Summary: A priest is confronted with the sudden return of his former lover.
Thoughts: micro piece stylised as some sort of play, a discussions between a priest and a confessor - both having history together. The story is dramatic and painful (for the characters, itās quite beautiful to read), and giving just enough information to understand the dynamic between the characters, yet leaving you wanting more. I have so many questions about those two characters (incl. a chicken an egg one on the priest and the potential forbidden lover trope), and hope the longer piece this extract is from will be published one day.
This is a very hard gameā¦ also known as Adventure python. the goal of the game is to survive 100 fights, if you do that you can win. or you can chicken out and just not fight, but your here to play a game not run away. there wont be a lot of things you can use so what are you doing here get out and survive ADVENTURE PYTHON!
Thoughts: Fairly basic adventure game, with a combat and inventory system. Fight āmonstersā, get coins, watch out for your health/hunger, get to the finish line or die. The fights are randomly generated, in names, attack and rewards. The input is fairly simple (press the number for the command).
It was fine. Just gets a little repetitive after a dozen fight. I died before reaching the required 100, but didnāt feel the need/want to try to beat the game.
The ASCII art was cute, and Iām glad the author had an online version.
Summary: Step into the shoes of the unnamed protagonist as they spend a few moments alone with a very close friend while waiting for your big order of coffee (and a shake) to be prepared.
Thoughts: Cute little kinetic(-ish) story about what are/could/should have been. Retrospections and (unrequited?) feelings are the focus of the bit.
I still thought the You character is kind of a dick.
Summary: Auto insurance agent and aggressively perfect big sister by day, world-class cat thief by night: Ji Min Cain throws her schedule out the window when her mortal enemy escapes from prison. Her enemy? Media darling and professional supervillain Hammer. Can she hunt him down before he gets away with his next big heist? Will she catch the eye of the government Bureau of Heroics-- or someone much more dangerous?
Thoughts: Pretty long game, could almost be kinetic (one ending, but still have a few choices). The setting is a bit silly (vigilante trying to take down the villain, but also life), but itās pretty fun. I thought many passages were very long tho, and many needed a break or to be shortened.
I was also confused with time passing. Since weāre supposed to be hunting a villain, and time being of the essence, it felt weird to spend so much time doing some random things? I think the middle part of the game felt a bit out of place, and didnāt help much with the pacing of the story overall.
There are some pretty funny moment and quibs between characters, especially you and the villain.
Note: this is a NSFW entry. You can managed to not avoid the very NSFW bits.
Summary: Track your adventure as you run from the orcs massacring your hometown, and see if you can find yourself a little bit of warmth in the harshness of my world, even as winter is approaches.
Thoughts: Oh neat, a Twine format I hadnāt encountered before! CYOA book style! oh, the nostalgiaā¦
Neat fantasy story about survival (and maybe more, wink wink). Good balance between text length and choices. Stakes are high (need to find shelter and survive) but donāt feel insurmountable. Nice banter between the characters (Tent, best girl!).
Itās also nice that the more NSFW passages are behind choices (and itās made obvious enough in the option list), so you can go through the story with maybe some flirting but nothing explicit.
Shuffling the passages number was also smart: you canāt piece out easily the story, unless you follow the links on the page.
Summary: Youāre looking for your guitarās pedal, but end up finding other thingsā¦
Thoughts: This one hit hard. Short and sweet (also not sweet, it stings). Sometimes you donāt need more than a tiny snapshot to pull the heart strings.
This is a demo/proof of concept/fan game, mashing up the Mega Man IP and CrĆØme de la CrĆØme by H Powell-Smith.
It had first been submitted to the Bring Out Your Ghost.
Thoughts: I didnāt know what to expect, but it for sure wasnāt this!
The project is definitely a demo (I found a few uncoded variables/statements on a passage), and probably isnāt supposed to be serious? I know it has some references to both the IPs mentioned above, but I donāt have enough prior knowledge to know for sure what is and what isnāt (though I could take some guesses).
The game starts off with a āget ready to fight some baddiesā moment. You can pick a sidekick and who you will fight. Itās very serious and importantā¦
ā¦ aaaaand the demo ends on a homage to Pick Up the Phone Booth and Die (no matter what you pick). Itās silly, but the whiplash from going to a set story to this made me laugh a lot. I donāt know whether it would actually fit the story planned, but I kinda hope it stays in the game.
Thoughts: Iām gonna need a hug after this and so will you.
The way the choices are made available/disappear from the list, and the responses when you choose them, hit like a ton of brick.
Strangely, the harsh Harlowe interface adds to the bleakness of the situation.
Summary: a vengeful outcast who seeks to kill a god, after an incident where the god killed their last family member.
Thoughts: Another dark entry to the pile (so many of them ;-; ). You have a tragic back story, and are set on taking revenge for your misfortune, ready even to lose your life for your cause. You can sort of change your mind by the end, leading you towards different endings (and revelations). It felt a bit longer than it should have been?
Summary: A word wants to say more than words about your world.
Thoughts: I really, really, like pieces looking at the human experience from an outside perspective (aliens/other). Itās weird, but also makes you think about things you take for granted. Here, a word takes over your body for a month, and created a game to share its experience with you.
Itās strange, and endearing, and pretty meta/philosophical about the use of words, their meaning and whether there are better ways to communicate things to other people.
This was a really good entry!
Summary: Roman Republic senatorās schemes simulator
Thoughts: A short and fun āpoliticalā simulator set in Ancient Rome. Try restoring the balance in the Senate while avoiding causing too many riots or lose the city altogether (I failed the first, sorry plebs). Nudge other Senators to change their votes (or not) with different approaches (Iām a great convincer it turns out, makes sense).
Also enjoyed the playful writing in this one.
sidenote: itās sliiiightly cheating with the use of colour/effect. technically Harlowe has build-in macros so you donāt have to edit the CSSā¦ Itās been two weeks, so Iām guess Iām late or whatever.
Summary: you find an old photo book in an antique store. summer of 1987. photographs by adonis dāamour. iflost, please return to āāāāāāā
Thoughts: Holy shit, the whiplash for this one. Do read the content warnings before playing the game. I did, I expected some weird stuff, but that is some gruesome weird stuff.
The gruesome aside, the writing is very vivid. The descriptions the photos from the book paints quite the pictures (eh, bad puns). The start is actually quite lovely, like a fun roadtrip where you meet someone cool and they tag along with you for the summer. And then you go on some dark shenanigans with them for lolzā¦
Thoughts: I donāt know what to make of this game just yet. There was no blurb or anythingā¦
You are shown an item and asked whether youād like to discard it or stop the process. For some objects you will also have the option to ruminate. The game ends when you either stop or discard the 27 items (of different levels of broken).
I just know it made me sad after I was done.
Summary: Anthony Fitzgerald, now as 18 years old man, sneaks into Flint Smithās house, after he got a message from someone if someone (or something) was locked in the basement under Flint Smithās house.
Note: this is a sequel to Ranaway, which had been submitted to the SingleChoice Jam
Thoughts: I got inside, looked around, and got stuck.
The kinetic parser uses unconventional keys to progress through the story (such as L to leave), but seems to be buggy (or I ran into the ending).
Thoughts: I do wish this had been a complete game rather than a demo, because I had fun while playing it (take the UNFINISHED paths at your own risks )
. Vibes of Agatha Christie mysteries (locked room, unexpected murder setting). You play as an up-n-comer detective, ready to prove to the word you have what it takes to do the job!
The writing is pretty playful and fun. Playing on those old detective tones from the 20s-40s.
The game offers multiple ways to interact, with different traits (reminded me of Thirty-Nine Steps in that way). And has a point system Ć -la Fate (TTRPG)?
Iām looking forward to see how the game pans outā¦
Summary: A short tale starring the Commander of a spaceship, their crew, and Death.
Thoughts: A short sci-fi story where a ship essentially lands into an ambush. There are multiple endings (all of which end fairly abruptly - if there is not link, itās an ending). The building of the action is interesting, but I wish the different elements (NPCs or other important groups) were more fleshed out, or you could have a bit more agency in what to do.
Summary: the story of a prophecy playing out but from the point of view of the monster destined to bring destruction to the kingdom.
Thoughts: Was interesting in using a different POV to take on the Saviorās journey. But the story itself didnāt particularly grab me. Also, the ending is supposed to change depending on your previous choices (trust level), but there is not much aside from the notificationā¦
I did notice text bolded at random by the end of the game
Summary: Life is a narrative, but is it yours?
Two students find themselves locked in a library after hours.
Thoughts: a tale in two parts/POV, where things are not what they seemed. I liked the mirroring of the actions you can do with one or the other person. The āgirlā path resonated more with me than the āboyā one (you have to play both either way). And I got a fairly good ending (playing smartly, not like in horror movies). Thereās an interesting core in this entry, and I hope the author will update/polish it in the future!
Before I ācloseā this thread, a honorable mention to Abandoned Confession by S1MPF0RD3PR3SS, which ended up being a short story in a pdf.
AAAAAAND THATāS IT.
Iāve played a monthās worth of games. Three jams. 100+ mini reviews. Loads of fun.
Thanks to everyone who submitted to either/and/or the InkJam, the EctoComp, Barebones!
Anywayā¦ Iām going to finish my IFDB spam
EDIT: IT IS COMPLETE!