Day of the Djinn

Here's a compact little hyperlink adventure. Unlike most, it's got more of an open-world concept, such as you might expect to find in a parser game with a map: we're free to wander about, pick things up, solve puzzles, and so on. This isn't something new, but I like to see it when it happens.

The story is that we've suffered a djinn's curse as a result of a present sent to us by our sister. Was it sent in malice? It seems likely, but we're not sure. But the most important thing is that the djinn is going to come back at daybreak to kill us, and we've got to do something about it somehow. By coincidence (which does seem a bit contrived) we find a way to a settlement of people who know how to deal with the djinn, and they're living in secret practically next door.

I suppose there's no avoiding the coincidence, given our in-game time constraints, but I think there might have been other ways of handling it, that might have mitigated the sense of contrivance.

The story is peppered with memories of our relationship with our sister, to cast doubt on the possibility of actual malice in the delivery of the curse. The endings I found did not expand on this, but it's possible that the others (the ones more directly concerned with our sister) do. As well, these memories flesh out the story a little bit, give our hero some background, and make it all seem more real.

I also appreciate the multiple endings, especially as it seems that choosing one ending does not shuffle you off to a single ending: no, there are still points to consider. One ending requires you to be properly set up with the requisite materials to work; another ending requires you to have played the game in a certain way just to access it. There's some variety going on, and I really like how these two concerns overlap.

In terms of breakfast, I'd say this is kind of like a breakfast sandwich: muffin, egg, bacon, vegan sausage patty. Yes, I did just pair a vegan patty with bacon: this a package with layers. Wash it down with a mug of hot chocolate, with marshmallows melting into it. That's more of a late-night drink, but it's sweet and it works.