Innovative yet classic – Hadean Lands: Interactive Alchemical Fiction Review

I've played a lot of interactive fiction games, but I've rarely beaten them. Usually, I get stuck on a difficult puzzle and I am not interested in the fiction enough to stick with it. This game haunted me for several days until I beat it. On the puzzles - they are very challenging, and the game rewards you for exploring and does a good job of giving you hints through the game world itself. You feel really smart when you figure out the little twists you can do with some rituals. I did need a couple of hints, but once I got them they were head-slappers I could have figured out myself. I think a lot of the reason this game was enjoyable all the way through for me was the unique and interesting setting (a wrecked alchemical starship stuck in some kind of time loop). It made all the room locations and equipment overall locale very interesting all by itself, even without interaction. On the writing, part of what makes the game great is that it really plays to the strength of the format - if this game had graphics, it wouldn't be as good. The text works in the brain in a way that is much more immersive and moving than a graphical game can be, IMO. Stylistically, it's sharp and concise, without lacking detail. It also is playful to interact with the world and your inventory and the game feels very responsive. On game design and coding - the "flow" of the game comes across at a very enjoyable pace. I found myself making many sections of great strides, punctuated by short gaps of having to dig deeper to discover what to do next. Every discovery leads to the next, and there are many tidbits that you can see but not use right away that make it intriguing to puzzle through. I also liked how the reset mechanism worked as a game mechanic AND a literary plot device. And it's great to see many people furiously discussing the ending and debating what REALLY happened aboard the Retort. And I love that there IS no set answer for it - the plot itself is a puzzle and it changes as you play. The technical innovations for this type of game - with the short cutting of known rituals and being able to jump around using the map were big pluses for me, having been a longtime fan of IF - it's neat to see an old dog doing new tricks, as it were. I could go on and on - it's a great game. If you've loved IF in the past, this game will make you love it again. If you've never played IF, this game will make you love it (or hate it) but it will spoil you, as it might well be the best IF adventure game yet made. Super great work, Zarf. Make more like this and I hope people buy them enough to support you to keep making them. Your love of the format and skill at it, through years of previous games, really shine through. I think it's a kind of masterpiece.
Review by ColinT games on Hadean Lands: Interactive Alchemical Fiction.