cobaltnine | IFComp 2008 - Afflicted (Reply)

You are a health inspector. Score is negative in this game - the better you're doing, the worse Nikolai's restaurant is doing. This is a nice way of keeping score, as it makes sense in context, and still has that nice feedback of having something. Along the same notes, other reviews have noted that a health inspector is a great choice for a PC - he's supposed to be poking around stuff!

I liked this game. I liked it a lot. That makes it harder to write a review. The atmosphere is oh, god, so perfect. The implementation of 'smell'. First I was grossed out, and then I was geniunely stunned by finding a hand. Interestingly, I found the eyes before entering the restaurant, but wasn't really put off. I think there just hadn't been enough visceral things to imagine, such as pan-grease and sticky walls and, ugh, all those terrible things in places in the shity parts of town, to make the eyes feel gross. By the time I found a hand, I was into it. I pulled my headphones off and told the significant other that this game was fantastic.

Also, I played Inspector Deadpan and dutifully tried to note this particular problem. Random body parts. I found the response to that action hilarious.

Now, here's my problem with the game. Unfortunately, I can't offer a solution off the top of my head; I even wonder if the author felt the same way and structured the plot as such to create a situation for a conclusion. My problem is that the game suddenly becomes a lot less spooky when it's vampires. I think it's because the rest of it is so harshly possible. I can smell this place. I've smelt places like it. I try not to think about them. But when you've got a magic reassembling girl, instead of a holy shit creepy corpse, we've veered too much into Buffy the Vampire Slayer territory, and one starts thinking the feet might be really good plastic models instead.

Interestingly, I think many people's first play-through won't get to this point. You find a hand or a foot, or even the corpse and then it's HEY MY SATURN LET'S GO. Ending the game at this point (one of many, non-equal-length branches, which is not a fail, which is awesome design IMO) keeps the feeling creepier.

High marks. I've actually forgotten what I rated it, since I played and rated it last night. But among the highest.