Publisher: inkle
Developer: inkle
Year: 2021
Platform: Windows, Mac, Switch, Android, iOS
Rating: 5
A murder mystery where you’re the murderer is ripe for intrigue and clever manipulation. Overboard! begins with a bang (not literally), pulling you into the dark web of secrets surrounding the shipmates you haven’t killed. Sadly, though, the structure of the game leads to repetition and fatigue, leaving it way less satisfying than it should have been.
Continue reading Overboard!Author: Jon Ingold
Year: 2001
Development System: Inform
Cruelty Rating: Merciful
Length of Play: 1-2 Hours
My Rating: 6
Awards: Best Game, Best Story, Best Setting — 2001 XYZZY Awards
1st Place — 7th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition
I normally am a sucker for anything involving time travel and paradoxes and I tend to prefer linear gameplay. Jon Ingold is also one of my favorite authors. So All Roads should be right up my alley. I judged the 2001 IF competition and remember giving this one a score of “6” and then being surprised it took first place and won a whole slew of XYZZY awards. I decided to play it again recently to see if time would change my mind, but I left once again feeling underwhelmed.
Continue reading All RoadsAuthor: Jon Ingold
Year: 2000
Development System: Inform
Cruelty Rating: Cruel (but the game is so short it doesn’t matter)
Length of Play: 1-2 Hours
My Rating: 8
I’ve always enjoyed games that take place in space, especially on failing space vessels (e.g. Mission Critical, Seedship). I fell immediately for Fail-Safe’s hook, which entails playing the role of mission control talking to the lone survivor on a failing space vessel.
Death By Troggles 