itch.io

I'm during chapter 3, but enjoyed it enough to leave a comment now instead of after finishing.

This is great work, and I need to thank whoever was responsible for Kerlno's lines (I only read it in English, and so I wish to know if Kerlno's quirks are 100% loyal to his Chinese portrayal). Like, I don't know why, but to me it feels like Kerlno REALLY cares about Tex, and means some of his teasing (especially the flirtatious ones). I mean, just look at these.

C'mon. I can't be the only one who thinks he's testing the waters and not actually teasing.

So, decided to check this out because I have a rule of "if I find it interesting, I'll finish it", and 100%-ed this. Sorry for the rambling, but I like establishing a timeline (or character ages if info is given, but here it wasn't)

Rabbit route it feels like every choice is canon and there were different rabbits. The lighter is the item Timber has if the rabbit runs into the cave (where the body was said to be found in the Black Rabbit route), but the notebook he gave to Plum is the item he has if the rabbit runs up a tree. I'd love it if the rabbit that fell of the cliff was actually still in the lake below, would make Senbei think Timber died if he went ahead with searching the lake for a body.

Witch/human route makes me think there were 2 witches in similar circumstances. Witch epilogue has Timber mention the shower, just for Plum to say it wasn't them and that they just shared smores. Witch route suggests the shower Timber gets is his second one, and Torture Route suggests that shower was his third. The fact Plum wasn't the witch that offered Timber a shower suggests there were at least 2 witches. There's nothing to suggest the Human route to be canon.

Wolf route happens after the Captor and Torture routes, with the Twig ending being the canon one. In the gallery, Twig even mentions other endings to be an alternate version of them, and Timber mentions he met Twig 1-2 months after being captured. Maybe it also happens a year after the Witch route? Plum is the first witch to start trading with them, and they got chicken from trading.

I can't be certain about the exact placement of the Captor and Torture routes other than Timber still being uninjured in the Witch epilogue and it happening a year after the Witch route.

And the Black Rabbit route must've happened a year after the Wolf route, as Twigs already moved into the Glaze, and Timber openly states it has been a year.

Finally competed all routes, and here are my opinions of the characters (in the order I did the routes in)

Mikko: Supportive, very protective. His route hurt, on some other routes it's also obvious he's hurting. I just want to give him a hug. Favourite appearance outside his own route: Devon's route

Jorgen: Initially mysterious and seemingly reserved, getting to know him better was truly enjoyable. Another hug. Favourite appearance outside his own route: Mikko's route (I'm biased, that was my first time seeing his philharmonic outfit)

Lake: They got a lot of love to give, and I don't blame them one bit. The strong desire of being loved is very relatable. Hug. Favourite appearance outside their own route: Torulf's route (second place Devon's route, the daddy issues line killed me).

Rune: Jack of all trades, master of none. I also relate to the feeling that your worth is attached to your achievements, and seeing someone get over it does make me feel good. I just want to give him a comforting pat on the back. Favourite appearance outside of his own route: Bjorn's route.

Devon: "You can't run, as everywhere you go, there you will be". Older than most of the cast, has trouble fitting in, moved to run away from his problems (which I don't think are actually a problem, it's just who he is). He deserves another pat on the back. Favourite appearance outside of his own route: Rune's route.

Torulf: Kill it with fire. Stab him. The only redeeming quality about this route is you can actually get closer to Gudrun than any other route. Favourite appearance outside his own route: None, hate that guy.

Bjorn: My opinion of Bjorn is the same as Bjorn's opinion on Travis: Too similar in some aspects, too different in others. Pat on the back. Favourite appearance outside of his own route: Mikko's route (I just like him being a part of the friend group in general).

I also believe there's a missable piece of dialogue that slightly suggests Travis would actually say no if you asked him to stay at his room. At least that's my interpretation.

So... thought to mention
On most routes when (if) you meet Gudrun, she is referred to as an ewe.
When going specifically for Torulf's early ending, which results in Gudrun being introduced during day 2 supper, the protagonist (narration) calls her a goat.

So, on current mobile version, an exception occurred while I was trying to replay the concert scene from Rune's route in the gallery... The issue is, while I could replicate it, I just pressed buttons and the issue fixed itself?

Like, every time I tried to replay it, an exception occurred, and clicking ignore just threw me to choosing a name for the protagonist and began day 1. But when I got that again, I clicked rollback twice, the game closed, and when I reopened it that same replay was functioning properly...

I wanna know IF (not how to get) other characters have known bad endings.

I tried ignoring Jorgen on Jorgen's route and ended up with what I believe to be a less detailed Lake route. I only say less detailed because Lake waking you up in the morning of day 2 and them telling you about their dream doesn't happen, yet is mentioned just like on Lake's route. + the jump to route button still recognized that as Jorgen's route.

Already did...

Worst ending felt a bit sudden, to say the least... It just feels like everything just goes completely unresolved.
Bad ending felt more definitive. Sure, it ends with day 3, but the protagonist truly felt broken by the events of that route. I feel their choice at the end was understandable, even if I find it a bit rushed. Very well-written, but I still think Mikko's good ending (at least as far as was released) is the best in terms of the emotional range it made me feel, tied with the bad ending for pure writing quality.

(And I know what you meant by kinky... in the protagonist's place, I'd find that terrifying)

Makes a mental note you mentioned multiple bad endings

Ok, but really, I'd get around to getting A bad ending, now I know there's multiple, I don't know in which direction to go... I know this visual novel isn't linear, but I'd actually appreciate being told the paths to go (spoilers be damned, I don't care).

Edit: Ok, nevermind, found 1 bad ending for Mikko that triggers on day 1, I'll just explore each option and guess I'll find the endings myself.

And I know I said I'll take a break... but I literally started and finished what I can only assume to be the good route for Jorgen. It's just after some thought I decided there must be at least one less heartbreaking route among the and chose Jorgen at random... and I'm glad that was my choice.

Normally I only comment AFTER finishing everything the build I played has to offer... but damn, this is very well-written and pulls at the heartstrings JUST RIGHT.

I only played what's currently available in Mikko's route, and I loved all the deep lines and metaphors (and the protagonist just makes me feel like they're suffering from depression), and I don't think I've seen romance novels (visual or not) go in the direction of the protagonist still not being sure of their feelings when the love interest confesses...

I'm looking forward to playing the other routes, but I need to take a break because that route broke me (in a good way).

I'm gonna be a little math nerd here and go on a number-based rant, I apologize in advance.

Ollie openly states he's 26. The protagonist answers that that's only 1 year older than him (so protagonist age is 25)
Rofi went to school with the protagonist, so the assumption of them being the same age is easy to make.
Artemis makes a point to say Theo is 30-something, and at some point I believe the protagonist even says Theo is around 10 years older (I remember reading that, but I can't be bothered to re-find it to check whether it's around 10 or exactly 10), so let's say Theo is 35.
While Artemis and Ollie met while Ollie was a junior, and Artemis only spent 1 year at college, we can't actually be certain of his age as Artemis is the only character that strikes me as "would take a gap year before going to college" kind of person. Maybe more than a year? All I know is that everyone except Theo is younger than 30.
Hunter got tutoring from Rofi during Rofi's final year at college, but I actually don't know how to use that for calculating purposes. Sounds to me like Rofi was already finishing college while Hunter was just starting, but I don't know how long did Rofi's biology major take. Hunter also doesn't strike me as a gap year kind of person, but I don't know much.
Using the in-game given info of Theo turning 17 in 2005, the earliest year the numbers make sense would be 2023 as the year the game takes place in.

I noticed Scribbles route (as unfinished as it is, since only the Therium and Alfy portions are complete) raises some global flags when you complete specific segments.
Like, even if you start from the beginning, if Therium's segment has been finished at any point in the past, Alfy's segment is unlocked. Same with Alfy's segment and the (currently inaccessible, but the option is there) Scribbles segment.
I don't know if it's because of the route being unfinished and that'll disappear as soon as chapter 1 of Scribbles is done, but I'm already imagining what would happen if that were allowed to progress in that direction... Maybe future chapters of Scribbles can raise flags that are checked in earlier chapters? Feels like a possibility.