Shufflecomp review the first: False Mavis

False Mavis
By Litany Brisket
Based on the songs Burning Rope by Genesis and Long Lankin by Steeleye Span.

False Mavis is a horror game implemented in Twine. It takes most of its plot from the ballad performed by Steeleye Span, but there are some allusions to Burning Rope scattered around the game as well. That's as far as I can describe the game without getting into heavy spoilers, so lemme just put the rest of this under a tag.

The game starts out with the player, as the nurse, gradually locking down the house, in what appears at first as an attempt to protect the house from the villainous Long Lankin, but soon it starts to dawn on you that this may have a more sinister motive. This is a good reflection of the Steeleye Span song, I think, where the nurse's role is not clear until a good ways in. Lankin himself is a composite of several versions of the character, including the (possibly apocryphal) theory that he was a sufferer of leprosy.


Although based on the song, False Mavis has a few twists and turns of its own, including a truly horrifying main ending, which stayed in my mind for the rest of the day. Be aware of that fact, especially if you're squicked by body horror.


Recommended? Yes, but maybe stay away if you dislike horror media.