Spoilers inbound!
I finished ProtoViolence a few hours ago and I have so many, many feelings. I'm continually impressed by how this world is presented: whether it's the slow pans or how you, as Dr. Dierdre, can access information, to the voice acting and, of course, the writing. Full disclosure--I'm relatively new to playing games, so it took a bit for me to understand how to progress the story. ^^; (The rule appears to be that the computer is the last thing you can access, and the files + phone can be chosen in whichever order you like.)
That aside, though, I loved the slow build-up to the horror. When I read the warnings, I assumed it would all be in your face right away, but it's...really not. As Dr. Dierdre says, things at YTDI look peaceful and serene. "Look" being the operative word, as it doesn't take long for the real "bleeding edge" of progress to seep through the carefully-controlled margins. The point being: when the horror actually reveals itself, you flinch not because it's some monster beyond human comprehension, but the icy, clinical way that it presents itself. (Until it doesn't, and that art shift is great.) It's what was always going to happen, no matter the kid.
Speaking of kids, let's talk about Pavel, who you will want to spit in A Certain Scientist's eye for. Even knowing Malviolence's story, it still felt like meeting him all over again--as it should, since this is his, dare I say, "origin story" *laughs and cries*. Either you've known a kid like Pavel or you were a kid like Pavel. And the...things...that happen to him (and have happened to others) will make you want to shove A Certain Scientist straight off her ivory tower regardless of where you sit on that binary. Mostly because, well, they're inhumane, but also because they're not unlike how kids with special needs etc. are treated IRL, taken to their extremes. There's even a point where Pavel has a breakdown over it and man. Man. It resonated hard enough that I had to take some time away for a bit.
The real winner for the horror scenes though was easily the one near the very end, mainly because it hit the Unable To Help A Child Despite Being An Adult primal fear button with a vengeance. I literally gasped out loud! Which doesn't happen very often. It was set up beforehand, but it still felt like the worst case scenario in a situation full of worst case scenarios. "Get this kid out of here, Oh god", I kept thinking, even though of course that was already the plan.
And then, several scenes later I gasped again out of sheer, gleeful triumph. "Yes, Pavel, take control back! Run away, BE FREE, AHAHAHA", to give an example of my thought process. XD (I did feel that the other kids' fates were a bit too ambiguous at first? But now that I've had time to think, it fits. Looking forward to maybe seeing a few of them later on! Shriya Reunion Tour when??)
There's a lot to think about here, in a good way. I get the feeling I'll be mulling it over for a long while after this, and not just in the "somehow crossing over with other canons for fun" like I've been daydreaming these past few months post-reading Malviolence. The themes of child abuse and the systems that perpetuate it "for the greater good" are written in a very thought-provoking way here, so it was bound to happen.
(To end this on a lighter note: as an Ant-man fan, I got a kick out of Roach-man. XD And CONGRATS MADO AGAIN!!!)