mzspivey

The Eleusinian Miseries

As I’ve played through IFComp games the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about which might be a contender for winning the competition. I had the fortune of playing The Impossible Bottle first, and while I’ve seen several others that are really good, through 20+ games Bottle has remained my best guess for top honors.Continue reading “The Eleusinian Miseries”

A Murder in Fairyland

(some mild spoilers) In 2016 Abigail Corfman pulled off a rare feat. She won XYZZY awards for two different games in the same year: Best Puzzles for 16 Ways to Kill a Vampire and Best PC for Open Sorcery. Having played and enjoyed both I was looking forward to her IFComp game this year, AContinue reading “A Murder in Fairyland”

Ferryman’s Gate

(some major spoilers near the end) Since I finished Ferryman’s Gate I’ve been trying — and failing — to think of another work of IF that appeals so directly to my idiosyncratic tastes. Ferryman’s Gate is explicitly educational, with content taught via puzzles integrated into a story. Not only that, its educational focus is onContinue reading “Ferryman’s Gate”

You Couldn’t Have Done That

You Couldn’t Have Done That is a short Twine game in which you take on the role of a high schooler starting her first job at a mall store. You’re nervous, like anyone would be going into the workforce for the first time. You’re also autistic, though, and that stacks additional challenges onto the experience.Continue reading “You Couldn’t Have Done That”

Just Another Fairy Tale

(Here be spoilers – light ones in the third paragraph and getting more explicit starting in the fifth paragraph.) Two old-school text adventures in a row! Much of what I said about the last game I played, Return to Castle Coris, could also be said about Just Another Fairy Tale: large (well, larger than mostContinue reading “Just Another Fairy Tale”

Return to Castle Coris

Return to Castle Coris is the most old-school text adventure I’ve played so far in this year’s IFComp. It’s huge, somewhat sparsely-implemented, contains lots of puzzles, is set in a fantasy world, and features a plot that’s pretty much “Explore this interesting location and see what you find.” Fans of this older style of interactiveContinue reading “Return to Castle Coris”

Saint Simon’s Saw

The first thing I see when I click “download” on Saint Simon’s Saw is that the zipped file size is 95.6 MB. This makes me nervous. The file takes a few minutes to download. Once I start the game I see a beautiful Unity-made interface explaining that I can use a deck of tarot-like cardsContinue reading “Saint Simon’s Saw”

The Magpie Takes the Train

The Magpie Takes the Train is a one-room parser game with an interesting history. As an IFComp 2018 prize Brian Rushton offered to make a short work based on the prize-selector’s game. J. J. Guest, author of the first-place winner Alias ‘The Magpie,’ chose this prize, and The Magpie Takes the Train is the resultingContinue reading “The Magpie Takes the Train”

Limerick Quest

Limerick Quest is the sequel to last year’s Limerick Heist; it even picks up where Limerick Heist left off. Like its predecessor, Limerick Quest is told entirely in limericks. I remember a lot of buzz about Limerick Heist last year – it was such a fresh concept and so well-executed – but I haven’t seenContinue reading “Limerick Quest”

Tragic

During each of the previous two IFComps Jared Jackson entered a game featuring a different custom interface. This year Jackson offers us Tragic, with yet a third distinct custom interface. Is this some kind of record for IFComp? It might be.