SOB I'M ALREADY FLOORED JUST FROM THE DEMO. Especially because of where it ended, that whole final scene had my heart snatched in a vise, it was so well done and the music and the majestry and the building ominosity flakdsjfalskdjfad
Sorry I'll try to contain myself to actually write something intelligible 🤣💦
Everything about this was absolutely brilliant and gorgeous and wonderfully well done. I found myself instantly immersed in this hopeless despondent world and on my seat as to what would happen next. Not only the typical things like the art and music and story but just the overall VIBES absolutely dripping off of every single scene. It was all fantastically done in a way that grabs you by the hook the second you start playing. And it made my heart ache so many times by the beautiful cinematography and world and dark beauty you've created.
Right away, we're introduced to our lead, Ramil, who's shown to be pretty rough yet with a despondent, reflective side we see in little glimpses. He's stuck in this hopeless world where no matter what he tries, misfortune meets him again and again and again, which explains his cynicism and general dark outlook on life. And not only Ramil, but we as the players can feel this sort of overwhelming melancholy, from the grim, poignant style of the music to the dark, grungy BGs, to even the fantastic descriptive voice of the narration. THERE WERE ALREADY A FEW TIMES WHERE I WAS LITERALLY TERRIFIED??? The mermaid scene in particular had my heart thumping something terrible lakdjfasd It was so well done. The lead-up, the music and sounds. Just terrifying.
Also I don't know why but that scene with Alab(?) (I forgot his name fully I think that was it) gave me such a strange feeling in my gut but in a good way, like. I was super immersed in this world and it was giving me these, like, semi-steampunk vibes, not quite because this is not steampunk but I'm having a hard time describing it lakdjfa Just the combination of music and the greenish tint to the BG and how your sprites are always so expressive to begin with but somehow Alab felt especially expressive here I DON'T KNOW but I loved that scene (well I love all of them, but).
Then Tala comes into the pictures and SOB I LOVE HER. I loved the slow way that Ramil had to warm up to her. As indeed, not only is Ramil the least romantic person ever who's experienced nothing but betrayal and tragedy all his life, but he's also very cautious for those same reasons, so it makes sense that it would take him so long to gradually start to trust her. That make it all the more rewarding when we did get those sweet scenes of them starting to connect. They are simply too sweet to me, I'll sob 😭💕
AND THE DREAMS!!!! They were so ethereal alkdfas I loved how silly some of them seemed at different parts. But then how they'd turn serious or sweet or sincere. The BGs in the dreams were especially beautiful sob. I loved the clouds and the surreal plains and the flowers. The style of them is wonderfully dream-like, which really added to the whole otherworldly quality of what was happening. And I already mentioned this but THE FINAL DREAM. I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT IT CLENCHED MY HEART SO MUCH. LIKE A DEEP PIT IN MY HEART. I love kind of ominous, surreal ballroom scenes to begin with and it didn't disappoint. The final bits made my gut roil loopdy-loops the same way some of my favorite media of all time have. Just this intense foreboding awe. The music here was especially GHHHHHHHHHHHFDKJFLAKSDFA
SOB AND THE SCENE ON THE BALCONY I FORGOT THAT ALSO MADE ME SO WEEPY Tala... my heart... 😭💕
OK I need to stop rambling about the story points and try to make more sense here. THE ART? GORGEOUS???? Your animation is always on point but it just felt especially beautifully done here. It really makes all the characters feel so so alive, and I loved the use of the little close-up pop-ins to key us in to important feelings and changes of expression. The BGs were all divine! It's clear you put so much work into them, and they really set such an amazing foundation in setting up the vibe and overall gloom (or surrealness, as in the case of the dreams). Writing is an absolute delight to read. I really enjoyed the use of the different ways the writing was presented? Like the slightly different style between dialogue and narration. And then the long narration bits that were more the NVL style for descriptive bits. Somehow it made it feel very storybook-esque, going back and forth between the different styles depending on the needs of the story. The dialogue always felt naturally presented and easy to follow along, and then it allowed for a lot of beautiful descriptions that were easy to read because of the NVL. Just really nicely done.
The music!! Love love loved the music. The ballroom music is still echoing in my head as I'm writing this up. But every single piece was perfect and really helped to set the tone and scene (or pull on heartstrings).
Overall, just absolutely fantastic and now I'm heartbroken that I got to the end and will have to wait 🤣💦 Sob I haven't been pulled this deeply into a story for a while, I'm absolutely hooked. And I love the dark yet hopeful feeling that's gnawed its way into my heart while reading. It's a beautiful balance between dark despair and beautiful hope and I'm really intrigued how it's going to end (and if it's going to end up wrecking me or not lakdjfa)
An amazing game and I'll be champing at the bit waiting for the full version to come out!! 💕