Since the category didnāt restrict the amount of time spent on the game, there was a bit more polish with the entries. Some really blew my mind, some made me laugh so hard, I got spooked quite a bit too! This year was a really fun bunch of games again, and Iām glad I was able to play them all this time
Yay~
Iāll take a short break, and finish the Bare-Bones entries in a few days
Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate it!
Put-Peepā¢ originally started as a four-hour challenge, so the story is fairly short, but I kept wanting to add depth and detail, and Iām actually still updating it.
I hope it bridges some gap between horror and a bit of light-hearted comedy.
Iād love to know what caused you to consult the walkthroughā¦ out of curiosity, to gauge how hard I made it and if I can make it less difficult. Or confusing.
I also got stuck here! I tried with the mop at first, since I did get clued in on probably needing to do something to the lines, like cleaning them away, but when it didnāt work I figured it was the wrong tack and kept running around hoping to trigger something I had maybe missed.
I put
the mop and the broom in the same room so there would be some decision to be made. And I made sure that if you picked the wrong one, you would not get trapped with no ability to get the other. Examining the broom mentions its bristles, sharpened with age, so I hoped that would be a clue. Though now that you mention it, the mop might be something that could work, if cleaning the lines was something a mop could do, if the lines were fresh, or whatever, but as they were thick and old, I figured youād need to cut the lines.
There are several commands to cut the lines.
Sever lines with broom
Sweep lines with broom
Clean lines (when holding the broom)
And I guess I didnāt want to make it too obvious. The game isnāt all that hard, and not a lot of puzzles, so I hoped this would be ok.
I was able to get past the part about erasing the lines without too much trouble, but then I got stuck at the end when trying to find the Peep. It was because I was trying to search the drawer, not the āmessā!
I am BACK with reviews
Starting today, I will be taking a look at the rest of the Bare-Bones entries.
and continuing to add the reviews to the IFDB, the Petite Mort are all queued/published with extra bits, Iām a third through the Grand Guignol.
I tried my best playing the Spanish entries of the EctoComp, but have been struggling to understand most of the text ;-;
(sowwy)
Summary: A priest is confronted with the sudden return of his former lover.
Thoughts: micro piece stylised as some sort of play, a discussions between a priest and a confessor - both having history together. The story is dramatic and painful (for the characters, itās quite beautiful to read), and giving just enough information to understand the dynamic between the characters, yet leaving you wanting more. I have so many questions about those two characters (incl. a chicken an egg one on the priest and the potential forbidden lover trope), and hope the longer piece this extract is from will be published one day.
This is a very hard gameā¦ also known as Adventure python. the goal of the game is to survive 100 fights, if you do that you can win. or you can chicken out and just not fight, but your here to play a game not run away. there wont be a lot of things you can use so what are you doing here get out and survive ADVENTURE PYTHON!
Thoughts: Fairly basic adventure game, with a combat and inventory system. Fight āmonstersā, get coins, watch out for your health/hunger, get to the finish line or die. The fights are randomly generated, in names, attack and rewards. The input is fairly simple (press the number for the command).
It was fine. Just gets a little repetitive after a dozen fight. I died before reaching the required 100, but didnāt feel the need/want to try to beat the game.
The ASCII art was cute, and Iām glad the author had an online version.
Summary: Step into the shoes of the unnamed protagonist as they spend a few moments alone with a very close friend while waiting for your big order of coffee (and a shake) to be prepared.
Thoughts: Cute little kinetic(-ish) story about what are/could/should have been. Retrospections and (unrequited?) feelings are the focus of the bit.
I still thought the You character is kind of a dick.
Summary: Auto insurance agent and aggressively perfect big sister by day, world-class cat thief by night: Ji Min Cain throws her schedule out the window when her mortal enemy escapes from prison. Her enemy? Media darling and professional supervillain Hammer. Can she hunt him down before he gets away with his next big heist? Will she catch the eye of the government Bureau of Heroics-- or someone much more dangerous?
Thoughts: Pretty long game, could almost be kinetic (one ending, but still have a few choices). The setting is a bit silly (vigilante trying to take down the villain, but also life), but itās pretty fun. I thought many passages were very long tho, and many needed a break or to be shortened.
I was also confused with time passing. Since weāre supposed to be hunting a villain, and time being of the essence, it felt weird to spend so much time doing some random things? I think the middle part of the game felt a bit out of place, and didnāt help much with the pacing of the story overall.
There are some pretty funny moment and quibs between characters, especially you and the villain.
Note: this is a NSFW entry. You can managed to not avoid the very NSFW bits.
Summary: Track your adventure as you run from the orcs massacring your hometown, and see if you can find yourself a little bit of warmth in the harshness of my world, even as winter is approaches.
Thoughts: Oh neat, a Twine format I hadnāt encountered before! CYOA book style! oh, the nostalgiaā¦
Neat fantasy story about survival (and maybe more, wink wink). Good balance between text length and choices. Stakes are high (need to find shelter and survive) but donāt feel insurmountable. Nice banter between the characters (Tent, best girl!).
Itās also nice that the more NSFW passages are behind choices (and itās made obvious enough in the option list), so you can go through the story with maybe some flirting but nothing explicit.
Shuffling the passages number was also smart: you canāt piece out easily the story, unless you follow the links on the page.
Summary: Youāre looking for your guitarās pedal, but end up finding other thingsā¦
Thoughts: This one hit hard. Short and sweet (also not sweet, it stings). Sometimes you donāt need more than a tiny snapshot to pull the heart strings.
This is a demo/proof of concept/fan game, mashing up the Mega Man IP and CrĆØme de la CrĆØme by H Powell-Smith.
It had first been submitted to the Bring Out Your Ghost.
Thoughts: I didnāt know what to expect, but it for sure wasnāt this!
The project is definitely a demo (I found a few uncoded variables/statements on a passage), and probably isnāt supposed to be serious? I know it has some references to both the IPs mentioned above, but I donāt have enough prior knowledge to know for sure what is and what isnāt (though I could take some guesses).
The game starts off with a āget ready to fight some baddiesā moment. You can pick a sidekick and who you will fight. Itās very serious and importantā¦
ā¦ aaaaand the demo ends on a homage to Pick Up the Phone Booth and Die (no matter what you pick). Itās silly, but the whiplash from going to a set story to this made me laugh a lot. I donāt know whether it would actually fit the story planned, but I kinda hope it stays in the game.
Thoughts: Iām gonna need a hug after this and so will you.
The way the choices are made available/disappear from the list, and the responses when you choose them, hit like a ton of brick.
Strangely, the harsh Harlowe interface adds to the bleakness of the situation.
Summary: a vengeful outcast who seeks to kill a god, after an incident where the god killed their last family member.
Thoughts: Another dark entry to the pile (so many of them ;-; ). You have a tragic back story, and are set on taking revenge for your misfortune, ready even to lose your life for your cause. You can sort of change your mind by the end, leading you towards different endings (and revelations). It felt a bit longer than it should have been?
Summary: A word wants to say more than words about your world.
Thoughts: I really, really, like pieces looking at the human experience from an outside perspective (aliens/other). Itās weird, but also makes you think about things you take for granted. Here, a word takes over your body for a month, and created a game to share its experience with you.
Itās strange, and endearing, and pretty meta/philosophical about the use of words, their meaning and whether there are better ways to communicate things to other people.
This was a really good entry!
I think the middle part of the game felt a bit out of place, and didnāt help much with the pacing of the story overall.