I don't think I've ever felt the need to comment on something before, but damn... Finally got around to joining the TSR/Echo craze, and finished the last of the routes in Echo today. I did a recommended route I found of Carl-Leo-Jenna-TJ-Flynn, and I'm really glad I took that route. Heavy stories are kinda my thing, and this absolutely did not disappoint. This is actually my first VN, and I loved how they were able to use the format to push the horror aspect of the stories.
I think one of the big reasons this story dragged me in so much is the parallels with my own childhood friend group. Hell my rich friend's name was Karl, even haha. The only one that didn't have a parallel in my group was Leo. For this reason, reading about their dynamic gave me a LOT of nostalgia, since my group didn't stay in touch really.
HIGHLY suggest. I've even suggested it to my non-furry friends.
Mild Spoilers follow:
I'd have to say that while I loved each route, and I don't think the story works nearly as well without reading all of them, my favorites are probably Carl's and Leo's. Carl's mainly for the twisty surrealist story, I really enjoyed that. Leo's route, to me, had the most satisfying ending of them all and I really enjoyed the obsession plotline - I thought that was really well done.
TJ/Flynn routes really drove home the heaviness, which I thought was a great way to end my reading experience. I know a lot of people say Jenna's route for the end due to the happier ending, but I liked not knowing the truth until the end. All-in-all such a good story and I can't wait to start Arches.
P.S. - As the Flynn of my group growing up (and I was definitely Flynn in my 20s), screw you guys (j/k)