A Nightmare or a haunting? Your friend has been plagued by a recurring nightmare, and you are given the choice to pull the information out of him or speak to a (his?) support robot. Either choice brings more questions than answers… This felt like a good beginning to a mystery, maybe an investigative one. It has some potential. But I did find the formatting hindering the game…
The author indicates this piece to be continuity plan for an animated series. It was also made with Squiffy, an IF tool (looking like an Ink type).
Swimming around in an aquarium, living the (goldfish) life.
In this endless game, you play an unnamed goldfish, waking up doing some activities (from a choice of 4), having dinner, and doing it all over again the day after. But doing the same thing again and again does not always yield the same result… It was simple, short (at least when I played), and quite fun!
This entry uses Trice, a wrapper to help generate sentences with a catalogue of words.
The End of the Road… or is it? A slick, simple and futuristic design, a life-or-death (well, more like almost-death) situation, and a comedic robot… that’s what this entry is offering. Through its shortness, and the grim setting, there are some funny moments, some frightening moments, and some touching moments. The two endings hit a nice punch.
Remember to breathe and blink, like a human. Pretending to be anything else but a human and looking at human nature is always a trip. And this entry is just that. From its bright funky colours, to the strange backgrounds and icon, JNH takes you on a strange ride of looking at the strange creatures that are humans. It is done humorously (with some good-old self-deprecation, and physical comedy) and very funkily.
Same conversation, same fight, drinking again… Creaking doors, muffled steps, tired sighs, accompanying an understated and bare dialogue between two individuals (former/current lovers?) going through the same conversation, a cycle unending. The rawness of the words, enhanced by the formatting and timing of its appearance, packs a very emotional punch.
Reflection on a near-death experience Another very personal entry. With its simple design and lowercase formatting, the raw writing delivers a snapshot of life of pain, worries, and loneliness.
“You are too stubborn to die ” was such a powerful line.
Life’s too short not to enjoy it In the vibes of 80-90s video games, with tv effects, this binksi entry spans a short time, just enough to share a drink and catching up. The mundanity of the discussion coupled with the bright art is strangely nostalgic and warm.And the end is so very lovely… reminding us that life is too short, that we should enjoy the present, and that we should do things that make us happy…
Keeping out of the… A cyclical poem of trying to read/understand a note written in Romanian(?) - using links to reveal its translation. There is a strange air to this entry, a lot of unsaid and hints… You are supposedly content with the work… …and I was left confused…
Exploring a soon-to-be-gone building Through its soft but uncomfortable sound and its bare description, this entries does a good job of building and eerie atmosphere. You are truly alone there, and you should probably leave, but you find yourself questioning if you should maybe stay…
Get the free advice where you can… A short story in two acts: during your teenage years, when an older student gives you some advice, and later as an adult, meeting with that now-adult student and catching up. Strange form of prose. Confused thoughts during reading. A strange take on “The Diamond Necklace”…
Tamagotchi… but make if IF … and kind of meets Pokemon too.CozmoPets is short and simple. Care for your pet, watch it grow, play some games, and get an ending. There are four pets to find and three endings to get, which depend on your actions.(I think the mini-games are random? Whether you win or not is by chance?) The graphics and animations are sincerely delightful! I starved my pet, gave it unhealthy food, destroyed its psyche… Overall, had a fun time!
I really appreciate these little reviews. Sometimes I don’t have time to read a 10,000 word review or postmortem with 30 replies, but these are pleasantly bitesized just like the games themselves.
Be Barbarian. Go in Dungeon. Fight baddies. Win (or die). This is a dungeon crawl, very similar to what you’d find in parsers, but made in Twine. You are a Barbarian, ready to do go on an adventure (or just hitting people…). If you manage not to die, you could solve the puzzles and maybe… open a shiny chest? The writing of this entry is hilarious, taking the tropes of a barbarian character in your run-of-the-mill fantasy setting, and cranking up to dumb. The endings were very much to the tune of ‘Dumb ways to Die’… Great job!
Don’t ever trust the fae… A snippet of a conversation between you and a fae, where the latter really wants your name. You can give it some push back (names are important), but the snippet ends before the conversation is concluded. Leaving to wonder whether we succumbed to the fae’s demands…
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… “Last week, under inauspicious stars, Jacob fell from the Ceiling to his death.” And with this killer hook comes three distinctive short stories linked to one of Jacob’s body parts: his bones, his blood, and his flesh. All of which are gruesome, and sad, and strange. But the writing is so enticing, you HAVE to know what happened to Jacob’s body!
You can’t have cereals without milk… And what a quest this game is. After finding the key ingredient to your breakfast is missing, you must leave the comfort of your abode and go to the nearest store. Unfortunately, you have to pick one between an indecently wide array of choice AND converse with the cashier. Will you fail or succeed? It’s very cute and sweet, and one ending made me giggle.
A Silly Conversation, indeed… Have you ever gotten a custom Rolex as a gift at random in a supermarket for no reason? Me either. But wouldn’t it be weird? Wouldn’t you need to talk about it to someone afterwards?This is the premise of this entry. A silly conversation about a strange event. Quite absurd!
Sacred are these… Something happened before this entry, but it is not completely clear what. A child seemingly important. Lovers doomed to part ways. Religion at the centre of it all. And an uncertain and dangerous future. Thought the child’s name inspires brightness, there are dark warnings on the wall, rendering the piece quite melancholic for the mundanity of the moment (looking after a child and sharing a kiss). The attention to small details and sensations makes the story quite vibrant still.
I am incredibly biased because I am part of the TTRPG sessions this entry is inspired by. Also puts into some context some events/relationships, lol.
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Sidenote: I’ve added the IFDB pages of the entry on all reviews, and removed the href.li bits of the links (which Tumblr creates automaticall when you add a link to a post).
Friends: Coffee Talk by PRINCESS INTERNET CAFé
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