Any feedback? Lemme have it!

I just spammed your tumblr yesterday, but I also just bought and replayed Aloners, and I literally can't stop myself from repeating: This is a damn brilliant game.

So  just in case someone looks at feedback when considering buying the game, I'm gonna drop some love here as well. And some very  well meanining criticism, because frankly I find myself caring about everything you will be producing in the years to come and Im shameless enough to hope I may have something potentially useful to say. Wall of text incoming, but first

tl;dr: Buy this game. Support this developer. It's better than you expect, you will not regret it, and you also really want to see all her future games come to be.

So I find myself bored with most visual novels, even the ones I initially think will be interesting. Im an old gamer, Im a bit of a cynic, and I cant stop myself from being constantly aware of what's happening under the hood, especially in writing terms.  Aloners is the one VN that had a profound effect on me, an effect that makes me replay it every so often just to see if the first gut reaction was just a random moment in time. It was not. I'm happy I got to throw money at this game finally. The new chapter alone was worth it - it had the right length, it was light but poignant and it was just an allaround lovely farewell to the characters and the world.  Im genuinely pleased with it, especially because it is an open-ended "chapter in the story" kind of an addition, but one that still manages to create a sense of closure. 

Most VNs feel like they are trying to force emotionality down the player's throat. This isn't the case here. Aloners wants to take you on a ride, and it manages to be fun and funny and lighthearted and emotional and deep at the same time, all while pretending it isn't trying too hard. The dialogues feel natural, not forced or trite, and the character of Trash is well outlined and rounded - honestly it's rare that you see such a young and in many ways immature character that isn't portrayed in an one dimensional way.  Even more importantly, the way  players are offered meaningfully varied choices in shaping the heroine's voice is a major reason to appreciate the game, and allowed me to feel much more immersed than I'd have thought possible. Having a character behave in a way that feels interesting or enjoyable or realistic to you, as opposed to being stuck with a, let's be honest, usually bland, tasteless and cliched blank page (with mandatory pink ribbons at that), well, it makes a world of difference. 

The thing is, there is some very smart writing here, smart enough to force a level of immersion that blinds you away from any flaws it may have. :) And that is said with genuine affection, trust me. Because, to be perfectly blunt,  a "last two people in the world" scenario should feel cliched. Instead it is used cleverly to put lazer focus onto the relationship of the protagonists and create tension, but it, also cleverly, isn't overemphasized, so that you don't have to be constantly reminded of how cliche it really is. The world buidling is neither super original nor flawless, but again, it doesn't need to be, because it is smartly used to support the emotional ebbs and flows of the story. The structure follows all the expected beats that you should be able to see coming from miles away, but I didn't care, because I was invested. And Im gonna be painfully honest here, the main "twist" of the relationship was the one story beat that felt a bit forced and a bit immature compared to the rest of the writing, but... I mean, I was in love by then, so... you get away with it. :) 

At the end of the  day, there is very little that good writing won't allow you to get away with. But good writing that also leaves room for player agency, in a game format that usually feels so constricting, that can create some real magic. And the fact that you persuaded cynic ol' me of my genuine agency within the story,  while I was still analyzing all the smoke and mirrors, that's a great trick to have in your tool belt. It's what makes Aloners so good, what separates it from so many other VNs, and what I think earned you so many loyal fans. You allowed room for them in your game, while never taking your hand off the steering wheel.  Masterful sleight of hand, that.

So for a first work by a very young writer and game dev, Aloners goes above and beyond any expectations. It shows some real talent and some spectacular instinct for both writing and emotional characterization. It's fresh and genuine and literally forces you to fall for this protagonist, by persuading you with subtle touches that you are allowed not to.  It lets you unapologetically wallow in its romance, without being patronizing or overworked. 

And one last thing (which may have been the very first thing I ever commented on, the first time I played, and still impresses me at every playthrough): The way asking for consent is written into the story is exemplary. Without slowing down the rythym or feeling like it's a forced PC addition, without taking the player out of the mood, interrupting the urgency or messing with characterization. Asking for consent while remaining sexy but without being  emotionally coersive. Thank you for that. Really. You should be writing how-tos to be distributed in schools, we need everyone to learn how to do this and clearly you've got this shit down. 

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[PS. Im gonna shamelessly take advantage of our age difference to permit myself some unsolicited advice: Don't spend too much of your life obsessing over criticism and fan interactions, good or bad. The good can be distracting, the bad can be draining, neither is worth too much time that you could be spending writing or just living your life. Especially when you finally hit a big and heartless platform like steam, don't fret over every random stranger with an opinion and an internet connection. Take what you can use, discard the rest, find your balance. They're YOUR games.]

Im very much looking forward to Wilders. I'm really happy to see an original setting and to see that you didn't shy away from complicated and challenging themes. Im going to try and wait until the whole game drops, if I can resist, but I played the demo, and Im excited to see how much you have matured as a writer. Thank you for sharing your work with us and for sticking with it. Sorry I got so carried away and wrote so much, but believe me, it's from genuine affection. I wish you all the very best for the future, whatever path you land on.

I've played easily a hundred otome/vn game routes and this is absolutely one of the best ones if not THE best one i've ever played. I'm absolutely in love with trash and I was so excited to get an after story. 

I loved this so much, i truly enjoy all your visual novels, your way of writing is pure perfection! The characters intereactions and story feels natural and real, just buy and finish redux extra chapter, i loved it!! I just wish there was more, i'm satisfied with the extra chapter but it is so good, that makes me want more, if you ever release any other chapters i would buy it for sure. The interaction between the protagonist and trash/spoiler donotreadcarlito are just to awesome!! 

Hello

Don't know if you still want feedback, but I i enjoyed both the original version and this Redux so much, that I needed to leave my compliments.  I've purchased each of your games (all three), and have been completely immersed in the stories and characters each time.  Brilliant, emotional characters with a depth and level of maturity you just can't really find.  I'm hooked, and my only complaint at this time is that there aren't more to buy.  (Unless, I'm not seeing them, and in that case, point me and TAKE MY MONEY) :)

Looking so forward to your next work.

Thanks!

Since I played through Ran's Story and have halfway finished Bahadur's Story I expected to like this game but it really blew me away, it was much better than I had expected. It's quite a simple premise but it grew more complicated as you find out more about the world and how the mc ended up there. And a plus for me was that despite the post apocalypse setting, and the dark themes there was humor as well and good chemestry between the characters both with and without romance.

Trash's character was great, I liked him from the start and he only got better, you can really see how his past has shaped him and influenced his choices throughout, and even if you don't play as him you really get a feel for how his life has been and how hard it is for him to adjust to life with another person again. And at times when he was being evasive or a bit of a jerk I was glad to see that the mc didn't just take it lying down, she could put her foot down and tell him off, both with choices or as part of the story.

As for the mc, you can of course play her very differently each time, but I loved how many options you have for shaping her personality, and some of her dialogue is pure gold. I'm definetly going to play through the game again picking some different options, and to experience the story again :D

I. have no words. everything I wanted and more. the music, the simplistic background art. THE C H A R A C T E R S. Everyone was 3D. It was beautiful. BRAVO!

It's been quite a few years since the last time I was actually invested in a VN. Usually I'm like "I've read this before", "this is such a cliche" etc. Maybe Aloners caught me at just the right moment, or maybe it was the engaging writing that got me, but I decided to give it a chance and I'm happy I did.  The story really kept be glued to the seat until the very end. 

And it turns out you wrote Wilder too,  which I also loved! Looking forward to more games from you in the future.

Hi there! Just wanted to let you know I finished playing the redux and wow I'm so glad for it. I played Aloners when it first came out all that time ago and was an instant fan. It was one of my first VNs and definitely one that is very near and dear to my heart. I loved Trash and his quirks; you wrote a believable, lovable character. While most VNs have multiple choices for the player to choose from, I really liked that this one didn't. It felt like you really got to know the character and all his flaws and charms. As I said, Trash is very believable as a real person and I love that about your work. Your writing style kept me coming back to the original Aloners for years as a pick-me-up because the story was just so good.  

I was glad to see the redux with the bonus content because while I think the game wrapped up nicely, I was definitely hoping for some more post-apocalyptic  goodness. You did not disappoint. I loved every minute of reading it and admittedly was sad when I reached the conclusion.  To anyone wondering if they should pay for the updated version or if they should just stick with the free-to-play, I say get the update. There's an amazing amount of love and effort put into your game and it shows. And the bonus story? I couldn't have asked for a better epilogue. I've loved this game for years and am happy to give something small back for the hours entertainment you've delivered. Keep up the excellent work!

I love it!!

I finished this within 6-7 hours. (One Sitting)

The interactions with Trash (the male character) are wide ranged. I love the options. If I want to be pissed off I can do so happily.

Ty for this master piece.

god i loved this game... i just got this full version after playing the older one. i can sense i'll be coming back to it for some time <3

i played the original aloners way back when it first came out, and it's occupied a huge part of my brain ever since. i love this game and it'll always have a special place in my heart!