The annual halloween-fest is upon us again! With a fantastic banner!
Forty-seven glowy-coloured dollops of oozing ectoplasm dripping down the walls… Which will I LICK first?
16 Likes
- Die Another Day (E. Joyce)
A time/energy management game revolving around how you cope with dying. Again and again. Very reminiscent in my mind of Budacanta with its spoon-saving mechanic.
On top of the management gameplay, there is a layer of gruesome (and well-written) descriptions of death, decay, and despair. Despite that, Die Another Day still manages to present an uplifting vibe depending on your chosen route. Succumb to futility, or struggle through as best you can?
12 Likes
- do not let your left hand know (Naarel)
Psychological body-horror. Changeling folklore mingled with identity crisis. Strong writing with shocking and grisly imagery, tempered by a compassionate tone of understanding.
The one-choice structure would have hit harder if it were final. The effortless possibility to UNDO and choose the other option undermined the gravity of the last pages.
Horror as I like it: a window into our deepest humanity and all that entails.
7 Likes
- Dark Waters on the Night Shift (Deborah Sherwood)
A quick and fun choice-puzzler with an appropriately ghosty theme. I doubt I’ll remember it by next Halloween, but I had a lot of fun while I was playing.
On second thought, I will probably remember the gantry crane puzzle to get across the superheated ectoplasmic slime 
5 Likes
- Deep and Dark (Amanda Walker)
A deeply sad tale about a couple’s inability to connect through hardship and heartbreak. Very good use of scenery descriptions to draw the player deeper into the story, wide array of conversation topics detailing the NPC’s character and history.
A touching examination of grief, and the angry lashing-out it can bring with it.
10 Likes
- The Depths of Madness (Jacic)
A short, claustrophobic descent into Lovecrovian imagery. Not much to do, but the game does catch the oppressive revulsion of helplessly falling towards incomprehensible lunacy-inducing horrors quite effectively.
5 Likes
- The Column (Passerine)
A game of trust and observation. When reading the setup of the mechanic, I had hoped there would be more weight to the observation and deduction side. The desolate island mood and the tension between the characters are well-rendered.
A proof-of-concept perhaps for a larger game? I’d love to play a more elaborate version of this.
8 Likes
- Sundown
During the first conversation in Sundown (with Kendra), I experienced a sudden falling, sinking feeling in my stomach. A forewarning inkling of what was to come. With that cold feeling in my gut, I continued and saw that it was what I had thought…
Sundown does it right. The no-nonsense writing, the moodsetting colours, the background music. And especially the timing of the story beats.
A second theme comes along, in my experience slightly later than the first (main, for me). Although both are serious, and could conceivably get in each other’s way, Sundown manages to balance things so they mesh together and strengthen each other.
Hardhitting because of personal experience, but a welcome experience.
Very well done.
6 Likes
Thanks for the review! I’m glad the lovecraftian feel came across 
. It’s a bit more linear than I’d prefer as idea but was trying to avoid biting off more than I had time to finish in the time limit! Hopefully I’ll go back when I have some time and try to add a bit more branching into the narrative 
3 Likes
- Contaminated Space (KADW)
Structured language devolving into ever more erratic mind-speak/them-speak/us-speak. Devolution of the language reflects the downward/outward spiraling of the mind/minds. Ghastly imagery and …there is no pain/it hurts so much…
I was reminded of Eros taken over by the protomolecule in The Expanse.
Which is nice…
4 Likes
Thank you for playing!
Out of curiosity, do you know what book that happens in? I’ve never watched the TV show, but tried to get into the book series for The Expanse years ago (someone said there was a hivemind in it). Only managed to finish a few books before giving up, since I couldn’t get into the storyline. Things seem to get more interesting later on though.
Edit: Ah, so it was the first book after all? It’s been a very long time, so I must have forgotten it. Maybe I’ll try again someday.
2 Likes
It’s actually about halfway in the first book: Leviathan Wakes.
The storytelling in the books can be a bit confusing, with the shift of viewpoint character in every new chapter. Once you can push past that, however, I found the different perspectives click nicely together.
2 Likes
- 39 Trillion and 1 (MiloMesdag)
There’s this developmental psychology experiment where a piece of candy is put in front of a kid with the promise that it can have two if it can resist the yumminess for a certain amount of time. If the kid eats the candy right away: instant gratification. Yaay! If the kid refrains: double gratification. Also yaay, with a bit more effort.
This game kinda does that, but with tons of gore and “We are Legion” thrown in for Halloween’s sake.
5 Likes
- You Promise (Aster F)
I thought this piece was especially interesting as a writing excercise, how the author could almost write erself into a corner and find some wriggle room to find a way out.
Which is also what the antagonist in the game does.
4 Likes
- Ghost Hunt (Dee Cooke)
An ever so short and slight distraction between two bites of pumpkin pie. Lightly sketched family atmosphere, fun and cheerful writing.
5 Likes
- Museum of Paranormal Phenomena (Olaf Nowacky)
A nostalgic stroll down ghostly lane. Worked for me because I could see the scenes the game references in my imagination. Without knowledge of a certain ghost-movie, all the hommagic power would disappear and leave you with a dry fetch-and-drop game.
4 Likes
this was written by me and jake gardner! thank you for the review! (not sure if you are calling us antagonists? haha)
4 Likes
Many thanks for the review!
1 Like
Thank you so much for the review! I’m glad you found it effective.
1 Like