patanoir.jpg PataNoir, like most works of interactive fiction, is a game about words. But unlike most titles in the genre, it's also a game about the manipulation of words. Where most IF games will ask that you supply the proper nouns and verbs in order to continue, PataNoir takes things a step further. It will ask you to take blood from rust and put the warmth of acceptance into an erudite butler's eyes. Mind you, I do mean this on a very literal level. You'll find yourself faced with puzzles that will require you to deal with both tangible objects and figurative things. It all adds up to a slightly surreal experience but it works surprisingly well.

As was first pointed out by Miss Emily Short, one of the better things about PataNoir is that, in spite of being a 'detective noir-themed wordplay' game, it doesn't demand too much out of the player's vocabulary, making it far more accessible compared to some games out there.

But enough of my rambling! You can check out PataNoir here.

(Source: Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling via Gnome's Twitter)