Glitch
I accidentally typed a character it couldn't process, and it reset my progress
Retro-Spaß!
So etwas hätte ich mir vor über zwanzig Jahren gewünscht, als ich mich mit Infocom Adventures herumgeplagt habe. Und einfach kostenlos. Tolles Geschenk vom Entwickler.
Good introduction to text adventures, tricky fantasy adventure
I really enjoyed the writing and atmosphere in this magical fantasy story. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Myst, but is told entirely through text.
Magic and surreal events take place in this game, like a dream. Your task is to explore the (small) world and figure out what happened and who you are.
Besides being an atmospheric game, It is deliberately designed as an introduction to text adventures (also known as interactive fiction) and does a good job of coaching you through the way to solve these games, which can be frustrating if you don’t find the right way to think about the puzzles. I have played a few a long time ago, so I didn’t fully need the tutorial, but it was still helpful.
The tutorial will help you solve the basic plot, although there is still significant challenge. Beyond that, there are many optional parts to explore, which are relatively tricky to solve, but some of the most awesome and surreal.
I found these optional parts pretty hard to solve and resorted to the walkthrough to discover some.
There is also a backstory, but it is told in a very fragmented way that makes it hard to understand. It came across more as ‘mysterious scenery’ than a useful story to me.
A small complaint is that some of the physical-style puzzles like the Orrery (a working model of planets) and the cistern seemed really awkward to solve through text. A picture really would be worth a thousand words here, even though the words were well written! I found myself battling the games ‘parser’ in these puzzles to express myself.
Overall, a very good game, I wish the author would do more magical fantasy
Magic and surreal events take place in this game, like a dream. Your task is to explore the (small) world and figure out what happened and who you are.
Besides being an atmospheric game, It is deliberately designed as an introduction to text adventures (also known as interactive fiction) and does a good job of coaching you through the way to solve these games, which can be frustrating if you don’t find the right way to think about the puzzles. I have played a few a long time ago, so I didn’t fully need the tutorial, but it was still helpful.
The tutorial will help you solve the basic plot, although there is still significant challenge. Beyond that, there are many optional parts to explore, which are relatively tricky to solve, but some of the most awesome and surreal.
I found these optional parts pretty hard to solve and resorted to the walkthrough to discover some.
There is also a backstory, but it is told in a very fragmented way that makes it hard to understand. It came across more as ‘mysterious scenery’ than a useful story to me.
A small complaint is that some of the physical-style puzzles like the Orrery (a working model of planets) and the cistern seemed really awkward to solve through text. A picture really would be worth a thousand words here, even though the words were well written! I found myself battling the games ‘parser’ in these puzzles to express myself.
Overall, a very good game, I wish the author would do more magical fantasy
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Not too exciting, but still fun
I would have liked it even better and may have given it a full five stars if there had been more peril and a more climactic ending. But it was a very enjoyable game, nonetheless.
The game is great so far!
I have been considering writing an interactive fiction for a while now so I decided to start by playing a few. This was the first I found and I love it!
Only one issue so far.
Possible minor spoiler...
If you take the mountain painting from the Atelier and hang it in the sitting room it turns into the desert painting. The mountain painting is no longer in inventory. The desert painting is both on the wall and in inventory. I haven’t progressed far enough to know if I still need it (I already got the brown mask), but if I had taken the painting before using it I wouldn’t be able to complete the game.
Only one issue so far.
Possible minor spoiler...
If you take the mountain painting from the Atelier and hang it in the sitting room it turns into the desert painting. The mountain painting is no longer in inventory. The desert painting is both on the wall and in inventory. I haven’t progressed far enough to know if I still need it (I already got the brown mask), but if I had taken the painting before using it I wouldn’t be able to complete the game.
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Work through it it's worth it
It's a thinking mans game, and it's wonderfully well thought out. Came back to re download
Amazing
This game was exactly what I was looking for, and I really appreciate all the effort put into it. The fact that there's a long description for anything you can "examine" really shows all the time spent in making this interactive.
Exceptionally well written
But soulless. Not very fun. I needed a walkthrough; knowing what to do or having to figure it out myself made little difference in the fun factor. Still, kudos on the totally free, really clever game.
Very addictive!
At first I thought this would be a confusing game but as a first time player I've found it very enjoyable! I highly recommend it and it's worth getting!
I never write reviews but…
I never write reviews but this is the best game EVER. My friend personally knows Zarf, and she showed me this game. I've been playing it for a few days now, non stop. Please get this game right now. It's free for a LIMITED TIME people. Also, Zarf is my spirit animal. If you want to look him up his real name is Andrew Plotkin but he doesn't like that so please refer to him as Zarf.
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Excellent
Excellent game, intriguing story, very expansive and detailed, very nice tutorial for IF gaming.
Spectacular
Absolutely spectacular! Hours of entertainment, exceptionally well-written, plenty of commands, complex storyline and inventive puzzles. The entire experience was unforgettable, magical and mind-boggling. Possibly the best text based adventure I have experienced. A must-have for fantasy fans, text adventure geeks and book-lovers!
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I don't normally write reviews...
...but this game is fantastic! The story is well-written, and the puzzles are challenging. It kept me glued to my screen the whole time.
As a first-time IF player, the tutorial and help screen were helpful. Don't be afraid to try this game if you're new to the genre, too.
As a first-time IF player, the tutorial and help screen were helpful. Don't be afraid to try this game if you're new to the genre, too.
Finely crafted
Fun to explore, helpful interface and fabulously written. A must have.
Very nicely done.
Digging through quite a few of these text adventures in iTunes & found most of them to be crap.
This one most certainly isn't.
Very nicely done.
This one most certainly isn't.
Very nicely done.
Good
This is how a text adventure should be. Very enjoyable.
Hell yeah
Great time killer and the map helps a lot
Super Einführung in "Interactive Fiction"
Plotkin versteht es, Kopfkino vom Feinsten zu kreieren. Wer schon immer Mal "Textadventures" ausprobieren wollte, findet hier den idealen Einstieg: das Tutorial ist eingebaut. Auch toll: die integrierte, automatische Karte- so macht's auch unterwegs viel Spaß!
Hell Yeaaaa
It's a really delightful and lively game... But really challenging. I'm not sure how to finish it but its great!👏👏👏👏👏
Wonderful
Great puzzles, gorgeous prose, and an amazing interface. Recommended for readers and thinkers.
