Author: Josh Labelle
Year: 2020
Development System: Twine
Cruelty Rating: Merciful
Length Of Play: about 30 minutes
My Rating: 7
Awards: 26th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition — 1st Place
I don’t love RPGs as much as I did when I was younger, but can still get roped in if the focus on story outweighs the focus on stats. Tavern Crawler does just that and succeeded in keeping me interested for a couple playthroughs.
Continue reading Tavern CrawlerDeveloper: Freebird
Publisher: Freebird
Year: 2011
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Switch, tvOS
Rating: 6
The ending isn’t any more important than the events leading up to it.
To the Moon is near highly regarded and nearly every review you’ll see is from a dude who cried or became otherwise really emotional while played. While it didn’t hit me as much as most, it is indeed a lovely little interactive story that just about anyone would enjoy.
Continue reading To the MoonDeveloper: Cloak and Dagger
Publisher: Wadjet Eye
Year: 2022
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux
Rating: 4
If as a child you ever agonizingly picked your way through a bland dinner just so you could get dessert, then you’ll have a good idea what it’s like to play The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow. The good news is that with this latest point-and-click pixel art adventure from Cloak and Dagger Games (and publisher Wadjet Eye), there’s a three-layer chocolate mousse waiting for you at the end.
Continue reading The Excavation of Hob’s BarrowDeveloper: Quantic Dream
Publisher: Sony
Year: 2010
Platform: Windows; PS3; PS4
Rating: 10
Holy shit.
It’s been a long time since I played a game and, immediately after credits roll, began talking to all my friends who had played it. I had also done so with Quantic Dream’s previous adventure game, Fahrenheit. And Heavy Rain makes that game look amateurish.
Continue reading Heavy RainDeveloper: Sierra
Year: 1989
Genre: Card Games
Platform: DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Mac
Rating: 6
Sierra’s foray into casual games was hit and miss, but the first book of games was a solid effort. This was the first time I played cards on the computer and this got a lot of playtime when I was a kid. Thought there’s little reason outside novelty to play it today.
Continue reading Hoyle’s Official Book of Games: Volume 1Author: Linus Åkesson
Year: 2020
Development System: Dialog
Cruelty Rating: Merciful
Length Of Play: 3-4 hours
My Rating: 8
Awards: 1st Place: 26th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition;
Best Puzzles, Best Individual Puzzles, Best Implementation, Best Use of Innovation: 2020 XYZZY Awards
What initially appears to be a charming slice-of-life about a six year-old girl helping her dad get ready for a dinner party turns into a old-school puzzlefest with an extraordinary mechanic that I’m embarrassed to admit I needed the in-game hints to even discover. Discovering the mechanic is part of the fun so I won’t spoil it here. I’ll just say it involves changing things in your environment with some magical thinking.
Continue reading The Impossible BottleAuthor: Robb Sherwin
Year: 2004
Development System: Hugo
Cruelty Rating: Tough (save frequently and you’re fine)
Length Of Play: 2-3 hours
My Rating: 5
Awards: Best Individual NPC — 2004 XYZZY Awards
I fell in love with New Haz and its universe while playing Sherwin’s Fallacy of Dawn. The story in Necrotic Drift occurs mostly in a nearby town with an entirely different cast, though frequent references are made to the events in the first game. And while this entry into the series is more focused, I unfortunately found myself missing New Haz and its citizens.
Continue reading Necrotic DriftAuthor: Andrew Plotkin
Year: 1995
Development System: Inform
Cruelty Rating: Cruel
Length Of Play: 2-4 hours, depending on how quickly you look up a walkthrough
My Rating: 7
Awards: 1st Place: 1st Annual Interactive Fiction Competition
>hint
That’s now how life works.
And so sets the mood for A Change in the Weather: dark, dreary, and unforgiving.
I tried this a couple of times in my youth and could not get into it. I think knowing going in that you could lock the game out victory near constantly kept me from immersing myself in the world. I recently gave it another shot and I’m glad I did.
Author: Eric Eve
Year: 2006
Development System: TADS3
Cruelty Rating: Polite
Length Of Play: 2-3 hours
My Rating: 5
Awards: 3rd Place: 12th Interactive Fiction Competition; Best Game, Best Individual NPC: 2006 XYZZY Awards
The Elysium Enigma is a competently made game that easily drew me into its world of intergalactic politics and subterfuge and I eagerly rushed through it. Unfortunately, the story and plot turns were unsatisfying and I felt like a spy left out in the cold.
Continue reading The Elysium EnigmaDeveloper: Fully Ramblomatic
Publisher: Fully Ramblomatic
Year: 2006
Platform: Windows
Score: 5
The third game in Yahtzee Croshaw’s Chzo series, this game brings back Trilby himself but in a slightly different manner than in 5 Days a Stranger. The results are mixed, but it’s a refreshing change of pace and a solid entry for fans of the series.
Continue reading Trilby’s Notes
Death By Troggles 
You must be logged in to post a comment.