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Shared Beauty's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Game Page Design | #5 | 4.800 | 4.800 |
| User Interface Design | #11 | 4.733 | 4.733 |
| Game Graphic & Logo Design | #22 | 4.767 | 4.767 |
| Story | #29 | 4.600 | 4.600 |
| Overall | #29 | 4.600 | 4.600 |
| Music | #34 | 4.367 | 4.367 |
| Accessibility | #34 | 4.367 | 4.367 |
| Sound Effects | #44 | 4.067 | 4.067 |
| Halloween Themed | #57 | 4.200 | 4.200 |
| Log Line | #60 | 4.167 | 4.167 |
| Character Designs | #61 | 4.567 | 4.567 |
| Voice Acting | #77 | 2.467 | 2.467 |
Ranked from 30 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
A great warning to not trifle through an abandoned witch’s books! How could they not read the fine print XD
An astonishing story of jealousy, bitterness, magic, and violence--I was completely drawn in. Beautiful character designs and movement, and characters that are at once both incredibly flawed and relatable. I love how often the characters in this story KNOW that what they're feeling or the way they perceive a situation is flawed and unfair--and we watch them struggle to come to terms with those feelings.
I've only gotten two endings so far, and I'm keen to get back to it and discover what else is writhing under the surface here.
An enchanting and haunting dark fairytale! I always enjoy stories that explore the cost of magic, and this does so with aplomb. Taking inspiration from Lotte Reiniger's art is also a brilliant choice: the grayscale backgrounds and the use of cutout silhouette sprites make Faralda and Odan stand out that much more as belonging to some world that is brighter and beyond reach for the other characters, and the half-NVL ui serves to add even more to the storybook quality. Beautiful work all around!
The story is good, so are the characters, and personally I liked the interface a lot. Simple, yet striking.
What I like the most about this VN is its sense of dynamism. Nothing feels static and is visually engaging. That's something you don't see every day. Good job!
Thank you so much! Ingthing really did her magic on the camera work for us!
After completing the game and collected all 4 endings, I was honestly blown away by how much quality there is in this game. The writing, the UI, and the small animations were so effective and immersive. Truly a dark fairytale with no 'true' happy ending. Though, very believable given the circumstances. It's like 'getting hit with reality' when we see the consequences of the characters' actions and how there's no real way out of it. Either they go with the solution or live with what they've done. Even the 'best' ending was still tragic (but sweet) since Isgard, the protagonist, still has to live with what she's done despite doing the right thing. Though, I do appreciate how there's no last min solution to give a happy ending that would have felt forced.
I really liked the heroine we play as too. Especially how she's got some vices like her jealousy and how cold she can get depending on your choices. Yet can still do better and does have a soft side. It's amusing how much of a 'side character' she was while Faralda felt more like a 'main character' with her kind nature, beauty, and capturing the heart of the stoic noble. Something you'd see in a regular romance story. Small note: I would've loved to see more of the two girls' friendship! I enjoyed the few scenes they had.
It may have been a short game, I still enjoyed everything about it and would LOVE to check out a longer version or more games from the dev!
odan is so pretty, i love him...
thank you for creating such a beautiful character ;a;
A great dark fairytale with amazing cinematography. The gentle music along with the art direction resulting in an incredibly immersive experience. The use of silhouettes over fully drawn sprites was a striking choice and one that I felt really enhances the theme of the fable. Amazing work everyone, well done!
Thank you so so much! Our whole team worked hard and I'm really glad it all worked out!
That was a very nice dark tale! I love the cinematography and enjoy the story very much. I hate Siglind with passion though www I teared up from the best ending, even though it's still sad. Good job!
Awww, thank you so much! I can imagine which ending you mean, I'm really happy that it moved you!
I got all the endings and enjoyed the experience of getting the ending without needing to check a guide. I did like the story's overall morale, but I wish the game was longer so we could have gotten more in-depth about certain characters. The length of the story and the characters did make me feel like I was reading a dark fantasy fairytale. The art was amazing and immersive and what I loved the most about the story was that in order to get the "best ending", the main character had to be honest with their feeling towards Faralda, while also trying actively to do to better, which I find it very realistically well done.
Haha, I take it as a compliment that you wished the game was longer! Seeing how you want to spend more time with our characters means a lot to me as the writer and director. Super happy you gave our game a try and even enjoyed it!
A very intricate and beautiful game that feels almost like a folk tale. A dark folktale, but the camera and cinematography work really help set the scenes for the game. The beauty of the characters is almost like a fairy tale which I think compliments the camera work as well. Beautiful stuff!
Thank you so much for playing our game! Super happy to hear you enjoyed it :3
Shared Beauty is exactly what it advertises itself to be: a dark fairytale with no happy conclusion (I think? - I got 3 out of the 4 endings, and they were all very sad). This isn't a bad thing at all - it means it got across its tone as intended.
The character art is lovely - especially the CGs. I love the way the key visuals in the game were rendered: they felt very professional. And speaking of visuals - the cinematography in this work was lovely too. I could tell you really used the Ren'Py Action Editor well here - especially in scenes with little gestures like Isgard, Faralda and the other village girls walking to Odan's tent.
I genuinely wonder how you did it - because I've begun using the Action Editor itself and while its a very useful tool, it can get very... fiddly at times, haha.
I also think the presentation of the in-game UI adds to the "fairytale" feeling - with all of the dialogue and descriptions taking place in one NVL window. There aren't many NVL-only titles for jams like these, so I'm glad to see this form of visual novel get a bit more love.
On the writing front; I do really like the central themes of beauty and envy, especially when it comes to Faralda. Faralda's beauty makes the other village women jealous, but she's a genuinely sweet and thoughtful girl... which makes seeing her fate in some endings all the harder.
All in all, well done! Thanks for bringing this title into the world.
I really enjoyed the cinematography in this one. It had great atmosphere, and where I wasn't sure about how only two characters had visible sprites, I think in the end that was to the mood's advantage.
Thank you so much! Yeah, we were really happy that our silhouettes added to the eerie atmosphere in the end!
A hauntingly good game. The art is beautiful, the imagery is fantastic, the use of characters and how they are presented is amazing.
A wonderfully haunting game for the season.
Thank you so much for your comment! Haunting is what I always strive for in my horror games, so I'm super honored you see it that way! Thank you for playing our team's game!