Philomot/Philomont is a VN where you will get exactly what you see on the Itch. io page: Absolutely gorgeous art and plenty of typos. Foreshadowing is a literary devi-
I went into this VN completely blind on pretty much a whim with some friends, and we all joked how it seems to have been carefully grown in a lab to hit all my buttons. Forlorn old timey mansions, cute twinky foxes, judgemental maids, and dreamy winter landscapes... It is everything I ever wanted.
First to get the most obvious out of the way, the visuals. Both artists did an outstanding job. I am absolutely mesmerised by the backgrounds primarily, but the sprites as well. The two managed to blend them together so well, that I wouldn't know it was drawn by two separate people if the Itch page didn't state so. Jacques's sprite having a faint green lighting matching the room he's in is an example. Some of the sprites have a slightly weird or uncanny quality to their faces, but it honestly works in the game's favour. Absolutely no complaints, excellent job to both team members who worked on the visuals.
As for the writing...There is a distracting amount of typos and mistakes. I hope this will get fixed with highest priority after the jam update embargo is lifted, since it really hampers the experience. The worst instance was Sylvain striking his bombastic pose and biding us "aidou".
Other than the typos, I don't think there are any other big issues with the prose. Regarding the storytelling, the setup is intriguing and the seemingly welcome but hostile atmosphere of the strange mansion seemingly misplaced in time and space is well done. I find the player character's blasé entrance into this story intriguing, since it seems like such a flimsy explanation that surely it must be a lie. I do feel like having the visions/flashbacks reveal everything to the player character and the reader is a missed opportunity. Seeing the polite mask of hospitality slowly crack and uncovering horrible secrets of decadent nobility in cursed Victorian mansions is the main appeal of such stories! I feel like these flashbacks serving all the revelations to us on a silver platter are cutting through all the fun parts. While the reveal worked as a dramatic end of demo 1, I do wonder how the story will proceed after showing its hand so early.
I am very much looking forward to the continuation! But for now, I must bid you...
