Although it’s difficult to characterize precisely, “Faerethia” is a series of related vignettes about the goals and permanence of humanity.

Gameplay: The game comprises several scenes, related by general theme rather than content, interleaved with some exploration of a paradisaical environment. Those scenes vary in format: the first is a standard choice-based, puzzleless exploration of a mathematician’s office; the second is an adaption of the classic “Lemonade Stand” simulation (complete with the terrible sound effects from that era); and so on. It’s an interesting idea, but given the game’s lack of interactivity and its episodic nature, a short story or even short film might be a better format for it. 5/10.

Mechanics: There’s not much to do in the game besides click on the links to advance the story, and most of them have no apparent effect beyond continuing the scene (the strongest one being the recurrence of the answers to certain personal questions in the epilogue). Even the Lemonade Stand vignette, which was originally a stand-alone game, has a predetermined outcome with little variation in the route leading there. 5/10.

Presentation: The text has a consistent tone adn is generally well-written throughout, although it gets a bit overwrought in places (e.g., “We are the atoms from which society is composed.”) The focus of the work is on the permanence of humanity, but I didn’t find that it raised any questions about the matter; instead, the game was more like a curated series of short films involving that motif. 5/10.

Tilt: The main character in one of the first scenes is a mathematician. +1.

You might be interested in this game if: You’re interested in some of the philosophical ideas considered in cyberpunk games without the noir or dystopian aspects.

Score: 5