Poems & Codes
- March 4, 2023
- Hero Game Co
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Get on itch.io Store"Poems & Codes" is a game that supports Project Gutenberg by offering over 400 encrypted poetic excerpts for players to decode. Each poem is encrypted with a substitution cipher, and players can choose from four difficulty settings. The game features a soothing soundtrack and the option to switch between night and sunlight mode. Once decoded, players can read the entire poem in-game or download the poet's anthology for free. Ten percent of sales are donated to Project Gutenberg.
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Reviews
- The game features a lovely selection of classic poems and has a clean, easy-to-use interface that enhances the overall experience.
- It's a relaxing and intellectually stimulating puzzle game that allows players to appreciate poetry through engaging cipher challenges, making it enjoyable for both casual and dedicated players.
- The game is well-designed with beautiful artwork and music, and it supports a good cause by donating a portion of sales to Project Gutenberg.
- Some players found the game to be more difficult than its predecessor due to the use of archaic language and the complexity of the poems.
- There are limited quality of life improvements compared to the previous game, such as the inability to select specific levels or poems to work on.
- A few users reported minor bugs and noted that the music can become repetitive over time.
- gameplay6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay is an expansion of the cipher-solving mechanics from the first game, which some users feel may be better suited for poetic contexts. New players are advised to start with the original game to fully understand the gameplay loop and enhance their experience.
“The gameplay might actually work better for poems.”
“This game holds the same quality of ciphers, I think, and expands on the gameplay available from the first.”
“I'd recommend playing the first game first, if this is your first experience, as I think it gives you a better grasp on the gameplay loop of solving ciphers.”
- music6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as peaceful and chill, complementing the thoughtful artwork and curated poems. However, it tends to be repetitive, leading some players to prefer muting it in favor of their own music. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the experience, it is not essential to enjoy the game.
“This game is beautifully designed from the peaceful music, thoughtful artwork, to the carefully curated poems.”
“The music is chill and complements the overall atmosphere of the game.”
“The combination of beautiful music and engaging poetry creates a truly immersive experience.”
“The music is a bit repetitive, but you lose nothing by muting it and putting on your own.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their beautiful design, featuring elegant artwork in dark mode and a delicate, whimsical style in light mode. The combination of thoughtful artwork, peaceful music, and curated poems enhances the overall aesthetic experience.
“This game is beautifully designed, from the peaceful music to the thoughtful artwork and carefully curated poems.”
“The artwork in dark mode feels very elegant.”
“Light mode is very delicate and whimsical in the style of the artwork and color scheme.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players generally find the game to have good replayability, particularly due to the excitement of rediscovering content after some time away, even if they don't recall all the details. This suggests that the game's design encourages revisiting it, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging.
“I don't feel like this game has much replay value. After a few months, I find myself forgetting most of it, which makes it somewhat exciting to revisit, but overall, it lacks depth for multiple playthroughs.”
“The game doesn't offer enough variety to keep me coming back. Once you've experienced the main story, there's little incentive to replay it.”
“While I enjoyed the game initially, I found that there isn't much to draw me back for a second playthrough. The lack of different outcomes or choices really limits its replayability.”
- stability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its strong stability, being well polished and largely bug-free. Players appreciate the developers' responsiveness to feedback and their prompt implementation of requested features when feasible.
“The game is well polished and bug-free; developers are attentive to the requests of the players, and requested features are implemented quickly if it is within the realm of possibility.”
