Content warning: abuse, bigotry, coercion Psychological horror • 15 minutes or less • Choice-based • Twine
This seems to be a game that packs a lot into its short playtime. With both physical and psychological horror, there will be disturbing and frightening imagery.
The wolves part reminds me of wolves jumping and fighting for food, or something. Very noisy, very barbaric, very dangerous. Not the kind of place you would want to be. But unfortunately, that is the kind of place where the player is, and that is what the player must escape.
TLDR: the wolves look at you with hunger in their eyes
Weeeeeeelll… That’s Zork II for you. But Zorkian games are, you know, set in the Great Underground Empire, with dilapidated caves or similar once-popular-places-gone-quiet, with trolls and necromancers and stuff. The original Zork trilogy had you solving puzzles and finding treasures, with maybe 2 randomised combat pieces per game, and no HP or stuff (actually not true, but it’s not visible). But then the Enchanter trilogy is also set during Zorkian times, and that stuff is spells learnt from scrolls, like Frotz or Blorb. But yeah!
Content warning: Brief verbal descriptions of a loved one dying of cancer; a verbal description of a car accident involving a death; some descriptions of anxiety, depression, emotional abuse, and the threat of physical abuse. Light cursing. Meditative, slice-of-life artgame (literally!) • Half an hour • Choice-based • Web-based
The first line of the blurb is: “Imprimatura (It.): the first layer of paint on a canvas.” Combined with the tags, the game likely revolves around creating an imprimatura or finishing one. Perhaps the player finishes an imprimatura that the “loved one dying of cancer” started. And as the player paints, they remember more about their tumultuous past and their relationship with that loved one, ultimately reflecting that in the paintings.
Or the player is creating an imprimatura, struggling with their anxiety and depression from their past and painting their emotions and memories onto the canvas as a coping mechanism.
TLDR: past memories, present paintings, future possibilities
Content warning: contains brief descriptions of sexual assault, murder, and suicide. Crime Detective Mystery • One hour • Choice-based • Twine
There’s a pretty clear main theme in this one: there are some murders in Wasacona, and the player has to figure out what happened. The killings (plural!) are, obviously, crimes, and the player is a detective solving the mystery. How sexual assault and suicide fit into all of this is less clear, but they could easily be part of a character’s backstory or events that happen on the side to the main murder mystery plot. Or, as I’ve seen before, the murder may not be a murder at all, but instead a suicide, so the perpetrator is the victim themself.
TLDR: murder mystery that may not be a murder at all
KING OF XANADU: And what a lovely place. by MACHINES UNDERNEATH
Content warning: Contains depictions of hunger, despotism, and mass human suffering. Fantasy • 15 minutes or less • Web-based
There’s a stark contrast between the subtitle of the game and the content warnings. They promise very different things. The irony is reminiscent of Eric Blair (“George Orwell”)'s memoir “Such, Such Were the Joys”, detailing his traumatic and abusive experiences at boarding school, where, among other things, he was beaten for wetting the bed, even as he was told of the “properness” of the schooling system.
In this game, something similar likely occurs. The country is falling into famine, people struggling to survive, while the titular king of Xanadu rules with an iron fist, paying no regard to the suffering of the masses. Peasants are just—as the author’s name suggests—machines, inner workings underneath the splendor and beauty of the nation, hidden from view yet crucial to success.
TLDR: the inner workings are breaking down but who cares about the machinery
LATEX, LEATHER, LIPSTICK, LOVE, LUST: SEXTUPLE L by THE BODY & THE BLOOD
Content warning: See in-game list under “PERVERSIONS”; 18+ Two hours • Choice-based • Web-based
With another all-caps title and author comes another game with mature themes and a thematically-appropriate author’s name. There’s alliteration in both the title and the author, but I’m not going to go deeper than that for the connection because it’s fairly obvious and I don’t want to.
The “sextuple L” described in the subtitle does not, in fact, describe the title, which only contains five Ls out of the indicated six. As a result, the final L is the one in the subtitle. The first three Ls of the title likely describe various elements involved in whatever (almost certainly sexual) acts occur in the game. The next two Ls are feelings related to such intercourse. I’m not going to try to elaborate.
“Sextuple” also contains the word “sex”. I doubt this was unintentional.
The content warnings are listed as “perversions”. “Perversion” has two definitions: a distortion/corruption of what was first intended or abnormal/unacceptable sexual behaviors/desires. The game likely refers to the second definition, because, once again, of its 18+ rating.
It is interesting that the walkthrough contains only the line “We didn’t get help, so neither do you.”.
The Lost Artist: Prologue by Alejandro Ruiz del Sol
Detective Fiction • Half an hour • Choice-based • Twine
There seems to be a missing artist, and the player character needs to do some detective work to figure out what happened. There’s not a lot more to say based on the titles and tags, so let’s do some speculation.
The artist: They would need to be a well-known figure in order for the detective case to be of any merit. But if they were too significant of a person, there would be more than a single detective on the case. So they’re somewhere in the middle: significant enough to be noteworthy but not so important that everyone needs to help.
The event: This could be a myriad of things. Being kidnapped, escaping the country, hiding in plain sight. The artist could simply be lost, literally and metaphorically, not knowing where to turn. They could have had a case of amnesia, a stranger in their own neighborhood, missing because they don’t know that they exist in the first place.
TLDR: amnesiac artist is absent whilst alive in their own abode
The Master’s Lair: a kind of escape game by Stefan Hoffman
Content warning: This game contains a few sexual innuendos (harmless) and there is a bit of carnage later in the story. Fantasy • Two hours
The title is very ominous. It leaves me wondering: who is the master, what are they the master of, why am I in their lair, and why do I need to escape? There’s a subtle bit of humor in the subtitle, too, which contrasts with the suspense of the title. Based on the innuendos mentioned in the content warning, there’s likely more humor in the game as well.
The carnage part is interesting and suggests some sort of fight during the escape. It could also be something that the player stumbles upon, leaving them wondering what happened before to cause such damage. Or the player knows exactly what they’ve stumbled upon, and exists in fear that it will come…for them.
I get a very lime green mad scientist lair feeling from this (maybe because of the emerald in the cover art?). You know, white lab coats, test tubes and flasks filled with bubbling liquids, carefully-squeezed syringes of clear liquid.
Content warning: Some disturbing content, explicit language, mention of suicide, animal gore, violence, clowns Literary nonsense • Longer than two hours • Choice-based • Ink
This game is a collection of bits from various authors combined into one large work. “Maze gallery” suggests a difficult-to-traverse, meandering, labyrinthine museum of various exhibits. The pseudonym for all of the authors, Cryptic Conservatory, implies something similar, yet slightly different. “Cryptic” has a more puzzly feel than “maze” does, the latter of which is more physical and process-of-elimination than a puzzle would be. A conservatory, or one of its definitions, is a school of the arts, which aligns with the museum theme but is still distinct from a “gallery”.
Most of the content warnings are likely due to the various exhibits. Some seem to get very dark—animal gore makes me imagine dissected animals—and some could be less intense, like the clowns, or even uplifting, like possibly letters between lovers.
“Literary nonsense” may be my new favorite phrase. Its whimsical, tongue-in-cheek humor fits really well with the theme of the game. It perfectly encapsulates the sundry collection curated here. Props to whoever came up with that.
TLDR: similar-yet-different title and author plus a superb description
Seems to be vaguely sci-fi. The red could be many things: bright, fire-engine red, subtle burgundy, a light almost-pink [1], rust-red…the possibilities are, frankly, endless.
The “metallic” part just modifies the red. There are many red metal things (e.g. the aforementioned fire trucks) but the “metallic” to me suggests something more rusty and coppery. Less peak-science and more deteriorated.
TLDR: many reds but probably an old one
well pink is really just a different name for “light red” ↩︎
Miss Duckworthy’s School for Magic-Infested Young People by Felicity_Banks
Content warning: A minor character is a rapist (off-screen but he is creepy on-screen); there is some minor violence; player can choose to attempt to neglect an animal. Fantasy • An hour and a half • Choice-based • ChoiceScript
I love that title. It is reminiscent of many similarly-named orphanages, including Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward Children. Sometimes I wonder if there’s a mad-libs out there to build your own special home/school. These innocent-sounding names, though, tend to have some sort of horrific element to them. Miss Peregrine’s is a horror novel featuring creatures that have tentacles coming out of their mouths, and Sister Margaret’s is now a bar for mercenaries and hitmen. Based on the content warnings, Miss Duckworthy’s seems to similarly not be all that it seems on the surface.
Content warning: Genre-typical depiction of dead bodies and discussion of murder, but no violence or gore Mystery • Two hours • Z-code • Download includes additional content
Something happened to Miss Gosling and she died. And now Miss Gosling has to figure out why. It’s interesting that this is her “last case” considering she’s already dead, which suggests she is perfectly capable of solving mysteries as a ghost. So what stops her from doing so? Will she “pass on” after this case? Satisfied with the constables’ result, will her ghosts be put to rest? Nobody knows, particle man.
The content warnings are, as stated, typical for the mystery genre. Many murder mysteries include some description of the body. A murder mystery saying “You can see a dead body here.” and leaving you to figure out what happened, after all, would not be very amusing.
PS: Sorry Daniel, I keep misspelling your name as “Seltzer”. Maybe somewhere in my subconscious I think “mmm…seltzer”. It would have to be in my subconscious, though, because I hate seltzer/sparkling water.
TLDR: does the (seltzer) water get him her inst(d)ead?
Quest for the Teacup of Minor Sentimental Value by Damon L. Wakes
Content warning: Infrequent, mild profanity; Actual, Literal Satan Comedy, Fantasy • Half an hour • Choice-based • Web-based
In a twist of fate (or plot), the MacGuffin is not a world-saving-or-ending magical device, but a simple teacup that just happens to have sentimental value. I can 100% relate to this. I had my toy pretend kitchen for years longer than I used it for because I didn’t want to throw it away. I probably played with it for 3 hours max in my lifetime. So that definitely had “minor sentimental value”.
The Actual, Literal Satan (capitalized!) will be present. This is not in any way suggested by the title, which implies some simple little gander through a town to recover an antique. No, sir, there are demons here. Actual, Literal Demons. Not Damons, though. That’s the author.
Content warning: Blood and gore (decapitation, mutilation, gunshot wounds), guns, capture/involuntary confinement, near-death experiences, vomiting, strong language Supernatural, thriller, true crime • Two hours • Choice-based • Twine
“Redjackets” is reminiscent of three different things, ranging from somewhat related to very much not:
red jackets, namely overwear that happens to reflect red light;
redcoats, the British soldiers who fought in, among other wars, the American Revolution; and
yellowjackets, the wasps that kinda look like bees when they zip by
Presumably the outfits of the Redjackets—the vampire hunters—are red jackets. But they may not be designed red. Perhaps they are red with the blood of their enemies…vampires? Do vampires have blood? They must, right, or they’d look dehydrated.
There is plenty of blood in the game to stain the Redjackets’ white coats. There’s also bile and inside-bits, which are significantly less red.
“Steltzer” is the more common one I get, since it’s a very German name. But we’re a thoroughly Americanized family now and pronounce it STELL-zerr instead of SHTEL-tser.
Claymorgue is a person, presumably, the setting their castle. Whether Claymorgue themself has any say in the plot other than by name? Likely not. It may just be one of those fancy castles of rumors and mutterings…it’s haunted…it’s dangerous… But it’ll be fine! No need to worry! Don’t worry about the “morgue” part of the name and the completely coincidentally coincidental coincidence that it’s related to corpses and death! You’ll be fine. You went once; you can go again.
ROD MCSHLONG GETS PUNCHED IN THE DONG by Hubert Janus
Content warning: Flashing images, crude humour, testicular trauma Humour • 15 minutes or less • Twine
Clearly the successor to Dick McButts, with equally as many crude references as possible. Hubert Janus is a pseudonym, unless the author’s name bears unfortunate resemblance to “Hugh Janus” (say that out loud). There’s not a ton to say. Poor Rod will be punched quite often. I like the alliteration in “testicular trauma”. No Hitler here, though. Other things are getting hit, instead.
Fantasy, about 70k words, choice-based. Content warning: Brief mention of child death Fantasy • Longer than two hours • Choice-based • Twine
Likely completely unintentional but the first thing I noticed about this title was the “ABC” in “Adventure; Beth Carpenter”. The next thing I noticed was that it sounds fairly grounded and down-to-earth, likely featuring lower-class workers, not a high fantasy political thriller of aristocrats and monarchs.
It is very long—70,000 words takes quite a while to read, and the playtime is likely longer than that to account for thinking and clicking.
The game revolves around delving into a cave to defeat the monsters that dwell within. There’s also a brief mention of child death. Defeating monsters often involves killing them. Monsters reproduce, too. Produce children. Child death. Maybe the player is not as innocent as they may first seem…
TLDR: killing creatures and cubs in caves 'cause the crown claims you can
The Shyler Project: Meet the latest advancement in AI technology! by Naomi Norbez (call me Bez, e/he)
Content warning: Discussion of mental health, suicidal thoughts, & death. There is a happy ending. Is this sci-fi or is this real life by now? • Half an hour • Choice-based • Twine
I keep thinking of “Schuyler sisters” with the title. But it’s probably instead a name based on “shy” since it’s a mental health chatbot.
The game likely revolves around discussing the main character, Jaiden, and their mental health, which includes suicidal thoughts (that accounts for the death). There’s a happy ending, so there is likely some sort of reconciliation at the end where Shyler helps Jaiden approach peace or contentment to convince them not to kill themself.
The first tag refers to the fact that AI is so prevalent nowadays, and one could probably engage in something similar to what Jaiden is doing with ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, or one of the many other chatbot LLMs out there. But I was first reminded of Bohemian Rhapsody. The chiasmus between referring to reality first and then fantasy in the song and science fiction then reality in the tag is interesting. It really reflects how twisted (or advanced?) our world is today.
TLDR: look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now! Life has just begun but now I’ve gone and thrown it all away
Similar to A few hours later in the day of The Egocentric, the player is not the main character. But this time, instead of being on opposite sides, the player and the main character are on the same side. It’s a Sherlock Holmes and Watson situation, it looks like, where the player character is the everyman. But instead of observing someone far more intelligent than the average person, it’s someone much less competent. You must help Buck Swagger (and isn’t that a selfish-sounding name) while getting none of the credit. Sounds a little like that one game with the pig, though I can’t remember what it was called. It was in a medieval/fantasy setting and featured a SNIFF or OINK command, I think, directed at an object, to convince NPCs to act on that object.
TLDR: wats(up with you, s)on(?) (AKA another Watson pun)