Desert of Vice

I wish there was a "neither recommended nor not recommended" way to review. Having played text-based games a lot in the past (I got the babel fish!) I'm used to text based games that were written to have a lot of options. Get the thing, look at the thing, open the thing, combine the thing, look at the room, etc. Lots and lots of that. Unfortunately, Desert of Vice is very limited. There are a handful of choices, frequently (as another reviewer said) you have to type "hint" just to find out what they all are, as you're not going to guess them - and it's not like there are dozens. There are usually just 3 or 4 things to do, or less. It's less a game and more a slightly interactive story, and unfortunately without choices it didn't hold my interest well enough. I think it's a very good start, and a good idea for a game, and it's atmospheric - that's what pulled me in, but as a game it needed to be fleshed out more. I don't know how many endings there are, but it couldn't hold my interest to make it to them since my choices seemed mostly moot. The mood and the preview make it seem like it should be really, really good, a clever little gem, but unfortunately as someone who's played old text games, I felt like I was getting railroaded into someone's story rather than playing my own. When the game tells me "you don't want to do that" and I just said I did, guess what - I did want to do that. If you can get it really cheap and you just want a story that isn't much of a game, I guess it's okayish. Tragically with just a few more options to do things, it could've worlds better.

Spooky text adventure in the vein of Lovecraft and Twin Peaks. Tonally, it's more on the creepy side of things. It shouldn't take you more than an hour to beat. But there are multiple endings so there's reason to run through it again making different choices. Play it in the dark. The music and sounds make the atmosphere.

A neat, little text adventure project with good aesthetic choices that could use some quality-of-life improvements. As stated in other reviews, some necessary commands can not be intuited from in-text description; thus, early playthroughs require use of the hints command. Implementation of tried and tested commands from earlier text adventures (go east, go forward, etc.) and a more uniform application of other commands ('leave' works in the motel room but not in most other locations, take works with most pickups but you have to 'harvest cactus') would do a lot to alleviate these pain points. The requirement to 'go to [place]' instead of simply 'go [place]' feels particularly odd and pedantic. Despite these criticisms, Desert of Vice has an undeniable mystique about it with an art style and soundtrack that compliment its supernatural noir themes. I think this is a great short effort from such a small indie developer and I hope they continue to improve their craft.

The game itself is great (spooky, atmospheric, even quirky), as testified by several reviews such as this one on... [i] VICE [/i] : [url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ywxka7/david-lynch-desert-of-vice] Play This Very David Lynch Indie Horror Game (vice.com) [/url] What I am compelled to add here is that... [b] the developer [/b] is great too! I had a problem with the game and Karolis got back to me almost immediately with a great, working solution. I think this developer deserves all the praise and support indie game lovers can give.

A Surprisingly well made text adventure. If you want a short, spooky game for a night in, this is a good pick.

A neat little text based mystery adventure that's recommended with a word of warning. It manages to conjure up an atmosphere very much its own and for that it deserves praise. However, the parser is awful compared to the parsers of full bodied text adventures of yore. The amount of possible commands is very limited and inconsistent. When used it'll expect exact input by the player. Do not expect a dictionary of synonyms. This also means that world building and exploration are *very* limited. This means that rather than a text adventure, it's more of an interactive novel. In this case though, it kinda works because of its Kafka-esque tone. Keep this in mind, and it's an enjoyable trip.

Desert of Vice is a text-based adventure game that draws inspiration from Lovecraftian literature. Karolis Dikcius and Co. work to create a strange, unwelcoming world that is shrouded in mystery-- a mystery that is slowly discovered depending on which ending/choice we may choose. However, with that said, a large portion of this game feels more like a kinetic novel. A kinetic novel that drags its own story down given how there isn't a convenient way to save the game to get these slightly different endings. While some of these endings can differ very greatly from each other in terms of fleeing versus running away, the separate endings blur together given the mechanic of having to type all of the same text out each play-through. With that said, I think the story and style of Desert of Vice is still compelling for those looking for a short story to read/type through. Given the relatively cheap price, interesting designs, as well as the added bonus of an easy 100%, I can only recommend this game despite these possible cons.