Please… please… just one more Royce blush, and I can die a happy woman…! (Although, since I've had the pleasure of cuddling with Woden, I’m starting to wonder if I’ve already died and gone to heaven...? 🥺 I'm pretty sure my heart melted, and I don't know that it's possible to survive that.)
Rite of Decay is an absolute visual feast. An endless buffet! It’s stylish, unique, and totally enchanting in every way. The characters are all so jaw-droppingly gorgeous and a lot of them wear masks adding to the appeal. Every single detail is thoughtfully designed, even in the backgrounds! This is one of those rare VNs I’ve played in full screen because it’s just that immersive.
The writing? Ohhhhh, it’s just as wonderful. It hits hard when it needs to, but then it lets the characters’ charm and wit shine through, giving my poor sad and weary heart a breather. Each character is memorable, and Nastya is such a fantastic MC—snarky, competent, and totally self-assured. Her perspective is a delight and adds so much personality to the story (and even her codex entries are so freaking funny).
I have spent like TEN HOURS WITH THESE MEN. TEN HOURS AND TWO PLAY THROUGHS. And I'm still not sure which of them I love the most. Every time I think I've decided on my favorite, I discover a brand new scene, and then my internal man-compass swivels around all over the place.
The world-building in the demo is perfection. I couldn’t stop chomping on every little nugget of lore that came my way. One of my favorite moments was definitely the bar/inn scene for this exact reason. Being able to physically explore from room to room made everything feel so much more alive, and all the different interactions were so engaging. I’m pretty sure I have yet to find all the secret interactions… but lord, did I try. 10/10, would eavesdrop on locals to gather all the juicy gossip while pretending to do my super official job again.
It’s hard to believe this is just a demo because it was so meaty. Can’t wait to see where this story goes in future updates!