Dusty Fist

I always love it when a storygame helps prove the point that a high word count isn't everything. I had more fun playing Dusty Fist than I’ve had with some storygames five times its length. The execution of this branching style is also impressive for something so short, giving this one lots of replayability.

As for the game’s humor, it doesn’t disappoint. The writing is perfectly silly and charming, a pretty rare case of random humor in a storygame actually being funny. Each path provides plenty of amusement (personally, after reading through every route, I liked ending #7 the most.) Even if someone doesn’t get all the references, they should have a pretty good time with this one. And if they don’t get any of the references… well, that’s their fault!

I also say with confidence that it’s nearly impossible to get bored while reading Dusty Fist. Between getting to know the raiders, multiple fight scenes, and the abundance of hilarious narration and dialogue, there’s just so much entertainment value packed into this 2000-word story.

If you’re just looking to have a laugh or kill a few minutes, this storygame should definitely be near the top of your list. Good work, Chris!

Chris, you're supposed to rename The First Page!

But this was just good goofy fun and a worthwhile way to spend five minutes. A storygame doesn't *have* to be a giant epic to be enjoyable and yours are nice to be able to point to for all those trembling noobs who either get their own 2000 word stories tragically wrong or else refuse to ever try in the first place.

Glad to see you writing again and I can tell you had fun with this. Some of the lines are just hilarious. 'The desire to not be gay and to get a glass of water gives you the motivation to see this fight through to the end.' That and the tea and scones ending were my favorite since of course I did not choose to be THAT kind of guy.

First ending I got was the happy friendship ending two clicks in, but going back I was pleased to see I had correctly sussed out that one does not merely *become* fat in the post apocalypse without being important...or without at least having a lot of really good friends in assless chaps who are in touch with emotions and sensitive to your plight.

I found this story hilarious.
The humor in Dusty Fist would not be everyone's cup of tea. If you are one of those weirdos that actually read reviews before the story, and you do not appreciate the Rule of Funny, maybe you should not bother reading this. You won't find it funny and will just click through for the free point.

If, however, you don't mind a little absurdity, I highly recommend this story. It is short and can be read when you haven't much time to spare, and of the stories of this length which I have read, I enjoyed this one the most.

There were several parts which had me audibly laughing even on my second read through, and the grammar and writing are good. The first page may make it seem as if it will be just some cheesy action story if you're not paying much attention, but it becomes clear that it is not by the second page.
There are a few pop culture references, but they weren't very distracting, even for me who did not initially get them.

The branching style is my favorite, and it made reading through the whole thing very easy without making me read the same page multiple times.

Good job on your first story of 2019, Chris.

I am enlightened. This game is hilarious (at least to me). I did take the time to find all of the endings, unless there was a secret one that I missed. My favorite ending, however, was Ending #5, That Kinda Guy. Personally, I call it the 'Suprise Gay Ending.' I would absolutely recommend this if you don't mind swearing and like the 'lol random' type of humour.

not bad.

Very short, but made me guffaw, and that counts for something. The writing is also very good. Syntax, grammar, punctuation all nice and clean. I'd like to know a bit more about the main character, as a sort of static amidst the chaos.

General Recommendation: I recommend this game. It’s short, fun, funny, and a genuinely new experience. Wear goggles, blood may spatter into the audience.
Preview: Can you find a goddam glass of water in this cliche western town? Or will your only reasonable alternative be to beat the living crap out of everyone? Only you decide.

=SPOILERS BELOW=

Plot & Characters
There is no plot, but that’s an asset in this game.
This game is short and sweet, with one of the highest “quality-to-quantity” ratios on the site. It pulls off the humor in a casual tongue-in-cheek way that never becomes in-your-face or obnoxious (a pitfall all too many similar games fail to avoid).
Despite its short length, a surprisingly broad range of options and possibilities are explored. You can beat up the raiders, befriend the raiders, beat up the raiders, become the leader of the raiders, beat up the raiders, become a little TOO friendly with the raiders, or even beat up the raiders, if you’re really feeling crazy. Jokes aside, even in all the pathes where you beat up the raiders it’s done in. Avariety of different and interesting ways.
For a game with so many lol random elements, the characters stayed surprisingly consistent throughout the story. A couple characters had roles in multiple pathes, and behaved consistently.
Here’s a list of some of the things that made me snicker:
-Play the piano… or die!
-“He was just two days to retirement!”
-Head-exploding roudhouse kick
-“The fury of a man who is totally not gay”
-“Oh, terribly sorry old chum”
-“ATATATATATATA”

Grammar: I didn't spot any mistakes!
Language skill: The story sets the tone masterfully within the first two paragraphs. By “y’know, the works”, I already had a pretty good idea of what this story was going to be about. Kudos for setting up your intro in a way that gives the reader such a firm impression.
The language skill remains consistent throughout, perfectly setting the tone and keeping the reading humorous.


Mechanics & Coding: None, pure cave-of-time.

Branching: Really excellent. It’s much easier to branch well in a game of this length, and Dusty Fist takes full advantage of this to give the player a wide variety of options, and a relatively deep read no matter what options are chosen.

Player Options/fair choice: Pretty good. No action feels like its consequences are unwarrented.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
Always fun when insulting someone’s manhood leads to a positive relationship. I first played through the ending where you befriend the raiders and leave before going on to the other pathes.
I found it interesting that some of the shorter ends to the branching pathes were actually more positive than the longer ones. Most games don’t do that (and usually for good reason) but it fit the tone of this work well.
…was that a dark souls reference there? I never played that game, but I’ve seen enough of the memes for that scene to be uncomfortably familiar.

CONCLUSION: Fun!

Normally, a 2k word storygame is going to be shittier than whatever poor sewer Malk's toilet leads to, but this story surprised me, several times, actually. Maybe I really am that guy. My parents certainly think so.

This is a pretty good way to get a couple easy laughs, especially if you go through all the endings (which only takes like 5 minutes). The writing is, well, funny. There's not much else going on here. The fight scenes are not elaborate and the plot is nonexistent; however, this is totally okay, because this story isn't trying to be anything other than some silliness.

Additionally, I was surprised by the inclusion of a few references to other funnies. I appreciate these and they add a little extra goofiness that makes the endings actually different.

There's literally no reason not to read this.

Mildly humorous, but way too short, too boring.

This made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I wish it were longer!