I should be upfront that I am friends with many of the developers, and some of my code is used in the game, though I had little to no direct involvement. So to be fair, I will mention any problems I have, even if nitpicky.
That said, this is still one of the best quality VNs I've played in a while. A full course meal in a very digestible size. There is room to expand, but for a game made in a month, I'm happy with it, leaving me wanting more. The level of polish of what it there more than makes up for any shortcomings.
The story is a fun murder mystery with a cast I would consider large for the limitations. Twelve speaking characters is a lot to flesh out in a 2-3 hour story while weaving in clues and hints. I might critique that it would be nice to get more from some of the characters, but it likely would have made it harder to keep track of all the elements within the limitations. Though the main cast of the living feel well developed enough to carry it, and the number of characters makes it a good popcorn read with friends. The path to the true ending has one complication that I feel could be smoothed out, but the steps to it are not difficult to reach otherwise. The balance of comedy and horror walks a fine line, having dark subject matter kept digestible with a deft attention to the tone. Characters who have done awful things are fun to watch bounce off Maxwell, who keeps a level head through it all.
All of the visuals are fantastic. Each sprite feels unique and has plenty of fun expressions to elevate their lines. Backgrounds are high quality, though the storage room and attic bg are a bit too similar imo. Also feels like maybe one or two more CGs were desired but likely were cut, though I'm glad the CGs that are there leave great impact and were worth prioritizing. The UI is very clear with plenty of style and polish. I'm especially impressed that the textbox manages to make lines bordering on a paragraph feel readable, even though lines that long are rare (which is a good thing).
All of the music is fantastic and perfectly fits the mood. The inclusion of a fully original soundtrack really elevates each scene. The sound design is also deserving of praise, with meaty thuds and every step appropriate to the room. Sorry, I'm not very articulate with sound stuff, but all of it is a cut above even VNs made with more time and budget.
I'm not sure why a game jam would have a voice acting category. The inclusion of sounds for the text appearing though is always fitting, and I will consider it close enough. The UI sounds can be a tad loud by default, but easy enough to turn them down to your preference. None of it was beneath the standard of the rest of the experience.
Cinematography is fantastic as always from Domn. His skill he's wielded upon Crypid Crush is in full effect to make scenes fun and bouncy when appropriate, and spooky and mysterious when needed. I especially enjoy the zoom in on the character introductions, which looks fantastic. The scene transitions are also very fun to see, and I appreciated their style. Only nitpick is some transitions between selecting someone to talk to or a topic and a dissolve into the conversation, where it feels odd the characters shift a small amount, even with the dissolve to smooth between them. Though fixing them would be an effort that is better spent after the jam is concluded.
Outside of the normal ratings, I have some small critiques, though most of them would be better saved for the post-jam version. I've seen one person have an issue with navigating between the rooms. I would recommend a map to select between scenes, even if some rooms are locked, better to just see all options than using the choice screen that is limited. Fixing choice menus to grey out previously selected options will be a nice QoL move. And the handful of typos and times a tooltip clips the UI were never major issues that held back the overall experience.
That all said, the project is a fantastic piece of spooky fun that I think makes for a fun read for the season. I look forward to recommending it every year for a fun, spooky romp. The passion and love put into every piece is on full display, and I'm left only wanting more from these characters and the world. Let's all hope the creators can come together to make more of this exceptional story and world.