As of the time of writing, this is the most recent XYZZY Best Game award winner (I will revisit Zozzled, but I won’t have computer access for a week or two and wanted to play with all TADS features first).
This game both bucks trends and embraces tradition. It’s the lowest-placing IFComp game to ever win Best Game (at 6th place). But it’s also a TADS game, which once was a very popular system (with 518 games listed on IFDB) before experiencing a long lull. This game is part of several recently released with this system.
It beat out numerous other games, including the comedy/heartfelt IFComp winner The Grown-Up Detective Agency, the extracting-texts-from-bacteria game The Archivist and the Revolution, the gothic parser tale Spectators, and many more.
What does it do right?
Depth
This is a long game for IFComp and filled with many details, perhaps one reason it placed lower in IFComp but higher in the XYZZY Awards.
You play as an alchemist with the overall career of “Indigator”. You have been sent back in time to determine what, exactly, is the mark of Cain.
You are given numerous troves of equipment and a book from your superiors. The book is quite large; reading it can take a long time, half an hour or more. The game prompts you to move on, though, as it is designed for consulting, not laborious writing.
Gameplay revolves around performing rituals involving the various alchemical reagents you have been given and that you create. Some rituals are spelled out for you, some are referenced by name (which you can consult the book about) while still others must be guessed at, adding to the complexit of the game.
The alchemical reagents have complex interactions with each other and with humans, with different humans having different humors, and each humor having a ‘poison’. It is of course reminiscent of other alchemy games, like Hadean Lands, but stands on its own and doesn’t feel derivative.
Storytelling Through Lore
I’ve thought in the past that parser IF is generally better when it’s about ‘What happened’? vs ‘What is happening?’ due to the difficulties of pacing when players can type whatever they want. This is one reason amnesia is a perennial favorite start for parser games, as is uncovering mysteries or cults.
In this game, you uncover the tales of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel (and sisters!) through alchemical means. Your game, the player’s, while fraught with occasional physical danger, is slow-paced and thoughtful. The remembered past, though, is filled with arguments, violence, deception, starvation, betrayal, and jealousy. Just like the previous year’s winner, What Heart Heard of, Ghost Guessed, progression in this game occurs through unlocking horrifying memories of a past family.
Polish
The game is generally very polished. Replaying it with the latest version (version 6), I experienced no bugs, and reviews seem to indicate that the bugs originally there were small.
The writing is consistent in tone and evocative, as is appropriate for an IF author who is also a published book author. Extensive research, including consulting texts of numerous religions, went into this game.
It also includes multimedia, including subtle optional music and optional sidebar and splash graphics.
Conclusion
According to Cain is well-researched, polished, has unusual mechanics that are consistent, is difficult enough to make winning feel like a success but easy enough to be completed with few hints. It also ended up winning the first IFDB Awards, showing that it’s XYZZY win was no random coincidence.