What WIPs/released games are your favourites?

[RazerBlade6]

As a counterpoint to all the negativity going around on the CoM forum lately (and don't get me wrong, the negativity is very entertaining), I think it would be nice for us to have a space to talk about our favourite games and WIPs, and just kind of gush about them.

Choicescript, Twine, RenPy, whatever you prefer, just tell us about your favourites The only request is to include a link to the game's CoG forum/itch io page/Tumblr etc.

I'll start: My favourite WIP right now is Pactbinder. I absolutely adore the setting, dark academia is my jam, I wish there were more games in the genre, and the author seems to be really active and dedicated to writing the story (I mean, how many authors post deadlines and then finish 2 weeks before them?). I really really hope it becomes more popular though. Plus it doesn't have the insane branching (or at least, I don't see the potential for any insane branching) that usually kills any hope I have for a WIP ever being finished.

 

[f8butterfly]

As a counterpoint to all the negativity going around on the CoM forum lately (and don't get me wrong, the negativity is very entertaining), I think it would be nice for us to have a space to talk about our favourite games and WIPs, and just kind of gush about them.

Choicescript, Twine, RenPy, whatever you prefer, just tell us about your favourites The only request is to include a link to the game's CoG forum/itch io page/Tumblr etc.

I'll start: My favourite WIP right now is Pactbinder. I absolutely adore the setting, dark academia is my jam, I wish there were more games in the genre, and the author seems to be really active and dedicated to writing the story (I mean, how many authors post deadlines and then finish 2 weeks before them?). I really really hope it becomes more popular though. Plus it doesn't have the insane branching (or at least, I don't see the potential for any insane branching) that usually kills any hope I have for a WIP ever being finished.

I enjoyed Viatica. For WIPS, I'll only say ones that are updated frequently or have been updated within the last year and I'll limit it to just 5. Those would be Cantata, Shepherds of Haven, The Split, Chop Shop (Also has a Neocities page if you prefer that) and Scapegoated. For a more recent WIP release, Hyperion. Pactbinder is good too but I thought I'd list other ones.

 

[RazerBlade6]

I enjoyed Viatica. For WIPS, I'll only say ones that are updated frequently or have been updated within the last year and I'll limit it to just 5. Those would be Cantata, Shepherds of Haven, The Split, Chop Shop (Also has a Neocities page if you prefer that) and Scapegoated. For a more recent WIP release, Hyperion. Pactbinder is good too but I thought I'd list other ones.

Is Viatica worth reading? I have seen it before, and I think I started it, but I dropped it very soon. Don't remember why though, could have just been that I was busy. If it's good I'll pick it back up

 

[f8butterfly]

Is Viatica worth reading? I have seen it before, and I think I started it, but I dropped it very soon. Don't remember why though, could have just been that I was busy. If it's good I'll pick it back up

I think so. I really enjoy her writing and her games are very immersive to play. It's free too so there isn't a monetary commitment or anything to not enjoy it. Some authors despite being good just don't work for some people. I can think of many IFs I don't like despite knowing they're very good. But this isn't the thread to talk about them. I can say that her writing has gotten better since Viatica in Cantata but her writing was always great to me.

 

[Parallax]

Fallen Hero and The Golden Rose are my ever forever favourites. Yeh, very surprising. When it comes to WIPs, I could list my favourite dead WIPs and it would be a long list, and I could list active ones and it would be short. So:

PRESS PLAY The only music IF I don't despise (there was another one but died).

SPLIT: the Mortal Wound One of the best and has a really badass MC, also the "twin" theme is intriguing. Fun fact: it is written by two people. We'll see if this project works out; if it gets released, then yes! And that means maybe working on IF with someone should be more popular.

Directive My latest find. That thing has potential.

Defiled Hearts: The Barbarian I recently realized that it's not a very good IF in terms of interactivity. It sucks, actually. But I really love the writing and the characters; I'm talking specifically about MC and Marcus' relationship - it's ****ed up, damn it, I love them I hate Quinn

Nereid adorable little thing that I hope will be finished now that the author is back.
https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/t...e-heart-wip-ch-6-2-31-dec-2025/103798?page=60
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes currently it's more of a sentiment and the fact that I love the character from A.C. Doyle's nooks, but I decided to add it anyway.

To break a curse/ To break the cursed (I always wonder if this is the full title or if the author hasn't decided yet) a genre mix about being a doctor. It's fun.

There are also some WIPs that I have mixed feelings about, but they still have a chance to become favorites: Dragon Kin, Out of the dark, Pro Patria Mori, Phantom Thief: Money’s for Fools

 

[Parallax]

Btw. sorry for bugs I can't edit my posts.

 

[A-Kun]

Fallen Hero

I honestly don't think there's an IF that can beat this one for me, personally.

I haven't finished reading this one yet so there's a possibility it falls off but so far I've liked it - The Eternal Library

These next 2 are pretty dead but I thought were interesting in there concepts
Speaker
Within Your Eyes (The amount of Ro/poly options are insane so I wouldn't be shocked if it never finished)
(Forgot to add) Bladeweaver (Yeah its gonna be forever till it finishes but I still like the charaters)

 

[RazerBlade6]

SPLIT: the Mortal Wound

SPLIT is really good man, I want more of it so bad.... I need more Yandere (P)ru route, not enough stories exist that let me BE the toxic controlling love interest (If anyone has more, I'd love to hear em)

The Golden Rose

Yeah, TGR is undoubtedly my favourite CoG ever released, Ana's writing in that is truly sublime. I can't afford a Patreon subscription right now, but when I can, I imagine Anathema and Cataphrak (of Infinity Saga fame) will be the first two I ever sub to. It is a shame I don't expect to see a sequel in this decade for either story (...slowly dying inside...)

Within Your Eyes (The amount of Ro/poly options are insane so I wouldn't be shocked if it never finished)

Yeah... One of my pet peeves with stories like this is that I don't believe a single author is really capable of doing them. I would love to be proven wrong in this assessment, but as of yet I have not been. BG3 is the game with the most branching I've ever seen, it took Larian years to complete as a professional studio, and still there are many more branches I think could have been added. Forgive me for doubting a solo developer is capable of something matching that, especially as a first time project. It is true, though, that what all is there is really good and fun. I'm just always mentally bracing for the "abandoned" announcement (or worse, infinite silence).

I haven't finished reading this one yet so there's a possibility it falls off but so far I've liked it - The Eternal Library

Eternal Library is definitely good, and since the author is already somewhat proven on Hearts Choice (even though I didn't particularly enjoy either game) I doubt it'll go down in quality too much. My bigger issue is that I feel like we've not had too much forward progress in the plot. Maybe that changed with the most recent update, however, I'll definitely check it out again.

---

Another WIP which I'm actually surprised no one has brought up yet (I was actually going to add it to the initial post but decided not to as I thought it would be low hanging fruit) is of course Shattered Eagle: Fall of an Empire. I'm sure most here have already played it, but if there's anyone using this thread for recommendations who hasn't, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

And to bring up one more, which is still early days but I think has tons of potential, All that Glitters actually did manage to hook me on hollywood relationship dynamics, a subject for which my disinterest is only matched by my ignorance. It's quite short, and is still in the danger zone of "suddenly disappearing", but I think it has real chances, and I hope the author continues it, as they've got the potential to make it one of my favourite non-fantasy CoGs out there.

 

[RazerBlade6]

Also, just as a note, I originally made this thread as a way to just have a space for me to write about WIPs I read which I liked, but since a few people have added a bunch of links to their favourites, I could recast this as a general game recommendation thread. I know the Public Links thread is also supposed to be about game recommendations, but it is mostly about posting update links. As such, we don't really have a recommendation thread. What does everyone think about that? Should I change the thread to a more general recommendation space?


If I decide to change the nature of the thread, I will maintain a master list of all links at the top post. Of course, using this thread for discussion would still be fine, it would only be the title, description, and ongoing update of the thread that would change. Please let me know your thoughts! If you prefer the more free-flow discussion, that is of course fine, but if you think it would be helpful to have a dedicated recommendation thread, please do tell me.