Author: Tod Levi
Year: 1999
Development System: Inform
Cruelty Rating: Nasty
Length of Play: 3-4 hours
My Rating: 5
When I first discovered interactive fiction in the late 90’s and learned that the public now had tools to develop their own games, my first story idea was to design a game where the player controlled a cat. I gave up on the idea when I realized I had a hard time coming up with a good story with good puzzles that made sense.
Continue reading A Day For Soft FoodAuthor: Robb Sherwin
Year: 2001
Development System: Hugo
Cruelty Rating: Tough (save frequently and you’re fine)
Length Of Play: 3-4 hours
My Rating: 9
Awards: Best Writing and Best Individual NPC — 2001 XYZZY Awards
Fallacy of Dawn won the XYZZY award for best writing; if you play for five minutes and don’t immediately agree, then save yourself some headaches as this game might be the buggiest to ever win an award. If you do enjoy the writing, then you’re in for a treat that is Sherwin’s fascinating and demented brain space.
Continue reading Fallacy of DawnAuthor: Sam Barlow
Year: 1999
Development System: Inform
Cruelty Rating: Merciful
Length Of Play: One-Move Game
My Rating: 7
Awards: Best Use of Medium — 1999 XYZZY Awards
Perhaps the first serious game that would automatically end after one move. The premise is quite simple as you play an ordinary man in an ordinary supermarket who has stopped in the pasta aisle next to a woman who is also shopping. There are exactly 136 possible moves you can make that produce 136 separate endings. There is neither a puzzle nor a plot, and one would be hard pressed to say this is even a character study, as some of the endings’ portrayal of your character’s history contradict each other.
I do wish there was something more here to unravel, but as it stands this is quite a pleasant diversion thanks to the imagination and quality writing of Sam Barlow. More importantly, Aisle inspired many future authors in experimenting with the genre, including a few entertaining games that mimic this one.
I still come back and play Aisle about every five years. There’s just something about the protagonist’s world view that makes me smile.
Author: J. Robinson Wheeler
Year: 2001
Development System: TADS
Cruelty Rating: Tough
Length Of Play: 4-6 hours
My Rating: 10
Awards: Best Puzzles — 2001 XYZZY Awards
It continues to surprise me that apparently so relatively few people have played First Things First. It seemingly has everything most players want: a good writer and coder (Wheeler), a fun premise (time travel mechanics), and lots of old-school (but fair) puzzles. It’s not overly long or overly cruel. It even starts out like Curses! with some putzing around the house. It’s about the most perfect game I’ve ever played.
Continue reading First Things FirstAuthor: Bart Bronte
Year: 2017
Genre: Puzzle
Platform: iOS, Android, Browser
My Rating: 5
A short, free version akin to Bart Bronte’s Factory Balls, a logic game that has the added benefit of a cute ghost and cute pumpkins. If you’re good at water logic games but want something a little more fun, give this a shot.
Continue reading Boo!Author: Robin Johnson
Year: 2016
Development System: Versificator 2
Cruelty Rating: Polite
Length Of Play: 2-3 hours
My Rating: 7
Awards: 1st Place — 22nd Annual IF Competition
I’ve always been a sucker for hardboiled detective stories, especially when they are self-aware. Detectiveland is a straight send up of the genre written in a Twine-like parser that only requires navigation of hyperlinks (including an extensive inventory). Everything is here: the embittered detective, sleazy law enforcement, speakeasies, powerful dames, and cheesy dialogue. The graphics and music also fit the mood, though I turned off the music after a while due to its repetition. The fourth wall is frequently broken and I smirked a good dozen times while playing. I also appreciate that the narrator has more modern sensibilities when it comes to feminism and race issues.
The puzzles are not bad considering the format; even though it’s easy, one can’t just mindlessly click through the game. I especially enjoyed the one in the Italian restaurant. And while the game can’t be made unwinnable, what most would consider to be the best ending (out of three) does require extra foresight and can be put out of reach if you’re careless.
I wanted to like this even more than I did. Every aspect is above-average and well-polished. While it was neither funny enough nor dramatic enough to be among my favorites, I would recommend it to anyone who likes the genre.
Author: Abigail Corfman
Year: 2016
Development System: Twine (browser)
Cruelty Rating: Merciful (there is no way to die or get stuck)
Length Of Play: 5-10 minutes per playthrough
My Rating: 9
Awards: Best Puzzles — 2016 XYZZY Awards
The first Twine game I played was a fantastic introduction to the system. About twenty years ago I played Will the Real Marjorie Hopkirk Please Stand Up?, a game about trying to find 100 ways to kill 100 clones. I was enthralled by the premise and disappointed it was a demo with only five solutions. So I was thrilled to finally get to play something similar that was less intimidating and more lighthearted.
Continue reading 16 Ways to Kill A Vampire at McDonaldsAuthor: Adam Cadre
Year: 1998
Development System: Inform
Cruelty Rating: Merciful (there is no way to die or get stuck)
Length Of Play: 1-2 Hours
My Rating: 9
Awards: 4th Annual IF Competition: 1st Place
1998 XYZZY Awards: Best Story, Best Writing
In 2019 I played Photopia for the second time, almost twenty years after my first playthrough. I worried that time or perspective would change my opinion, and while that did indeed happen, it remains a treasure I will still recommend to anyone who delves into the world of interactive fiction.
Continue reading Photopia
Developer: Revival
Publisher: Revival
Year: 2007
Platform: Windows
Rating: 4/10
A film-noir interactive movie with point and click adventure elements, Fate By Numbers is a free, short indie game that while entertaining, feels incomplete and unfortunately didn’t launch the company forward.
Continue reading Fate By Numbers
Year: 1977
Director: George Lucas
Rating: 10
As I’ve grown older my love for the franchise has abated, and not because of the quality or lack there of with newer additions. I think I just don’t identify with the ethos. While I can certainly endorse the notion that there’s good and evil within all of us and the choices we make matter, the evil people in this galaxy are often sneeringly evil and inexplicably stupid. And in good stories I should be able to either identify with the antagonist or at least understand them. And that never happens here.
Death By Troggles 
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