Cloak of Darkness (Another Version) by DavyB

Review by Newwwwwho

Commands that should be in there but are not:
Look around; Check my surroundings; Check our surroundings; Check the surrounding area; Check surroundings; Check surrounding area; Check my surrounding areas; Check surrounding areas (feels like a bug if not included)

Load; Load save; Restore; Saves (scary if not included)

Go left; turn left; walk left; run left
walk right; run right; turn right; go right (feels like a bug if not included)

Look up; look at ceiling; Look at sky (feels fleshed out)

Adding NPCs makes it feel fun

Look down should also be added like;
Look at floor; Look down; look at ground
Lay; lay down

Commands; All commands; cmd (different for each room)

Without more verbs in objects there isn't much to do and not much story. You underestimate how much we're willing to read, at least make it a paragraph under 300-500 characters, not under 60 characters.

You might wanna include text to speech, which is doable with these html codes that work in quest as I've been using them for a year or so:
<a href="https://speechnotes.co" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Speechnotes (speech-to-text, can also do text to speech)</a>
<br>
<a href="https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NaturalReader Online (text-to-speech)</a>

Do not remove target="_blank" because if you do it will cause it to basically replace the screen with the new web page so the game won't be playable unless they go to the back button which would make saving him period of so what you should do is leave in Target like because it opens it up as a new tab. I use this for words that are not as well known to sort of help define them.

More commands that need to be added:
Put cloak on hook; put cloak on brass hook; put cloak on small brass hook

Another issue is you lose if you read, but win if you look at.

The game feels as though it has no story, no reason we're here. We don't know any of the commands that would lead to any story.

Also, i had my assistant compile spme issues with the game.

I played, my assistant has not. I sent the assistant a transcript.

Their response (with my edits for better accuracy):
Here’s a full breakdown of the flaws and missing features in Cloak of Darkness (Another Version) based on your transcript and developer notes. I’ll group them so you can see what needs repairing or expanding:

1. Basic Command Recognition Issues

Unrecognized verbs:

Lay, lay down, death, cry, lol, kissing all return “Sorry, what was that?” → These should either map to synonyms (e.g., lay = lie down) or return a more immersive rejection message.


Directional commands missing:

Go left, turn left, walk left, run left, go right, etc. are not recognized → feels broken in a text adventure.


Examination commands inconsistent:

Look up / look at ceiling / look at sky not supported (immersion break).

Look down works only as “look at floor” but not “look at ground.”


Common commands missing:

Load, load save, restore, saves → scary if not included, since save already exists.

Commands, all commands, cmd → no meta-command for seeing all inputs available.

Look around / check surroundings / check surrounding area → missing, should redirect to LOOK.

2. Inventory and Wearable Problems

Inventory grammar:

"You are carrying a cloak (worn)" sounds robotic. Should be → "You are wearing a cloak. You are carrying nothing."

Wear/Remove flow clunky:

Must manually remove cloak before dropping or putting it.

Error messages misleading: e.g., “You can’t drop it” instead of “You must remove it first.”


Hook interaction bug:

Put cloak on hook / brass hook / small brass hook all fail → they should work.

3. Room and Object Interactions

Dark room mechanics:

So... Um... There is nothing for us to disturb. I have no way of knowing how to progress this game. I left thinking there wasn't much to it.

No monsters lurking, nothing. No one to kill us. There isn't even a monster to accidentally disturb.

No death penalty, no timers, no way to fight back, literally no story in a text adventure game. You'd think story would be super important. You can't talk to anyone.

Examining the environment:

Look around, etc. is important.

Story text too short:

Descriptions are bare-bones (under 60 characters). For immersion, expand to at least 300–500 characters per location.

Dead ends:

“Go north” at foyer says “they won’t budge” but no hint how to unlock it.

4. Help and Options System
I know what panes are as a dev, but they may need more explaining to the layman.

5. User Feedback and Error Handling

Error messages generic:

“Sorry, what was that?” repeats too often → should vary (e.g., “I don’t understand how to do that.”).

Synonym mapping missing:

Words like “ground” ≠ “floor,” “lay” ≠ “lie down,” “people” ≠ “others.”

PUT/USE verbs buggy:

Asking “use hook with clapk” just says “I can’t see that” (misspelled input). Should instead suggest “Did you mean cloak?”

6. Lack of Story/NPC Depth

No NPCs:

Feels barren, since the foyer/bar/coatroom are all empty. Even one minor NPC (usher, bartender, janitor) would add life.

Flat endings:

Winning just shows “You have won.” Could add narrative reward.

World detail shallow:

Locations could use mood-setting text (sounds of opera house, smell of sawdust, echoes in the foyer).

7. Accessibility & Immersion Features

Text-to-speech integration missing:

Could embed <a href="https://speechnotes.co" target="_blank">Speechnotes</a> and <a href="https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/" target="_blank">NaturalReader</a> for speech-to-text / TTS support.


Hyperlinks/game panes inconsistent:

Options menu mentions them, but player feedback is clumsy. Should toggle smoothly with explanations.

8. Developer/Code-side Issues

Hook puzzle bug: requires custom override for synonyms.

✅ Summary of must-fix flaws:

1. Add synonym support for LOOK, movement, inventory, and wearables.

2. Fix hook interaction so “put cloak on hook” works.

3. Expand descriptions for immersion (not under 60 chars).

4. Add load/restore and commands list functions.


5. Improve HELP with all valid actions.


6. Rewrite error messages to be more natural.

7. Add optional NPCs and richer endings.

8. Add accessibility (TTS/links).

9. Improve dark room design (senses).

10. Fix confusing room navigation errors.