The Uncle Who Works for Nintendo is a nostalgic, creepy trip down memory lane
Free browser game re-imagines your childhood as a horror story.
Growing up we all knew that one kid who inexplicably had all the latest and greatest toys and all the hottest tips on the coolest game. When asked how they acquired all this rad gear and obscure knowledge, the answer usually came down to something along the lines of, "oh, I've got an uncle who works for Nintendo."
Game developer Michael Lutz and illustrator Kim Parker have created a free text adventure that takes this ludicrous, yet oddly ubiquitous urban legend to a strange and scary place.
Entitled The Uncle Who Works for Nintendo, Lutz's Twine adventure casts you as an 11-year-old child going on a sleepover at your best friend's house. This friend has a bigger TV than you, lots of slick games that you've never seen before, and inexplicably a special edition Mew that defeats anyone else's Pokémon in one hit. Naturally, they claim all this came from their uncle, who works at Nintendo.
But who is this uncle exactly? What does he do at Nintendo? How come there are never any pictures of him around? Does Nintendo even have a presence around here?
Lutz and co. adroitly mix humour and horror in this tale of childhood wonder and fear. Getting to the credits doesn't take long - probably 15-20 minutes - but there are six endings in all and they tend to build off one another in ways that deepen the mythology. Getting some of these conclusions can be a little obscure, so you may have to ask friends for help - just like when you were a kid.