Anyone played 'Donna Avenger of Blood'?

[SCO]

This thing:
http://donnathegame.wordpress.com/

Much despair so awor

Puzzles are a bit easy except some crypto ones but it's all right - and it's topical, the setting sounds like a shitty post-sovietic republic, but with nazis.
It has a 'mood level' as well as a blood level (duh vampire).

The mood level is a bit annoying and the blood level is also a (lesser) nuisance. They weren't used well.
Also the graphics are occasionally terrible, but i don't give a shit.

edit: oh shit a sound puzzle.

 

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And i really think awor might enjoy it
Awor Szurkrarz

 

[trustno1code]

Liked it a quite a lot, if someone polished up the visuals I could see it doing decently as a commercial game published by WadjetEye or Screen7 (would probably fit nicely next to Downfall and Cat Lady).

There's a bit of non-linearity and multiple solutions here and there (usually connected with using the vampire abilities), two endings (only connected with a single choice near the final "day" though, if I remember correctly), some scenes/items you might miss (I remember missing

Spoiler

how the hacker dude ended

after the first playthrough), good length and puzzles (not sure about hours, but took me a few days I think). Would recommend even if wasn't free.
Also, made by a Potato writer

Passer-byer encouragement (not really anime btw.):

 

[SCO]

This game has the cover of planescape torment on it (and the exe icon). Seems like i missed the hacker (i already saw the first ending). Speaking of the first ending, they probably pussied out on that one.

Spoiler

edit: yeah i saw it now, poor guy. I wasn't surprised by the twist, because of obvious clues.
Like the blood meter refiling lol. Speaking of which i'm going to see that scene with low blood to see if he died 'yesterday' or 'today'
edit 2: yeah, it's 'today'. Don't visit him. Or do, because he's a git.

 

[SCO]

The ending sequence could have a few more cosmetic variations oh well.

 

[SCO]

For people who have played the game, then

Spoiler

apparently the necklace felt 'uncomfortable' when she put it on because she was already possessed? Then, that letter that talked about him being in it was a unfair red herring. Also her dead boyfried is such a baby about him... another clumsy red herring

but nice game nevertheless. AGS sure inclined the genre

 

[trustno1code]

This game has the cover of planescape torment on it (and the exe icon).

It's the AGS equivalent when it comes to (pretty well written for the most part I thought) verbosity alright (and I think something like 1/4 of the dialogue was cut).

Speaking of the first ending, they probably pussied out on that one.

Did they ever

Speaking of the second ending, that's the one place where the occasionall terribad character graphics actually bothered me.

Spoiler

The "slowly flying" possessed Donna being just a 90 degree flip with a weird demon head was way over the top weird and didn't go along too well with the seriousness of the scene. Or something.[/graphics_whore]

edit: yeah i saw it now, poor guy. (...) Don't visit him. Or do, because he's a git.

He was a horny schmuck, but ended up being an almost likeable schmuck near the end.

I wasn't surprised by the twist, because of obvious clues. Like the blood meter refiling lol.

It was so obvious pretty much from the first "encounter" that I kinda figured it might've been intentional; to make you hesitate from just going around to everyone in fear or slaughtering everything, long before Donna realises it herself. Probably reading too much into it and giving the guy too much credit though.

Then, that letter that talked about him being in it was a unfair red herring. Also her dead boyfried is such a baby about him... another clumsy red herring.

Don't remember that letter... or the boyfriend feeling like a red herring (other than being whiny). Hm...

This is making me want to replay probably one of the longest AGS games. Maybe I'll stumble into the

Spoiler

password for the head Nazi's computer in that compound place

this time.

And here's some of the alternative/optional solutions and stuff if you're curious.

 

[SCO]

I thought about it that way because he's afraid of mr. nightly. I didn't find the password either? Is there even one?
edit: apparently not: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=45131.msg607623#msg607623

Spoiler

Thinking about the first ending it would be hard not to 'pussy out' without 'spoiling' things to the truly oblivious player.
Never mind, i forgot the twist reveal is prior to both endings.

Your point about visiting people is well received though, after all i just established that it does indeed have a influence in the number of deaths.

At first i was a bit annoyed with the way the lesbian seduction is abruptly introduced, after i painstakingly established that Donna 'wasn't into girls', but it really grew on me through the shared affection gestures you could do like give the teddy bear and the silly dovey dialog.

The game leaves some open questions: the vampire lodge, why do they care about the politics. Is any vampire vulnerable to the demon? And questions like that. I enjoyed the intellectual club, but we didn't see the fate of Prof. Stephen Talko (probably nothing good though, since he made life hard for a abomination in disguise and the CS). Exactly how does mr. Nightly save donna after the motel ambush?

I also wonder what will the inspector think when he actually investigates the crimes she tells him about lol.

Most open questions are not really 'bad' though. But the vampire lodge thing is kinda major. Could be a sequel hook.

And of course, minor logical blunders from characters like in the ending. First Romero and Donna being idiots who can't count (there is only one necklace). True it would have turned out worse for Donna - she might already suspect the necklace wouldn't do much good for her. Regardless, she shouldn't have had Milena nowhere near 'logically'.
This separation aspect of player knowledge vs protagonist knowledge is kinda interesting, but i wish the puzzle was harder to get right. You can get into a impossible to 'win' situation at the ending just by refusing to give the necklace, but it would be better if it was less obvious (not a popup dialog). Or maybe not having the necklace at all sometimes, or Milena not being there etc.

edit: actually there is a piece of dialog that if you killed the hacker dude, that she saw the body... so there is some condition checking going on before the ending...

 

[tuluse]

Played a few minutes so far, long enough to meet this guy:

 

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Let me know if you like it or not.

 

[tuluse]

Let me know if you like it or not.

I'm enjoying it so far, but I'm making slow progress. I'm still on night 1. When I get further or finish I'll try to post more insightful comments.

The psyche mechanic is super annoying as you mentioned. Right click on an item in your inventory and lose psyche points, what a great idea.

 

[abnaxus]

Seeing those screenies reminds me of some old and obscure Bethesda published adventure game called Zero Critical.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/zero-critical/screenshots

 

[tuluse]

No. These musical puzzles, make them stop. Please.

 

[tuluse]

Just finished. I like this game quite a lot.

Spoiler

I thought the blood filling clue was intentional. The player was supposed to realize that Donna was doing it. It made you worry about accidentally killing other people, but also made you question that what you were seeing was accurate.

As for Mr Nightly saving Donna after the motel ambush, I thought it was heavily implied that the homeless dude carried you underground. This is at least plausible enough that I'm going with it.

The lesbian romance I felt was the weakest part of the game. It felt really awkward. By comparison the friendmance with Mulkin felt much more natural and fitting.

Puzzle-wise, the game felt very satisfying for the most part. The cigarette hint system was pretty well done.

However, I really disliked all the timed sequences, the music puzzles (i had to save-scum the 2nd one to get through it),

Spoiler

and the piano code could really have been just the first bar.

 

[tuluse]

So I saw Crooked Bee was complaining about a lack of incline from indie adventure games. You should play Donna.

Give it a try, it's free!