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The Sword of Voldiir by Bottlecap Rabbit Games

Twine - Follow @bottlecaprabbitgames Play the Game (& buy the full version) Read other reviews

[Note: I only played the demo]

The Sword of Voldiir is a D&D inspired text adventure made in Twine, where you play as a mercenary with the task of recovering the eponymous sword for riches and reputation. Like in true D&D fashion, your quest is not without trials and tribulations: what seems to be a quick and easy task turns into an ambush that almost leaves you in your breaches, and a series of fights to recover what was stolen. And this is where the demo ends (about halfway through the story, looking at the word count - which is also where I stopped).

The D&D influences are obvious in this one, from how you create your character, to the turn-based combat, and the general flow of the story (aka get together, agree on a plan, try to execute it, something goes wrong, and repeat until you succeed). Though it streamlines the more obtuse rules of the game: you don’t need to worry about your walking abilities, or spell slots. Which is awesome, because D&D combat can be pretty tedious. However, it might be a bit too simplistic: at the start of a fight, you only pick your weapon and hope for the best. Even though the fight itself is turn-based, and you see the health bar tick away as you hit your enemies, you can’t change your weapon or develop a strategy between turn. I think it’s a bit of a shame, because variety in actions make combat fun! Even if you end up only smashing your sword, the option to have a choice is what makes it interesting.

Story-wise, it also felt a bit rushed at times, especially outside of the “beat” moments (going from one scene to the next). I think it makes sense when playing a campaign when playing with other people because scenes can drag on and on and on, and you don’t want to linger on the side of the road when the big baddie still need to be defeated (and we’re already 5 sessions in and nothing of note has happened). But in this context, I think it removed a bit of the charm of the adventure. What about an encounter on your way to the city after being robbed for a meal and a listening ear? Maybe even letting you borrow their rusty sword because the forest you need to cross can be treacherous (and BAM tiny combat)? Or between Act II and Act III, during the week before getting the sword back, why not getting your affairs in order, maybe buying equipment or scouting the building? Similarly to getting information around the city when tracking the woman who robbed you.

While it wasn’t really my cup of tea, I can see some solid bones inside. I think it needs a bit more muscles on it, like adding more player agency (in the combat, during the story), so the player isn’t just strung along, but an active participant of the story, or fleshing out some “down” moments, to make the combat/action/exploration more energetic (like the meal scene in the inn). Dare I say… maybe a puzzle?

Just a final point for dark mode users, the palette is not super accessible.

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The Deluge by Lionstooth

Twine Play the Game Read other reviews

The Deluge is an emotional exploration of your recently-flooded hometown. Trying to gather supplies to safely leave the town, you can (re)visit some major spots, reflect on the years behind you and the relationships that were, and give yourself one last chance to say goodbye. Leaving is inevitable – you always had plans to do so, voiced so far back that people you meet are surprised you’re still lingering around. But this time, it’s for real. It only took you a literal deluge for you to move forward.

It took me a while to figure out the underlying mechanic of the game, and the steps needed to complete story in the way it’s meant to me – like the protagonist at first, I erred around, not knowing how to accomplish my goal, visiting spots without being able to connect with them properly, believing once was enough. My feet would take me times and times again into the northern road, thinking this was the only way out of town.

I only have myself to blame, for the game clearly points out multiple times you should come back to this place later, or that you shouldn’t forget to get a specific thing, or that you still have unfinished business. I thought one goodbye was enough, even if the ghosts of the past still lingered, even if I didn’t deal with my feelings. That what mattered was to turn the page and close the chapter regardless. Life is full of badly closed doors anyway. Because… the town is flooding, why the heck would I put myself in harms way???

Well… turns out, you have all the time in the world to mend your broken heart, to untwist your torn feelings, to iron out the crumbled pages of your past. You shouldn’t linger and forget to actually leave town at some point, but you won’t find yourself washed away by the water either (just by your own thoughts). I got there eventually, patiently combing through each location in town, and taking the time to internalise what was going on (be patient! or you’ll miss something too!).

Loss is prevalent throughout the game. Obviously, the town, ravaged by the floods. Your apartment by proxy, the sanctuary you’re leaving behind. The people who left before you, leaving you behind, something you both grieve and envy. The people still there but changed, with unrecognisable relationships. And inside your own heart, the loss you never dealt with, keeping you from moving on.

All this to say, it paints quite the melancholic atmosphere. Taking the time to process and accept loss before moving on makes all the difference. Will you drown in your sadness or bittersweetly float above it?

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Friday Fun-day Five-star day!

Inspired by 5/5-day organised by Jess Levine, where you rate 5 games on itch.io (because the algo sucks ass, and you should tell people that you liked their stuff).

friday fun-day 5-[star] day Neo-Twiny Edition

We're just a few days away from the start of the Single Choice Jam, so I thought it would be neat to look back on previous entries this week. Mainly from the first edition because I was MIA when the second one came around and I haven't had the chance/time to go through them...

FYI: As the event name indicates, Single Choice Jam entries could only offer one choice point during the game.

Seven Steps to Limbo by LemonPoppyseedGames and @sleepy-hart

Another Round by @petricakegames

Le plaisant jeu du Dodéchédron by filiaa

Chinese Family Dinner Moment by @kastelpls

If You Had One Shot by @mathbrush et al.

As always, you should check out all the entries, because there are ALWAYS MORE than 5 good ones :P

Seven Steps To Limbo by LemonPoppyseedGames and Sleepyhart

This is an excellent Visual Novel that is living rent-free in my head. I don't even need to open the game to visualise it clearly. Incredibly polished in the sound department, the visuals, the interface, the sequences... And the choice at the end? Phew... that's a toughie. You expect it to happen, and you have the whole game to think about which option to choose, but it's still grabs you by the throat when it finally gets there!

Another Round by PetricakeGames

Gosh, this one... I remember playing it in one sitting (even thought it has over 25k words) and staring at the distance for a good 2h after I was done. To get around the ONE choice restriction, the game uses a looping/restart mechanism, where you play the same scene again and again (à la Groundhog's Day), but each cycle still feels different. Every round culminates with the same choice, and it still hits every single time. It's written in such an intriguing way, you have to click restart again and again to see what comes next. There is so much to enjoy in this entry!

Le plaisant jeu du Dodéchédron by filiaa

There are few non-English entries during Neo-Interactives Jams, so when someone submit something in another language, it feels so special. Also I'm extremely biased towards French :P

Because who doesn't like a reading of the future! Pick a category, select your question and roll the dice for your fortune! (or roll again, if you don't like it). A really neat adaptation of a 13th century book! And it's been updated since I last reviewed it.

Chinese Family Dinner Moment by Kastel

There are creators that try an engine and knock it out of the park on their first try. It's always so awesome to see (and as a creator, it fills me with envy). I often find it shows a different side of the medium, or use a mechanic in an interesting way, etc.... And this one is no exception. I don't know if it's the linear format of the story, the succinct prose, or the one-verb restriction that really makes the setting suffocating. And at the same time, very relatable.

If You Had One Shot by mathbrush (et al.)

One-Turn parsers are the quintessential formats for Single Choice parsers: you get one action, enter just one verb/command and that's it, the game ends. You can restart/undo, try another command, and very often get a very different ending. It's a really interesting mechanic, taking the branching to its most extreme form.

Anyways, this one decided to take the One-Turn a step further: you can't restart. You're stuck with the action you chose, with the ending you received (unless you play in private/incognito mode). Like in real life, you can't back out of the consequences of what you do/say, you can't UNDO no matter how.

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Coins of Gold by Hituro

Whimsy - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

Coins of Gold is a tiny puzzle made in Whimsy (a bitsy clone), in which you find yourself in a dark tomb with no exit, but an empty altar in the middle. Oh, and there's a gold coin. What will happen if you bring the coin to the alter...

Well, you're in a dark tomb. One measly altar puzzle isn't enough. So, you also get a maze. And you know what? Let's throw you another one that will make you pull your hair out for good measure (hint: a screenshot will save your sanity).

An interesting proof of concept.

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Prepper Van by Chris Pollet

FRISE - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

Prepper Van is a tiny adventure game, where your goal is to survive as many disasters as you can in this apocalypse future, AND find a job. With you van, and some dozen dollars in your name, you can pick up hitch-hikers or dead amarillo, buy or sell supplies, and hope you can go through the day unscathed.

There is something quite dystopian about this entry, although I am not sure it is intended. For all intents and purposes, it seems the Earth is going through the End of Times (tm). Yet, your parents nag you to leave the house to find a job, because you're freeloading off of them. And you struggle to get exorbitantly expensive basic supplies to survive the night (and whatever shenanigans of the hitch-hiker du jour).

I don't know... I'd expected small groups of people banding together and have enough humanity to share things (until the inevitable raid from the rowdy group a field over...). You know, more together we can survive anything. Less whoops we're destroying the Earth but capitalism is a demanding master still.

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People Fall by Bog Pearl

Twine/SugarCube - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

People Fall is a tiny interactive piece about the mysterious disappearance of someone. Set in a floating city, it isn't uncommon for people to miss a step and fall to their doom - though you have a hard time to believe she would be so careless. It's just accidents can so easily happen...

This entry does a good job at creating a mysterious atmosphere. It was an interesting snippet into a fantasy society.

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Rooftop Tolls by Stewart C Baker

Twine/Harlowe - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

Rooftop Trolls is a tiny interactive puzzle, in which you found yourself trapped on a rooftop, required to pay a toll to find yourself free again. In classic text adventure traditions, it is a grumbling troll blocking your path, requesting payment in form of an apple to let you pass. The issue is, the apple tree is completely bare. If only you had a little bit of sunshine and water...

Sometimes, a simple but well-rounded puzzle is all you need to be effective. And it's cute!

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WRITTEN by dannway

Ink - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

WRITTEN is a looping philosophical interactive piece where you are given 500 words to define yourself, your life, your beginning and your end. In a completely white plane, stretching indefinitely, you have 500 words to make a mark, or disappear without a trace. To fight your fate or accept it. To leave unfinished or find comfort in knowing yourself.

This was both comforting and gave me an existential crisis. I loved the meta aspect of flipping the 500-word restriction onto the player, honestly genius. And there are so many ways of interpreting the piece itself: are we just the pen running through a blank page, with space for only 500 words before a new one is given? Talking to some sort of Death Administrator with limited time/energy to give you before you're filed away? A meeting with the Fates to define how your life will be before you're sent down to actually live it?

And why so little words? Why is a life defined by only 500 words? How can you describe or quantify a whole person with so little?

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Twenty four by Cyrus Firheir

Twine/Sugarcube - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

Twenty four is an interactive poem about turning twenty-four, a sequel of some sort of The Day I Turned 22. Struggling to wake up, getting through the motions of the day, reminiscing on simpler days and realising how far you've come... minutes tick away and whoop the day is gone - you're now twenty four. Here's to the one year passed, here's to twenty-four future ones! Twenty-four clicks for twenty-four years... AND EVERY STANZA RHYMES~!

There's something quite relatable about the day before your birthday being pretty mundane, with little fanfare. Going through the motions of the day, like a cog in a machine, without feeling much anticipation for what is to come. An almost indifference towards the celebration, changing little in your life compared to other milestones (like getting a job, being respected and needed, etc...). Not feeling much different than the days before.

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Bathroom Run by bbbbb55555

Twiny/Harlowe - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

Bathroom Run is a tiny Twiny game centred around... well, toilet jokes. You enter a bathroom with the different options of relieving yourself, as well as the possibility of doing so either sitting or standing up. Depending on what you do (and how many times you do it), you may get a funny response.

But yes, it's all pee and poop humour.

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Lazarrien: A Love Story by DemonApologist

Twine/Harlowe - Single Choice Jam Play the Game Read other Reviews

Lazarrien is a fantasy story that follows the eponymous knight journeying through cursed land, as he attempts to recover his memory, particularly why he roaming these lands, and what he has to do with the curse. During his travels, he meets a child, a priestess, a musician and a king -- the order differing per playthrough -- each, he finds, having a link to him and each other. And a demon, trailing behind him, never approaching until the ultimate hour.

For most of the story, I struggled to see what made it a love story. None of the characters on Lazarrien's path display romantic feelings towards him, some being far from friendly, and one even hunting him. So how does it even relate to love? Is our knight going to love himself and change his fate? Will we find one of the aforementioned characters at the end, because it turns out they fell in love with the knight? Or will he turn back, return to one of them, and damn the curse and the quest? Is Lazarrien going to find a happy ending?

I think I should have known from the start it was going to be more tragic -- my first playthrough started with the priestess, who warned me of sins that unravelled the world. And what better sin than forbidden love, the one that cannot be, the one you fight against and for regardless, the one that never ends well. Lazarrien's reticence to accept his feelings in that fateful meeting changed everything, about who he was, what he was trying to do, the meaning of the others' words, and ultimately, what I thought I would choose when faced with the curse. I'm a sucker for love, even if I can see its end a mile away. His change within gave me hope -- how he describes his body, how his true words escape his mouth without realising, tout semblant comme une évidence -- you want to hope for him, that things will work out, that he could get his cake and eat it too.

So, when faced with that single choice, I did not hesitate once. I didn't consider the other option to be an option either. I think Lazarrien would not suppress his feeling -- the morning after's regret told me so. I hung to that hope, even with the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that this was a love story, not a happy ending story. There was no surprise when it happened, for tragedy always makes its entrance when you want it the least: so close to your goal you can taste it.

But there was still a glimmer of hope, even when we were past the eleventh hour, even as I was grieving what I wished would be, when all the pieces finally fit and the picture was complete… There was a way, she said. Things might be different if we'd go back to the start. If we'd tried again. Lazarrien had done so many times before, but maybe this time will be the right one. I could go back to the start and lift the curse. I just need to remember the---

[some spoilery notes below]

Anyway, it reminded me a bit of the webtoon Room of Swords, with the [spoiler]literal room of swords, and the looping, the forced memory wipes, etc…[/spoiler]. And by the time I reached the end, I selfishly wanted the twist to be similar to Another Round of the SingleChoice 2023, where [spoiler]each new playthrough builds on the previous one, and gives us the actual opportunity of getting a happy ending[/spoiler]. It probably wouldn't have made the message of the game as strong as it is though. :P

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Friday Fun-day Five-star day!

Inspired by 5/5-day organised by Jess Levine, where you rate 5 games on itch.io (because the algo sucks ass, and you should tell people that you liked their stuff).

friday fun-day 5-[star] day Neo-Twiny Edition

Even though the third edition of the event just ended (check out the cool submissions!), I don't want to let it go just yet... which I won't because I still have a bunch of entries to review :P

Last week, I highlighted 5 entries of the first edition, which was already hard. This week, still as excruciating to choose, it's 5 tiny games from the Second Neo-Twiny Jam:

you are an ancient chinese poet in exile by KA Tan

A changing greenhouse by jsmonzani (the extended version is linked here, as the OG entry is only available in the IFDB)

Liminal by Jaylus (@romanhyacinths)

NYX by 30x30 (@thirtybythirty)

witchhat by LeahPeach

I don't think I'll be done by next Friday to give my highlight of the Third Edition of the NTJ, but check out the reviews posted here! But I'll do more of the Neo-Twiny Editions in the future! So soooooooo many good ones!

If you want some words about them, check below (+ links to reviews, which are tiny):

you are an ancient chinese poet in exile by KA Tan

A beautifully written and poetic prose, with such delectable descriptions of scenery, that you wished you were an ancient Chinese poet in exile. The final poem, influenced by what you decided to do or focus your mind on, is always coherent, no matter your choices. It is both incredibly melancholic and calming, then and still now.

A changing greenhouse by jsmonzani

Along with Summer rain and Letters to strangers, A changing greenhouse brings you a soothing and relaxing experience. As the title indicate the greenhouse always changes, making each playthrough unique. It a really peaceful piece, enhanced by its beautiful illustrations and sweet sounds. I didn't realise an extended version had been published since I reviewed it, so I was excited to walk through the greenhouse again and experience it anew.

Liminal by Jaylus

Running into your ex can be very awkward, especially if you're still struggling with the breakup while they clearly are not. And this entry take a really interesting approach with it, revealing a lot about the state of mind of Ellie and her feelings about Jack. The attention to details, both in the text and in the interface, seems off at first - like something is wrong with Jack. Honestly impeccable, the whole package.

NYX by 30x30

I'm a sucker for sci-fi, even more for everything-is-going-wrong-omg-we're-all-going-to-die. The desperation face with the situation, the acceptance that it is the end, the extinguishing hope that something could still be done... In so little words, it paints a picture that merits thousands. And that final choice is still so difficult - what would you do if you had humanity's doom in your hands? I said it when I reviewed it, and I'll say it again: it hits all the marks.

witchhat by LeahPeach

I say, let's anthropomorphise more things! Why? Because it's fun! Let's give sentience to more inanimate objects and try to imagine what they could be thinking or doing when we give them a mind of their own. Let's throw them into the world and see the chaos unleashed! Maybe they'll be a force for good, or maybe they'll carnalize everything to gain more knowledge. Maybe you can help nudge this witch's hat towards the right path... ;)

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apatheia by nd & Niq

Twine/Chapbook - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

apatheia is a short poetic piece diving into the conflicting feelings of a girl-powered mech who cannot save its beloved pilot dying within her. A machine, made for combat and dealing violence, not meant to feel things... Yet, when she takes over the control, all that wasn't meant to happen does. And like a pandora box, you cannot go back to the way things used to. Making the opening all the more gut-wrenching.

It's also a beautiful piece visually, with the illustrations.

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Habeas Corpus by Grim Baccaris

Twine/SugarCube - subQjam - @gcbaccaris Play the Game Read other reviews

Habeas Corpus is a short interactive surreal exploration through an abandoned wandering fortress. You awaken in its centre, only sure that you were meant to be in this space - even if you are not quite sure where you are, or even who you are anymore. In this unfamiliar and perpetually moving construction, you are prompted to look around the 5 different available rooms and its contents. Rummaging through those, you may find objects which can unlock further interactions. Depending on your actions, you may end up with one of two endings. The highlight of this game is its atmosphere: a mystery shrouded in its incomplete description and minimal exposition, continued through an exploration that reveals little still. You won’t solve the mystery, but might manage to fit some of its pieces together - though you’ll still be left with more questions than answers. I kept wondering what we had done to end up here. Relating back to the title, Habeas Corpus, I imagined the building your find yourself within to be some sort of dystopian machinery imprisoning its residents. You seem certain of your place in this environment, but who says whether you came here with your own volition or you were brought here against your will. If only you remembered things clearly… I think the styling of the interface influenced this sci-fi dystopian read on the story, with its pixelated font, the shaky cycling text, and the old school 3D buttons. It made me think of computer interfaced you’d find in sci-fi movies like Aliens or The Matrix. Overall, this was an interesting game to play, if just for the exploration and the atmosphere.

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Quick! Summon a Demon! by daspruthvi96

Twine/Harlowe - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

Quick! Summon a Demon! is a dark humour game where you're trying to summon a demon to escape the cops after you. The problem is that you don't have time to read the grimoire properly, or gather all the ingredients, or actually do the ritual like you should. So winging it it is!

Maybe nothing happens, maybe something does... and maybe it goes horribly wrong! In any case, it's fun to figure out what combination to make to get all the different endings. And the combinations can be pretty silly!

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There's Something Inside Me. by cmrnprry

Twine/Harlowe - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

There's Something Inside Me. is a short horror-y piece made in Twine, about feeling your body changing, and struggling with it. Something inside of you has altered the way your body behaves and reacts to you, making you feel as if you have little to no control over it. You don't know where it comes from, how it got inside you, what it's going to do next, how to counteract it... This lack of agency (or help to overcome it) in turn pushes you to do anything to get rid of it.

I'm sympathetic to the struggle, seeing your body change and not recognise it. As if the bones and muscles and flesh are not really yours anymore. Something alien you inhabit and sometimes are able to control - but it doesn't feel like you. And it won't feel like you until it's gone. But you can't take it out either. It's with you, probably forever.

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fleisch LARP by MindApe

Decker - Neo-Twiny Jam Play the Game

fleisch LARP is a surreal body-horror puzzle made in Decker following the conversation between Dr Coagule, an oneirodermatologist (or, you know... a crazy scientist), and his literally bystander-victim-critique, as the doctor attempt to create a flesh that dreams. By moving around the flesh pieces on the board, you unlock new bits of conversations, and learn more about this experimentation.

This is really a wild ride, whichever perspective you take. It's an intriguing puzzle from the science side, creating a whole new creature and giving it sentience because SCIENCE!, from bits and pieces of living flesh (my sink crawls just writing this), not shying away from the grossness of it all but also not seeing it as bad, very much in the Cronenberg alley. He's completely unhinged! Then you have the BVC point of view, whose role is right there in its name, and is, I'm pretty sure, Piece n2 on the board. A bystander grossed out by the doctor's actions but not leaving. A critique of the doctor's methods but not stopping him either. And a victim, forced to watch, respond, and feel because SCIENCE!

I think it's pretty smart to use this pink palette for the game, like some forced of "rose-coloured glasses" to gloss over or diminish the obvious barehanded cruelty of the doctor's actions. The cutesie colours clashing with the gross reality of things.

My stomach was doing cartwheels but I kinda want to see what Dr Coagule would attempt next....