La Mort venue des Archives [Episode 1]
You play the part of a novice archivist. The Magister explains the rules of the archives to you, rules you must follow with each client who files a request at your desk. During the first part of the game, you do just that: handling requests.
However, it quickly becomes clear that the game conspires against your following the rules, making the situation too urgent or tempting to adhere to the Magister’s principles. This creates a pleasant tension between the desire to go off exploring or follow the stated goals of the “game master”.
You have the choice of helping (or denying) many clients. (Quite funny, intentionally or not, the game lampshades the boredom that can come with traversing a long click game by giving you a series of explicitly nonsensical choices. Great touch!)
Dependent on your choices, you will gain experiences or objects which I presume will help in the following part of the story.
The story and the characters are helped along by beautiful graphics, giving extra depth to the conversations.
And then, just when grave news about the Grand Vizir reaches you, the game ends and refers you to “Episode Deux”, which does not exist yet.
I liked what I read, but I also feel disappointed. I feel “Episode 1” is a misnomer here. Although there is a nice setup to a mystery (a murder mystery even…), there doesn’t happen enough to qualify as an “episode” in my view.
Rather “a quick dip-of-the-toe to test the waters.”
I’d rather the author gather their confidence in their ideas, wait & work a year longer and present players with a full game in the next Concours.
(Despite what I said on @mathbrush thread, I will not be playing Retour vers l’exterieur next. While I was browsing a bit, my eyes were drawn to Les Saisons de Pippa instead.)