Thank you! I really enjoyed your review, it was informative with a charming personal touch! I gave myself a bit more leeway to joke around.

I enjoyed writing the articles, limited as it was. I think a more open-ended writing mechanic would require a sophisticated system to check the content and structure of the pieces, a big ask for a game like this. I tried to take my assignment seriously, so I made an effort to match the tone of pre-written segments. I might go back and see if you can just type some wild stuff and get it printed anyway. I missed one aspect of the hidden story as well, so that's another reason to play at least part of the game again.

I enjoyed the music, though I wish there were more songs and a bit more stylistic variation. The graphics were pleasant, but a little bland. Characters had distinct but surface-level personalities. Some puzzles were quite good, others were trapped by arbitrary solutions - common in games with a realistic premise, especially those in a contemporary setttings. 

When I started playing, I hoped the town's secret would play a more prominent role in the story. In the end, I didn't mind the unresolved nature of the case, but I wished it would have resonated more. A mutated fish in the fishing competition, a scandal involving the mayor, a protest group taken over by conspiracy theorists, a crackdown at the hands of some kind of federal agency.. but the game never broke out of the confines of its cozy atmosphere.

I did enjoy the game. It's not just greater than the sum of its parts, it adds a layer of enjoyment through what it lacks. There are no dramatic turns, brain racking puzzles or hidden agendas. The ways this game holds back contribute to its appeal. Cantaloupe Chronicle feels good because it lets you go with the flow. 

Now it's time for The Longest Journey. I sometimes complain the AG scene is overly fixated on the past - so now I'm playing a game released over twenty-five years ago. B) I hear it's a classic. Joe likes it.

Hi all, new to the forum, but not new to adventuring. I had to take a long break and want to get back into it. I had big ambitions before my break but that derailed fast    
There are so many games i gathered and never played just gathering "dust"
Looking for a way to start i wondered for a week or two; should i begin at the beginning? The oldest game in my list and go in chronological order? See how games developed over the decades? Should I start on the one with the lowest rating and work my way up? It can only get better from there...
Eventually I decided on playing Last day of June
on Tuesday, the last day of June. 
It's a short game so I should be able to finish it the same day, my pc is all set up and I just need to reserve the chair and get a box of tissues. Looking forward to adventuring again, but this game has been on my dusty shelve for a reason: i don't really want to cry 

Hi all, new to the forum, but not new to adventuring. I had to take a long break and want to get back into it. I had big ambitions before my break but that derailed fast    
There are so many games i gathered and never played just gathering "dust"
Looking for a way to start i wondered for a week or two; should i begin at the beginning? The oldest game in my list and go in chronological order? See how games developed over the decades? Should I start on the one with the lowest rating and work my way up? It can only get better from there...
Eventually I decided on playing Last day of June
on Tuesday, the last day of June. 
It's a short game so I should be able to finish it the same day, my pc is all set up and I just need to reserve the chair and get a box of tissues. Looking forward to adventuring again, but this game has been on my dusty shelve for a reason: i don't really want to cry 

welcome friend! The Last day of June seems like an interesting game. I am looking forward sharing your playthroughs. cheers

Hi Semmie!

The Last day of June seems like an interesting game. I am looking forward sharing your playthroughs. cheers

Seconded!

I finished "the tragedy at deer creek", a decent game with an interesting artstyle. It has a combination of logical and inventory puzzles in first person perspective. Because of the limited pallete and the darkness some hotspots and closeups may be hard to spot. Also in two occations hotspots were near or inside other hotspots and it took me a while to spot. I found that turning the hotspot lables on in settings was less straining for my eyes for this game. Puzzles were nicely varied but not too challenging, with the musicbox puzzle being the hardest near the end but not anything super hard. I would say medium difficulty overall. The details in the locations, an abandoned lodging settlement were meticulous and gave an eerie feeling. Story was the weakest point for me but was ok I guess, just being there for the sake of the puzzles, though various journals and notes were scattered around giving some backstory, but they didnt contribute to the gameplay and puzzles and I didn't found them interesting enough. In the start of each chapter an exposition dump is presented which I found unnecessary and only broke the pace of the game (most of the info was relayed in the gameplay and staff you found so I didnt see a reason for these sequenses). The lackluster voice acting for these info dumps didn't help. Generally the immersion was hit and miss, a journalist (?) goes to get a story about this abandoned settlement and is all of a sudden supernaturally trapped (?) and invested into finding the truth and has to solve a series of unrelated puzzles for the truth to magically appear and utterly shock her by the end in a ridiculous monologue of hers with not apparent reason in my opinion, she shouldn't have been so emotionally invested, she literally just got there (when did she bond with all the dead characters?). I literally found a pool of blood outside my apartment yesterday and a trail of blood (true story) , calling the cops and I wasnt so shocked, Jesus. That's the only serious complaint I have with this game, it was overdramatized and its cliched story was shoved on you. It has a unique beautiful setting,the gameplay is good enough, graphics, locations and artstyle are detailed, keep the trivial story streamlined and don't tell the player when he should be emotionally invested. Anyway enough drivel (sorry for that), if you want a decent sort puzzler (3 to 5 hours), its a nice game

Also played the freeware AGS "Moribund Gold : a pirate adventure". A very clever and humorous short adventure (30 minutes to hour). Very nicely and tightly woven locations and I found the puzzles really fun. In another life I wish I was rich and had the ability to donate or invest money to creators like these to expand on their ideas and afford development. A fun little game, go play it, it is free

Now I am playing Opus - Echo of starsong, a narrative experience with mild puzzles. Great music and Lore, its very good so far

Moribund Gold looks fun! Like a freeware Monkey Island. I'll check it out

Moribund Gold  looks fun! Like a freeware Monkey Island.  I'll check it out

It certainly draws some inspiration from the secret of monkey island.  I wish it was longer, it is very neat!

I'm playing Dimhaven: The Lost Source right now. It very much scratches the Myst/RHEM itch - a first-person open world with genuinely good puzzles that reward thinking and exploration. The only possible drawback could be the graphics. They went for an old-school pixellated look which is slightly mystifying considering how easy it is to make beautiful looking games nowadays. It's definitely not ugly and didn't put me off buying and playing it but for many players it will, meaning the game won't get the attention it deserves in the AG world.