This decision creates some variability in the playerвЂ™s experience without, in my view, substantially improving the replay value. But in only one of the seven or eight playthroughs I tried did I feel I had come remotely close to this - when a seance scene ran longer than usual - and even then, I didnвЂ™t really feel that IвЂ™d plumbed the mystery.ДЄnd exactly what mystery it is changes from game to game! It appears to be the case that the story is selecting randomly from a number of possible backstories to the haunting, and presents a different one each time which means that, even if you manage to get some extra clues in one playthrough, the next playthrough isnвЂ™t necessarily going to be giving you information that matches up with those. But Eerie Estate Agent thwarts those agendas as well, to a large degree.ДЇirst, you might think that the satisfying narrative outcome would be the one where you finally find out what is really going on at 57 Crowther. At other times, an attempt to take the course of kindness or generosity or simple responsibility is thwarted by the storyline, forcing the player back into the linear arc that will lead to the narratively required conflicts.Д«eing able to change the plot isnвЂ™t the only good thing that interactive story can do, and I would have been content to trade in some of that character-and-world-shaping power for other benefits, such as the ability to interactively explore a more pre-set narrative arc, or play a game system to optimize the outcome. And yet there are several occasions when youвЂ™re not offered a particular flavor of option at all (as for instance in the late game where youвЂ™re forced to choose among ways to sabotage a coworkerвЂ™s efforts, with no chance to try to be friendlier). Eerie Estate Agent makes some gestures in that direction by sometimes giving you options that allow you to choose how youвЂ™ll relate to your boss, coworkers and clients, and ruthlessness is one of the stats visibly tracked in the sidebar. Sometimes that comes at the expense of pacing and narrative coherency but if you want to play as ambitious or cruel or generous or kind, you can. (Rooms that periodically fill up with the scent of tea? Indications that seem to resemble the scurrying of a dozen ghostly rodents?)ДЄ down side is that Eerie Estate Agent doesnвЂ™t deliver very strongly on Choice of GamesвЂ™ traditional strength: lots and lots of agency.Д¬hoice of Dragons, Choice of Broadsides and Choice of Romance all give the player tremendous latitude to define the protagonistвЂ™s character and behavior. In the eerie happenings, he tends to hit a good middle ground between the creepy and the funny, going for paranormal indications that are amusing but that would probably be distinctly unnerving if they happened a lot in real life. ThereвЂ™s a good sense of the Edinburgh setting (not perhaps surprising, as Inglis seems to know the place well).

IвЂ™ve often thought that the actual prose quality was a bit of a weak spot in many Choice of Games offerings: the text in Choice of the Dragon, for instance, is typically utilitarian, and though some of the later works become more ambitious, the results are not universally happy.Д®erie Estate Agent has a much more distinctive and engaging voice than these: breezy but well-controlled, lightly humorous, sometimes casting the protagonist as a not entirely nice person. Inglis identifies as a writer more than a game designer, and that shows, in ways both good and bad. The problem is that no one seems to want to stick around the place for long, possibly because of all the spooky stuff that happens there. Your unpleasant boss is just looking for an excuse to fire you and the other employees around the office donвЂ™t exactly have your back, so the stakes are high. The premise is that youвЂ™re an estate agent (or realtor, in American terms) and youвЂ™re responsible for getting 57 Crowther Terrace rented out.

Eerie Estate Agent is a newish piece from Choice of Games, created by writer Gavin Inglis.

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