Player Comments on 99 Problems but a Girl Ain't One

99 problems but a girl ain't one is a pretty fun game that takes you through Samson's perspective as you play through the events of his life, trying to find a different outcome.

Full Disclosure: I'm not a Christian, but regardless, even I had heard of the Samson myth. A man with quite literally biblical strength, gets fooled by a woman he's in love with, Delilah, into telling her the secret of his power: his hair. And as a result, she cuts it off and sells him out to the Philistines. They take him to a temple to be executed, and as they're all laughing at him, he leans against a support pillar. In his last moments alive, God gives him back his strength and he uses it to crush the pillar, and collapse the temple, killing the Philistines as his last act on Earth.

So naturally I was pretty interested to see the new take DBNB would have on what is a tale as old as time. Part of me worried that since I already knew the ending, it may not be as good, but luckily, DBNB managed to make it really interesting.

I think the main charm of this story is the great use of the 2nd person POV that's absent in the original myth. I’ve always wondered what must have been going through Samson’s head. Did he suspect something is going on, was he just so taken in by having a girlfriend that he ignored all the warning signs? Because in the original myth, we don’t get a chance to see inside Samson’s head.

Humor was used incredibly well. DBNB sets up the ambushes as comically obvious, lending the story a strange sense of comedy-tragedy. Comedy because Delilah’s plans are so hilariously obvious, both to us and Samson, and tragic, because he seems hellbent on pursuing the same course of action regardless.

I really like how you humanized and modernized the characters. Delilah in particular. She is an excellent example of a modern narcissist, gaslighting at its finest. Seriously, DBNB, you have a really good understanding of how to write toxic characters. You did a really good job, to the point where I was getting pissed at Delilah through the screen. I gasped at Delilah’s framing of the situation as a trust issue, yet I’ve known people who’ve literally done something eerily similar, so that tactic was familiar. Reading the original myth, her character wasn’t as insidious, so this was a major improvement.

Samson’s character was a perfect example of a rational, seemingly intelligent person rationalizing abuse and making excuses for it. I liked this portrayal, because I can see the rationale behind the choices he’s making. I’ve seen so many examples of successful and capable people staying with emotionally abusive, toxic, and narcissistic people because it’s hard to disentangle the craziness and toxicity from the good aspects, so partners often feel trapped. I felt really bad for Samson, he was clearly in an emotionally abusive(and physical, since her insistence on knowing his secret presented a clear and present danger to him!) relationship, so I wouldn’t just chalk it up to him being dumb. But there is an onus on him to get away and remove himself from the craziness.

I like how their relationship was portrayed as hot/cold because I’ve seen relationships like that before, so I was able to understand why Samson was reluctant to leave.

All in all, incorporating modern relationship dynamics and deeper characterization was a smart move on DBNB’s part.

The branching was really cool. Samson either hides in a cave, goes back home, goes to work on a farm, or takes revenge on the Phillistines. There are more endings like the sailing on the ship one, but these were my favorite. I liked the family ending best, but the Lehi ending was also quite good.

But the most entertaining part was the main branch. Through sheer morbid curiosity, I had to see how she would justify this one. And she gaslights and manipulates at her finest. It was cold-blooded how easily she could lie through her teeth.

Great modernization of a Biblical Story, and this is a perfect example of how to transform a myth into a CYOA. DBNB really got into the head of the character, and all the side stories where you choose to walk away were quite interesting in their own right.

Overall: 6/8 because it’s a short, but fun read

More like 99 problems and a girl is all of them.

There is a lot to like in this story game. The first thing that stood out is that you didn’t let the fact that this is a Bible story get in the way of presenting Samson as what he is: an egotistical, sexuality motivated idiot. The fact is that nobody who hasn’t grown up with the story wouldn’t find it natural to stay with Delilah. I did, so I smiled at all the obvious warning signs, gazed at the sitcom-esque dysfunctional couple dynamics and got the ending I wanted.

When I went to do more endings though. It felt like those were actually the focus of the game. What could have been. While the story introduced several new characters, the names always fit, which helped with the immersion in the story. I also enjoyed how the idea that Samson was too famous to just deal with his problems like a normal person was a focus.

There were a few typos and some stray punctuation, but none of it distracted too much from the story. I did feel that the parts between Samson and Delilah could use work on dialogue so emotions can be portrayed without the use of caps. I was slightly disappointed that I wasn’t able to read the part in the temple of the Philistines, but you kept the focus where the title said the focus would be.

I certainly enjoyed it.

Well, first off, I loved the start of the story. Immediately introducing the reader to what kind of character that they will be controlling. A man that is dangerous to the point in which you have to ask yourself: why do others believe it is a decent idea to mess with him?

I found this story-game to be one that was ultimately enjoyable. I wasn't very familiar with Samson, but upon reading this, I actually gained some interest in researching what this character was. So, kudos on that front.

The protagonist of this tale really seems to lend himself well to a story-game that's a bit fast-paced and also has a bit of action in it for a reader to digest. There are also scenes in this that are a bit more slow, and it lets the reader of this think on the matter of how they might proceed in this journey. There are quite a few ways of proceeding the journey as well in this story, so there's a positive on that front.

So, yeah, this story had a fair bit of action and branching. Some of the endings left me a bit unsatisfied at first, but then I kept reading to see if there was one that could be described as a "good ending" and I got it, and am now making my comment.

This is one of those works that does not overstay its welcome, and even rewards in ways of giving different outcomes for a curious reader. It helps that I found Samson and his struggles to be ones that were interesting. As an enjoyer of a good revenge tale, I especially like there being an option of getting said revenge. However, there are approaches that don't have to end in a bloodbath as well for those types as well.

I can't really find much faults in the writing of this. There's multiple ways of branching, multiple endings, and I feel a game with a variety of outcomes are ones that capture the true soul and spirit of what cyoa should ultimately be.

Kudos, DBNB.

Absolutely, positively, 100%, BORING AF. When I saw this at first I was happy. Too long, not enough choices, and I hate it. Barely even a "game." I think this is stupid and annoying. This is a waste of my time. This looked cool! And sadly, I had to give a report like this on another one. Horrible, and I would NOT recommend it AT ALL. At least make a few changes because this honestly is so disappointing. I'll spend my time finding a good game.

Pretty good story. You can tell a decent amount of thought went into this. The stories are all rather similar lengths, and I really appreciate the fact that each time you get the chance to leave her it leads to an entirely different story, depending on how much you put up with. It was fun to consider how the new path would have been interpreted, if it had replaced the original story in the bible. My only complaint would be that the reading felt like a bit of a slog at times, but I think that is at least partly my fault.

Pretty fun read, kept me occupied for a bit.

Why couldn't you make the actual samson story with this combined? It just ends with the guards guaging out your eyes.

Very engaging to rethink an ancient tale and play a role in it. Just a few minor typos, but well written.
The result of the house fire was unexpected - I would expect to have a little choice in how that happened, but it was fitting somehow.

I’m impressed with the variety of story branches and endings here. I love the characterization of Samson and how consistent it is with the original narrative. His motivations are very simple and reactionary most of the time. It’s fun just being this near-unstoppable killing machine that has low self-control with women.

I’m almost a little disappointed that the path following the true story didn’t end with Samson’s last act against the Philistines, but I understand where it ended considering the storygame’s is more focused on Samson’s dynamic with Delilah and how he could have potentially reacted to her constant betrayals. The ending is still satisfying as Samson gets what he deserves.

Maturity level should be : "must be at least this religous to play"

Well, Delilah is as much of a bitch as I remember from the Bible story, but she's perfect for Samson the dickhead

Does not follow EndMaster's guide for a good Pokemon game

Ok so i went through a lot of the endings but the best was farm life, life with Leah, boat life, or traveling with the brother and sister but I like Leah's the best

This is a quality story. Having recently read the book of Judges, I will say that it's an accurate, yet modern, representation of what Samson was like.

The writing is also pretty great.

Nice

You made me burst into laughter so much, every line was just golden and especially how you portrayed a very abusive relationship. It felt like those trashy reality tv shows but then set in a bible myth, the anachronistic language even made it funnier.

Overall 6/8

First impression: Imagine if you will, a man playing guitar in the street. He isn't exactly a prodigy, but still pretty damn good.

I don't want to end up posting a comment that's longer than either of my storygames, so I'll keep it as short as I can while still covering what I want to cover. Minor spoilers ahead.

Story: I think the story is amazing. It is a bible story that is very well known, and ends pretty stupidly in my opinion. I'm glad you fixed that. I didn't really think that not trusting the messenger should have led directly to death, but whatever. There is nothing to complain about here. I also love the character still being true to what he is.

Grammer:I saw a few typos here and there but otherwise nothing really stands out here.

Gameplay: very smooth. I think I'm rooting for this to at least make a top spot.