This is a strong showing out the gate, damn. Took me about 2-2.5 hours to get through what’s available and I’m very hungry for more.
Horror isn’t an element done a lot in AVNs to begin with, so this is already fairly niche, but it executes very well. The star of this first release is a ghost hunt that reminds me of the one from Stormside. If you have them enabled, the QTE are fitting for their placement, and don’t often surprise you as long as you’re paying attention and remember they’re a thing. The puzzle I’m pretty sure you can just brute force by exploring everywhere as I don’t think there were any “wrong” answers, but it still felt fun and satisfying nonetheless. Options available to turn down the gore, jump scares, screen flashes for those who need them, but I think it would seriously diminish the full experience without them.
I don’t know yet whether this is building toward a harem or not, though I suspect (and hope) it is. There are 3 LI introduced here, 2 of which already have some kind of history with the MC, the blank profile cards in the menus hint at more to come. The relationships right now feel satisfying for the player, and not rushed or forced. The ones that were already there, are at different points so while we don’t have to do the whole introduction and building from scratch, there’s plenty of room for us to grow and develop with them.
The story is interesting and paced well. The available playtime was enough to get me invested, and while the end is a slight cliffhanger, it felt like a good place to end the episode also. I was happy to see an MC who didn’t turn out to be a Gary Stu like he was set up to be in the beginning, and I didn’t find myself calling out any of his decisions for being obviously stupid and out of character for what we know about him.
Overall, lots of good things to say and while the art and animations aren’t the best out there, it’s certainly above average for a 1st release and worth your time.