[1] Cryptozookeeper was written in the cross-platform language Hugo and runs on Windows, Macintosh OS-X, and Linux computers.

In the game, players assume the character of William Ezekiel Vest and must splice together DNA samples to form a stable of fighting cryptids, all while solving puzzles in the off-kilter town of Christmas City.

"[8] Interactive fiction author and blogger Rob O'Hara referred to Christmas City (the game's setting) as "part-nightmare, part-dark comedy" and described it as a place where "the X-Files meets Nightmare on Elm Street: Part 3."

I’m guessing the subject matter, language, and puzzles may not strike a nerve with all IF gamers, but for the ones it does, Cryptozookeeper is a guaranteed good time.

"[3] Interactive Friction writer SnowBlood said Sherwin's "worlds are dark and unpleasant, yet filled with humor at every turn.

It feels unlike any other text adventure, as if Sherwin has developed the game while remaining totally isolated from the modern "interactive fiction" community.

This means that, for once, you are not a lonely NPC, wandering around an empty unpopulated world, finding scraps of "diaries" to uncover the backstory (because of your amnesia, natch).