machina caerulea by manonamora
Another Neo-Twiny Jam 2024 game that makes the most of its 500 words. The narration unfolds mostly in fragments, which works both diegetically (the player character is disoriented after being roused from some sort of stasis in a pod) and non-diegetically. The brevity allows for an introductory scene, a fully fleshed out room-exploration scene with plenty of item descriptions that add context, and a haunting denouement with several possible endings.
This piece was part of the Bluebeard Jam, among others, so it’s not hard to guess why you’ve been admonished not to go through the red door. However, machina caerulea takes a route that adds some texture to the familiar story: the PC and most of her predecessors are robotic clones of our Bluebeard’s first wife, who we learn from records in the lab died from a terminal illness, and whose emaciated and clearly human body we find right before the final confrontation. Instead of the original story’s villain who controls and murders seemingly for its own sake, we have a grieving widower lashing out at his “imperfect” replicas. Not sympathetic, exactly, but more nuanced and interesting for sure. The dynamic of the “wives” being not just found, but created for the “Bluebeard” in question also adds some layers to the power imbalance and the PC’s predicament. Though they’re very different stories, I was reminded a bit of (ROT13 for spoilers within spoilers) Pbzsbeg Zr Jvgu Nccyrf ol Pngurelaar Z. Inyragr, gubhtu Nqnz cynlf n zber pbagevohgbel guna qverpg ebyr va gur jvirf’ perngvba.
All in all, machina caerulea feels deceptively spacious for a game of its size. It’s also cleanly styled and seamless to play, aside from some quirky timed text that doesn’t cause problems but can feel a little disjointed from the narrative. (Don’t get mad at that long opening sequence, though; it’s there for a reason…) A fantastic example of doing more with less.