Evertree Inn
I could name dozens of ChoiceScript games with richly realized settings that are a delight to explore, but few, if any, capture the expansive feel of an old-timey open-world adventure game as well as the three volumes (so far) of The Evertree Saga. It’s hard to believe Evertree Inn was Thom Baylay’s first published game; his 2017 debut serves up a tantalizing mystery with color and confidence that many more accomplished creators would do well to emulate.
As Evertree Inn begins, you’re a traveler on your way to the city of Lux, where you hope to start rebuilding something like the life you once believed you’d have. Since the night your childhood home burned down, you’ve struggled to make a living for yourself and your one remaining relative. Now the future seems brighter than it has in years - but after a long day on the road, you can’t resist the prospect of a warm meal, a proper bed, maybe even a bath. However, you begin to suspect not long after you receive your room key in the titular establishment that this might not be the restful evening you’d hoped for. One of your fellow guests has gotten into your pocket and made off with a few gold coins. One seems more interested in getting into your pants. And it was only by accident that the innkeeper handed you that letter about a mysterious death that happened here just last week, but now that you’ve seen it, it’s impossible not to be curious.
The Evertree Saga is set in a classic late medieval/early modern European-flavored high fantasy world, one that will feel immediately familiar if you’ve ever read Tolkien or played Dungeons and Dragons. There’s more worldbuilding at the series goes on, but in this first installment, what the setting lacks in originality, it more than makes up in vitality. Baylay’s world pulses with life (even before the … well … IYKYK): I could almost see the innkeeper’s flashy quill pen, feel the grime of a day on the road, smell the hearty stew bubbling in the kitchen. The characters are varied and memorable, with personalities ranging from sweet to comical to sinister, each with their own priorities, values, and agenda that have nothing to do with the PC, at least at first.
And the way everything comes together is nothing short of magical. The inn and its surroundings beg to be explored, the other characters leer and glare and conceal their secrets on their tongues and in their luggage, and as the story unfolds around them the PC can do almost whatever you want. There are limits imposed by the PC’s race (human, elf, dwarf, halfling, or brownie) and chosen backstory (an elf who always wanted to study magic and a brownie who trained to be a warrior will have very different skill sets) and the consequences of their own actions (people treat you differently when you’re tidy and polite than when you’re a brutish bully), but the way you move through this wonderfully responsive world is up to you. You can prioritize exploring the inn and questioning the other characters, or you can leave your curiosity to simmer while you nap, flirt, and order a third glass of ale at dinner. Nearly everything you can do and be has its own advantages and drawbacks, sometimes surprising ones.
True mystery games are rather rare in ChoiceScript, and for good reason; most CS games are meant to be played more than once, and therefore the format doesn’t lend itself well to a genre that’s all about the Big Reveal. Most CS mysteries are either short, shallow and game-y, with random culprits, or they’re genre hybrids, like romantic suspense. Evertree Inn centers the mystery, but there’s so much going on it’s impossible to learn and do everything in a single playthrough, and the replay value comes from the pleasure of revisiting Baylay’s world and delving into its secrets from new angles.
Evertree Inn is one of those rare games that set their ambitions sky-high and actually succeed on nearly every level. If you haven’t played it yet, you’re missing out on something genuinely special.