LUNAR TICK - Red Zebra

 Good game alert.

Red Zebra has made a little text adventure using basic. The game is called Luna Tick. While there is no loading screen, the opening screen has some flourish, with nice use of attributes to form a logo: 



This text adventure has a 'help' feature, showing all possible commands. The command list is simple, and that suits me just fine. I like text adventures generally, but I am usually clueless about how to play them. Really clear instructions mean I can focus on the puzzles, and not worry about what mystery command is needed to progress.


This is a hard game to review because you should play it so I'm being careful not to spoil anything. And anything I can think to say is a spoiler!

You start the game as an inmate trapped in an insane asylum. Although you would never know it. This information is only given when you complete the game! 


However, don't let that put you off trying Luna Tick. It's a pleasantly small yet perfectly formed text adventure based heavily on word play. 


Fig leaves and root vegetables - how will you use those?

As hinted at earlier, the game is light on descriptions and exposition, but the character of the came comes from the whimsical nature of the games puzzles. Most puzzles are logical and made perfect sense. 

As you can see, I was able to complete the game, and it only took 363 turns. Sadly 300 of those turns were on one small impossible to guess puzzle. 


If you play this game and do not get stuck where I did, then you are a Luna tick!

As the game ends I was left with a somber message telling me I have escaped the asyfrfgrlum but I cannot escape myself. This hints that the Luna Tick is not cured by his experience and remains quite mad and at large within the community.

But then, given how you actually escape, he's probably still locked in the first room, a dribbling wreck who only imagines he is free. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

Final thoughts

If I was being picky, I wish the game explained you were an inmate in an asylum at the beginning. Then everything would make more sense. That is a tiny quibble really. 

Mrs Bizzle played this with me, and we both liked it. There is only one puzzle that doesn't make sense to us, but don't let that stop you. Its a fun game and not really very crap at all.

The basic parser is very well executed - wonderful, wonderful!

Play it here

Technical Ability - 80%

A decent enough parser and a solid adventure.

Achievement - 10%

Not really crap though the puns were groan-worthy back in the 80's.

Fun - 90%

Afraid to say it was fun, the puzzles are solvable and there is a level of depth to the game.

Crap Factor - 5%

See Achievement.



Remember I play these games so you don't have to. Should you play this game I bear no responsibility for your mental health afterwards. Should the warnings not be enough you can download and play it here.

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