For those new here, a warning, this comment section has a few overly toxic positives and negatives so expect to see something that will get you annoyed or mad.
WARNING ⚠️ LONG COMMENT
I just finished the current version here on itch.io. Everything I could say and do.
The game works and no issues for me atleast on mobile and PC.
As a returning player from the original the new game is definitely not the same compared to the original and the new character designs are very uncomfortable to look at. The protagonist waking up to see that one particular woman after we are attacked by The Beast and protect Pixie, genuinely was disturbing. The noses are not attractive and even out of place on the characters faces. Most of the new looks are so off or different that I can't even say they are the same characters. Pixies and Emma are the most different that I've seen, and Jessica is also off. From their size, to the way they dress, everything is different, and I do not like it.
As for the world, it is also completely different compared to the original. The world is aware and knows that Fae and other creatures exist. The original had more mystery and uncertainty, where discovering the unknown was one of the big story and exploration points. The Fae and others did not even exist in our minds as players at the beginning of the original and we learned and discovered as we went. Because of so many changes to the world and characters this will obviously effect the plot and progression of the story. Meaning that so far most of the game is already appearing as a different game entirely, as most of the beginning is already not the same, so the thing about it being better but still the same is already false advertising.
To much has changed from the get go and the fact that the original was removed for this version to be seen is honestly upsetting.
I played several versions of the original. None were such drastic changes and nothing about them made me feel like I was playing a different game. In fact most of the updates that the original had were new and even exciting, it felt like it was adding and not outright replacing. The ways you could explore and travel by being provided choices that would lead you in different directions sometimes like a puzzle or maze, the choices you could make that could effect your experiences like finding someone on the street or making connections, and the way you could develop relationships were engaging, these choices were easier and simpler in the original with them also providing a sort of mind game or puzzle to solve to make new discoveries, they only cost the player in game time on the clock not food points. The later end of original had combat, and earlier than that you had some moments where you had to make quick decisions too. You had powers that allowed you too effect people or outright break them, which basically turned them into puppets or people that were just a step above drones, so evil and morally ambiguous powers, as well as powers to hear thoughts and feelings, and more.
The current version here is missing 90% of everything and the original wasn't even finished, obviously because it's a different game. The reason they say is because of the code being a mess in the original. I honestly hear that a lot about several games that just get dumped or replaced, so I have had various experiences with that, mostly bad. The developers either burn out on the new version or remake, or they change so much with the new version that it isn't even the same game. So this game is already hitting that warning bell.
I had all the original games plot points saved on my PC and phone version. So I either remember them by heart or can easily rewind to see what I forgot. This game is without a doubt different and can not be said as it is currently, the same but better.
I even played that one short version that complimented the original, it's name was written as Valentine's Day FUtoCS on my PC, probably edited that. It was like a few minutes long and was clearly making a point about those Credit Card morons and groups like Collective Shout or whatever their name was. Two guys bust into our home threatening our family and friends saying they are doing that for their sakes or some insane nonsense. Our guy arrives and protects them and that short version's final message renewed my desire to see the original continue dispite all the in real life insanity.
So after a very long time and still hoping to see it get updated, just to see the original get removed from here and a gaudy knockoff looking version take its place actually upsets me. Nothing looks the same, the world is not the same, and the characters do not look the same or even have the same start or encounters compared to the original except for Pixie and her awful boss because if the main plot were to be too different than that would invalidate this version as being the same as the original, even though everything else is obviously different.
Now, I'm venting hard, but this comment section and the Discord have guys like me waiting for news that this game will get better, in looks, the characters, and it's setting, because it clearly isn't the same. I'm quiet on Discord and don't engage beyond questions or just reading posts, but on Discord and here, they have types of people saying really negative stuff and just dipping out, like this new version is trash I'm done. They aren't saying anything to try and redirect this new game back to being like the original, it is just angery comment and gone. Then we got the other types, the sincerely overly supportive and excessively toxic positivity, all they say is the same lines over and over, keep doing what your doing and change is good. The whole selling point or promotion for this new version is that it's supposed to be the same "original" game but with better code, it isn't supposed to change character designs or how we first meet them, or the world itself, it is supposed add and improve, not take away or rewrite the world order and characters lives. This version is like a warped reality conjured by that Fae b!t@# to mess with or trap the protagonist. It feels and looks wrong.
I don't get why things were changed so drastically if it was meant to be the same game, story, setting, characters, etcetera. What was wrong with just copy and paste the original game, not the code, and just moving that to the new version and then adding the new stuff? If you wanted characters to have new outfits, why not introduce them to wardrobe options? Why change Pixie or Emma in their appearances, and have Emma and Jessica's situations be entirely different with Jess owning a resort and Emma being a janitor that cleans Jessica's pool and guests crap? Why did the world have to have it's script flipped on its head and make everything public, from Fae and other beings, to that secret organization no longer being secret or atleast no longer hidden? Because they are atleast still scummy based on what little we can see in this version. This is a remake, not a remaster, and it does not feel or look like the original at all.
Seriously, if your a newcomer, go and find the old version and see what it had. Try to even look for someone or a site that has multiple older versions so that you can see how the game developed over time. You will see just how much has been changed easily in this new version and not for the better in my opinion.