CRAWLER'S DELIGHT
by A. Troll

Game info: Crawler’s Delight released July 14, 2005
Author: A. Troll
Platform: ADRIFT 4
Size: 38KB
Content: m/f,
Game Type: T&AIF
Length: Short
Reviewed: July, 2005
Extras: None

Basic Plot:

You’re a text adventure and IF player-character who’s unfortunately gotten himself imprisoned by a goblin queen.

Overall Thoughts:

When I first saw this game and noticed the author: ‘A. Troll’, I admit I was sceptical. It turns out that Crawler’s Delight is a very interesting little game that runs up many of the clichés of IF and AIF. It is apparently written by someone who has spent a great deal of time in worlds like that of Zork, putting chalices in trophy cases. I bet the author really had a ball writing Crawler’s Delight, and he or she seems to enjoy reminding us at intervals that we’re in an AIF-cum-text adventure: “Apparently [the treasures] just don't matter in games like this.”

Puzzles/Gameplay:

The story is quite linear, and there aren’t really any puzzles. The game gently prompts you as to the sequence of actions, and, considering that for most of the game you’re chained to a wall, there isn’t a need for alternatives.

Sex:

I liked the sex in the game; it was written very tongue-in-cheek and as a result was quite humorous. The intent, seemingly, was to amuse rather than to arouse, and it succeeds nicely at that, and it has some over-the-top erotic detail to boot.

Technical:

The game seems hastily put-together, but there aren’t any serious bugs or guess-the-verb issues – just a few things that weren’t correctly (or completely) implemented.

Final Thoughts:

As a game that parodies both AIF and old-fashioned text adventures, this game is a magnificent success. But as it is satire, it is difficult to grade against ‘conventional’ AIF, but I’ll grant it a ‘definitely worth your time’-type rating and call it:

Rating: B