Hi everybody, and congratulations to the entrants of the competition this year!
I thought I’d continue with my tradition from last year of offering some brief impressions for the games I play, along with some additional thoughts on a few select games. I had fun digging into these last night and I’m excited to see what’s on offer this year 
Under Loch by Mertie MacLeod
I started by playing under-15-minute games first, and funnily enough, I began playing this one last night as I sat down to eat a sandwich, so I had that in common with the game’s protagonist. Cycling through the various happenings at the Loch was realxing, and when I hit a prompt to “come back later”, I kept the tab open and moved on down my list.
It wasn’t until I started another game, Enkii, and hit another prompt to “come back later”, that I began to suspect something fishy going on. It was late and my brain wasn’t making proper connections, so it wasn’t until I asked some other IF folks for recommendations on how to progress that someone suggested the games were meant to be played together. In retrospect, this was pretty obvious: connecting titles, similar styling in the games themselves, etc, all point to the games being connected. So the following day I looked at the two tabs with the two games and began playing them in concert.
What resulted was a cute little game about the Loch, with interactions between the two main characters from each game. They trade information, have some fun interactions, and eventually find the key to free Enkii’s protagonist. Overall very enjoyable, and a fun puzzle.
The Golden King by Damien L. Wakes
This is the kind of game that might make people argue over whether it actually counts as interactive fiction. I hope there isn’t very much of that, because I think it absolutely is, even if the main way of interfacing with the game in graphical. One minor gripe of mine: I wish the audio also had subtitles, as I have some audio processing issues that can make it hard to parse what’s being said. Like Under Loch, this game made me wonder if there were potential connections to another game in the comp, but if there are, I haven’t encountered them yet. Or maybe something hidden in the code, like in others of Damien’s games. The storyline and atmosphere made me think about the state of the world and politics of today, and the sorry state of the priorities of those who call themselves our rulers. Overall it was entertaining and thought-provoking. I’m sure there’s probably a few references or bits of context I’m missing, but I nevertheless enjoyed it.
Enkii by Mélodie Marcet
I was immediately attracted by the fish drawing in the game’s cover art, and, after discovering the connection to the earlier Under Loch, had a lot of fun going back and forth between the games’ two protagonists. It was fun thinking about the connections between the two games, like Enkii’s protagonist spotting the protagonist from Under Loch before getting trapped, and not thinking much of her. Overall I enjoyed it a lot, and think it’s definitely worth checking out! 
Residual Income by Coral Nulla
In this game we play as an “invisible woman”. The gameplay is straightforward with simple puzzles and an uncomplicated structure. The writing is where the game really shines, and it is excellent. The language is evocative and eerie, with mentions of “electrobat huntresses” and “slicers and peelers and stuck-between-your-teethers”. “The computer is hungry,” the game tells you. “It wants a password.”
As more about this world is revealed, along with our character’s own vampiric origins, some parallels between the characters’ invisibilized and marginalized position and those of real life marginalized groups (e.g. trans people, and trans women in particular) occurred to me, and I don’t think that was an accident. This vampire is in control here, though (as she repeatedly tells us), and it is up to her (and us) to ultimately decide the fate of the man in the vault.
I loved the world this game created. Despite the short playtime, it felt fully realized, and the player character mysterious and compelling. I loved the vampire lore. These vampires are damaged by the blue light of computer screens, not just the light of the sun, and “brand icons, stake holders” instead of merely the typical cross. Highly recommend.
Quackpond by Quackpond Admins
As a genuine duck enthusiast, I had SO much trouble choosing whether to begin this game by choosing a muscovy duck (piebald, of course) or the classic mallard.
The game is, quite frankly, a delight. The art is fun, and the gameplay loop is engaging and satisfying. Even as the impending disaster drew closer, I was still happy to visit my lil duck and feed them (a classic mallard named Green, if you were curious 
).
Details like bad puns (“intro-duck-tions!”) and the language and typing styles of the users on the forum seemed realistic, so much so that when I typed out my own responses, it really did almost feel as though they were real people replying to me. I got so into my responses that, although I think I ought to investigate some more and see if I can get an alternate ending, I was very reluctant to be mean on purpose in the Cute Duck Game 
Perhaps tomorrow.
Definitely recommend this. I feel like I’ve had great luck with some fun and interesting games so far this year, and this one is very playable (and potentially replayable! If I can just manage channel my inner troll next time, haha)