A Manor of Speaking

Random Thought: "Thank the writer the 'eye' was not used to make 'eyescream'."

I am not a big fan of pun adventure games - I did NOT enjoy the 1993 Companions of Xanth, and I feared that this would be a bit of a repeat of that game - annoying puzzles, with each pun puzzle getting more and more farfetched as the game went on (the hot dog boss still makes me embarrassed for the writers). But this game was far better than Companions. It took awhile to get into the groove of looking for puns, but once I did it was pretty enjoyable. Even in situations where I wasn't sure what to do (I was still getting into it when I was looking for the proof) failing happened so quickly and obviously (and with its own pun!) that it was not only quick to get back on track, but it was enjoyable enough that I enjoyed the deaths for their own merits. It's definitely a lot nicer to have a death reel play for you when you can read the death at your own pace (instead of being forced to wait and watch an animation), can just UNDO (instead of having to restart or restore) that I went around looking for ways to die just to enjoy the world that much more.

Having a game that makes fun of the player can definitely tread a fine line, but I enjoyed the scoring system, and actually pumped my fist when I graduated from "thumbtack" to "turkey baster". I also appreciated a small detail - apparently asking the couch about the beta testers gives you answers. That is a really cool and polite Easter Egg!

I was a little wary when the game crossed over into some more suggestive themes - I am so tired of games making me a horny male heterosexual protagonist who loses my mind over any 2-dimensonial curvy thing that beckons. But I actually think that they added to the overall humor without being too demeaning or generalizing of men. So overall, it was a lot of fun! It accomplished what it set out to do, and had no faults. I have to say, I am amazed to have run into so many well-made games in a row. I was a bit worried at the start of the list.

10/10