What an amazing VN. Probably in my top 3 now. Camille is such an amazing protagonist who truly feels like a real person and I can relate to her so much. I know this game is labeled as an otome, so I’m not sure if this was the author’s intention, but the game is probably one of the best and most accurate depictions of toxic relationships and stockholm I’ve seen in any work of fiction. The way that the only “good” ending is one where the world abruptly ends and Camille meets Osgoode years later with the possibility of them getting together is so smart. It shows that their relationship could never truly work and was unhealthy to the point that it could only work in a scenario as impossible as a zombie apocalypse. I love otomes and the ones with characters that are yandere (or whatever other toxic trait there is) are always intriguing and fun to play. But I think a lot of the time they result in people subconsciously thinking that being obsessive and sadistic in real life is attractive and cute (for example, Yuka Takaoka stabbed her boyfriend and was then obsessed over online for being a “real life yandere” because she was cute). In real life it’s absolutely not— being in a relationship with someone like that completely strips you of your individuality and independence. I’ve read a few people say that Camille deserves what she went through, but that’s just what people like Osgoode want you to think. They want you to think that because of the way you acted or something you did, you don’t deserve respect or basic human decency. The way that Camille’s hand getting eaten represents how Osgoode has control over her and the way she only stats to have genuine feelings about him after the fact, man this is just so good and well written. I could write so much more about this game but I’m not gonna ramble anymore in your comments lol, but anyways thank you so much, I’m going to cherish this game for a long time.
ALSO I love phantom of the opera thanks for including it. My anger at seeing people genuinely think that Camille and Osgoode would be a good couple is only beat by people genuinely thinking that Raoul is the bad guy and is worse than Erik. I love you Raoul.