HOW DID THIS GET MADE IN THREE MONTHS? It's simply a fantastic RPG, with endearing characters, expansive lore, a plot with twists and turns, and colorful settings to explore.
I really loved the HUGE variety of settings in this. Every city and dungeon has its own unique vibe that makes it feel like you're traversing a truly vast world. I particularly liked the beginning, where you go from your peaceful hometown to this dark, dingy swamp area. It's very ominous and a bit hard to navigate, mimicking the characters' own struggles in that area (and I appreciate the interesting verticality). My favorite area was definitely the Liar's Province at night. The music track combined with the melancholic color tone gave it a very unique, somber feel that matched Lawrence and Charles' situation at that point.
The world feels extremely "alive." Part of it may be the genre (since I am used to playing VNs), but there is just a LOT of detail put into the world, particularly in the early sections. There's so much detail put into the orphanage, for example, and each character has a distinct name and voice. (On a somewhat related note, I really appreciated all of the different references to other games in the indie VN dev community! They were really fun easter eggs that helped flesh out the world too. Thank you for the Karamu references~)
The beginning characterizes Lawrence well, establishing his conflicted attitude towards practicing magic vs. music, as well as his close relationship with the other kids in his orphanage/Charles. On the whole, all of the characters feel very well-rounded and nuanced, with different positive traits and flaws alike, with well established relationships between all of the different characters.
There are SO many fun jokes, references, and details in this game. I loved the ROOMMATES in J'Ouvert, the two brothers crying when they received packed lunches from their neighbor, and the myriad of other references (the FMA reference, the Annelise reference, the TDIRR reference, etc etc.)
The plot twists caught me completely off guard, but they made a lot of sense for the story being told. The writing is really excellent and very different from both TNT and CNC, with a more poetic approach to the dialogue that still retains the wholesome bonding from those other two games.
===SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS BELOW===
Typically, RPGs have pretty "lofty" messages and themes about heroism and good vs. evil and that sort of thing. So I really enjoyed how, at its heart, Lord of Lies is about love, family, and friendship (and it ties in really well with the themes in M2B's other works as well). Lawrence isn't a guy with grand ambitions; he just wants a home and a family to love. From the start, you're thrust into Lawrence's disordered home life at the orphanage - while he gets along well with his siblings and has some good parental figures, he's also pressured and manipulated by others at his orphanage, and he's ultimately betrayed by a person he should have viewed as his mother. As we're introduced to the rest of the cast, they all have disordered relationships in some way - Gala/Prince have a tenuous relationship with her family, and Gala has an unhealthy "master/servant" relationship with King. The Duchess struggles with her entanglement with King, even though she wants a healthy relationship with Zahir. Duke's heart is in turmoil, unable to know whether Prince betrayed him.
When the story reveals that King is the traitor, it makes perfect sense. He's the figure standing at the head of the "Witch Hunter family" -- its toxic patriarch, who's responsible for fueling much of the drama in the group. It's visible in the way he treats his "own family," too--mostly abandoning them and visiting every once in a while. King caused this mess, while blaming Solana for his misdeeds.
As the story progresses, it's clear that the "strength" in Lawrence is not his physical or magical prowess (since he needs a bigger stick); instead, his strength is his steadfast relationship with Gala and Charles, those relationships built on trust and mutual respect. He also slowly builds bonds with his other Witch Hunter compatriots as well, until they become a "family" of sorts. Then, in the end, when King threatens to take Gala away - the partner threatening to pull her into his web of toxicity - Lawrence bonds together with the rest of his family to fight him, to fight against the toxic "love" he represents in favor of a healthier love. Ultimately, I appreciated this theme - this triumph of "true love" (not just romantic love, but also platonic love) over the toxic relationships that the characters had been embroiled in before. (Of the characters, while Gala also represents this theme quite strongly, I think that the Duchess' arc represents the theme even more strongly - as she breaks free of the toxic relationship with King himself and comes to terms with the negativity that she spread through her actions - the toxicity that she spread to Zahir.)
Overall the ending for all of the characters is incredibly fitting. Charles, not needing a relationship except his animal companion, departs with the Hound. The Duke and Prince live peacefully together in the animal kingdom. Zahir and the Duchess don't end up together, but they stay as friends - working on themselves and contributing to the world around them in their own respective ways. And Lawrence adopts orphans from the orphanage where he grew up = finally making that family that he longed for, and giving a happy home to orphans like himself.
I loved the twist on Cinderella - how it tied into the witch lore, as well as the themes of abuse and neglect. (I also really like the concept that a "godmother" is the same as a djinn or a genie!)
I really enjoyed the lies mechanic, as it is a really visual and visceral way of telling if someone is trustworthy. I particularly loved how it was used in the beginning of the game as a way of sussing out Mother Superior, as well as how it was used during Gala's confession - a heartwarming twist on the deception that Lawrence was used to experiencing.
(Also I should've known that King would be a baddie when he got hit with the post-party member nerf.)
Overall this was a really great game, a fantastic usage of the RPG format to tell a touching story about love and the bonds we share. Great work by a great dev!