The Play's the Thing

I honestly have so many mixed feelings about this. I feel bad not recommending it, because I'm so soft for IF and I absolutely will go back and play this again to get all of the endings and achievements, and there were moments while playing through once that I genuinely enjoyed it. But I just can't think of anyone I would recommend this to. Some pros and cons: Pros: - Gender variable romance options (player character's sexuality determines RO genders). - Lots of stats and skills, and every choice mattered. There's enough variation within the common plot to warrant replaying, and there are achievements to earn. Some of the achievements are really interesting (I have not unlocked all of them yet). - At least one of the romance options is older (middle aged), which is uncommon in IF. There's also a single parent RO. And the option to play the story without romance at all. - I've actually been thinking about writing an IF set in a theater and about putting on plays, so it was cool to see that. - The writing is polished. There are few errors and it seems like a lot of time and thought went into it. - There's a lot of good LGBTQ+ representation, even among secondary characters. The world is also very accepting. - While it's not the longest IF I've played, I feel like there's a lot of content and you don't feel shortchanged after playing. - "That's not "a gentleman," that's an emergency." is a great line. - There's a dog. Cons: - No save feature. In a game with as many variables and stat checks as this one has, it NEEDS a save feature. One time I restarted because there was an awkward scene transition and I legitimately thought I missed something. I went all the way back to the beginning and remade my choices only to learn that, no, it was just an awkward scene transition. Several times I restarted because I realized halfway through romancing certain characters that they just weren't very interesting. - The choices are too obvious when it comes to stat checks. The games Tally Ho and Jolly Good are good examples of games that get the stat/skill checks right. Almost every choice that was a stat check for this game had the actual stat in the wording. So performance checks would actually have the word "performance" in them. If there was a save feature, this could actually be really fun and interesting, because the player would have more incentive to make a selection that would result in a stat failure just to see what the outcome would be, but really, this game isn't written in such a way that the failures are interesting. Basically, if you fail a stat check, it doesn't open up a humorous/interesting alternate route so much as it just locks you out of certain achievements. But what's really the point of achievements if the recipes for them are so obviously laid out for you? I don't know. - Very few hair and skin type choices. - Very few physical descriptions at all in the game. I'm sure physical descriptions were mentioned when the characters were introduced, but I'm having trouble remembering any other than maybe a vague memory of Kit having a ponytail? Nichol has a cane? The writers are more descriptive with the world and the fashion than the actual people, for sure. - Romanceable characters seem a little flat (while some secondary characters are more dynamic), and overall I feel like there are too few opportunities for MC to interact with the romance options. - The flirting dialogue and choices are. Rough. It's very cringey. I started out romancing Diar, but I quit and restarted halfway through (very frustrating without a save feature) because most of the choices when interacting with them involved some form of "I wish they loved me the way I loved them." It was the most basic and tropeified version of friends-to-lovers I've seen in virtually any IF. I tried romancing Nichol next, and the writing gave me some variation of "but this isn't a romance in a play," no joke, at least three times. I finally settled on Kit, and their's was... not much better. And the literal last thing they say to the MC at the end is [spoiler]You saved us all! You're my hero!"[/spoiler], but like....sincerely. Not to comedic effect. - [spoiler]When the MC discovers that they're one of the Pomona twins and that their mother was killed by the Raven, that whole reveal is just kind of... casual. Like it's just a natural continuation of the perfectly normal conversation they were just having. Like they're discussing where they want to hang out that night, or which outfit to wear. Something that could have been so interesting or twisty it was like the writers just left it on the reader's doorstep with a bow and then walked away.[/spoiler] By the time I got to that point, I was honestly ready to be done. It felt like the writers were, too. - The world building never quite gets there. We know there's magic and that the MC can use it (referred to in game as "enchantments"), but we have no idea how it works or the limits of it or who can do it or if everyone can do it, and it's honestly not very useful or significant to the plot. We never really learn about the differences between the classes. There's working class people and a gentle class, and it's hinted early in the game that there's a kind of "American Dream" aspect to this world where anyone can be and do anything, but we never really get a chance for our MC to become disenchanted with that idea, even when it's discovered that [spoiler]The Raven murdered MCs mother, a neighboring Queen[/spoiler]. - The main "curse" plot weighs down the more interesting aspects of the story. I can understand wanting a physical, visceral representation of the kind of "decay" that's hovering around the city [spoiler]and the royal family more specifically[/spoiler], but I'm not sure it's ever really pulled off to that effect. And so many of the choices are just the MC reiterating their opinion about whether or not it's a curse. It feels like an empty choice. If there was more nuance in the choices to show how MC's opinions have changed since the last time it was asked, that would be better. - I wish there were more actual "play" parts. I want more of the prep and presentation. I honestly thought when I bought this that it would be more focused on what goes on behind the scenes to put on a play, and we actually get very little of that and it all feels more superficial. I get that the actual events of the game are meant to be a kind of performance, and that all the heavy-handed references to "life not being like a play" are actually meant to highlight how this is very much like a play (and maybe that even justifies some of the cringey dialogue for some people). But if, like me, you're expecting to be able to make more than just superficial choices regarding the productions, this might not be the game for you.

From Choice of Games comes another entry to the choose your adventure type games. This time is the grand 'The Play's the Thing' written by Jo Graham and Amy Griswold about an aspiring playwright. It is quite fun to use your imagination in this journey as you try to make a name for yourself. There are branching choices with what you choose, with a achievements that has to do with specific events in the story which adds to the goal of achieving, like romancing different people, killing or saving people etc. The stats page consists of various things like your trait, skills, relationship with others and how your career if fairing, which is a cool thing to keep track of and see how they are influenced as the story goes. The story itself is quite interesting as you go through all sorts of events yourself in the journey. Do also build your own backstory, personality, preferences, as well of course the plays that you write too with the various choices that are given. It is also a neat feature for the game to have the option to change the background colour of the game to enable a dark mode so it is less straining on my eyes, currently playing in the dark. From playing so far, i haven't noticed errors in the writing which is good. Overall, it is a low priced game for a lengthy interactive novel where you choose how it plays out and is worth taking a look at.

A rather good game from the authors of The Eagle's Heir. The game keeps the theatricality and much of the tone of the earlier entries of the pair, while adding more depth and what feels like more choices to the mix. There were a few minor flaws; the game occasionally referred to an NPC or two with the wrong pronouns, and other little things like that, but nothing was egregious. There were several routes, largely dependent on exactly how much one crossed the local nobility, and, as a whole, it felt like a snapshot of a larger world. Characters felt quite different, and though a few felt a bit like archetypes more than people, this may have been a nod to the game's core premise; the world, after all, is a stage. Over all, a solid effort, and worth playing.

Увлекательная история с целостным повествованием и хорошими персонажами. Имеются несколько жанровых условностей, которые совершенно не портят сюжет. Много забавных и интересных моментов. Есть развилки, где просто разрываешься что же ты хочешь выбрать и что сделать. Читается взахлёб, не хочется отрываться.

So this one really surprised me. I honestly didnt have positive expectations when I picked this up today. I grabbed it because none of the titles Ive been waiting for have yet to make an appearance and I really needed my CYOA itch scratched. And scratch that itch this did! Good story line, that was nothing like what i was "expecting" given the title. The authors actually made choosing what to write and how to have it performed fun! and meaningful to the plot of the larger story at hand. Thats right, this is not just about putting on plays and trying to figure out what the writers Idea of the best plays and performance techniques should be. Everything is tied into not only your relationships with those around you, but an over arching plot as well (no spoilers here, sorry you have to read it, but its good!) As always, there were a few moments of frustration about half way through where plot necessitated some set backs I really wasnt happy about, followed by a few opinion choices where I was offered an assortment of ways for my MC to feel "happy" about where he was and what he was doing (and I the player was totally not happy to find myself there tbh, so i grumbled a bunch at the "stupid" la la la im ok this is great options i didnt want to pick.) But I was able to easily overlook and forget about that when I figured out why I the MC was really there (ie the plot twist that necessitated it.) Still for what its worth Id recommend to the authors to at least consider the fact that not everyone is going to be happy with that chain of events, and atleast give them a chance to "express" their dissatisfaction in character, rather than just giving them a bunch of happy feel good choices to choose from, which is only going to make the player even more unhappy and disconnected with the MC. When life tosses lemons at people, not everyone is going to make lemon aide or sherbert! Some of us are going to be sour ♥♥♥♥♥♥ about it! That said, the end does justify the means, and nothing is done Just to get under the readers skin, or because You Chose Badly! It all ties together and makes the last few chapters of the game really really interesting. But enough from me, buy this and read it already! you wont be disappointed.

The story is quite good. I like the plot twist in the middle and every decision that I choose is matters. The stats work well and affect the storyline. Has various endings too. Personally, I have mixed feelings about the romance part. Some of the RO characters lack emotion/affection to my character and the text option when my character expressed his feelings is kind of cringe(?). Also my character's clothes are more descriptive than the RO characters, LOL. I'm a casual reader and gamer, so overall I quite enjoy the story and I think it's an okay game to have, when in discount. For the author, I appreciate your time to make this story.

This one was enjoyable, would recommend

I wish there were more 'right' or 'wrong' interactions with other characters, like if the different things you said impacted them more significantly instead of just differently.

My mom was very much into theater.

The Play's the Thing, Having finished my first run, not really sure what to say about this one. Would i recommend it? Yes, although i can't help but feel like their is a SEVERE lack consequences to your actions. Like i managed to get a character locked in the royal Dungeon, only the brake them out of said Dungeon a few paragraphs and prompts later IN THE EXACT SAME CHAPTER! Ok so your a Playwright in a Renaissance era world with magic (referred to as enchantment in game), you get to put on several plays over the course of the story, and you have plenty of options to choose from and how they are portrayed. As is the way of show business not everything goes perfectly so you have to improve scenes and take action to make the plays work out well, or at least not fall flat. The underlaying plot however, while interesting and shows its face at a regular pace, it just kinda existed in the background. Without spoiling much, a Curse has been placed on the ruler of the city you reside and preform plays. As the story progresses you can find out more Information, such as to how the Curse works and why it happened in the first place, then armed with this information you can deal with the curse however you see fit.