Hey, everyone! My name’s Justin and I’m a writer with Final Arc, a publication that’s all about indie games and more. I’ve been into IF for awhile and started making my own games last year.
I covered IFComp starting up again for 2024 for the pub and thought it’d be cool to do short impressions of the games entered this year. This isn’t my first rodeo playing IFComp games and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to give authors some coverage. No promises on covering every game but I do aim to cover as many as I can.
I’ll post my coverage here on intfiction. For faster delivery, you can sign up for our free newsletter and get Final Arc’s latest posts right when they’re posted! Please let me know if y’all have any questions about the site.
I had the privilege of beta testing this one before the comp and I’m glad for the chance. This is one of the coolest parser games I’ve played yet. If you haven’t tried this game out, I highly recommend it.
This also one of the entries I beta tested and wow was it fun. Mysteries and detective fiction are near and dear to my heart so playing an Agatha Christie-ish game was fun. Also big props to Daniel for all the hard work they put in to making a hyperlink UI. Definitely try this one out!
Note: Incorrect pronouns used for Daniel were corrected.
This is another comp entry I beta tested (the last one, I swear!) and I’m so glad I did. I was blown away by According to Cain last year and I was just as impressed with this one. If you love mysteries and also understand the stress of being a writer then you’ll need to check this game out.
(For everyone else, I should add that, as a beta tester, Justin reported a game-breaking bug within 36 hours of the comp deadline. Not all heroes wear capes, but they do beta test.)
Thanks for being patient, folks. Here’s the next impression! You Can’t Save Her by Sarah Mak caught my eye almost immediately because of the cool artwork for it. But what made me stay was the great writing and the interesting techniques she used to tell it. Choice-game fans who haven’t played this yet are in for a fun ride, particularly those who enjoy Porpentine’s works.
Hey everyone! Back with another impression for the comp. This time it’s about The Bat by the one and only Chandler M. Groover. I had a blast playing this and an equally fun time writing the piece too.
It also has a special place in my heart because it takes inspiration from one of my favorite stories, The Bat (the 1926 silent film adaptation, specifically)! Parser fans and those too afraid to try them are going to have a good ol’ romp when they ATTEND TO guests.