Review Roundup: Move On

Move on is is a choice-based entry by Serhii Mozhaiskyi.

This is a game that I beta-tested, which means that I'm not going to review it. However, other reviewers made some good points. 

From Victor Gijsbers:

"Move on explores the possibility of having a tense chase scene in interactive fiction in a rather unique way: the player only gets a button that says “move on”, but what happens after moving on depends crucially on the timing of your click."

From Thomas Hvizdos: 

"The writing is solid. It’s difficult to write action–too much detail and you lose the momentum of the scene, too little and you don’t capture what makes it exciting. This game pulls it off well."

From Stian:  

"An extremely short action thriller choice game, Move On demands you figure out its rather neat trick if you want to survive. The little writing there is is good. Apart from that, it doesn’t offer much." 

It's a short entry, so you should give it a try yourself.

Review Roundup: The Eleusinian Miseries

The Eleusinian Miseries is is a parser-based work by Mike Russo.

This is a game that I beta-tested, so I'm not going to review it. 

Instead, you should listen to these people of unusual taste and discernment. 

From Herr M:

"Really solid debut that plays like a mix of Asterix, Monty Python and Terry Pratchett"

From Lynda Clark: 

"A funny, nicely written romp through (I think) Ancient Greece with a really well made hint system that offers information nice and gradually to give you a nudge in the right direction without spoiling things."

From Anssi:  

Based on what I was able to play, it was a hilarious, fun experience, and definitely worth checking out for the language used. 

From Walter Sandsquish: 

"Eleusinian Miseries" is a funny, engaging, well-structured game, with only a few implementation problems.

From Radioactive Crow:

"While many of the puzzles were very enjoyable, it is really the humor that makes this game great. Don't forgot to stop and read the prose in between completing tasks as there are more than just funny lines, but hilarious whole scenes. It is unusual to me to see humor mixed into a parser game this well and at this level."

Review Roundup: The Magpie Takes The Train

The Magpie Takes the Train is a parser-based work by Brian Rushton (Mathbrush).

Under the IFcomp rules, judges may not rate any games that they have beta-tested. That prevents me from rating this game. 

However! The act of using beta-testers is a signal that the author wants to provide the best possible experience for the audience, showing a care and attention to detail that may not be present in all of the entries. 

For specific commentary on this entry, I'll refer you to other people. 

From Stian: 

"I was very excited to see this sequel among this year’s IFComp entries. To my further enjoyment, it turns out this sequel is almost just as good! Not that there is anything particularly wrong with it; I just wish it was longer and slightly more challenging, matching the length and difficulty of the original."

From Doug Egan:

“'Magpie Takes the Train' shares several features in common with its inspiration: an entertaining detective farce involving frequent costume changes; dialogue with an amusing cast of upstairs-downstairs society figures (but curiously set in the states). Both games have a well implemented full parser interface."

From Viv Dunstan: 

"Fortunately you don’t have to have played the original to enjoy this. It sets things up quickly and efficiently at the start, so you know what you need to know from word go."

From Radioactive Crow:

"The prose is excellent and laugh-out-loud funny at times (particularly when you try the amusing things suggested after you beat the game for the first time). Mathbrush is a long time IF author and one of the most passionate and dedicated advocates for IF that I've encountered."

From Josh Labelle: 

"This would be a great game to give to a person who wants to get into parsers -- they'll understand the fun without having to toss them right into the deep end."

Also, Donald Conrad has done some fan art: