in anticipating whether I made the correct decision or not. It's like choosing between door #1 or door #2 on a game show, except that this is a matter of life and death. I also appreciated that you may have to revisit old choices to progress.
* I'd argue that this is more of a survival horror game than a mystery (not that that's a problem!).
* This is a 15-minuteish experience. Fortunately, it is a rather immersive 15-minute experience.
* I rank releases that are only, say, one chapter as if they are full games: I review by the standard of this being a full release, and not just one chapter. As a chapter, I'd happily give this 4-stars. As a full game... the writing style is engaging enough to be worth at least a 3, bite-sized length or not.
(3)

Review for Burst Forth!
22 May 2015
The story is told from the point-of-view of a sprouting seed, and it does so quite naturally (no pun intended.) It is indeed short, but there are many non-sandpit games on this site that are of similar length to this one.

This game would be at least 3-star worthy if: in addition to being a couple dozen pages longer, it offered more choices/interactivity. Given how charmingly modest the narrative is, it's a shame I can't give a higher score.

Seems to be one of Quest's many abandoned projects that had potential.
(2)

21 May 2015
I appreciated that there were several endings, though this is a very brief and sudden narrative with a plethora of grammar issues.
(2)

Review for Choices
21 May 2015
The beginning of this game isn't what I'd call coherent. Instead of introducing you to characters or the storyline in a way to provide backstory, you're *spoilers* arguing over who gets a can of chicken soup. I thought this was a comedy game at first. Also, very short.
(2)

Review for Sexcilian Defence
17 May 2015
A goofy little game about playing chess and having sex with someone because... sex. After spending half a minute wiping away tears from the Emmy-deserving plot, you'll have beaten the game. Congrats!
(1)

17 May 2015
Largely trial and error. The descriptions of the various suspects are choppy and unimaginative, and there is still one particularly large error (I tried talking to the designer, and the game had me talk to the computer scientist instead.)
(2)

17 May 2015
I found this brief experience barely bearable.
(1)

Review for Yonder
17 May 2015
Two thoroughly excellent comments have already been left, detailing why this game falls short of its promise. I have a hunch that one persistent afternoon of fixing up bugs and adding/ironing descriptions is all that is needed for a much more satisfactory playing experience to be constructed.
(2)

The free content is the first three chapters, so I'm going to judge solely based on those.

The game starts you off in the middle of action, making decisions that seem to have potential for major impact. I'm not sure it's fair to say things ever slow down, because you'll find yourself making decision after decision--and in my case, none of them resulted in a game over--recruiting people, coming up with plans, and choosing your character's name and orientation, among other things. It does make you more interested in where you're headed than playing as 'nameless player #zillion' would be, undoubtedly.

As for whether I would buy this ChoiceScript (not made in the Quest engine, in case you're curious about that--CS is useful for lengthy, CYOA style games... kind of like Quest gamebooks in that regard, though the text format is larger and there are often many decisions in CS games that may or may not have much of any impact, but can play a role in immersing the player... I'm fond of both engines, personally) game--I don't think so, but that's because Steam, for example, is full of these kinds of games at the same price or cheaper (such as in bundles or during sales events.) That isn't a direct knock on this game, because the three chapters you can freely play build up to the point that you just might get the jitters and want to know how the story ends.

In short: the descriptions of character appearances, intentions, and so on are quite excellent, but I'm unsure that this game stands out on its own the way, say, the Victorian Detective series does. It's a solid game in a field of solid games.
(3)

16 May 2015
A fun and friendly little game, presented as a children's book with somewhat of a Choose Your Own Adventure vibe, although it's impossible to lose (which is fine by me, given the target audience.) The biggest positives are the illustrations and that the hyperlink presentation is implemented efficiently.
(3)

16 May 2015
I can tell there's a deep and compelling game buried in here, but after making myself miserable trying to get around errors in which the command bar disappears, I just couldn't take it anymore. Apparently the mobile version is riddled with bugs too.
(3)

15 May 2015
On my first play through, I thought the thing was funny rather than scary. Upon additional playthroughs, I got to read some creepier parts, which threw in the suspense that the first ending I got lacked. In short: how good this game is largely depends on an innocuous choice you make early in the game.

The biggest pluses are the sound effects and abstract graphics, which make for a more immersive experience. On the other side, the actual amount of interaction is minimal unless you find the few options that can directly change the outcome (I found that there were additional creepy stuff when I chose a male friend instead of a female friend.)

Short and campy, so if you like that, try this.
(3)

15 May 2015
This is hilarious to say the least. The idea of Jaws as an existential creature who questions the nature of his own existence and lifestyle is (bleep)ing hilarious, and so is the alternate ending you might get (courtesy of the KISS command.) I can understand why someone might give it a higher rating than I am, on sheer amusement alone.
(3)

Review for One Eye Open
15 May 2015
This is a horror game through and through, and from what I played of it to reach the first ending (I mostly followed the in-game walkthrough... if you don't, expect a massively time-consuming play, though one in which you might learn all sorts of information that enables you to understand the story more thoroughly), it is jump-scare free, which I greatly appreciate that. The morbid descriptions (including the word choices per se) are enough to put a pit in your stomach without you needing to hear sudden screams or look at images of bloody bodies, so kudos to the developers for sticking to text to get their gruesome ideas across.

With that said, this game isn't of typical puzzles--the 'correct' choices largely involve walking into the correct rooms, or performing actions you may not think to do on your own, such as (***MILD SPOILER*** doing things to corpses ***END MILD SPOILER***), but it is all the more bothersome that these actions are what the game is, indeed, looking for. I confess that 'guess the verb' (though the HELP command can make matters easier) is one of my least favorite kinds of text adventure, but what One Eye Open aims to do, it does (mostly) right.
(4)

One of those short joke games that presents you with only 2 decisions at a time and mocks you (the player), but the writing is actually amusing for a game of this sort.
(2)

Review for Survive
12 May 2015
R.I.P. to the One Direction imitators.

Standard funny stuff, good for a three minute chuckle.
(2)

Review for Agoraphobia
09 May 2015
Bob has much more than agoraphobia.
(2)

Funny enough. I laughed at the Pentium 1 joke, in particular.
(3)

Review for The Mansion II
09 May 2015
Initially a departure from The Mansion I in terms of personality type: Mansion I was very much cheeky, while this direct-sequel doesn't start out that way so much. As far as gameplay goes, there are some differences too: Mansion I encouraged loose exploration (moving quickly from room to room) that would ultimately lead to locked areas if you didn't have the right item yet (M1 is very much a game of picking up and using items and rinsing and repeating that core concept, though a couple puzzles spiced it up a little), while Mansion II prefers to have the player spend more time in the environments before dealing with those roadblocks and moving on. Both styles certainly work respectably, though I found M1 to be higher on the pure fun factor and rewarding scales.
(4)

Review for The Myothian Falcon
09 May 2015
I thought I was going to finally award 5-stars to a non-gamebook game (so far, Victorian Detective 2 is the only game I've given a perfect score to.) I was quite thoroughly immersed for a couple hours, and even when the puzzles were difficult, I wasn't ready to cave in to the in-game walkthrough until toward the end, because I came to trust that logic would get me through... and it did, again, until toward the end.

Oh, boy... those words, 'toward the end.' Bugs, bugs, bugs... some of them are just logic errors (someone being there in the description when their object isn't actually there, for example), but some of them can prevent you from properly beating the game (fortunately, those bugs don't seem to rear their head until late in the game.) Regardless, the story here is among the best I've seen from the Quest engine (even if there isn't much of an ending other than a 'you win!'), and the gameplay and different locations are incorporated smoothly and largely without linearity.

I strongly recommend giving this game a play--and being cautious about when you save.
(4)

Review for Room Serial
09 May 2015
A very clever game with a powerful story that certainly did not go in the direction I expected it to. Despite only being several rooms, the plot and puzzles are implemented in a manner that prevents you from beating the game in 10 minutes unless you've played it before or are thinking on the exact wavelength of the author.

Game has an in-game walkthrough--expect to use it.
(4)

09 May 2015
I enjoyed eating anything, so an extra star for that.
(2)

Review for Dork
09 May 2015
Funny MS Paint graphics and options, though not many of the latter.
(2)

Review for Camp Stabbiwaka
08 May 2015
I'm rather fond of peter123's Victorian Detective series (the greatest series on this site, in my humble opinion), and I enjoyed Zombolocaust, even though it's short. There are some things about this game to like, too--particularly, the level of interaction is just enough to provide suspense and give the player a satisfactory level of internal locus of control. On the other hand, many descriptions seem underdeveloped, the game feels short (even if so many Quest games in this genre are shorter), the sound effects are very campy (though that may have been intended, given the 80s/90s horror movie feel), and I believe some added back story for at least one or two of the good guys would've helped with immersion.

All in all, I do recommend playing it, and I recommend the author tool with it a little, because it could certainly become at least a 4-star game with some additions.
(3)

08 May 2015
In terms of heart/spirit and imaginative puzzles, this game is worth 5-stars. I very much enjoyed playing it--though I needed a fair share of help, despite being an avid text adventure player--and that makes up for a good chunk of the development-related issues.

AatWT is very true to the the classic Alice universe, and the whimsical story it tells is likely to satisfy most, if not all fans. However, there are some syntactical and design issues: the first being that the game's help does not mention the 'LIFT' command, which is requisite for some solutions, and another being that solving the game's first puzzle requires you to examine yourself to find your first item (something I would never think to do on my own).

Regardless, I would rather stress the fun I had playing this game with all of the clues supplied by the comments section, though on my own I never would have gotten far. In fact, although the technical issues lead me to wanting to give this game a 3, the sheer fun factor bumps it up to a 4. And I'm usually a stern reviewer!
(4)

Review for N7
04 May 2015
A still-in-the-works, CYOA-style fanfic of a popular video game series. Hm.
(2)

Review for The Master Plan
03 May 2015
A deep and powerful metaphor for... something?
(2)

Review for The Mansion
02 May 2015
I've been looking for a non-gamebook game worth giving 5-stars to (I already awarded that score to Victorian Detective 2.) At first I thought I had a eureka moment with this game, but as it went on, things didn't seem to build up, other than the tension of destroying property that isn't yours. The 'good' ending doesn't flow with the player character's intentions, so that also is a little bit of a downer (then again, I know that the sequel compensates for this... not giving any real spoilers, so take that as you will.) Still, most of the puzzle difficulty is exactly at the level that I consider to be perfect for the text adventure medium, and I had a lot of fun exploring the mansion and wondering just what the heck awaited me around the corner. Ultimately, this is a pretty good game that is a charm or two away from being great.

[[[Reviewer's Note: if you're struggling with the command interface, remember that many Quest games love the USE command. In this game, you'll be doing a lot of USE [object] WITH [object], or even just USE [object].]]]
(4)

Review for The Tower
02 May 2015
I normally don't go for games this short, but the humor style and options--which have direct consequences--were just so brilliant that I have to add an extra point. Bravo!
(4)

02 May 2015
Boy, oh boy: a clever detective (though you get the opportunity to make some decisions for him that have both potential to reward your points and directly affect various pieces of the game's outcome), absolutely flawless descriptions that immerse you in an era long past (well, there are a couple small typos, but who cares?), and a variety of realistically-portrayed primary and secondary characters that draw you more and more into this game's world.

I've been playing tons of Quest games since I discovered the engine recently, in search of a 5-star game. I was looking for games in more of a command prompt style--especially since there are so many gamebooks out there that do not distinguish themselves--but the writing style of this one promotes it to king of both the mystery and gamebook genres. Give it a go!
(5)

Review for Life of Water
02 May 2015
Mildly amusing, but nothing of substance (insert H2O joke here.)
(1)

01 May 2015
I definitely sense more effort in this one than Part 2, but the point of an interactive game is to give the player some sense of freedom over completing the game, even if there is only one ending, and there just isn't much 'game' here.
(2)

01 May 2015
Preferred the first part. This was over around when it felt like it was getting started, and there isn't much consequence in terms of choices made.
(2)

01 May 2015
Short, jokey, non-descriptive game without any real purpose.
(1)

Review for Zork
01 May 2015
If one was to rate this based on influence and role in the text adventuring world, it would be an easy 5-stars. Zork 1 has, by even modern standards for this genre, a lengthy and immersive open world, with challenging puzzles and the potential to go wandering far away from where you need to be to beat the game itself. It's true that it's in the eye of the beholder as to whether such mechanics are endearing, or are artifacts of a game development standard that has long since been abandoned. As for me, the hugeness excites me (please hold all goofy non G-rated jabs at me for that comment!)

It's 2015, as I am writing this. Based on immersion into Zork's fantasy world alone, I think this holds up as a darned good game, and one you should at least try. The vividness of some descriptions also assists its cause, though there are also too many generic comments about items/objects not being interesting or out of the ordinary. The main drawback is that, as an online-only game, you can't save the way you would if this game was available in the Quest engine, but c'est la vie.
(4)

Review for The Perfect World
01 May 2015
The ending which I assume is the 'good ending' only took me a couple clicks to get to.
(1)

Review for Santa Rescue
01 May 2015
Cute enough, though that doesn't change the fact that you can literally get all of the endings in 2-3 minutes.
(1)

01 May 2015
Glitches and difficult to follow dialog. Ended up in what seemed to be an inescapable room.
(1)

Review for Escape Hyrule
30 Apr 2015
I'll admit I nearly burst out in laughter after the 'Try Relationship' option.
(1)

Review for The Lunastone
30 Apr 2015
I love the inclusion of background music (a very pleasant tune greets you right when you boot this game up, I must say), and I do understand the idea behind this game: its lack of clues, and therefore, high difficulty, combined with its deep sense of mystery, are inspired by the PC classic Myst.

My issue is that Myst had a point-and-click interface, and in that sort of setting, it's easier to pull off that sort of atmosphere while keeping the player intrigued. Here, I found myself frustrated (even when I solved puzzles), although a lot of people, including the author, have left helpful comments.

With that said, a lot of people *love* this game, and what I find frustrating is actually endearing to many others, so hey, you just might really like The Lunastone a lot. Its universe, once you get to know it, certainly has its charms, and there's a considerable amount of length and depth if you manage to make it far enough.

[[Reviewer's Note: If this game had a limited walkthrough (in other words, one that didn't spill the beans, but guided you in the right direction if you thought what it offered over) and was a little more descriptive, I would have rated it at least 4 stars.]]
(3)

Review for A Hobbit Trek
30 Apr 2015
I had a lot of fun playing this, for many of the reasons that make Quest games in general fun: the puzzles are the right amount of difficulty (they make you think, but they're all solvable with a little creativity), the characters were charming and very much likable, the descriptions were vivid but not exhausting, and the entire gameplay experience felt fluent (plus there are a variety of environments.) As another person recently stated, this game is a tad on the short side (and the ending is a tad abrupt), but for all significant intents and purposes, that is its only flaw.
(4)

29 Apr 2015
This story will give you goosebumps (the really scary type--not the R.L. Stine kind.) It isn't really much of a game per se, though the decisions it presents you with add an intense amount of tension, and certain things (not going to say what) happen to the screen that make it even freakier. The ending was somewhat pedestrian given what the game built up to, but this is a really freaky (and delightful, if that's what you like) way to spend 10 minutes.

[Additional Note, in response to an earlier comment: I think the part about religion was thrown in as irony, given what the narrator ended up discovering.]
(3)

29 Apr 2015
Slightly amusing or not, good game this is not.
(1)

29 Apr 2015
I like WAoW, but I prefer this game for a number of reasons: the length of this game is perfect, the solutions are logical (even though I did consult a walkthrough a few times, I could certainly see others not needing to), and I found the writing, including the humor, quite charming and to have the perfect amount of detail. Automated buttons (for looking, taking, reading, and so on) would've been nice, but otherwise, a very impressive effort!
(4)

Review for The Abyss
29 Apr 2015
I'm not always the biggest fan of what tend to be called 'art games'--games that are not designed to be fun per se, but pump their collective value into some major plot-twist (e.g. games in which it turns out you're the bad guy all along) or some sort of grand lesson/plea. But this game manages to pull off philosophy and gameplay at once, supplying you with choices that drastically change the conclusion of this game and how exactly you get to the finish.

Kudos!
(4)

29 Apr 2015
Loads and loads of content, which is certainly a plus, given that even good Quest games tend to be easily beatable in 20 minutes. My main concern is the lack of automated buttons for actions (some Quest games have buttons for 'look at', 'take', etc., so that you don't have to keep typing those commands in... WAoW doesn't, and it makes gameplay tedious.) I also think that playing this game would have been a more enjoyable experience if it was a GameBook (presented CYOA style), or perhaps as a point-and-click game in another engine.

Regardless, I appreciate the layers of depth in the game's puzzles, even if I certainly wouldn't have been able to have beaten it without a walkthrough.
(3)

28 Apr 2015
Yet another very good entry in the Victorian Detective series, which seems to be the best-written original GameBook series that the Quest engine has to offer. Like any good mystery does to its viewers, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat waiting to see how the story proceeds, and ultimately, wraps up.
(4)

28 Apr 2015
I guess my commentary on why I, technically, thought this wasn't a very good game isn't worth much, but I do appreciate the sincerity that must have gone into making this.
(2)

Review for Dream Pieces
28 Apr 2015
The premise and structure of the gameplay is very clever, and I think it's neat that the author included options for playing the game on various devices. It's a shame that the game is over as soon as it gets started, though. By all means, I love what's here, but one can beat this game in 10 minutes without struggling. If the sequel's longer and stays true to this game's roots, at least a 4 from me can be expected.
(3)

Review for Victorian Detective
28 Apr 2015
This is a very good half-hour detective story, and a breath of fresh air from the Gamebook games that give you only a sentence or two of description and options that could just as easily lead to death. I very much enjoyed the inclusion of being able to accumulate reasoning and action points throughout the game, which added both reward and interaction. Like most Quest games, Victorian Detective is beatable in a half an hour, but given I only got a 9 in Deductive Reasoning (but a 5 in Dynamic Action, so hey!), perhaps I should have taken more time before making some of my decisions.
(4)

27 Apr 2015
Has nothing to do with Zork, I can tell you that.
(1)

Review for spondre
27 Apr 2015
The descriptions are truly unnerving, and the interface provides for an immersive experience. The presence of multiple endings is also a plus. On the other end, my issues are that this game is on the short side, and in my mind a truly great text adventure should have an inclusion of puzzles or some other challenge. With that said, I recommend playing this game. A good game, and a greater story.
(3)

Review for Eating the Bagel
26 Apr 2015
As much as I like to be that guy who rags on games that have little in the way of actual gaming, this was pretty funny. But, again, y'know. That doesn't make it a good game.
(2)

26 Apr 2015
Everything that can be said about Pirate Adventure Quest seems to have been said: this is a fun game with lots of interaction and an open world (or, sea), but there are bugs that keep you from doing some things (such as poisoning the rum.) All in all I had fun and enjoyed trying to accumulate as many points as possible, even if this game seems to lack an actual ending.
(3)

Review for Geoff's Adventure
26 Apr 2015
Amusing, spontaneous humor, but as a game, nothing special.
(2)

Review for Fatal Island Part 1
25 Apr 2015
A really effective thriller that also happens to be really short. What's here is something that a lot of CYOA game authors could learn from, though!
(3)

Review for Machine of Death
25 Apr 2015
Wow, these stories are good. Brilliant writing and situations, often related to whatever your supposed death happens to be... and just the right amount of dark humor to keep this an amusing, almost cartoonish drama. I wish there was more than three scenarios, but a man shouldn't be greedy, eh?
(4)

Review for Aisle
25 Apr 2015
It's a cute little thing--and by little, I mean that if your command is recognized, you can expect to be done after that one command. By all means, it's fun, and I recommend amusing yourself with it for a few minutes. Not much of a game, though.
(2)

Review for Depression Quest
25 Apr 2015
It's very difficult to rate a game like this, because the 'game' part of this, well, game, is secondary to the message. I expected some sort of preachy PSA, but there was a lot of realism to this in all actuality. I wouldn't say it's *entirely* realistic in all ways: for example, I feel like it's a little too easy to get a good ending, and perhaps the solution was a little too straightforward (a lot of people with depression, though they know of counseling and medication, aren't as ready as one mouse click is to accept that such solutions apply to them.) The authors are right when they say that depression is a battle and, even with treatment, it is a lifelong situation, and I appreciate their acknowledgement of that.

Ultimately this isn't the most fun you'll ever have playing a text adventure, and it certainly isn't supposed to be, but you might find it to be quite an immersive--and relatable--experience, depending on your own life story.
(3)

Review for Moquette
24 Apr 2015
I want to give the author of this game accolades: what this game aims to do, he does a brilliant job of it. The descriptions of the various passengers on the trains are excellent, and he does a fantastic job of making the main character and his existential angst seem very real. Furthermore, the author has an excellent grasp of what I believe is JavaScript, with the various text transitions and animations that occur at key emotional moments in the story.

Admittedly, this story isn't necessarily my cup of tea (mainly because of the pessimism/apathy of the main character), but its narrative is clear, with a perfect amount of elaborate description. This story deserves publication, though the final plot twist has become cliche in modern storytelling. It very much works.

The reason for the 3 star rating is that there is very little in the way of interaction here. If there was just a little bit more--say, some sort of puzzles--I would have no issue increasing the score. I know on the surface that would seem to take away from the narrative, but if those puzzles were incorporated into the narrative, then what we would have here is a really good game, to match the really solid story.
(3)

Review for the nightmare
24 Apr 2015
To give you an idea what you're in for: this short and mostly non-descriptive game has a door in it that is marked 'secret'.
(1)

Review for Laceration
24 Apr 2015
I had fun with this. Even if the options actually seem to be an illusion of choice rather than anything that affects the outcome of the game, it's nice that they're anyway, to provide some level of interactivity. This 10 minute Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style game comes from a dark, introverted, and scary/surreal place. If that sounds like your kind of game, give it a quick play or two.
(3)

Review for Zombolocaust
24 Apr 2015
I love the color choices (fits the game's atmosphere perfectly), and the writing grabs you right into the game world (which is the point of a text adventure, after all!). I also like the sketches the author includes, which leave you with an emotional sense that something's lingering. The only reason I don't give this a higher score is because it's so short. If it was significantly longer I'd give it at least a 4.
(3)

Review for 9:05
24 Apr 2015
Really, really short, but the author does a brilliant job of describing the game's surroundings (very much to the point.) Nothing groundbreaking, but an immersive way to spend a few minutes.
(3)

24 Apr 2015
Has some suspense, but the writing is choppy and the game's easy to finish in under 10 minutes. Would be better if all 3 parts were released as 1.
(2)

Review for Eat Cow To Live
24 Apr 2015
It's cute and short, but as a game itself, there's simply nothing of substance in here. That, and if you happen to pick the right options it is easily beatable in two minutes.
(1)

23 Apr 2015
I agree with the previous reviewer. Even the title of the game has a grammar issue.
(1)

Review for The Enchanted Glade
23 Apr 2015
This game has fantastic potential. It does the 'you woke up and have no idea what happened' thing better than most games that rely on such a mechanism, the blending of fantasy and reality makes for a unique experience, and there's something solemn about the town being abandoned (yet, there being an ice cream man around--I love it!) Again, I have all sorts of nice things to say, but the reason I couldn't give this a higher score is because I found most of the puzzle solutions much veiled, even after reading some of the hints posted on this site, to the point that I had to put the game aside.

With that said, I think this is a good game, and I accept the possibility that maybe I'm just not appreciating the challenge enough.
(3)

Review for RandomCats
22 Apr 2015
A cute little game. Feels like a zany My Little Pony fanfic.
(2)


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