Varicella
Adam Cadre
Platform: Z-code
Rating: 7.6
Total Votes: 51
Std. Dev.: +- 1.8
Average Playtime: Between 2 and 6 hours
Genre: Humor / Puzzle-fest / Espionage / Indescribable / Fantasy / Horror / Historical / Mystery / Science Fiction
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Audience Comments:5/09/07 07:23 PM
Rating:7
12/22/06 04:50 AM
Has the best developed characters I've seen,plus very strong writing.One of my favourites.
Rating:9
10/17/06 04:26 AM
Rating:9
2/19/06 04:36 PM
This game is the sort of only insufficiently hinted puzzlefest that requires thorough exploration to get anywhere with; however, it is timed to a thoroughly punishing schedule, that almost forbids exploration. The result is a constant save-and-restore schedule aimed at finding optimal move-sequences, and then exploring a little further from them, never really knowing if the game is still winnable. All Things Devours is a wonderful game of timing. Sting of the Wasp is a wonderful chance to play an unsavory protagonist. Varicella, despite the well-placed turn of phrase, is just frustrating.
Rating:4
3/31/05 10:30 AM
Unlike Photopia or Shrapnel, this game is a puzzle fest, and a very, very unforgiving one. Includes a time limit, timed events that you have to be at the right place at the right time for, and things you have to figure it via "learning by dying". You'll die, a lot. You'll have to restart, a lot. Still, I found this to be a very satisfying game to finish -- your goal is well defined, so there's no "what do I do know?", but rather, "How do I do it?", and the game is very intricately detailed. If you enjoy poking at things to see what they do, you'll probably enjoy this game, but it is definitely not for everyone. Also includes a very dark sense of humor that is just two shades lighter of that found in Zero Sum, but very entertaining prose.
Rating:9
2/28/05 05:43 AM
Rating:10
1/27/05 11:51 AM
Rating:9
2/03/06 07:12 AM
Darkly humorous and solidly implemented, but I found the puzzles themselves poorly clued and therefore less satisfying than they might have been. A shame.
Rating:6
10/26/04 01:13 PM
Rating:8
9/06/04 12:44 AM
Good clean fun! Heh. I avoided this one for a long time, as I normally don't enjoy timed puzzles or "learn by dying," and Varicella is all about that. But now I really wish I hadn't put it off for so long, because this game is simply loads of fun. Forget about trying to "win" at first. Instead, just wander around enjoying the descriptions and the conversations and the not-merely-black-but-positively-ultraviolet sense of humour, because they're really what this game is all about. You can put it all together later. By all means don't resort to a walkthrough, or you'll miss the best this game has to offer. Features the most enjoyable PC I've ever played in an IF. Not for kiddies.
Rating:8
8/25/04 04:27 AM
Best IF I played so far. Excellent prose, logical and solvable puzzles, usually with more than one solution. But what makes it great is the dark humor and the loathsome characters (including Varicella himself).
Rating:10
8/24/04 07:34 AM
Rating:7
8/12/04 03:00 PM
Rating:8
5/29/04 06:37 PM
Rating:5
2/26/04 02:47 AM
Rating:6
2/22/04 01:17 AM
As noted, a multiple replay game (learn by dying).
However, a bit long: by the time I'd figured out 70% of the solution, I was sick of solving the same puzzles EVERY TIME and resorted to a walk-through.
The tight time limit exacerbated matters: if you solve half the puzzles and then save, you don't have enough time to properly explore and solve the others -- but you don't know which puzzles you need to solve to open up more possibilities!
Worth playing, but set aside a few several-hour sessions to do it or you'll be frustrated.
The main puzzles are mostly independent, so try to figure them out separately, and then try to do them all at once.
The writing and characterization are vintage Cadre, and certain puzzles are quite clever and integrated. A pleasure to play for the first few hours -- and then it starts to drag.
Rating:8
1/09/04 11:11 AM
Rating:7
1/02/04 05:38 AM
Rating:5
10/29/03 09:32 AM
Interesting, but I felt there was too little attention on the PC's actions and too much on the (heavily) scripted NPCs.
Rating:5
4/07/05 04:40 PM
Biting satire on corrupt religion and royalty. Begins like a historical fantasy, then the anachronisms arise: affected 19th century dialogue clashes with modern gadgets. Timing puzzles force many restarts. Too many long, one paragraph descriptions. Lack of sympathetic characters adds to the overall unreality of the game while squelching the player?s interest. But technically impressive.
Rating:6
8/29/03 10:04 AM
Very difficult to sum up--well, how about "very difficult"? You'll have to play bunches of times, so be prepared, and take a few runthroughs to just look around and smell the roses. Everything is logical in the end.
Rating:10
8/20/03 08:54 AM
Very good. Nearly all has been said, I could just add it is really finishable without any walkthrough (even if I looked at it a little bit for some vocabulary, technical, and inattention problems (perhaps because I'm french)). The shortness and the "I have to die 100 times to win" is a good point for me. A bit vulgar for all the sexually exagerated vicious characters, though, it could shock some persons but that was really funny for me.
Rating:8
8/18/03 10:57 AM
Well put together, nice language. I got bored, however, and didn't finish it.
Rating:6
8/12/03 02:30 AM
Superb. Well written, fun to play, unique, packed to the brim with interesting characters. Adam Cadre on top form.
Rating:10
7/20/03 08:20 PM
Rating:7
7/15/03 08:09 PM
Rating:8
7/12/03 05:27 PM
Rating:7
7/10/03 05:08 PM
Those who approach "Varicella" as they would a traditional puzzlefest are bound to be disappointed. This game is brutal, and you will have to play it through tens, if not hundreds, of times before even having a chance at success.
What makes "Varicella" shine, however, is not the puzzles -- though they are well-crafted and almost completely integrated into the storyline -- but rather the world in which the game takes place. Like nearly all Cadre games, the NPCs (not to mention the PC, Varicella himself) are extremely memorable and the setting is nearly as well implimented as the characters themselves.
My advice to the frusterated is to forget about the plot completely for awhile, and simply explore the palace. Talk to the guards (Guard #0249 in particular is hysterical), break into rooms.... You may not get any closer to winning this way, but it's a lot more fun than beating your head against a wall.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Great prose and an interesting plot which features you, Primo Varicella, and your quest for the throne. Great dialgoue and great NPCs altohugh the puzzles could use a bit of work.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Brilliant game, due in large part to its well-thought-out and thoroughly-realized alternate history setting. Some highly memorable characters, too. It's true that you probably have to die a few times before winning -- but I find this flaw to be a very secondary concern.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Quite a difficult game, that loses points with me for requiring the player to play multiple times just to see what's around. Because of the time limit I felt punished for just looking around. Don't take this as a negative review, however, Varicella is great at being a game centered around trying to off your political rivals and secure the throne for yourself. It is quite difficult, but take that more as a challenge than a warning.
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
I generally dislike games that have a strict time limit, but even more, I dislike games that require using information obtained from previous plays to complete it successfully. Combined with the obnoxious protagonist, I can't honestly say that I enjoyed playing this game. It's a well done game, true, but what does that matter if playing it is unpleasant?
Rating:3
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:10
9/24/03 10:58 AM
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
An interesting story, but just too complex and long-winded for my taste. Working through the game felt exhausting after a while.
Rating:6
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:7
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Didn't enjoy this as much as Adam's other games.
Rating:5
7/10/03 12:10 PM
I had to resort to the solution more than once for this. Had I had more time I'd invest it in finishing without it as it was quite enjoyable
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Traditional puzzles in a pseudo-historical setting and verbose style mar this in some respects innovative game.
Rating:5
7/11/03 12:47 PM
Twisted, intriguing, and blackly humorous -- Varicella has some of the finest character-craft I've ever seen, and in a well-fleshed-out setting. The only downside is, even when you know what you need to do, timing is so critical that actually winning is surprisingly difficult. -DJW
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
As usual, Cadre's colorful characters (aw yeah) form the backbone of the game, although the puzzles, especially since they have multiple solutions, are good too. Full of refs and in-jokes, enough to count as a puzzle in themselves.
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Definetely one of the best games of all time.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
There's a lot of well-written text in this game, which is good, because you're going to have to re-play it a lot before you manage to win. And you'll probably need hints, too, but this is a game where hints (if you can get 'em) are definitely better than a walkthrough.
Rating:8
8/11/03 08:52 AM
Good game, although the setting never convinced me.
Rating:6
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Dark and twisted, but thought-provoking.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Rating:8
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Learn-by-death intrigue with a host of wonderfully unpleasant characters.
Rating:10
7/11/03 09:04 PM
As usual, all of Adam's characters seem to be depressing to interact with.
Rating:9
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Difficult, but rewarding.
Rating:10
7/10/03 12:10 PM
Very funny alternative history. Good puzzles. Not for kids.
Rating:9
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