There is an additional postmortem — a post-postmortem, if you will, — found in the latest Indiepocalypse issue. Gotta collect ‘em all.
3 Likes
In a minute there is time, by Aster
First submitted to the SeedComp!
A gamified love song to J. Alfred Prufrock and T. S. Eliot. Walk through half-deserted streets and muttering retreats, listen to odd conversations, and take in the evening. You only have 60 seconds, but don’t worry— in a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
The entry does an interesting thing with the mechanic, limiting the playthrough to a 60 seconds - though it lets you “rewind” and try as many times as you wish. The games track which passage you visited, making it easier to find the ones you still have left.
I get why the discussions were timed, but they ended up being more frustrating to read through they they should have been because of the timer…
Though that restart may remove all that pressure from the large timer in the background ticking down the minute, it ended up stressing me out so much I found myself clicking aimlessly rather than focussing on the text itself. I had to restart the whole file (because of the tracking formatting) and “hide” the timer from the screen to actually take in the story. The “game” would still end after a minute, making it a bit more sudden, but I wasn’t anxiously counting down the seconds…
The story itself is not so much narratively driven but a more exploration or snippets from a third-party perspective. You don’t really do anything but look at what is around you, happening regardless of you. A bit of a voyeuristic take, wishing you’d be part of the world you are looking at, but still being incredibly distant from it.
It was an interesting experience.
4 Likes
Scale, by lavieenmeow
First submitted to the Neo Twiny Jam
Still as cute and stressless as I remembered. Pretty nice to play it after the previous entry! Very relaxing 
Kinda wished I was a fish now…
5 Likes
Demon Hatching, by Mxelm
First submitted to the Single Choice Jam
Since I played it last, the UI has changed a bit with a more tamed wine palette, reminiscent of blood, flesh, or skin. It is both easier to the eye and thematic
It was nice to re-read it again!
3 Likes
Conduit of the Crypt, by Grim Baccaris
First submitted to the Neo Twiny Jam
The game hasn’t changed since I last played it. Still pretty fun to go through the different options, restarting again and again to see the different sprites. A very low-stakes fun entry!
3 Likes
Confectioner’s Atelier, by Grim Baccaris
First submitted to the inkJam
My review for the entry on the Forum is like a sentence long, so I’ll put the IFDB one:
This was such a fun and quick treat. A very cozy game where you gather around ingredients to create treats for customers. The gameplay is quite simple (go somewhere, get stuff, maybe barter for other stuff), and you can’t lose either. The UI is also quite polished with fun graphics, reminiscing of pixel RPGs.
One of my favourite entry of the inkJam.
The entry is so adorable, and like Conduit of the Crypt pretty low-stakes too. Cozy games are the absolute best, they make you feel so warm inside. And it was such a pretty entry!
3 Likes
Robbery Reverie, by Natasha Luna
First submitted to the Single Choice Jam
Less cozy than the previous one, but a fun one nonetheless. Full of humour, a wide branching story with multiple endings. Very fun to replay and pretend to be the worst robber of all time.
I still stand by the order of bottom-to-top when picking your choices for maximum hilariousness!
3 Likes
At the Poison’s Edge, by Natasha Luna
First submitted to the Single Choice Jam and O2A2
IMO not as satisfying as the previous entry, taking more a dramatic approach to the one choice. It does go all in with the DRAMA.
There is a lot of unsaid with the writing, leaving you to fill in the gaps as to the whys and the hows. The audio-visual aspects of the game were still very lovely.
3 Likes
So You Have a Knife at Your Throat, by Natasha Luna
First submitted to the Neo Twiny Jam
This bite-sized thriller still packs as much of a punch as I remembered. The tension can be cut with a knife! (hehe, sorry)
4 Likes
500 Word Hotel Escape, by Kobato Games
First submitted to the Neo Twiny Jam
A cute little escape room with simple puzzles. Pretty neat considering the short word count!
3 Likes
After the Accident, by Amanda Walker
First submitted to the SeedComp!
Relationships can be disastrous.
Holy moley, what a game! Grabbed me by the throat and would not let me go…
I was at a loss for words for a long time when I reached the end.
Based on After the Accident, a poem by Sophia de Augustine, the story flips between the present, where excruciating pain and confusion overwhelms you, and snippets of memories, walking down a bittersweet memory lane. Showing that love is complex and relationships are complicated.
The mirrors between the present and the past, and the different snippets themselves, each adding details to what has come to be, bring powerful imageries and strong reactions towards the story and the characters. The deeper you go in the story, the more heartbreaking it becomes. But there is little you can do to change things. You know how it ends anyway. It is inevitable. By the end, I felt like a wreck, feelings in shambles.
There was an interesting aspect in the incredible writing: the function of mundane objects to convey the state of things. The car is a wreck like the PC’s relationship. The offered gift feels soft, giving you a warm lovely embrace, but still smells of the fight for the PC. Bread-making is used as a (re-)bonding moment, but drips of milk outside of the bowl breaks the hope of a good reconciliation. A meaningful portrait at the start of the relationship especially points out the PC’s physical flaws, like a hint of what is come in the following months.
It is incredible powerful, raw descriptions of reality, painful depictions of love and hurt.
Moving to the core.
5 Likes
Fix Your Mother’s Printer, by Geoffrey Golden
First submitted to the IFComp
Still delightful, still slightly triggering (the passive-agressive bits) for me.
A really nice slice of mundane life.
2 Likes
The Dying of the Light, by Amanda Walker
First submitted to the EctoComp, La Petite Mort category
I think I should expect to just feel my heart in pieces when I play Amanda’s games.
It is so raw, so hearbreaking, and through the hurt, beautiful. Incredible writing.
3 Likes
Infinite Space Battle Simulator, by Autumn Chen
First submitted to the Neo Twiny Jam
The game is still as hardcore as I remembered. Gosh darn you RNG!!
I don’t think I’ve managed to find a strategy that helps me pass the 10th fight, even on easy difficulty mode. And I’ve tried it so many time since the game was released… I might be just that unlucky.
I still wonder where this prototype fits in the whole Pageantverse/APBW/A&R world… I’m interested in seeing a larger game with the setting (minus the battle simulator, cause I’m really bad at it )
2 Likes
POV: You’re a Teenage Girl in a Conservative Christian Family, by alyshkalia
First submitted to the Bare-Bones Jam
Another tiny entry with a limited wordcount that punches you in the guts by the end.
3 Likes
vestiges of summer, by graymeditations
First submitted to the Neo Twiny Jam
A very emotionally charged bitsy tiny entry. though a still a bit confusing
I did like interacting with a computer inside my computer
2 Likes
Maverick Hunter: Scandalous Mission, by Noah Si
First submitted to the Bare-Bones Jam
This entry hasn’t changed since I last played it.
I wonder if the prototype will one day continue the more joke-y/surrealist angle, or go all serious with the mash-up… Keeping an eye on that one.
3 Likes
Lucid Night, by Dee Cooke
First submitted to the Punyjam #3
first time playing it for me
You’ve always been a lucid dreamer, but these days your dreams never last very long. If only you could get some rest…
This was a very trippy experience, as lucid dreams can often be. It is surreal right from the start, finding yourself inside an airlock rather than cozy in your bed. Jumping from dreamworld to dreamworld, each with their specific “puzzle” and logic, you learn that you have trouble finding sleep, resting sleep especially. Having tried different remedies (each bleeding into the dream snippets funnily), you still struggle with getting good sleep.
The writing is pretty playful, going smoothly from the strangest descriptions of the dreamworld to a more frustrated tone of your awaken self. And vivid - painting lovely images, especially in the dreamworld.
The puzzles are fairly simple and fairly well hinted in the room descriptions and command responses. Even as a parser noob who doesn’t always find the solution easily, it was still a smooth short game, with a satisfying end.
I wish my lucid dream were this fun!
Thanks for including a downloadable walkthrough too! I got to experience the “good” ending thanks to it!
4 Likes
The Last Mountain, by Dee Cooke
First submitted to the ParserComp
You’re out on the mountain again for the Merrithorne Mountain Race, your friend Susan by your side as ever. But something is different this time. Susan is struggling, and your chances of finishing the race in good time are slipping away.
Run your race along the mountain route and see where it takes you. How will it end this time?
I could not be furthest from the intended audience for this game: I absolutely hate running. I just don’t get the appeal or why people would push themselves to exert themselves this way. Anything related to it will give me the hives… 
Yet, I found myself engrossed with the story. Your will to finish this gruelling race, hopefully getting a good time too. Your frustration with your running companion, who is unusually lagging behind and whose condition is starting to worry you. And your struggles with the path, not quite as safe as you hoped.
While you are the character advancing the story, I felt it was more about Susan (or your relationship to Susan) that mattered most here. There are hints through most of the game to why your companion doesn’t seem like herself – though her condition is only vaguely mentioned in the ending, it is easy to assume what’s what. Depending on your actions, the ending you get is heartwarming, even if a bit bittersweet, or pretty tragic…
The game is pretty short, with three and half room and hinted puzzles, branching into multiple endings (I think I managed to get three by myself?). One branching choice seems to have a random component to which path you’ll end up taking (with the correct direction potentially changing with each playthrough).
It was a good well rounded short game!
We love games that make things accessible for newbies! 
walkthroughs
4 Likes
Thanks for your reviews Manon! I was a bit resistant to walkthroughs when I first started making games, but nowadays I usually try to include one to make it easier for people trying to get through jam entries as quickly as possible (having often been in that situation as a player myself).
4 Likes