'Dead is Dead' is a really visceral piece of fiction that explores the effect death has on a person's psyche. What I find rather interesting is that while this story is presented as possibly a person enduring the effects of a psychosis though a traumatic event (an apocalyptic event that left him a sole survivor), but it also ends up following a plot line of going through the five stages of grief. I don't know if this was intentional, or if it subconsciously happened though the natural unfolding of the plot. Either way, I find it as a neat way of implementing the theme of 'light in the dark', with the grief being the 'dark' and reaching acceptance at the end of the five stages as the 'light' in that dark.
A lot of the practical details are left vague, such as what exactly happened that caused a mass death event with only the main character as a survivor. While the set dressing is well described and crafted, such as the remains of bodies everywhere and the eerie silence though it all, it does raise a few questions in which the time framing of the events take place. Stuff like, 'How long had it been since the initial death event?" and "What kind of event would cause such a sudden death that people would die in the middle of meal, but then also cause a pile up of bodies attempting to get into the morgue?" I understand that those details aren't as important to the actual narrative of the story, which is this internal struggle that the main character has, but I think it could help ground the setting, especially since the contrast of the illusion with reality is a big part of the story.
The presentation is really effective. The sudden shifts of tone with color and music, really sell this idea that the main character is struggling to maintain this illusion, showing that denial stage. The dreary grey color of reality showing the depression of the main character. Even when you have the main wolf sprite suddenly shift from bright eyed boyfriend to husk of a corpse, it really puts you in the head space of someone who's desperately trying to keep the memory alive while the reality of the world closes in. He even goes to try and preserve the corpse with formaldehyde, just to keep his body from decomposing any faster, an example of bargaining. So to complete the the whole 'five stages' emergent direction, would've been neat to include a scene that had the main character show anger, since all the other stages were well represented. Maybe angry at the universe for being this way, or angry at the wolf for leaving him alone. Another mental hurdle for him to overcome as he travels towards acceptance of the reality. I'm not sure if this would end up being a bit too cliche or not, but it could add an extra dimension to the dynamic between the main character and his wolf.
Creatively, this premise does feel directly inspired by the designs of the wolves being apocalyptic, but I won't hold it against the story itself, since it does take bold choices in having it be an internal struggle story and killing off the wolf before the story starts. A lot of the creativity comes from the clever use of assets and the visual novel medium to create a vibe. The writing is really well done, and I loved how realistic the dialog and internal monologues felt. The final resolution of the story isn't one of optimism and hope, but of preservation and not allowing the oneself to be stuck in the past. Overall, it's a very concise and well put together package that effectively tells the story, really good job!