jkj yuio
Played 2024-09-02, IFComp 2024

A visual novel that needs an undo button.

I'm not much of a Doctor Who fan - I've enjoyed a few of the newer seasons, but not the stuff that's probably referenced here. That said, I have a rough sense of what's on-brand, and this really did feel like a campy and formula Doctor Who episode to me, with a companion in peril, a moment of surrender, handwavy tech, escalating stakes, some reference to Time-Lordness and a “talk your way out of it” climax. So full marks for overall structure, this is nicely done.

I didn't enjoy the moment-to-moment play as much. It was a little hit-and-miss on the fantasy of being the Doctor: Some of the forced choices with the Daleks were very on-brand, but the trial-and-error puzzle with the sonic screwdriver accessories was a bit dull and out-of-place - I thought the Doctor would know his gadgets and not have to guess. There are also no-warning deaths that reset back to the start of the game, with no undo feature that I could find.

The prose is all serviceable and doesn't get in the way, but I didn't find the characters especially memorable - which also might be on-brand? There were some non-blocking bugs with repeated dialogue. And the graphics and sound are very front-and-center with this piece - they're pretty good, and also not what I personally want out of the comp so I'm kind of ignoring them.

Overall I didn't find it thrilling but fairly well-built and besides the death-resets and smooth experience.

Correction: The author shared that there is an undo button in this game, I just missed it!