This was SUCH a fun game & I loved the fusion of fairytales and how far the team was vying for historical accuracy! The inclusion for Text customization & Typefaces is HUGE, thank you for that. Although, I would say to look into other fonts (like OpenDyslexic or Comic Sans to help those hard of reading).
Pros:
- I loved the historical slang & glossary included in the game. Just about every time I wondered what something meant, it was right there in the glossary of terms (& highlighted in the game) lol!
- Side Characters were top-notch. I felt like the immersive writing/language really shined through when other characters were involved! The dialogue between Thomas & Alicia was my favorite.
- The art? Gorgeous! I appreciated the emotive character portraits & how even small details would be added to backgrounds to help sell the scene (like the Archery portion, for example - shoutout to the hill shaped like a Taco BTW)!
Cons:
- I felt like the dialogue was weaker when Robin was by herself. It became too casual/too modern. I found that it made me stumble more whenever we would return to speaking more formal Ye Olde English with other characters.
- The beginning of the game needs a bit of work IMO. It felt like I was missing a lot of context for
→ Why Robin was out & couldn't be seen
→ Who John the Blacksmith is
→ The scene with the rock & the shovel felt a little forced & out of nowhere.
I felt like Robin's scene with Lil' John sold the fact that she was some kind of prodigy than the first 15mins (when she was shuffling about town). - I wish we were given more information about the surroundings or things Robin did or may notice in the vicinity. Sometimes, it felt like the writing assumed we would connect dots, or it felt like the writing was more geared for animation than visual novel? If that makes sense? Like, we're meant to see more than we are.
- The Thieving Minigame DEFINITELY needs work.
- Still confused what Observe & Fan means lol!
- I do wish we had more control & choices in the game: The premise feels like it should be more action-oriented with Robin being very sneaky & sly character & so, I went into it wanting more split-decision making.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the other characters engage with each other, seeing what other prominent fairytale characters from the stories make an appearance, AND OF COURSE, seeing what other romantic paths open up! If you want to see my initial reactions to the game, you can find my playthrough here (timestamps available):
Thank you for the game!