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fantastic game! you always make games with intricate stories and vibrant characters, but this one was especially fun. challenging but not terribly hard, and who doesn't love Robin Hood? logical puzzles, good length, and I like how the story progressed through time without feeling terribly disjointed or rushed. well done!
you are a deliciously evil writer, Craig. this one is super creepy (that doll at the end, omg) but I love all that supernatural stuff so I found it to be really fun. the hidden things threw me off at first, like how to gain entry to the belfry, which I was overthinking, of course. haunted mansions and prisons and asylums are some of my favorite things, so I loved the characters and story, and I like the touch with the tramp having been an asylum employee too. I often need the comments to progress through your games, but I think I'd be disappointed if your puzzles weren't as tricky as they are. the one thing I found cumbersome was the expansion of the "LOOK" command; I think using "LIFT" or just "LOOK BEHIND" would have sufficed, as there weren't too many times in the game were I had to use the other "LOOK" commands and it became a little tiring using them all upon discovering a new place/object to try to find the correct trigger for a clue. other than that, loved this one. well done as always.
this game is exquisite. you are such a talented writer! love how you captured the world and tone of Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, down to how the characters speak and interact to the puzzles that are just the right amount of wacky. incredible world, good hints in the text, and just fun all around. and by now you must know how I feel about those damn item limits, but this time it wasn't all that difficult to work with. fantastic fantastic fantastic.
I LOVE THIS GAME. super fun layout with having to explore different islands and areas and complete tasks to gain treasures. I don't remember getting severely stuck at any one point, although I did use a few hints from the comments here and there. the characters are interesting and I love the stories you've created for them. very detailed and lots to do without being overwhelming or cumbersome. only annoying thing is the item limit. other than that this one is a blast!
this was a fantastic, interesting, well-written and detailed game. I love the Magi portion of the story especially. I did resort to using the walkthru several times, as I never would have made those conclusions myself. once I got to the Elemental Tower and encountered the Magi I progressed pretty quickly through the second part of the game. my only true complaint is that there are so many dead ends. it's frustrating enough being lost or stuck and having all these items and not knowing what to do with them, but then after trial and error to be killed by something random (or to have done something irreversible to hinder progress through the remainder of the game, i.e., lighting the campfire) only adds to that frustration, and it's off-putting. I could do with less of that. otherwise, great game.
this is a good game, even if at times it's a little cumbersome; there's not much happening and the characters as well as the world are sort of one-dimensional. but I do love the little supernatural things you've incorporated. I did find myself using the walkthru a lot, and I think it's because there's just a lack of good hints given throughout in the text. while gameplay gets relatively linear if the right items are acquired, I don't necessarily think that it's all super logical, which creates frustration. the entire thing could have used a little more description and a little more writing, but that's mostly just what I prefer when playing TA games, so don't let my little opinion discourage you. as always your imagination has run wild in a very good way, and although I found it a bit difficult this time around, it ended up being pretty fun in the end.
this game stands out among others I've played from you, Craig. first of all, you're a fantastic writer with a vivid imagination, and as always the characters are interesting and the world is brilliant. however, this time around the world was SO BIG and I had SO MANY items that I felt overwhelmed right from the start. I got through by thorough exploration and remembering that people/places/objects usually exist to be interacted with at some point in the game, so I tried to keep that in mind. but it was very difficult to remember where things were and I wandered around aimlessly several times trying to get somewhere. second, the puzzles were very good, and most of them relatively logical. but sometimes you give the player a little too much credit, I think. for example, I wouldn't have thought to use the crowbar on the placard without using the walkthru, and I would have (logically) given the copper necklace to the jeweler rather than the fisherman. so in those instances, I'm not sure how you expect us to work out the clues without even a hint written into the descriptions. trial and error isn't all that effective in a world with so many areas and characters.
overall, this game was good, but not my favorite from you, and ultimately it felt a bit convoluted and overdone. I ended up just using the walkthru so I could be done with the damn thing, although it did seem to get easier as the game went on.
again, you're so talented, and I think you just let your imagination run wild on this one, which is OK. I still had fun. :)
Craig, without a doubt you are the best writer on this site. your games are so interesting and elaborate. I'm stuck on some of your others so I decided to play this one through and it's so good. wonderful world you've created here, although it borders on being a little too large for simple navigation. you're a bit evil on some of your puzzles but that makes it fun in the end, really. it really did take me forever to get the shield and bow and arrow and progress past the dragon but that's mostly because I'm an idiot. :) it's hard to have complaints when the games are this complex and intricate. I love the supernatural elements you seem to go for, too. also, Xanthos was a lot less threatening than the Ice Queen, lol. fantastic game!
I was really excited to see that you made another one of these! the stories are always so interesting and detailed. you're a great writer, and these adventures are so much fun. I liked this one, especially the "heartless" storyline, but I felt like some of the deductions were a bit far-fetched. a few times, I didn't feel that there was enough substantial evidence to make a rational conclusion, and that the explanations for coming to those conclusions were a little non-believable. other than that, I love this format and the worlds you create. great game.
this was really fun! I love your games, they're always pretty interesting. only got stuck a couple times, but that was mostly due to not knowing the commands for certain things. the car bit took me FOREVER in the garage. I liked the supernatural element of this, and the chandelier element...they're always mysterious and fun. great game!
THAT WAS REALLY FUN. your best game in my opinion. wayyy more logical clues than usual. never felt like I was that far off at any point. although the cocktail bit at the end got me stuck for a bit. otherwise great storyline, interesting world and just very entertaining the whole way through.
interesting game, not your best, but fun. love the theatrical aspects. the exactness of the commands is cumbersome, though. also I have no idea what the secret gems, or that sofa bit at the end of the game, were for. not a hint anywhere about any of that! overall I'd say some of the puzzles are a bit far-fetched...! good game though, entertaining throughout!
it's clear this was your first game, as the hints are minimal, the world simple and the characters less than lively. but I figured it out eventually. the soap powder took me forever, but then when I thought about where I could find water, it all became simple. nice length of game and good difficulty for starting out.
I totally love this series, and I have since I played the first Sir Loin game, but this game was probably the weakest out of all of them. the reason I say this is because I had to restart the game not once, but twice, due to glitches which make it impossible to continue (which is unusual for your games). the first is when you're on the search for snails for Al: if you've already fed the sheep and gotten the gloves, and you go back to the field and take more grass before speaking to Al about the snails, there is no way to continue. the final snail that you need to find is hidden in the long grass, but if you already have a handful of grass, you can't drop it and the sheep won't eat it, and examining the grass does not reveal the snail either. so you're at an impasse and must restart. the second glitch occurs later in the game when crafting the wig: if you dye the wool red immediately before dying it green with the green paste, you're again at an impasse. the obvious thing to do is try to wash it clean with the bleach in the tank, but this doesn't work, and you need the red dye later for something else and there is no way to get more wool from the sheep. these glitches are frustrating after making progress in the game, and on top of that the story is a bit silly this time around (and I am usually such a fan of your humor), and there are also a few non-obvious commands like having to speak to the carp, or sell things to the oracle. with a bit more thought and development of objects and scenes and a few more hints available, this game could be really great. like I said, I'm a fan of everything else you've done, but this one missed the mark for me on many levels. I did, however, appreciate the mention of the Carnivora Nuns at the end.
loved this one! so much fun and I only needed to revert to hints from the comments a couple times. the cat vomit took me forever, but I had no trouble with getting the canary back into the cage, although it seemed like others did. I think I was tired of carrying all those things around with me that it just made sense at that point, lol. again, your map/world is a great size, easily navigable, and the puzzles were challenging but not impossible. although I will admit, at first when I found out I'd need cat gut I thought I might have to kill the cat and thought you a bit cruel. ;) you keep getting better and better at these, I hope you make more games soon! x
loved this one! out of the series I think this is the best one yet. again, I think some of the puzzles are a bit too tricky to work out for mediocre TA players like myself. without the comments I'd be nowhere, really. but the hints are a bit more helpful this time around (the tapestries in the Outer Sanctum, etc.) and I like the supernatural element to it, too, as far as Mad Jack goes. the size of the world is great. I like being able to picture the entire world in my mind without too much help from a map, and this world you created is just the right size to envision without getting lost or confused, with no extraneous rooms. I would just offer one suggestion for the future: some commands you've set up are a little far-fetched. it took me FOREVER to figure out how to get into the tent, even after I'd assembled the puppet. love the addition of hidden trophies for super-thorough searchers as well. I'm looking forward to the next game!
after playing the first game, I was greatly looking forward to the second. I found this game to be a bit more challenging, which was great, but some of the puzzles were logically too difficult for what I consider to be an average text adventure player like myself (example (SPOILER): the puzzle with the rat and Donna to get her to throw the flask, as well as how to assemble the cannon, WOW). I enjoyed the story this time around, and the length of the game too with the separate chapters, and how all the areas were connected in the various tasks. but that ending, oh that ending. seriously dude? I didn't do all that to get THAT ending. I hope Part 3 has a much more gratifying reward upon completion!
that was a lot of fun! great subject matter and good humor. I like the puzzles: they made sense and they took a bit of figuring out but they weren't too complicated to the point of frustration. only got stuck once or twice but everything else is pretty straightforward. the size of the world is also just right: two main areas for exploring with only a few rooms/areas each so I know where I've been but don't feel confined to a small setting. my only complaint would be the spelling/grammatical errors, it bothers me in text adventures when things haven't been proofread. but other than that this was a great game. looking forward to the next one!
short, but not too much depth here. I also dislike the playthrough mode you chose; I much prefer being able to explore a world rather than just click through a very linear story. not too much evidence to go off of, either. took a wild guess based on one specific clue and wound up being right. OK for a beginner game but not wildly original or interesting.
that was really fun! I'm glad you made another one! I enjoyed this one better than the first: a serial killer is always more fun subject matter, I think. my only complaint is that I sometimes think you give us, the players, a bit too much academic credit when it comes to being able to deduce things. I always feel like I'm cheating by looking stuff up on Google. I know it says my vast knowledge comes from the Internet in the game description but even after researching some things I still didn't feel like I could really, truly make the connections you did, like with the Love of the Sea book and such. other than that the game is great! (SPOILER) I also like the sensitivity you gave to mental illness...that's very decent of you. :)
this game was really interesting and different! I like the design of it a lot, and while I sort of missed actually getting to root around for things to examine, I liked the format and the need to think logically to solve the crime. very intuitive game!
that was fun! short and sweet, with logical clues, great hints and a small environment to work with. it was a lot of fun being the thief! I'd like to see another game like this sometime soon :)
well...I liked this game until I found out how short it is. that's it? I dunno, I'm kind of disappointed. I did enjoy the baking aspect, that was pretty fun. and the descriptions were written well, with hints placed strategically and at helpful points. but I would have liked more of the baking puzzle, and more substance to the entire game. I understand it was probably your introductory game or whatever, but the description made it sound totally epic and then it ended and I was like, oh. very anti-climactic.
while we're at it, the commands drove me CRAZY. if you're going to have such specific things to carry, pick up, etc, your commands need to accommodate for that by catching words and combinations of words that are close enough to what the task is. particularly when baking, this was extremely cumbersome. for example, "use flour with water" would have sufficed rather than typing out the entire thing.
also the puzzles are pretty basic. hmm, looks like keycard A probably fits into panel A. I'd like to have seen a bit more depth with that.
OK game. I like where it was headed, but then it ended, and I don't see a sequel anywhere. either follow through and make another game or make the first more complex from the get-go. sorry to say this is probably the least favorite that I've played so far on this site. lack of originality and generally kind of simple. it would probably be a good game for a beginner though.
I'm a big fan of your games, Craig, but I've just started playing and have gotten into this game a bit, and this item carry limit is making me insane. I never understood why these exist and I apologize if it was a requirement rather than a choice for the design of the game, but it's quite cumbersome and sort of off-putting when it comes to becoming immersed in the game play. I'll post a true review when I've finished!
great game! only took me a day and a half but that's mostly due to the game being short. I kind of like the fact that it was very to-the-point. I honestly thought there'd be a little more to getting into the study, but I'm not upset at how it was done, haha. love the historical aspect here too, and the humor to keep things interesting! the world was also very precise, and I appreciate that it didn't feel overwhelmingly huge like some text adventure worlds can. loved this one, I hope you make some more in the future!
I enjoyed this game a lot, from the back stories of all the characters to how I was able to question and interact with them, and how they had more to say after I'd found particular pieces of evidence. that is something new and exciting that I haven't really seen in other text adventure games. but I did find the game a bit troublesome at times, mostly due to the lack of hints or descriptions for things. for example (SPOILER), I'd have never known there are footprints to be examined in the greenhouse if I hadn't seen them mentioned in the comments, and then examined the pots, and the soil, and THEN the footprints. this seems like something that could have been alluded to a bit more in the game (i.e., "maybe Lord Mandrake's beloved Dahlias can offer a clue as to who could have done this" or whatever), as it is a CRUCIAL element to discovering who the murderer is. this happened in several other instances too, like with the towel and the sand. also I think the characters could have had a little more involvement with some of the items, and the rooms could have been a bit more interesting to explore. the commands were sometimes a bit too specific as well. I've played other text adventures where as long as your command was generally pretty close to what you're trying to do it will take. but overall it was a pretty fun game, and I really liked the story! also the red herrings were genius, and nearly threw me off several times! I'm glad I played and finished this one.
