Interactive fiction luminary Sam Barlow, director of Half Mermaid and creator of Her Story, Telling Lies, and Immortality, has offered a look inside his Steam library, highlighting the games he returns to and the titles currently demanding his attention.
Michael Brough's 868-BACK
While working on two separate projects—one alongside director Brandon Cronenberg and another with Blumhouse Productions—Barlow is carving out time for Michael Brough's 868-BACK. Having previously played Brough's work primarily on mobile, Barlow expressed enthusiasm for seeing the developer scale up for PC. Describing Brough's minimalist design as a 'molecular gastronomy of Rogue,' Barlow noted that the game's spikiness and demanding mechanics leave no room to feel safe or powerful, stating that runs can end in severe point deficits.
Other PC Staples and Library Highlights
Barlow's Steam and PC rotation includes several long-standing fixtures:
- D: The Game: Picked up on Steam following a Kenji Eno rabbit hole, this two-hour cinematic point-and-click adventure relies on a strict, non-pausable timer that results in a game over if the deadline expires.
- Dragon Wars (1989): Developed by Rebecca Heineman for Interplay and acquired via GOG, this foundational CRPG features secret skill checks—such as hiding inside corpses to bypass guards—that Barlow keeps installed across new machines.
- Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island: Barlow's most-played title on Steam with over 500 hours logged, which he calls the greatest roguelike ever made.
- Riven: Retained for its 640x480 atmosphere and texture work that outclasses modern CGI.
- The New Zealand Story (1988): Played via ROM as an enduring maze-game favorite.
Non-Gaming Software
Outside of games, Barlow relies on Fade In by Kent Tessman as his primary screenwriting software. He noted that the software integrates smoothly with Half Mermaid's internal spreadsheet systems to ingest and export scripts during production without requiring a monthly subscription.