The art and presentation of this game is... insane. It's phenomenal, Landi's art lends itself so much to the story that it truly couldn't exist without it. I know this is obvious to say, a visual novel couldn't exist without visuals, but woof. The music is gorgeous and well curated. There's more I want to talk about specifically the writing, Tula's possibly trans identity, their breakdowns, the real vs. the idealized, the nature of the soul vs. understanding how to breathe but...
Man what's up with the usage of the slur for romani in the year of our lord '26? I mean really I think Chmron's review says most of what I want to say about the game overall, but this is such a random sore spot that stands out that I feel it's worth reiterating. Not that I think the game is endorsing it, but it's still handled poorly and could use some touch up. I just don't think there's really a reason to ever use that word, at least certainly not in this story.
Edit: I've been informed one of the team members is roma, so I suppose that does strike a majority of my criticisms... though I do still think the point stands that it's jarring, and that the fortune teller's lack of existence, combined with the very idea of her being Tula's Zozobra, feels a bit... shallow. And I get it, because it's a sort of spiritualist practice (even though she seems to only deliver bad news), which goes against Tula's desperate need for the universe to make sense, for things to have logic and reason behind them, but I still think it gets muddied towards the end. Maybe, much like Tula, I need to get someone to talk things through with, because the ending leaves me a bit confused, the inner soliloquy about the king and queen dancing in the warmth that the firewood from the charred remains of the caravan. I really liked a lot of the work leading up to that... but I feel like it gets wobbly knees when trying to stick the landing. Tula very easily dismisses all the people in the story that aren't who they think the wolf is, but I don't think that means the narrative should as well. John's statement about the owl painting, Otto's comments about fate, even the wolf's argument about beauty and simplicity. I just want them pushed a little bit more. It feels poignant that Tula gets the same injury as their father, and finds his target, and fails to burn their first zozobra and instead burns the completely unfounded target of their ire as they sort of regress to this childish unhinged version of themself... but I'm lacking the thread to really pull all the twigs of this bundle together before tossing them into the flame. I feel like I just want every beat that comes up to be pushed just a little bit further. Gender, other people's perceptions of the world and of us, whether Tula is truly an antisocial narcissist or just poorly dealing with their own trauma, etc. It's not that I want a different ending, or better answers, I just want it to all be a bit more fleshed out so if and when Tula does just continue to make the wrong choices, it feels heavier, hits harder, and stands out on the level that the gorgeous art does.