A little sad that TALP doesn’t have a lot of topics here, so here are the games that I’ve tried.
Kobold in Search for Family [parser: 2-word]
The author pinned down the atmosphere. Puzzles made me feel like I was sneaking around in a big city. The narrator speaks like a preteen, which suits the game down to the ground. Got stuck in one part and resorted to look at the source code because the verb was really obscure.
Tutorial: A little short
Dessert Island Adventure [parser: complex]
Boggled by how pretty the game is. I wonder what engine the author used. I haven’t finished the game yet, but I liked it so far. The main mechanic is learning spells and finding ingredients in places and manners you wouldn’t expect.
Tutorial: Fun, accessible to beginners
The Spooky Mansion [parser: complex]
I am a big fan of games like this that focus on its fun, unique setting. Endearing characters. I loved every single one. Superb dialogue. Beautiful pixel-art graphics. Quite some bugs, but understandable.
Tutorial: A little short
Mermaid Adventure [parser: I’m not sure]
Never got past the shark. I leave it for those with more brains than I.
Tutorial: Unless there’s a tutorial after the shark part, I only saw two tutorial messages.
Forgotten Island [parser: 2-word]
Engaging story! Lots of interesting lore to be explored. This game is for those who miss the style of old text adventures. There’s one tough puzzle that was bewildering to me as an amateur player.
Tutorial: Good length and not annoying.
The Lonely Troll [parser: I’m not sure]
Good error messages. Pretty ASCII art. Easy playthrough, more focus on the heartwarming story. Game was written with the player in mind. I think it really nailed the point of TALP.
Tutorial: Only game that told the player that tutorial messages only appear once. I appreciate that.
Library Quest [parser: 2-word]
The premise and the title is genius. Fantastic, relatable story. I understand risking sneaking around a magic library to fix something you broke. Most of the puzzles are guess the verb or guess the specific word, which isn’t my cup of tea.
Tutorial: persistent and ordered
Sinderella’s Potions [parser: complex or 2-word]
Premise is also genius. Lots of NPCs and conversation trees. Main mechanic is fulfilling tasks to earn money by making potions. Beautiful graphics.
The inventory seems to have its own virtual room, where your items, tools, potions, and potion ingredients are listed in the room description. Then you can examine and observe the ingredients in the inventory room as well. First time I’ve seen anything like this.
Tutorial: Good length and not annoying
Barry Basic and The Speed Daemon [parser: complex or 2-word]
This is based on the version I playtested, which was a day or two before the deadline. I love that it’s three minigames that happen simultaneously in-world, and culminate at the same ending. Very rich, good mix of backstory and puzzles and plot. Can’t wait for the next installment of Barry Basic.
Tutorial: (will get back to this once I play the final version)
Carpathian Vampire [parser: complex]
This is based on the version I playtested. Puzzles are blissfully logical. No guess the verb. I wish it was a little spookier, but it had to stay kid-friendly.
Tutorial: Thorough, not persistent.