#i don't have good blog refs because i do my best to stay VERY fringe in fandom spaces

[fooltofancy]

Best IF blogs to follow? Either sexy WIPs or just people posting about them generally.

before i actually answer this i need you to know i have like 54 tabs open in my phone right now and every single one of them that isn't the tab i do browsing in is an if.

THAT SAID, apart from @interact-if i don't think i follow any blogs that are specifically geared toward interactive fiction, but that's a great place to start!

without further rambling ado, some recs -

the porthecrawl witness by @porthecrawl-witness - we love us some time shenanigans in insular little towns, tbh. real melancholy undertones but without feeling abject or unhopeful? dig it.

diaspora by @diasporatheblog - genuinely stressful political intrigue couched in impeccable worldbuilding and some of the warmest characters and relationships i've encountered in IF? just. love the hell out of diaspora. also long. if you want to spend a solid Many Hours just basking in a well-developed world, diaspora is for you.

the golden rose by @anathemafiction - i am SO jazzed for the golden rose to come out my dudes i don't even have words. just like, the most charming experience. anachronistic history, i guess? can't wait to learn more about this world.

wayfarer by @idrellegames - the variation in this game? so much fun to explore, so many aspects of character development. fuckin love it. i have a lot of emotions and it's only been like.... half of a chapter.

speaker by @speakergame - desperate seer vibes, loving but exasperating family vibes, found extra family vibes???? love everything about speaker.

bad ritual by @heart-forge - do love a story the premise for which is just sort of a series of "aw, fuck"s and what you're gonna do about 'em. bonus giant, extremely loveable demons. shoutout also to manor hill and hybrid, both super cool projects.

virtue's end by @crimsiswrites - undergoing rewrites atm, and i'm full of excite. have determined that slightly baffled and full of monster is my new favorite character dynamic.

lost birds by @if-lostbirds - very brief demo at the moment, but holy shit the desolate vibes.

the remainder by @the-remainder - art and vibes IMPECCABLE. big old questions of identity and self via some ill-timed (self-inflicted?) amnesia.

body count by @bodycountgame - realtalk i wasn't super interested in this concept when it first came across my recs, but oh my god, dudes. the characters and writing are so endearing and i can't wait to see where it goes even though it's gonna hurt.

when it hungers by @roast-ifs - i have a thing for characters rebuilding life around trauma and lost memories, if that wasn't like. glaringly and painfully obvious. BIG THAT, here.

OFNA: birds of a feather by @ofna - i just really, really like birds. and liars.

project hadea by @nyehilismwriting - obviously i have been failing to summarize anything about any of these games, but i WILL say that any chance to play an idiot determined only to have their ass handed to them before the story really starts, i will take. project hadea def let me fulfill that impulse. sentinel is also so, so worth it.

larkin by @larkin-if - cowboys and vampires. 'nuff said.

faith of gods by @faithofgods - haven't had time to play through all of the recent update so i have NO idea what's going on, but u know what. character interactions are choice. and also fraught with unease.

blood moon by @barbwritesstuff - i love these werewolves. every single goddamn one of them. ALSO could not love the full moon updates more, like what a thing.

the northern passage by @northern-passage - i am so fucking enamored of these characters and this story, dude. the writing is gorgeous and i feel Very Many Both Painful and Wonderful Things about it that i don't really have the brain to express, but hh. tnp my beloved.

the nameless by @parkerlyn - LADS, this worldbuilding. the sheevra are a very cool play on fae tropes and mythos and i am here for it.

mind blind by @mindblindbard - did i mention i'm mildly obsessed with guilt and the process of overcoming that hugely traumatic thing, because i AM and i was NOT expecting that to be such an intense theme in this slice-of-life (trauma included) romp through psych-powered chicago. you're allowed to not play as an idiot, too, which is okay i guess.

event horizon by @if-eventhorizon - there are some very intense and difficult themes happening in this wip straight out of the gate on some paths (memory loss, loss of self, lots of trauma processing in a space NOT made for the processing of trauma), but i'm impressed with how they're handled and also already woefully attached to thirteen, to the surprise of no one.