put this off for way too long because i wanted to make sure i had the time, energy, and attention to actually give this visual novel the love that i KNEW it would deserve. now that i finally got that time, i'm so glad i waited because it was truly A Treat to sit down and play this visual novel all the way through.
the writing is PHENOMENAL the entire way through and is such a good example of beautifully gothic horror writing AUGHHHHH. the way your descriptions of everything from the scenery, to the characters' emotions, to the horrifying events are so VISCERAL it's like you're right there in the game with basil. which makes the horror aspect of the game THAT MUCH STRONGER the whole way through. EVERYTHING from the little plot points you feed us, to the ambiguous conversations exchanged between the characters, to the scenery makes you feel that discomfort basil talks about THAT MUCH MORE. in general the story was amazing to unravel alongside basil; at no point did i know what direction the story was going to go (in a good way) and i found myself at the Edge of my seat wondering what dove and basil's next moves were going to be, and what this haunting mansion had in store for them. so many plot points felt so tragic, and i could feel my heart go out to dove especially for the broken life and painful place that she was trapped in. and all of this made seeing the good and true end feel that much more empowering; i was so proud of dove T!!!!!
it goes without saying that the art is stunning in this. the cgs of course have an amazing amount of detail and emotion. but beyond that, the entire aesthetic of the game (esp the color design detail of the black, red, and white, and how that shifts during the Good Ending) is so carefully curated to give you a Specific Experience and shows sm mastery from a talented artist. i love the UI and the little details it has from basil's changing sprite, the stained glass and rose motif, and even the mushrooms to parallel the magic. your characters and BGs are always beautiful (i rly liked the touch of the BGs feeling like they're from basils perspective too and kinda being lower to the ground), and this game is no exception. i found myself switching between sm different emotions from "omg baby" to dove and basil, horrified awe at the ghost designs, shameful thirst over Daddy (why he kinda....) and That Guy (helLOOOO OSAILOR), and more.
AND THE SOUND DESIGN......... you've done SO MUCH WITH THE SOUND DESIGN ITS CRAZY. i love the little touches with the creepy sound effect that plays when something bad happens, or the windchime effect (that also plays during the true end WHICH WAS SUCH A GOOD TOUCH AND THAT I WILL BE THINKING ABOUT FOR WEEKS), and the musicbox song that plays on the main menu and tells u EXACTLY what kind of experience u r about to have.
this game feels like it was made with sm love which is always gratifying to see in the current age, and everything from the well thought out magic system, to the stunning and unique character designs, and the absolutely gorgeous ui tells you that this was a story made with pure love (and craziness, which is always the sign of a good and Cracked creative LAFJISDLIFJ). i feel so honored to have experienced the ride that you put us on and am so grateful you decided to share it with us. i just know i'm going to be thinking about these beautiful, kind, strong characters for so long, and the love that we can FEEL that you have for these characters is contagious!!!!