Aisle by Sam Barlow

"Late Thursday night. You've had a hard day and the last thing you need is this: shopping. Luckily, the place is pretty empty and you're progressing rapidly. On to the next aisle...

Aisle started out as a game which would not need the usual meta-verbs... i.e. a game with only one turn. The initial idea was: How do I make a game with only one turn interesting? Give it lots of endings--in fact there are many 'endings' and (hopefully) every sensible action results in an 'ending'. There is no winning action. There is however more going on than just this and the more endings you see the more things should become clear." [--blurb from The Z-Files Catalogue]

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Information in this game listing is copyright David Welbourn, mrsambarlow, Emily Short, Emily Boegheim, Dave Chapeskie, Edward Lacey, is taken from IFDB, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Review Stripes

05 Jan 2018

Probably would've been better if there was more story. *SPOILERS* Really though, figuring out the story won't take that long. If you're honestly confused, just type "remember Clare" or "smile" or "jump." So I get it; it's a story about a guy from Rome whose wife(?) Clare died in some sort of accident. Her ghost, or more likely his memory of her, still remains with him to some degree (even if nothing happens if you try to look at or talk to her). The whole idea of only having one command per ending is fine, but there aren't many commands to input. Many are random, and some that you'd think might work don't. The main character and Clare get zero personality, so it's hard to get attached to either of them. The main guy is sad, yes, we get it, but he's nothing BUT sad. I can pretty much tell you the entire story here: "I was in a supermarket, and I caught sight of some Gnocchi pasta as well as a lady. I was sad; the pasta reminded me of Rome, a better place. The lady reminded me of my dead lover Clare. Those days are behind me now." I mean... that's basically it. So... yeah. Decent idea, meh execution.

Comment Bundo

23 Aug 2017

After trying a lot of things and feeling crushed by the characters' self-made prison of memories, i typed:

"Smile".

Best. Feeling. Ever.

Comment ArchMageZer0

25 Mar 2017

this game needs t be updated. many commands do the same thing. like hug and kiss and rape make you forcefully kiss the woman. it's a fun game but there are so many things you could do with all kinds of words.

Comment Deefydeefdeef

09 Jan 2017

This was so good. I really enjoyed coming up with different things to test out. Brilliant game, kind of sad. It felt like the main character was trapped in a sad, dark past.

Review nookim1

24 Jul 2016

Fun game.

Review happysappygirl101

20 Jul 2016

Very short to play once, yet oddly intricate. I wish one story was focused on, but I still loved typing in random verbs and seeing the outcome, as well as hearing the various stories about Clare and Rome.

Comment tbddbt

13 Apr 2016

I've been playing this game for WAY too long. Brilliant job.

SPOILER--try "jump."

Comment Vetruvius

23 Feb 2016

It's fun for a few tries, but not much of a game to be honest.

Comment thisisforthewin

19 Oct 2015

I went home lonely. replayed the game put in "punch her" jokingly then I punched and went home with the pasta 10/10

Review vernonmleon

14 Aug 2015

Very good. It would be nice if you could store up all the endings and make a complete piece of the puzzle that had a more "finite" ending. But overall a very interesting idea and a very sad story.

Hope to see more!

Review twin_centaurs

09 Jul 2015

There are so many options, it is amazing. Great to play it repeatedly.

Review Mtdewisbest

03 Jun 2015

Small Spoiler.
Talked to woman, she didn't like me.
Punched woman, got free Gnocchi.

Very interesting game.

Comment BeggerStager

23 May 2015

What... there's more? Pretty good game. 4/5

Review LilyLovesGaming

03 May 2015

I really like the idea of creating a story out of only one action. I think it's really fun. Short, but fun. It's one of those games you can amuse yourself with while doing homework(yes, I am actually doing homework right now).

Review MisterPibb316

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.

Review Angelofdeath1762

15 Mar 2015

Fantastic :)

Comment Buranchi

09 Mar 2015

some of the endings had me in stitches

Review Buranchi

09 Mar 2015

Exceeded my expectations

Comment Justanothercase

17 Feb 2015

SPOILER ALERT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After all the terrible endings (and after feeling like nothing can ever be happy again), try and type "Call Clare".
Just do it.

Just.
Do it.
It made me smile.

Review Justanothercase

17 Feb 2015

Loved this game. The more I play it, the more I learn about *him* and let me tell you, something wrong happened in Rome.
Incredible.

Review EnderDoesMC

23 Nov 2014

Stuck on the A I S L E by Sam Barlow Screen.

Review RadioH34D

14 Nov 2014

I loved it. I would like some options though.

Comment Raze

14 Nov 2014

Eany game you can randomly take off your clothes for no reason at all is a game i want to play more of XD

Review annehyphenmarie

31 Oct 2014

I doubt I've found all of the possibilities, but I really want to. Wow. Amazing!

Review JSP

24 Oct 2014

Interesting idea, I enjoyed it.

Review Losbirro

21 Oct 2014

LOL ! That's simply ingenious .... good job !

Review PapyroKinesis

21 Oct 2014

Just... wow. I had a hard time thinking about my choices, but in the end, I adore the game. I still probably haven't found them all, but as long as I try, I think I'll pull through the sad story.

Review AshesBurnt

20 Oct 2014

This is a piece of art. The character development through some of these commands is amazing. And, after going through most of these, the >smile command almost made me cry (is that a bad thing? doubt it). Great work, and I hope to see more from you soon.

Review self inflicted giggles

16 Oct 2014

Very good game. There are soooo many different endings. Even the most ridiculous actions have their own ending. This is a fun, short game I would highly recommend.

Review manly_unicorn

05 Oct 2014

Despite the length the possibilities made it very enjoyable I would type things just to see if they were possible and I'd be pleasantly surprised to learn that indeed they were.

Review jackeloperson

17 Sep 2014

I had played it before on another site- but it had glitched out and wouldn't give me the return paragraphs. Now that I can actually see them, this game is amazing. It has a unique style, and is just... deep.

Review Ranique

08 Sep 2014

If you are in a rush but want to play a really short text based game, this is the one! It took me 3hree times to remember to get the Gnocchi but I did get it. I expected one of those games where you have to read a couple of pharagraghs and your computer times out while doing it. I quite like it. Good job, Sam!

Review iceburner

25 Aug 2014

This format is unique and you've made it interesting. It made me think I was in a 'Groundhog Day' situation where each ending I gain more information to help make the next time even more interesting. I like how the more you play, the more the main character develops and you have a better understanding of him.
Excellent job! I enjoyed it.

Review Tigersong

29 Jan 2014

Very subtle and deep. I like it. The one-decision format is simple and compelling. I think I've gotten through at least ten or so endings. Very, very good! I'm surprised there aren't more plays or reviews.