Run TavernQuest

Your choices barely matter you're more of an observer between the angsty and whiny CPU and Steve. I thought I would get the ability to essentially be a DM but you're actually playing some on rails story that will loop back on itself if you don't choose the "right" options. That's if the CPU doesn't just entirely wrest control from you and decide the story for you.

Wow. The game really tricked me at first. In the beginning 30 minutes, I was contemplating if I was going to request a refund because it insinuated to be so short and the characters weren't fleshed out enough. BOY was I wrong. The character and worldbuilding, the twists, the hilarity, and the feeling put into this game is immaculate. I honestly did not know what to expect at any point (other than Steve sometimes because I also am prone to do a stupid option for laughs) and fell in love with every character whether I made them up or not. I will absolutely be playing again to make different choices and see how many other things I can discover. You guys made a great game.

Incredible, just incredible! No real "graphics" to speak of so a lot of weight is placed on the text naration but it does an incredible job presening the story of the game with just text. From humor at the start to a more serious tone later on. It also has really good voice acting that really adds to the emotion of what is occuring. I would highly recomend this game to those who like a well written story.

If I wanted a woman to take over the plot tell me how to run my adventure I can get that in real life.

This is an often delightful and thoughtful game. Though not without its criticisms, I noticed that MANY of the top reviews for this game are from people who barely played it, with many updoots and even Steam "thanks!" awards given. That's what spurred me to write a review in the first place. They played it so little that they didn't even realize what genre it is, which I'll call a Metanarrative VN. The marketing for this game does not do it justice, but these types of games always have a difficult challenge in that regard. It is presented as "you are the embodiment of a text adventure game (think Zork), playing along with a doofy and careless player, swapping the traditional roles as a way to get goofs". That stuff is present and is funny and fun, in a Monty Python way, but what the game really is is along Metanarrative VN lines; think Stanley Parable (the author of this game worked on at least the Ultra Deluxe version of that game), think Doki Doki Literature Club, think at the absolute peak of this bespoke genre Inscryption, although that game reaches such transcendiary heights that it's unfair to compare much else to it). If you grew up on text adventures, as I did, this game will feel right at home. It is funny, thought-provoking, and rides the line between goofiness and absolute sincerity very well. The writing is excellent - I saw other reviews accusing it of tonal mish-mash, but I completely disagree. Playing text adventures back in the day often meant both getting deeply invested in the story, while also trying as much goofy stuff as possible - that wasn't discordant, because they were GAMES, meant to both lose oneself in (and reflect on) but also be a harmless playground to fool around in. That very dual nature is what TavernQuest is about, and that's what I enjoyed most about it. The voice acting is excellent throughout (as is the music!). There is a good amount of replayability for sure, and I was surprised at how much had been thought of branching-path-wise. If you are an experienced player of metanarrative games, this won't blow your mind, but you will be satisfied. My chief complaint is interface-based: skipping dialogue feels like it should take a bit longer than it should (on future playthroughs), and it feels like you should have more control over how long it should take (you hold down a skip button, and it fast forwards at a medium pace without any visual indicator, or any option to insta-skip). Despite how popular some games in this sorta-a-genre have gotten, I wish there were more, and I wish this game was more popular to encourage people to make more of them. This is clearly, as the cliché goes, a labor of love, and throughout I felt the immense amount of work that went into making it. I highly recommend it and hope the developer hasn't run out of ideas yet, I'll be first in line.

SUCH A GOOD GAME! This game was exactly what i was expecting, nothing like what I was expecting, and yet was somehow even MORE. what you think is just gonna be a slap humor game, turns into a deep heart pulling story, making you want to fight, scream, and maybe beg for things to go have gone differently. *Trigger warning, there is a DV undertone for those that might find that disturbing.* it plays like the Choose Your Own Adventure books from days gone by, where your decisions matter, and shape the story! The scenarios were hilarious, slowly pulling you in deeper and deeper, until finally you find yourself captivated with the task of guiding Steve through the game. will you help or hinder Steve? Will you allow him grace, or turn the events into a crazy adventure? in the end Steve saves the Princess.... or does he? Wait, when Steve boots up the game again.. something isn't right.. why has the script changed? Why cant we control all of the game anymore? and whos pulling the coded strings?

This game is niche but phenomenal! It combines a point and click adventure into a text-based story that is narrated to you. The mental fights with the games player Steve and tricky situations he gets himself into are brilliantly thought out, this game is the perfect mix of fantasy style adventure in a retro feel with modern humour and nuances. Highly recommend!

If you loved Slay the Princess and/or the humor the Stanley Parable you need to play this. It's a comedy visual novel where the visual is the text itself, every typed pause, every capitalized letter, they are all intentionally part of the experience and the way the jokes hit. Fully voiced and HUNDREDS of branching paths too! Also, if you have ever hosted a D&D campaign, you will love this. This is a comedic story of what it's like to guide a terrible D&D player who stresses the limits of what creativity can do, and goes so much further. Great game to play on stream by letting the community make the choices, and even features a streamer mode so that you can make sure you're not blocking the text (and at least one or two extra secret bonuses, you'll have to play to find out), which is awesome!

I've been playing all sorts of blockbuster games recently, and with rare exceptions, I always found myself bored, listless, and experiencing ennui. Without being TOO VERBOSE (Run) TavernQuest is something different. It is a game at which I laughed out loud numerous times. It is a character study, it is a lesson on writing, development, tabletop games, game-books, and it is a book in itself. The graphics are what you can imagine, but as corny as it sounds, it works because of the amazing writing, and the amazing voice acting. Music, although nothing special always changes the atmosphere on point. The game follows a new game plus loop of similar titles, but unlike other games, it never felt like you are retracing steps over and over. Game loops are mostly well-paced, unless you the runner want to extend them too much on purpose by beating jokes to the death. Below I've provided the setting of the game. You are an entity that interacts with the computer to guide a player character called Steve through a fantasy text-based RPG. Steve is considered a complete idiot by the computer, but Steve is not so helpless. He is stubborn, but can be taught lessons, if you treat him fairly, or if you at least show him the rules of the game you are building for him (and hopefully preparing him for the final boss battle). You easily see how Steve evolves as a person throughout the game, and that ties in nicely with the most important aspect of the game: it is a lesson on growth. This works both in each absurd scene, and is also nicely tied in the final ending of the final loop (at which I cried because it struck me right in the personal feels). There is no correct way of playing the game, but approaching this as a benevolent, if somewhat sarcastic guardian force was most fun for me. Anyway, this got too long: I highly recommend Run TavernQuest to people who are looking for a well-written story and have a sense of humour.

Oh my god I thought I knew what this game would be and I was so very very wrong. It made me think about the nature of free will and the effort it takes to break negative patterns! I was actually concerned for the characters! I had a genuine meaningful emotional response to it! I like Steve!! I expected this game to be good and it absolutely blew my expectations out of the water. Highly recommend, very very worth the money and the time. (Also legitimately hilarious, in addition to meaningful and thought-provoking).