Recommendations Requested: Which IFcomp entries should not be missed?

I have played about 2/3 of the games in the competition so far, and many of my favourites have already been mentioned. But here are a few that have not:

  • Doppeljobs: Original and fun story. Very well written.
  • Seasonal Apocalypse Disorder: A time travel puzzler. Very nice game design. Loved the built-in (graphical) map.
  • Lore Distance Relationship: Story-based (no puzzles), nostalgic experience.
  • Jay Schilling’s Edge of Chaos: Written by Robb Sherwin & Mike Sousa. (Enough said?) Entertaining/crazy noir-like detective story. Great writing and easy puzzles.
  • High Jinnks: Funny, well written, great dialogue, story-based.
  • Congee: Short, warm and comforting. No puzzles.
  • Ferryman’s Gate: Well, if you like comma rules, you’re going to love this game! :grinning: Traditional puzzler, with logical (not too difficult) puzzles. And even though the game map is huge (a two-story mansion + a garden), I had no trouble navigating the game without having to draw a map. That impressed me.
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I was inspired by the Verb Your Enthusiasm podcast to try Ascension of Limbs. I gotta say, it’s a really neat antique store business simulator with touches of the occult.

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I’ve played over thirty six games in the competition already, but only one of them on the list above. This is the value of sharing favorites. (I’ve been looking forward to several of these, based on other positive things I’ve read)

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Ghostfinder: Shift is my favorite not yet mentioned on this thread. It features the detailed investigation of a serial killer and strong writing.

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The comp is close enough to the end that I think my opinion won’t change anything, so I’d like to say that I actually loved Amazing Quest. I suspected its ‘terrible secret’, so when someone decompiled it, it wasn’t too shocking. But I don’t think it makes the game worse at all.

Was I influenced by the name of the author? Probably, why wouldn’t I? But I definitely have liked similar games before (Chandler Groover’s Left/Right and Creak Creak, the game ASCII and the Argonauts, Aaron Reed’s ! by @). I found this game fun and meditative.

People talk about the game lying to you, but all games lie to you. They give a sense of a grander world but when it comes down to it there is very little coded into most games. 3D characters are just skins with no insides, every possible conversation topic in a game is hard-coded in, there’s nothing on the other side of the wall at the game boundaries. So can’t a game that relies on randomness give you that same feeling as the ancient explorers searching for the mercy of their gods and trying to discover what placates them?

I think it’s completely fine for people to downvote it or not like it, enjoyment is in the eye of the reader and there is no ‘correct way’ to approach a game. But I’m surprised that, when I post my review for this game, it’ll be the first score about a 3.

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I certainly didn’t hate Amazing Quest at all. It’s succesful in throwing you back to an earlier age of gaming, and has the feel of a type-in program from some random book on Basic from the 80s. Finally, it’s presented directly on the web in a deceivingly user-friendly way (no need to fiddle with emulators thanks to complex but entirely transparent Javascript trickery). These are all qualities I appreciate about it.

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My first take on the game was that it was a deliberate troll. I didn’t even initially believe that Nick Montfort was the real author. If he is, I think he’s gone all Banksy on us.

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Knowing Nick as I do, this game is pure Montfort. You just have to take it on its own terms, the smallest infinite IF generator he could dream up for the C64. Delight in it or don’t, but I can assure you, it is sincere.

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