Now, this is nice. We're the square-jawed hero of a 1950s space opera serial, and the story opens with us in a death trap and our arch-nemesis, predictably, getting summoned away just as things get interesting. Naturally, we save the world from the threat of the week, only to find ourselves once again facing imminent death in a cliffhanger leadup to the next episode.
It does feel pretty immersive. There's a light scattering of period culture references, and the "gee willikers" approach to "science" adds to the fun. A little more subtle is the realisation that the world is seen in monochrome, like a 1950s TV show: take note when things are labeled as a certain colour but described as a specific shade of grey.
The story was set up as three discrete puzzles encountered one after the other. This helped with the sense of urgency, and I always knew what I had to do next. The puzzles themselves seemed simple enough to me, but also clever enough to not feel hackneyed or overused. On the whole, I thought it was a very good job. My only regret was that the whole thing wasn't much longer, with more space opera swashbuckling.
So this was a flavourful dish. I'm reminded of the shrimp-and-grits I had in Florida earlier this year. There's a bit of down-home Americana about it, and, well, it's grits. Who thinks anything of grits? But I swear it was one of the most delicious things I'd eaten for breakfast, and I definitely wanted seconds. Let's finish this breakfast off with good American filtered coffee: nothing fancy, but it hits the spot.