Well that’s the first time I’ve heard that complaint. I struggle to think of stories that even allow you to play as a slave or someone formerly enslaved, let alone ones that push you towards it. There’s the Road to Colloseum if you include ancient slavery I suppose, but other than that my mind is blank. For research purposes, can yo utell me what stories you’re referring to?
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Lisa Fox is supposedly working on a new game, Devil on Your Shoulder, which sounds absolutely amazing, being set in the New York theatre scene in the 1990s. I don’t know how far along in development it is, but it does have a Steam page.
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Probably more of a meta complaint, but black characters in the Americas are just so seldom given any other origin. AlethiaKnights is right (I went back over the game after work) but the background of black people=slaves or ex-slaves is omnipresent in the setting. That PC is the exception to the rule if you choose African doesn’t really help. And African is not the same as a free black person in or from the Americas. An African person is not going to have the same background experiences or culture.
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For what it’s worth (which may not be much), the PC is always an immigrant to North America. She can’t be an American-born white person either.
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ooh ooh pick me pick me
Oh. Never mind then.
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The Play’s the Thing
originally posted on Reddit
“Bad reviews aren’t actually fatal,” director Nichol reassures a young playwright on the opening night of their first play in an early chapter of The Play’s the Thing. If they were, though, authors Jo Graham and Amy Griswold would have nothing to fear from me.
I’ll be honest: I’m not sure it was possible I wouldn’t like this game. It’s so full of things I love - a world that evokes Elizabethan England or Renaissance Italy, a focus on the theatre, a writer protagonist, the agonies and ecstasies of the creative process, so many Shakespearean allusions, even an adorable little dog. Of course, since I knew most of these things going in, my expectations were high, and this game still managed to exceed them. This is the kind of immersive experience I’m hoping for every time I sit down to play a new (or new-to-me) ChoiceScript game: a setting brought memorably to life through brief but richly evocative sensory details, characters I couldn’t help but care about, choices both large and small that have an immediate impact as well as a long-term effect, and a PC who has to balance multiple goals and responsibilities. Oh, and excellent replay value. I’ve played twice now, and got an entirely different last chapter the second time around. I spotted some clever foreshadowing along the way, too!
There’s just so much attention to detail here. The plays the PC writes can be customized in so many ways: even on a couple of occasions when the subject is chosen for you, you still get to make decisions about emphasis, tone, theme, and staging. Even deciding which sumptuously-described outfit to wear on opening night feels meaningful.
I especially appreciated that you get to decide in the first chapter whether your PC is interested in sex, romance, both, or neither. Too many games in my experience either don’t include an asexual option at all, or include only the possibility to be aro-ace. As a romantic asexual, it’s nice to feel seen. (And games that allow the PC to be an aromantic allosexual are even more rare.)
I do have a few quibbles, barely. I don’t understand how the stats under the heading “Influence” on the stats page actually factor into the game. A few times, my PC had the option to use simple magic to solve a problem, although it was never established up to that point that they had any magical ability or training at all; is this just something everyone in this world can do? My biggest pet peeve about this game is actually a sort of praise in disguise: six major characters in the story (including all four ROs) can be either male or female, based on the PC’s sexual/romantic orientation. I understand very well the logic behind variable-gender characters, and although it’s not my preferred style it usually doesn’t bother me. The problem is that this game draws me in so completely that the characters etched themselves pretty firmly into my mind the first time I played (with an aro-ace PC), and when I played again (with a straight woman PC), I kept having to stop and remind myself that Diar and Kit were men this time around.
The Play’s the Thing joined the ranks of my favorites the first time I played it, and playing it again (and again) has only made me love it all the more. If you’re a big nerd like me who gets positively giddy spotting a Winter’s Tale reference, this is your cup of tea for sure, but even if you’re not, this game is well worth your time and money.
P.S. If you’re a fan of this game, check out the Heart’s Choice game A Player’s Heart. It’s (obviously) more romance-focused and gets less into politics, but it has a very similar feel, with delicious worldbuilding and a focus on theatre life.
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A Player’s Heart
originally posted on Reddit
[Note: this review is a particular favorite of mine, so I’ve reproduced it here exactly as written in October 2021, but quite a bit has changed since then. First of all, at the time of writing, Heart’s Choice was a very new company still finding its footing, and I had even more recently discovered it existed. I’ve now read all but two of the Heart’s Choice games published to date, and Changeling Charade, Freshman Magic, and Heart of Battle have joined A Player’s Heart among my all-time favorite ChoiceScript games. More importantly, the continuity errors I complain about in this review have since been fixed.]
Well, it’s finally happened. I’m in love … with a Heart’s Choice game.
I’ve played two other HC games and enjoyed them both, but A Player’s Heart by Melissa Scott is my favorite by far. This is one of the small handful of ChoiceScript games I’m certain I’ll play again, not a couple of times but over and over, until I’ve gone down every possible path, seen every side of every character, been everyone the game will allow me to be and do everything the game will allow me to do. This is one of the games I’ll replay when I’m having a bad day, just for the pleasure of revisiting a setting and characters I can count on to bring me joy.
It’s a lesbian romance - the PC is a woman, as are all four potential love interests - but that shouldn’t put off anyone (except actual homophobes) from enjoying this game. The worldbuilding and depth of characterization are the equal of anything I’ve seen in a CS game, and in fact superior to most. The PC’s theatrical career and her non-romantic relationships are written with as much care and interest as the love story. There are a few semi-explicit sex scenes, but they are brief, optional, and more sensuous than erotic. (The PC can be trans, and although that wasn’t my choice in this particular playthrough, I don’t think any of the sex scenes my character had would have to have been written differently if she were.) And more so than either of the other Heart’s Choice games I’ve played, this romance felt like the “real deal.” I could easily picture these two women spending the rest of their lives together. For now, as much as I want to explore everything this game has to offer, it’s hard for me to imagine choosing anyone but Myrr as my PC’s lover; so immersed was I in the story that I couldn’t help seeing her through my PC’s eyes and falling for her just a bit. (And I’m a heteroromantic asexual woman!)
The one thing that occasionally broke my immersion was that the game sometimes didn’t keep the best track of the progress of the romance. On one occasion, Myrr spent the night on my PC’s couch, but the next chapter began with my PC’s memories of them having shared the bed. Later, after they became lovers, there was still a scene in which my PC felt the need to formally declare her love in a way I thought she’d already done. It’s a fairly minor quibble; it probably bothered me more than it otherwise would have because this game was so close to perfect in every other way.
I want more. Interactive romance isn’t really a genre that lends itself easily to a sequel, but even if I can’t have more of these specific main characters, I want more of their world. This worldbuilding is too rich to be one-and-done. Whether it’s through interactive fiction or the pages of a conventional book, I want to visit Tristendesande again. And I hope Melissa Scott will continue to write for Heart’s Choice, whether she decides to build upon the world of A Player’s Heart or not.
Note: A Player’s Heart is very similar in plot, setting, and tone to the more recent CoG release, The Play’s the Thing, another favorite of mine. Both are set in a richly rendered historical pseudo-Europe and focus on theatre people attempting to create art without stepping on a subtext-sensitive ruler’s toes. There are enough differences to make each game a distinct experience, but if you enjoyed one of the two, it’s probably a pretty safe bet that you’ll like the other.
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I’m so enjoying reading all these reviews, thank you for sharing them!
By the way, did you know Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold wrote a duology of Victorian gay male romances? I haven’t read them yet, but I enjoyed Melissa Scott’s Astreiant series, and Melissa Scott and Jo Graham’s Order of the Air series too.
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Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold working together? Be still my heart! And … checks Amazon … it’s a murder mystery with magic. Yup, I need this in my life. I wonder if they have signed copies for sale anywhere? 
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Popcorn, Soda … Murder?
Before Wayhaven Chronicles, before Sabres of Infinity, even before Zombie Exodus, there was Popcorn, Soda … Murder?
Pauzle’s interactive murder mystery, written while he was still in high school, was the first title to be published by Hosted Games. As the name suggests, it’s set in a movie theater. The PC is a detective taking in a movie on their day off, but it turns out to be a busman’s holiday when the projectionist is discovered dead in his booth after the credits roll. What follows is the standard stuff of a police procedural: investigating the crime scene, questioning suspects, making deductions … and finally, if all goes well, unmasking a killer.
Unlike most ChoiceScript games, even those focused on solving a mystery, Popcorn wasn’t written with replay value in mind. Unlike Dead Already?, the killer is always the same person, and unlike the Evertree Saga, there isn’t a rich world of characters and lore to discover. It’s possible to get the killer wrong, or to not cite the right evidence in support of your accusation, in which case it’s game over, but once you’ve found the right solution, you’ve seen all the game has to offer.
Popcorn isn’t particularly well-constructed - you’ll have to make certain deductions more than once unless you make them in the right order the first time through, and the section calling out the killer is a little too unforgiving - and it’s not the kind of thing most CSG fans are looking for, but as one of the first games ever written in ChoiceScript, by a teenager at that, it’s a rather impressive accomplishment, and if nothing else, it’s noteworthy for its place in Hosted Games history. Considering that it’s free to play, it’s worth checking out.
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Fun fact: The Ascot was originally written in the an ADRIFT parser format before getting converted to Choicescript. Being one of the earlier HGs released, it obviously doesn’t have the style, and lacking the features, the later ones do, but it is proof that migrating to Choicescript from parser is indeed possible. It’s also free, so if you do have some time to burn, play this!
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President Disaster
Yes, it’s one big Trump joke. But it’s a pretty good one.
In Marc Faletti and Maeve Adams’s President Disaster, you arrive at the White House for your first day as an intern, only to be summarily named the titular president’s new Chief of Staff when you happen to be in the right place at the right time (or, more likely, the wrong place at the wrong time). Only thirty days remain until the national election, but every day brings the threat of some new crisis, scandal, or temper tantrum. Can you steer the ship of state safely through troubled waters with President Disaster rocking the boat?
It doesn’t take any particular political savvy to recognize President Disaster as a stand-in for former President Donald Trump (the game was released in 2020, a few months before the election of Joe Biden). Jokes about tiny hands and the color orange abound, and Disaster is every anti-Trump talking point cranked up to eleven: an incompetent, bigoted blowhard.
The game unfolds one day - and one crisis - at a time. Each day’s drama is drawn at random from seven dozen possibilities, which range from personal upsets to business opportunities to potential international incidents, and your character can choose one of three possible responses to each. The game tracks four stats - Rage, Grift, Domestic Approval, and International Prestige - and if any of them gets too high or too low, you can unlock a special “Stat Alert” scenario. If things get too far out of control, it’s game over - you could end up behind bars taking the blame for Disaster’s failings, or worse.
President Disaster obviously isn’t for most Trump supporters (though those with a thick skin, a sense of humor, and a grounded perspective might find themselves chuckling a few times), and it won’t satisfy those looking for nuanced and sophisticated satire, but I had a lot of fun playing it, and the huge number of random events makes for excellent replay value. It feels more like a game than a true interactive story, but it’s a great way to kill some time.
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Scandal Notes
Your parents had hoped to see you safely ensconced in a suitable marriage, but it’s London in the 1920s, and life has more to offer an ambitious young woman like you. Determined to pursue a literary career, you first succeed in making a splash on the social scene: before you know it, you’re a member of a tight-knit clique of Bright Young Things known as the King’s Road Crew. You’re no stranger to the society pages, but when a vicious new column called “Scandal Notes” sets its eye on the King’s Road Crew, everyone’s reputation is in jeopardy. The glamorous actress in your circle can laugh off snide comments about her risqué sartorial choices, but the public revelation of her gambling addiction is far more damning. And who could possibly know all of your friends’ secrets, anyway? Could it be that there’s a betrayer in your midst?
Evelyn Pryce’s Scandal Notes conjures London in the 1920s as vividly and memorably as Jazz Age recreates New York of the same era. I loved this glimpse into the glittery interbellum world of Bright Young Things: champagne and cigarettes, fancy dress parties and scavenger hunts, gossip columns and artsy ambitions. Unfortunately, the mystery of “Scandal Notes” falls a bit flat. It wasn’t particularly hard to guess who was the culprit. My PC didn’t have any great secret of her own to worry about being exposed (and this being Heart’s Choice, her budding lesbian relationship was never any source of anxiety). The likelihood that one of the King’s Road Crew was the column’s source wasn’t really explored so far as it could have been - suspicion within the group felt more like banter than a serious threat to friendships.
Scandal Notes features two romance options, free-spirited actress Sybil Warwick and witty literary critic Errol Sharp, both fellow members of the King’s Road Crew. I couldn’t resist Sybil’s flirty glance from the box art and decided to romance her, which was a lot of fun - she’s so uninhibited and playful, and it was nice to get to know her beyond her insouciant social persona. Although I didn’t pursue him romantically this time around, I enjoyed bantering with Errol, and I look forward to uncovering his tender side next time I play.
I recommend Scandal Notes on the strength of its sprightly dialogue, its delightful pair of ROs, and above all, its brilliantly constructed setting.
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You made me want to play this again, but two ROs? I could swear the first time I played I ended up with Norry.
Most of the plot descriptions I’ve read have only mentioned the two, but I could be wrong. Romancing Norry would certainly be interesting.
I may be misremembering or it may not be a “true” romance. The blurb on HC only mentions the other two, neither of whom I cared for, as well.
There are definitely opportunities to flirt with Norry. I may have to try that on my next playthrough instead of romancing Errol. (I’m definitely going to romance Errol eventually, though. He’s totally my type - I mean, what could possibly be sexier than writing reviews?) However, it is worth mentioning that there’s no Achievement for romancing Norry, while there is one for each of the others.
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The forum announcement post includes Norry, and I remember people talking about it. I think Norry’s relationship was expanded during beta which may account for the description discrepancy (he’s not listed on the app blurb).
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Norry’s fun, to say the least.
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I looked at the beta notes, and it seems that Norry was indeed added as a romance option during the beta.
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