⭐⭐⭐⭐
With a well-defined emotional core and deliberate presentation, The Wolf Beyond the Table is a solid game jam submission.
The writing here is a fantastic example of the power of metaphor. Players are introduced to a barrage of symbols (the empty chair, names, folklore, etc.), but rather than become overwhelming, they snowball into the foundation and the building blocks of a thoughtful exploration of the VN's themes. The game achieves this by constantly tying back its imagery to the MC's most relevant internal conflict, which makes for a cohesive character study while standing out from its fairly boiler plate setup. It also avoids being too self-centred by granting its supporting cast just enough of their own quirks and voices that they come off as individuals, people who interact with others and play TTRPGs differently.
Sadly, while solid on a macro level, the sentence-to-sentence writing doesn't perform as well in my eyes. Phrasing is often repetitive and a little too abstract at times. This project also goes for wordy and flowery descriptions of places and feelings, which to me bogged down my reading without adding enough to balance this out. My greatest issue, however comes in its overreliance on single clause sentences. These are meant to be impactful bits of writing where readers are absorbed by a single, powerful emotion, action, or metaphor, but in The Wolf Beyond the Table these happen way too frequently. This leads to a loss of their intended impact and—due to the way advancing works in Ren'py—a more cumbersome reading experience.
One place the game's a lot more successful in my view is the presentation. In truth, there's nothing fancy or complex going on, but transitions and blocking are used to support the dramatic weight of each scene and complement actions and feelings therein.
If it wasn't for that pretty big gripe I have with some of the writing, this would be one of my favourite May Wolves, as the plot really resonated with me and the level of intentionality here I find commendable.