itch.io

The sketches are adorable, and the core gameplay loop of "figure out what this new verb does while you wait for your next one to unlock" is solid, also providing reasons to go back to old monsters to get more info.

The big problems are pacing (the game absolutely grinds to a halt after unlocking the second verb) and opaqueness. It took me a *long* while to figure out that the combination of mood icons on the top right was what determined when there was new data, and that you could get more data through restraining, just through trial and error.

I like this game a lot, though! If you make a sequel or somethin', I'd love to see monster-specific verbs that unlock with research, which would help pay off the feeling of "aha, I understand this monster now!" and also potentially make it a little easier to handle monsters on your fourth or fifth catch, trying to find that last entry.

Straight up a good game; I played the final date several times after beating it just because it's that fun. All it needs is the ability to check my deck on the world map. Simple effects combined in fun ways, a split development tree, a final sequence that scales to your deck's strength... Elegant, simple, and fantastic.

I really love this game. The only thing I could possibly think to add would be some reward for clearing a date with extremely high values.

Top-notch storytelling-- the slow unraveling of "wait, okay, so THAT's what's going on here" was really fun.

Cute, well-written, and the concept of different kinds of energy is both clever and hot. It's neat to see an Inform game, too!

I have no fucking idea what I just played, and I love it. Deliciously surreal.

Lots of potential! I'd LOVE to see a more developed prototype of this.

I'm a big fan of the subtleties here-- the air of text adventure in the statue options, the room names and color, the way everything's described in a slightly horny way? Yeah. Solid work. Couldn't figure out the flesh caves, though.

5/5 for novelty, 5/5 for humor, 5/5 for mustache

Interesting that cake is both a sex metaphor and timer-- i.e. you might implicitly create one of those "ah fuck, everybody ELSE has had sex, but now it's noon on Sunday and time is running out if I want to get in on this" kinda nervous spaces. Seems thematically appropriate! You could theoretically assign certain times or events to certain amounts of cake remaining, but I do also like that the actual gameplay section seems deliberately small and easy to remember over an entire weekend.

The fistbump is super elegant in how it lets the receiver refuse, how it implicitly forces them to think deeply about what the character IS feeling, and how it allows someone to pass the spotlight. Really good stuff, would probably work well in pretty much any roleplaying game.

The setup does seem a little bit awkward. You could have two people both refusing any rating other than Marry and jostling back and forth for it forever, and the shameful secret never really comes up anywhere (I'm assuming it's supposed to just kind of fall out as you talk?). These mechanics are okay, but they don't feel as elegant as the cake mechanics. On the other hand, I don't know how to infuse the act of setting the table with sexual tension, so...

Still a really cool game, and it's especially neat to see a roleplaying game in Strawberry Jam! I wish I had enough people to play it.

This is good! The “Intel” mechanic is really something special. You do have some lingering references to “The Empty” that you might want to update; I’m guessing that was an earlier name for the playbook?