Lysidice and the Minotaur (TALP)

I started the game with a bit of apprehension, because my way of playing (which is more or less fierce beta-testing, even when the beta phase has ended), very quickly produced unsatisfying answers from the parser.

So I asked Manonamora if she was interested in a commented transcript, and a few hours later, I've finished the game, which was longer than what I expected at first :D

So yes,  I found many things that I would like to see improved in the game to make it reach higher standards as far as *parsing* is concerned, but I actually enjoyed it nevertheless, and since not everyone is going to attempt to break the game as I do while playing, I believe it's already a lot enjoyable as it is, as other comments show it it.

The ambiance, the events, the people you meet, the puzzles, the story, it's all a lot better than what I first expected from a game intended primarily for beginner players.

Now hoping for a definitive edition!

I didn't want to publicly rate this while the TALJ was ongoing as I'm an organizer of the Comp, but now that it's been over for a hot minute, I feel comfortable circling back. 

This is my single favorite parser from this author. They started as primarily a Twine author and have rather rapidly expanded into other authoring systems over the last two years. I don't know if it's from trial and error or simply from playing and reviewing so many different types of games, but this game shows an implicit understanding of the typical tropes and design shorthand that has risen up around the hobbyist parser scene over the last three decades.  

As for the game itself, I really enjoyed the tone and especially the relationship with the Minotaur. It made me think of Emily Short's *Bronze*, but nowhere near as dark. The game is also a bit longer than you might assume; my playthrough was over 90 minutes. The built-in tutorial is robust and shows alot of consideration, and I would really be interested to know how people new to parsers interact with this game in particular. Something else to note is the design of the game is more open than one might assume. There are a number of optional side-quests than can be pursued at any time, as opposed to a system of rigid gating. My only friction with the game was some disambiguation issues, but that isn't anything that wouldn't improve with either more testing and/or more experience writing parsers. 

I really hope this author continues writing in a variety of gaming engines. 

(I wrote this as a review when rating the game, but I'm still not used to itch.io's review culture, only realizing after that only the total average rating is viewable and not the actual review, which ends up being effectively a private DM to the author, which seems... unintuitive? The review was written public facing for others contemplating whether or not to play the game. I wasn't trying to email the author, after all. So, I'm posting it here in the comments so it can still serve that purpose. )