Phlegm

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs

GAME DESIGNER:Jason Dyer
GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware
GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware
Copyright 1996, Jason Dyer

Paul OBrian, IF reviewer extraordinaire, says it all about Phlegm one of the most underrated entries in the 2nd Annual IF Competition: A thoroughly whacked-out romp through realms of surrealism only barely touched on by Nord and Bert, Phlegm is pretty low on logic, but quite high on goofy gags. Perhaps its funniest moment comes in its opening screen, where it bills itself as “An Interactive Interactive”; it’s the kind of joke that’s only funny the first time, but since it *is* the first time, it worked for me. Also, in spite of the author’s assurance that it is impossible to make a mistake that renders the game unwinnable, I managed to do it, and I wasn’t even trying! (For the record, it’s because I put the toy elephant in the cart and then torched it with the flame-thrower.) Phlegm wasn’t really hilarious, but it provided a number of smiles, and even its puzzles were logical in an illogical kind of way. In many ways, the game is like its opening joke — lots of fun at the moment, but not anything you’d ever want to repeat.

Overall, the game is recommended, despite the fact that the abundance of jokes that are funny only at first read make the games replay value rather low. Anyone who enjoys a small, witty IF with a lot of crazy ideas and puzzles will enjoy Phlegm.