Oh lord almighty here I am ten months later finally playing the game that you used my seed in!! I am so horribly late, but life kinda happened- i have GOT to say, i did not expect this kind of game to have the teddy bear i drew featured in! Granted, I have yet to see it but like I genuinely dont need too! The whole weird neon surrealism thing is RIGHT up my alley! The narrative is really really good, i like how everyone is characterized even if their arent characters per se, ugh this just scratches my brain BEAUTIFULLY! Im happy I was able to provide to a game like this!!
biohazardblade
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Oh boy, I definitely need to talk about this! So to begin with, this game was teased with a tumblr blog where the character in the game interested with anonymous messages, talking about how he just needs people to play the game and free him. Already, I LOVE the way the game was marketed and advertised, that was an absolutely stupendous way to reel me in!
Then, the game itself dropped, and I absolutely adore it. While it's rather short and simple, I think the simplicity helps focus on the whole point of the game, which is Xeno needs the player's puppet to free him. He lets the player practically do anything to him for the sake of getting free, tossing his dignity out the window for one of the endings, which just shows how fucked the prison he's in has made him. He's so desperate to get free that he's willing to entertain a being that he can't actually interact with, one that was sent by someone who he doesn't even trust.
His desperation shows and it's what really makes the whole thing appealing for me.
The only criticism's I have are honestly that I wanted more! I would've loved to maybe get to know more about the prison complex and also the warden, and ugh don't get me started on how I desperately need to know every detail about the additional character mentioned in a few of the endings. While it's short, it's still effective and gets what I think was the main point of this game across! I look forward to seeing more of the universe NIghtmare has made and is willing to share with us here online!
The theming to this was beautifully done. The monochromatic blues and reds truly set the otherwordly tone for this game! The way Dorian was written, constantly walking around truths and lies is so amazing. His reasonings for enjoying the player and what's heavily implied to have been done are absolutely beautiful and easy to pick up on! Once again, a hit made by you Catsket!
This small story really captivated me when I played it. The simple execution with bitsy really lets the imagination run wild with ideas and the implications!! I adored the depiction of all the characters.
The relationship with the girls father is so so interesting. The short story definitely left me wanting for more of her life and how she navigates it honestly. I liked the detail that her being able to navigate the whole map is cause she too can fly! it really was a good touch!
I've since played this a whole ago and admittedly haven't clicked ALL the options but I do have feelings about this game!
First of all, the art style, i adore the pixelization and the bright characters and artwork over the black and white background. It really puts a good emphasis on what the focus of the story is, which is 3 artists and their forms of creative outlet.
Did you know all the pixelized artwork was handpainted over by the dev? They seriously didnt just pixelize the artworks, they went over it in SAI with the colors on the work. The dedication is really amazing!!
Second of all, the writing. Lord have mercy I LOVED the writing! It always feels so.....vague but in a really realistic way? Like at first I was like, oh are we just gonna be kinda lost for a bit? But then we got the exposition in the most, I feel, realistic way possible!! I definitely look forward to the future writing of the game, but I hope that either I pick up more on the writing style or the vagueness doesnt really drown out the meaning of the story, if that makes sense? Sometime shit's vague though so I get it!
Third of all, the dev themselves. Oh my gosh Kat is such a treat! They're so passionate about this project and the love and care they have for this story is genuinely so refreshing and makes me so happy. If you look at what they post on the social medias for the game, you'll see what I mean!
All in all, 10/10 demo(n), cant wait for the final game!
when I got hit with the to be continued I wanted nothing more than to click on it until it broke and the game continued, i need this full game in my life the story is SO interesting and the characters are so so fun. Sobbing loudly I want to go to the dusk court PLEASE
Thank u 4 this amazing demo, i cant wait 4 the full game!
Where to even start! The way this story is being told is beautifully done, first of all. It flows so naturally from past to present, from anger to sadness, from suffocating pressure to eerie openess.
The use of music and sounds is especially beautifully done. That scene with the whip crack noises made me flinch more than once while I had to ponder options.
That alone is justification enough to love this, but oh, it just gets better! The world building isn't shoved in your face all at once, and nor is it so empty and barely there that it may as well not exist at all. It's just the right amount at just the right times. Then, the cherry on top of the frosting on top of this cake- the characters!!
To say I'm in love with all of them is becoming rapidly true as I write this. Mathias is so interesting to me. The way he views the commander-- me in this case-- and how it plays into how he goes about things is so intriguing. I end up going along with being a tad angry at him, and I believe I ended up on the friendship path (for the time being). You can tell he has so much to say. So much is just in that head of his that he's always considering, always trying to come up with solutions too. He either can't say some of it due to his status, or he won't say it because of his status. I feel like he genuinely cares for me but then the constant reminder of his position, of what he can become, of what he is to become, it just makes me think.....maybe he's not as kind as I think. It leaves me guessing!!!!! It's so fun.
Then there's Mandra. Oh sweet beloved oh so hot and powerful and sexy Mandra. I'm not gonna lie the moment I had any chance to be Mandra I was all over it. Mandra is SO fun. A force to be reckoned with, who dismisses the idiotic nobles and all their weird traditions and hang-ups on appearance. Not to mention, the inherent bond I felt I had with them. The pain we shared, that only we will ever really understand, gives a solid foundation to our relationship, which is close no matter how it ends up being spun I bet. We became comrades in a war that tore me in two, and we continue to be as such, despite not seeing one another for 3 whole years. But.....Mandra knows that they can't protect me. Their force and brute strength does nothing in a battle of papers and words and emotion filled glances. It does nothing to keep me safe from the court that seems so intent on ripping the rug right from beneath my feet. Mandra can protect me physically, but.....nothing can exactly fight off words without dire consequences to such actions. They know this and remind me of this, wanting me to be safe and happy, notably, with someone who isn't their older brother. I have to say I see their point entirely.
Alas, we come to the adoptive Mother turned tyrant, turned gentle yet wise Queen. The beginning where it described how she played dress with me, how she let herself be vulnerable and more child-like near me, it pained my heart. To think that she had to confide in little ol me, who was probably still reeling from all the things happening in that damned palace, it made me feel deeply for her. I could feel the kindness in her actions, the trust she showed me by being vulnerable to me when I was much younger than her. I do see her as a mother figure, maybe not one who was particularly close with me, but one who could be a shoulder to cry on for me, if the situation called for it. At the same time, I feel distant from her. I know she's not my real mother, I know she busies herself more with Mathias as she wishes him to be kind, and probably worries over Mandra who's always out at battle and who has only just returned. I feel.....shelved, in a sense. The real children before the one she dragged to take punishment for her son in. It hurts, especially when I consider she knew what the late king was like, and still thought it was pertinent that someone take his wrath, when I think she should've overthrown his ass the moment he got violent. Traditions be damned in that sense. It's a rage that I direct silently at her, because I don't know what will happen with her, and I still am fond of her, despite the hand she played in taking my ragdoll body and setting it on fire. I can't imagine what she was like when she was more forceful like the late king, just the thought of someone so nice to me turning in the man who ruined my body and soul makes me wanna scream and cry and throw up. As she gets gentler, and perhaps considers me once again, outside of her cooing to her little harpy, I hope she shows me that everything has been genuine this whole time, and that she knows im a person and now a piece on a board to crown her son king.
Her lover, the great Doctor and spymaster herself, I absolutely adore. A stern and strict woman who takes no one's shit and will absolutely not have a had in dealing the shit unless it's needed. Her constant strong and ever-present personality is comforting in this cast of people who have so much to hide or say, with only so few words to say them. It's nice seeing her driven on healing her lover, seeing her not waver in her duties despite the dire times, and to still make time for the others of the small circle of people she serves and allies herself with. I can't wait to see what all that spymaster magic gets us in the last few parts of this story, honestly. I hope her and the queen can live much longer than what is fated for them.
Then the ever elusive Master Curio! Oh, they baffle me to no end. What does Curio want? Why teach Mathias? Why humor that weirdly timid yet prideful man? Does Curio need something? is this just a whim of their's? I don't even know. I love Curio, despite the unknown motives and possible danger that lurk in those hundreds of years they've seemingly lived. They're kind to me, and helped me not get caught easedropping, so for the time being, I see them as an easygoing and laid-back ally. Perhaps Curio will be integral to what I want done, to what I need to do, or to what becomes of me. I just hope whatever the circumstance, curio is on my side.
Then we've got my loyal second in command, Valencia! Oh, she's drop dead gorgeous, I have to say. I have full faith and trust her. Reading her dialogue just made me feel like I was chatting with a best friend, despite the formal speech and environment. She felt so cozy to be around, different to the Mandra cozy, but similar in how it's formed through fighting alongside one another, I think. She seems like a lantern that will never die out, so long as I ask the lantern to be by my side. She's so quick to aide me and only shows hesitance when it's for my sake. My lovely second-in-command. I want more stuff from her soooo bad.
This game is SO interesting and I hope there's at least a little erotic holding of swords to people who've harmed and healed me so I can release all this welled up emotion I have as the mc of the game. I have SO many feelings. I WANT more of this story soooo bad. I wish it wasn't just gonna be four chapters, I'd play a 3 day long vn of this world. I genuinely would!
Thank you so much for this lovely story, it's sooo good. <3
Fuck you?????? Fuck you for making this fucking game that made me face all my issues in one go while also viewing attractive men???? Fuck you for the beautiful writing and the fucking emotional roller coaster I went on for an entire fucking night???? Im coming to your place of work to tp it out of hatred and adoration??????????? LIKE??? HELLO??????? HOW DID YOU JUST THROW A GAME TOGETHER THIS GOOD???? IM KIND OF IN FUCKING AWE AND PROCESSING THE ENDING ROUTE END. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE???? IT WAS SO BRILLIANT. FUCK!!! SHIT!!!! I'M GONNA SUBMIT THIS COMMENT NOW BEFORE I REFUSE TO SHUT UP!
Didn't mean for the message 2 be mean or jarring but I don't know how else to tell u what this game makes me feel