I think I must have spent 2 hours straight just trying out all the routes and Easter eggs in this game. And when I was done I felt compelled to immediately scroll through the entire tumblr looking for more Pierrot content. This game quickly established itself as one of my favorite yandere vns! The length, unique cast of characters, variety of choices, interesting setting and nice visuals make this a very satisfying demo to play and gives a lot to enjoy and chew on! Just from the demo, I'm already invested. I'd highly recommend playing this game if you enjoy yanderes and shady, mysterious circumstances! I hope you enjoy it, and Pierrot (best boy), as much as I do! :)
(Spoilers below)
The first thing I need to talk about is the characters. It was extremely unfair how quickly Pierrot endeared himself to me. His cute hairstyle, reassuring smile and trustworthy "I'm on your side" personality (carefully maintained to hide the full extent of his attachment) are all big hits with me. I had already lost the battle from the first moment I saw him, he can do whatever he wants with my car. Another thing I like from him is what I'd describe as subtle clinginess- or a pushiness that doesn't seem pushy. He is always in your space but it seems like he's good-naturedly doing you a favor and hanging out with you because you need him. There's some subtleties to his behavior that I didn't notice the first time I played. I didn't notice how lukewarm his reactions were when I chose to bring up or hang out with other characters, and how he'd smile when I refused others' company. I really like small details like that which I could easily miss if I didn't play a second time!
Before this just becomes a Pierrot review I must mention the other main characters. They all have distinct and unique personalities, which I think is great, and all of them are likeable! I like Columbina second best and Arlecchino is also cool, but I would be down to hang out with everyone. It's also cool how they all have established relationships with one another, which is very realistic. Since I am a drama enjoyer, I can't wait to see them all wrassle later on in the name of love and jealousy.
I really enjoy the setting! The fact that we're in an enclosed facility and have had our regular life upended introduces a forced reliance on other characters who may or may not be well-meaning, which causes a lot of interesting dynamics and tension. I like that the setting is different from your average town or city. Those are nice too! But places that are different with a different set of rules are extra exciting! I like the set up of the disease as well. I feel like it nicely explains why these yanderes are all grouped up together and why they will behave the way they do.
When it comes to choices, I felt like there were an appropriate amount of them! There were enough choices to make me feel involved and immersed in the story, and I liked replaying and choosing all the different ones to see what I could learn (I don't do that for every game). The fact that there are unlockable different routes even in the demo is pretty impressive!
I always like to mention length. Including all the routes and easter eggs, that's quite a lot of content! I did say I took a couple of hours to play through it all. I feel like this demo gave me a really good bite of the world and characters, and made me feel full and satisfied with the experience. Of course, I'm always eager to learn more, though.
There's a lot of CGs in this demo. A lot! I really wasn't expecting so many. If I'm not mistaken, every character has at least one CG, and I believe most of them have more than one. This game is chock full of art, and I know that must have taken a lot of work, not to mention all the story writing and programming on the side. Even the side characters have sprites and interactions, that just screams high-effort to me.
The last thing I have to say is that the creator deserves a lot of appreciation for their time and hard work on this game! Thank you for the experience! I'm desperately looking forward to more and I really want to see more Pierrot but I will be super patient and wait as long as it takes. Take care of yourself first!