Bogeyman

Exactly what it says in the title. We've been a naughty child, and now we've been carried off by the Bogeyman. Supposedly, we'll be allowed to go home when we've learnt to be good; but what does it mean to be good? Near as I can tell, "being good" here means being ready to snitch and sell out your fellows. I wonder if this was really what the author had in mind ... or if perhaps it's meant to be a critique of authoritarianism. Or it might be an examination of abusive relationships.

The story reminded me, rather, of "Mary Poppins" -- the original book version, not the "spoonful of sugar" Disney version. The Bogeyman is a harsher version of the magical nanny; he's clearly a supernatural being, with an uncanny ability to know exactly what's going on with any of the children he's holding prisoner. And yet, I got the sense that, in some strange, twisted way, he really did care about them and about teaching them to be "good children" ... even if he did endorse cannibalism, which Mary Poppins never did. That we know of, anyway. Perhaps this sense of "secretly caring" is meant to be reflective of how abusers convince their victims to remain in their power. It's pretty twisted, however you look at it, and I have to give the author credit for managing it.

The characters all seemed pretty well-drawn, and the situations very effectively conveyed. The atmosphere is effectively creepy, helped along by spooky background music and a glowing silver font on a black background. Classy.

The interface is a choice format that allows for some exploration. Structurally, though, the entire story seems to come down to a single choice at the very end. While your earlier choices do change how certain things happen later, it's largely cosmetic: even something as big as which of your four companions is killed at the end of your first week doesn't seem to have as much impact on the story or its outcome as one might expect. That one endgame choice seems to wipe out everything that had come before it so that it doesn't really matter how you've played.

If this were breakfast, I think it might be kedgeree made with jasmine rice and accompanied by an Earl Grey blend that's just a bit heavier than usual on the bergamot oil. The fragrance bolsters the flavours, and you might imagine yourself returned to a time when children really were expected to be seen and not heard.