An IFComp 2021 game, IFDB. Awesome! Has kind of a classic gamebook feel to it. Definitely starts slow, I probably played beyond the two hours and was kind of dredging through options trying to find a way into the economy. But this is really polished and fun, especially breaking in around the two hour mark. The quest is longer than I expected, and I will return to it! Narrative isn't super dominant here, the worldbuilding is a bit better but it's also mostly generic fantasy.

I rated this 7 of 10.

+1 Interactions are fun and/or consonant with the theme
+1 No distracting bugs
+1 Polished; quality-of-life features (including hints) that enhance the experience
+1 Effective prose
+1 Well-sketched setting
+1 I like this!
+1 I admire this

I wrote on intfiction.org:

Awesome! Has kind of a classic gamebook feel to it. This started slow for me; at first I was dredging through options trying to find my way into the resource economy so I could do some adventuring. But this is really polished and fun, and I wanted to play beyond two hours - it had very much picked up momentum by then.

Combat is complex enough to be fun, but there are also noncombat adventures and I felt rewarded for dredging local taverns for info and making connections myself. You’re given a goal at the start of your adventure - a bit world-threat to address - but the game doesn’t feel particularly narrative-heavy, nor does it need to be. The story is more in the worldbuilding, which leans on fantasy tropes but hides many smaller stories and incidental characters. I’m especially impressed by the economy of the prose here - everything is tight and clear, conveying distinct personalities of the different islands without getting in the way of dashing around and managing inventory. There’s also a strong sense that there are any number of secrets hidden away - so far the only unique item I’ve found is a poisoned stiletto, but it was a game-changer and there’s clearly space for other rewards.

Overall as a game this really shines - polished, playable, and fun. The “fiction” is also good, if not quite as amazing. I’ll be spending more time with this after the comp. Thanks Agnieszka!