Alfredo’s Stupendous Surprise is a Bandersnatch-esque Pico-8 based choose your own adventure game where you go on a little journey where every choice you make can mean the difference between life and death.
Alfredo’s Stupendous Surprise is actually a remake of a game of the same name, made by Tom Hall & John Romero for Softdisk Issue #98. This newer remake was made for Tom Hall’s Toy Box Jam, making the game a very fitting entry. Alfredo’s Stupendous Surprise has you watching cutscenes and making choices, in hopes of just keeping your character alive. You don’t control much beyond picking one of two options and then seeing how your decision plays out.
The story starts with you at your home, where a birthday cake was waiting in the window. It turns out, in this world, birthday cakes are sentient and don’t want their candles to be blown out. Now, you’re far from home, trying to find your way back. At any point, if you pick a decision that causes you to die, you can just go back to right before that decision to try again. This is particularly helpful as there are lots of wacky and unexpected ways to die in this world!
Alfredo’s Stupendous Surprise is a short but funny game that won’t take too long to finish. It’s a novel use of the Pico-8 engine and there are lots of hilarious ways to die. See if you can make it to the end in one piece!
Play Alfedo’s Stupendous Surprise Here (Browser)