I already wrote a review, but I just wanted to say it's so gripping and compelling how, in the end, it's up to the player to interpret the last 5 years, Seren, and even her second journey. I love the comparison made with the poem, that her journey, the story, and Seren's role it can be interpreted in hundreds of different ways. Even Seren herself will never be able to know for sure. But I also really liked the point made in the last couple of lines of text, that regardless, everyone has to live with everything that has happened and keep moving forward. It doesn't really matter WHY things happened, just that they did. How do we move forward? How do we make things better? How do we work with our past actions, our guilt, and how do we absolve ourselves? What can we, personally, do to change anything at all?
SPOILERS IN REST OF COMMENT! LOOK AWAY!
SPOILERS IN REST OF COMMENT! LOOK AWAY!
Personal thoughts: I think a "fairytale" ending would have been Seren's party overthrowing the cult. In my first playthrough I was hoping for it... But that's just not how things work in real life. The oppressive structures you grow up with are too powerful, too manipulating, too humiliating, too far-reaching to even think of trying, or to be able to succeed if you did. They're so realistically evil!!!!! God!!! And the problems in the world of The Hero's Journey wouldn't have been fixed with just the cult gone.
I also thought it was amazing how compelling the two characters that leave depending on the route are. I mean like, I did the Sun path first, and then finding out you get to kind of make a family with E**** and B*** if you go for that in the Star path was sort of so. So. Emotion inducing...... But Thisbe was really. Like her accepting you trying to make things right and all. Wooly being representative and everyone accommodating him. I kind of wish you could still tell ****** the truth in the Star path because I felt so bad... Literally so bad. (Unless you can somehow and I missed that because there's a ton of variables here) But that's how human these characters were. I went for Aenora first since I'm a lesbian and I loved the development and the like, everything to do with the Sun path and her route in that. Becoming equals, etc. But I was so surprised how the Rhain route didn't feel like betraying her and hurting her badly. Well it did a little at first...but then it's like...no, this is human. And they're both great people :( I was also VERY surprised by Emrys' route but then it almost became my favourite (being gay married in a homophobic world makes Aenora surpass Emrys for me but it's close!) it's just like. Woah. And Everything about Y* K** is so SAD!!!!! Tragedy! With hope! Because that's what we need to get through all this.
SPOILERS END
SPOILERS END
TL;DR: This game deserves AT LEAST one playthrough to the end. One of the most meaningful visual novels I've played in the last couple of years, which is really impressive for its length and price (free!). There is an incredible story within this game and one worth reading. The player has to decide on their personal interpretation of the events and the character, but the fact that there isn't a singular one is exactly what we have to do as humans and the things we live through. I'm also very willing to pay for any future DLC or any kind of "behind the scenes" content. Congratulations on completing the game!!