Player Comments on Saturday Bike Ride

I would say overall this kind of nice little contained adventure where you really have no idea exactly where it's going to go.

The beginning did not immediately draw me in, because there weren't any guardrails at first—no obvious quest, no protagonist motives, no conflict. That isn't inherently bad. It's a double edged sword, and can be either good or bad, depending on what the author does. The downside is that this sort of start to a storygame can seem directionless, like you're floundering, going through the motions. But on the other hand, the upside is that the possibilities are wide open.

I feel like the latter was the case here. As I went through the story, bit by bit I began to realize what this story was: a trip into the unknown. For the protagonist, and the world itself. So I decided to take the most adventurous route I could as I went through (and it does seem this game has some decent branching, although I didn't go through all of them).

There were a couple of signs early perhaps—a sketchy friend, a crazy looking homeless guy, and, as far as I can imagine it, QAnon Shaman, complete with no shirt and a viking hat. And then, of course, I reached the ominous looking, dilapidated factory. In one particular branch here, I ended up consuming what I can only describe as a zombie pill (lol), and I immediately lost coherence and developed an inexplicable hungry. I enjoyed that little bit of humor.

Then, I went back and made the choice I actually would make, didn't eat the pill, and helped rescue the kid. It was a merry chase, definitely a little fun as the three of us escaped the drug dealers. Eventually I went home and life returned to normal, which I suppose is the appropriate ending for a contained adventure like this.

But, like all good storygames, if you take an alternate path, you can find claims made by a character manifest in the world. I'm obviously referring to Ryan saying the drug dealers own the police. Don't snitch about the kidnapping! You'll definitely be killed by the cops. I did see that coming and obviously first chose to rescue the kid rather than call 911. But my point here is that you won't have any hint about the police being evil until AFTER you either get killed by them OR Ryan tells you AFTER you choose to rescue him.

Some people would whine and say you had no hints that calling the cops was a bad idea. So, why do I like that instead? Simple: it shows the world is INTERNALLY CONSISTENT and SELF-CONTAINED. Upon going back through another branch, you see that the world exists independently in a certain state, regardless of the protagonist's choices, except when the protagonist directly or indirectly interferes. In other words, it adds IMMERSION.

So, overall I enjoyed this storygame. It has the things I expect most people here and on sites like this expect out of a storygame: branching, twists, a bit of humor, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. I definitely recommend it, and I'm glad the author finally came back and finished it.