Post by Just_a_turtle in Dawn Chorus comments

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Normally I only comment AFTER finishing everything the build I played has to offer... but damn, this is very well-written and pulls at the heartstrings JUST RIGHT.

I only played what's currently available in Mikko's route, and I loved all the deep lines and metaphors (and the protagonist just makes me feel like they're suffering from depression), and I don't think I've seen romance novels (visual or not) go in the direction of the protagonist still not being sure of their feelings when the love interest confesses...

I'm looking forward to playing the other routes, but I need to take a break because that route broke me (in a good way).

DeanDLean8821 days ago

Make sure you get all of Mikko's bad endings, otherwise the experience is not complete. Come back and let me know how you like his kinky side >:3

Just_a_turtle21 days ago (1 edit)

Makes a mental note you mentioned multiple bad endings

Ok, but really, I'd get around to getting A bad ending, now I know there's multiple, I don't know in which direction to go... I know this visual novel isn't linear, but I'd actually appreciate being told the paths to go (spoilers be damned, I don't care).

Edit: Ok, nevermind, found 1 bad ending for Mikko that triggers on day 1, I'll just explore each option and guess I'll find the endings myself.

And I know I said I'll take a break... but I literally started and finished what I can only assume to be the good route for Jorgen. It's just after some thought I decided there must be at least one less heartbreaking route among the and chose Jorgen at random... and I'm glad that was my choice.

DeanDLean8821 days ago (2 edits)

Alright, without spoilers, but you must promise to come back and discuss them with me after you play them.

The Bad Ending - stay with Mikko but ignore him. (I think you only need to ignore his invitation to go outside, but if you're going for a bad ending - might as well ignore him completely, this way the final scene seems more natural).

THE WORST ENDING - Agree to stay with Mikko, but bail on him when you find the key.

Just_a_turtle21 days ago

Already did...

Worst ending felt a bit sudden, to say the least... It just feels like everything just goes completely unresolved.
Bad ending felt more definitive. Sure, it ends with day 3, but the protagonist truly felt broken by the events of that route. I feel their choice at the end was understandable, even if I find it a bit rushed. Very well-written, but I still think Mikko's good ending (at least as far as was released) is the best in terms of the emotional range it made me feel, tied with the bad ending for pure writing quality.

(And I know what you meant by kinky... in the protagonist's place, I'd find that terrifying)

DeanDLean8820 days ago

Keo keeps rewriting the axe murder ending, and it just keeps getting weirder because of it.

I don't know what the scene originally was, I only came around patch 0.28, I think. But I caught the tail end of someone giving Keo shit over changing it. I think it might have used to end with the axe sound, or maybe the axe sound was meaty, or maybe there was blood - something gruesome like that.

In 0.35.1, which I have kept, the cuffs were real(screenshots attached)

Now it's 0.51.1 and there's no blood, no axe, no cuffs... And since there's no Mikko - the scene now suggests that it was all purely imaginary, Arvo simply freaked out from being around Mikko and ran.

That feels more anti-climactic than the jumpscare of the worst ending, IMO. That one at least follows the motif of Mikko's repeating monologue about how nothing we do matters, and we're less than dust on the cosmic scale. You're dying, never having made up for your betrayal to your best friend/love, but at least you both happened, no matter how inexplicably unlikely, and managed to enjoy each other's company for a bit. And if it ended poorly - well... None of it mattered in the first place.

p.s. Imagine Travis' face in the morning when he found out that Arvo fucking DIED! 😳How would he try to make amends for his sticky paws? Would he tell Mikko? How would Mikko feel about it? I love exploring the doomed timelines like this, they are so rich for good meaty developments.

p.p.s. The Bad Ending, if read as "it was all a dream", shouldn't really be the end, as it invites a continuation of the story - Mikko going ballistic from Arvo not just leaving the lodge, but straight up dropping out of the university. Running way from him. FUCKING. AGAIN. It could actually lead to a satisfying ending where Mikko actually corners him with cuffs to make sure this time he stays around long enough for them to talk. How it would go from there - imagine for yourself, fanon is bae. ;)

Just_a_turtle20 days ago

I wanna know IF (not how to get) other characters have known bad endings.

I tried ignoring Jorgen on Jorgen's route and ended up with what I believe to be a less detailed Lake route. I only say less detailed because Lake waking you up in the morning of day 2 and them telling you about their dream doesn't happen, yet is mentioned just like on Lake's route. + the jump to route button still recognized that as Jorgen's route.

Dawn Chorus20 days ago(+1)

The only other early ending in the VN at the moment is on Torulf's route, but it's not as bad and not too easy to find.

itch.io

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