Tag Archives: IF Comp 2018

IF Comp 2018: Recommendations

Voting in the IF Comp is concluded for this year, so before we get the actual results, here are the works of interactive fiction that I’d encourage people to play. This year I didn’t really have a single clear favourite … Continue reading

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IF Comp 2018: Alias ‘The Magpie’

Alias ‘The Magpie’ is a parser comedy in which you’re a gentleman jewel thief who has infiltrated a country manor. For some reason I was expecting a Wodehousian comedy; the time period feels about right for that, although the game … Continue reading

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IF Comp 2018: Dead Man’s Fiesta

Dead Man’s Fiesta is a choice-based story about grieving and angst and having a car haunted by crappy ghosts. It’s funny and sad, shortish but packs a lot in, and is one of the better-written games of this year’s Comp. The … Continue reading

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IF Comp 2018: Bullhockey!

Bullhockey! is a puzzly scavenger-hunt game. It’s considerably long – longer than anyone is likely to finish in the judging period without heavy use of the walkthrough. The protagonist wakes up to find that his girlfriend has left him, his apartment … Continue reading

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IF Comp 2018 mini-reviews, pt. 3

More capsule reviews of games that I don’t have a full review for: Awake, HMS Spaceman, Instruction Set, I Should Have Been That I Am, Nightmare Adventure, Space Punk Moon Tour and The Stone of Wisdom.

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IF Comp 2018: Polish the Glass

Polish the Glass is a choice-based horror piece, almost entirely linear, about growing up under a family curse and being unable to escape it yourself. This is a piece which gets narrative flow, and which is thinking about text presentation. It’s not … Continue reading

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IF Comp 2018: Erstwhile

Erstwhile is a choice-based murder mystery in which the deal is that you’re a ghost trying to solve your own murder; your memory is patchy, at least in part because there are things you don’t want to think about, but … Continue reading

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IF Comp 2018: mini-reviews, part 2

Brief notes on Adventures with Fido,  Dynamite Powers vs. the Ray of Night, A Final Grind, The Forgotten Tavern, Intel Mission, Junior Arithmancer, Murder at the Manor, Shackles of Control, and smooch.click.

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IF Comp 2018: Six Silver Bullets

Six Silver Bullets is a parser-based spy game. It’s weird and uncomfortable. It’s an odd duck, difficult to assess. I expect to get at least one game a year completely wrong, and this seems a strong candidate for that. You … Continue reading

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IF Comp 2018: mini-reviews pt. 1

I am not going to have time to write up detailed thoughts about every game I play in the Comp; with a lot of games I don’t feel as though I have a huge amount to say about them, for … Continue reading

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