(SPOILERS)
imagine not showing up at your boyfriend's exorcism and then being surprised when he's rude to you smh smh.
srsly tho, this was yet another really solid visual novel!! :D
really loved the story and characters. the concept of everyone in your family trying to "cure" you of something they won't even tell you about is such a terrifying one. everything in this event feels so wrong and manipulative, down to the exorcist referring to clarence simply asking what he's going to drink as "resisting". the game builds such a creepy atmosphere, and it's impressive how solidly it's built considering how short it is, and how all you really do before the exorcism is talk to relatives. i really liked clarence; not only is his design super memorable (characters with long blond hair my beloveds-) but his struggle is very well written. the way he talks about his encounters with asher really worked in emphasizing the idea that they couldn't get caught. that they had to keep their relationship a secret. and that in the end, he didn't even know how a long term relationship with him would've worked. his emotions were really well written and laid out... and speaking of which, i think your 'snarky narrator' technique worked incredibly well in this plot especially, contrasting clarence's intense feelings and thoughts throughout this whole ordeal, only for these descriptions of emotions to run dry at the ending, when he's been... fixed. it was very effective! (and yes said ending did destroy me, thank you for asking-) the other characters were great too, and it was neat to see peeps from tcpc make a return! mother charity was a definitive standout in the cast, something about a fanatic leader that believes you're evil incarnate, yet is still always grinning and saying things that should be comforting... it struck a chord with me in terms of uneasiness haha.
omg a liminace game has really great art, what an original opinion- XD really tho, i think this game's visuals stand out from your other ones in a subtle way, while still looking awesome as ever. i love the sketch-like quality of some drawings (especially in clarence's busts), it was a really cool little style choice that didn't really need to be there, but it shows how much attention to detail was put into the art :D i also loved the atmosphere in the church, with snow particles floating outside, blue hues and a general aura of mysticism. like you were in an actual place reserved for a divinity haha. and there's so many other small things; the way the screen turns darker and redder as you light the candles? love that. the way the colors turn sepia when you're strapped in that table? love that. the candle? that's a good candle. i don't know why but i want to highlight the drawing of the last candle specifically. that's a good ass candle drawing. oh! and the brain! that was also a good ass brain drawing.
...where was i? oh yeah, the visuals are great! :D
the music and sounds were also great! the sarcastic applause™ making a return is always nice to see lol. loved the switch up from the normal game sounds to the uncannily realistic buzz of the lights and the... squelching of flesh when the lobotomy happens. what an uncomfortable scene my god- (in a good way ofc haha) and the music wow!! so ethereal and extremely well made. still can't believe you compose the entire ost for all your games, seems like such an impossibly difficult task from afar lol. i'm always so impressed by people who make almost all the stuff in their games by themselves haha. so yeah music was great too! again, what an original opinion XD
i only really had two problems with the game; firstly i found some typos in a few places, which weren't too big of a deal and definitively understandable for such a dialogue-heavy game, but i thought i'd mention it. and the sequence from when you talk to samuel to when the exorcism begins ran for a tad too long for me, and i would've liked if it stopped somewhere in the middle, maybe when she-who-shall-not-be-named appears lmao. but yea that's about it.
will clarence appear again? will he and asher rekindle their love? will she finally be dumped into a frozen lake like she deserves? all of this and more in chapter 4 of the cardinal park chase, coming out in your nearest itch.io server!
(also woohooo, congrats on 500+ downloads and 2000+ browser plays!!! :D)