Happy 9th of July! And, as you know, the traditional way to celebrate the anniversary of George Washington ordering the Declaration of Independence being read out loud to the Continental Army for the first time (not to mention the original release of Donkey Kong), is by playing a few excellent titles from the JayIsGames archives!... Okay, just go with me on this. This week, the Vault features classic interactive fiction, adventure, and platforming titles for your perusal.
- 9:05 - Perhaps the greatest short-form work of interactive fiction ever written-slash-programmed, 9:05, a 2000 piece by Adam Cadre, is often pointed to when intrigued players come asking for an introduction to the genre. Indeed, 9:05 tells a story that is hard to imagine being as effective or even possible in any other medium, using the limitations and quirks of the Frotz parser to its great advantage. A humorous yarn about a person who must rush out of the house after waking up late, and yet so much more, 9:05 is as clever as its design is elegant. Good things come in small .z5 packages, indeed.
- Finding My Heart - Sing it with me folks! Ruh-ruh-ruh-ru-RUH-ru-ruh-ru-ruh! Those who don't already know the tune should play Small Is Beautiful Interactive's 2009 point-and-click adventure game Finding My Heart, like, ASAP. Featuring an art-style straight out of a 1950s cartoon, and a sweet and sappy story about loving, losing, and regaining, Finding My Heart's iconographic method of gameplay is something players will want to see in more works, and yet would be fine with staying singularly unique. Helping this oblivious schlub win back his lady long will require more than a little trial-and-error, but then again, what relationship doesn't?
- Karoshi Suicide Salaryman - Already the star of a popular series of download titles by Jesse Venbrux, everyone's favorite office-worker-with-a-death-wish made his browser debut in 2008's Karoshi: Suicide Salaryman. Filled to the brim with pitch-black comedy, internet culture shout-outs and so many dumb ways to die, Karoshi gleefully shatters the fourth wall as much as he does his own skull. Not a game for those offended by, well, just about anything, it's not hard to detect a scathing commentary of corporate culture lying underneath the buckets of blood. However, it never gets in the way of a suicidally good time.
While we welcome any comments about this weekly feature here, we do ask that if you need any help with the individual games, please post your questions on that game's review page. Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there and rediscover some awesome!
I'm shocked that I've never seen 9:05 before, but it was fantastic. The ending was perfect.
DANG IT.
I thought my wish had been granted a new karoshi game.
but, nope, just a vault link. DANG.
still awsome game, if still a bit buggy :D
Update