GUYS PLS I DONT THINK I HAVE THE STRENGTH FOR THE BAD ENDINGS I CANT NOT MAKE THEM HAPPY IS IT WORTH IT 馃挃馃挃
spoilers!!! anyways heres some (lowk unnecessary) thoughts i had about the good endings (bcs im a people pleasing coward):
-i loveddd rei like as a writer they resonated with me sooo much like aurhaeoafei
-they are all so hot. especiallyyyy caleb. emo men.
-penny and caleb were both more unsettling compared to rei imo. i didn't clock rei was lowk guilt tripping mc after admitting to doing smth else while doing the puzzles but maybe that's js me. but penny's good route was sooo unsettling. the constant clinginess genuinely made smth inside me shrivel up a little. had flashbacks to the trenches of 2020. discord was definitely a place to be. the fact that she knew where mc lived or the moodswings whenever mc hung out with irl friends? felt wrong in all the right ways. so well written. and caleb. oh, caleb. penny is gorg and rei is stunning. But caleb, caleb, caleb. the apple of my eye. the light to my dark. the man that terrifies me every time that stupid little shadow crosses his face. oh my lord. i nearly shat myself when i saw it because it was just such a drastic difference? his subtle dialogue that the mc doesn't pick up on (or choose to) framed him as lovingly unsettling. you don't have to be a genius to see that nothing was a coincidence. i just really really really love how they're all written like auhghghghghg. i really cannot put this into words enough.
-ok just returning to character design because it is immaculate. penny, for one, not a typical style i see in vns. only made me want her more. i love it. rei? no words, just, woah. yes. the hair, the eyes, the everything. and i don't know if you can tell yet, but caleb!! when i first saw him it was love at first sight. i just knew. that's it. that's my wife. i love his eyes so much. And the hair that lowkey gives kenma kozume? not only a goated throwback, but wowie i liked that a lot. i loved his personality too, but yk. humanity's need to focus on looks first and foremost.
-the anime references. now, if you can't tell from my immense rant (which i now realise may be extremely overwhelming) but i am a geek. a massive, obsessed geek. i love visual novels (shout out cove james holden) and i adore anime and mangas. I played genshin impact in 2022. I actively play honkai star rail as well as various other games and i cosplay and go to cons. while not all geeks do these, i certainly do. and the references made me giggle like crazy.
ok so i am now done with my rant. possibly for now considering i haven't played the bad endings yet. from what i've seen so far, i love this lots and lots. there are a few bugs, but i did just ignore them and it only skipped a bit of dialogue in caleb's route. thank you for reading my first comment and goodbye.
edit: ok i caved i played the bad endings.
my thoughts!
-penelope what the fuck.
-caleb what the fuck.
-rei what the fuck.
-for rei, ok, i admit, ''you're cool and i'm lame.' made me giggle more than i'd like to say. and this giggling did quickly stop at the mail! the fact that he sends it right to your home rather than the post office like in the good ending? beautiful detail, i loved that. also the fact that he keeps saying he wants to protect mc? i have a slight little feeling it might relate to kori. i did love the poem he sent in the package though. unsettlingly beautiful in ways i can't word. oh and the art? gorg. i love how the monitor is discord as well, as mentioned before, discord was a very, very dark place and i think that this encapsulates this immensely well.
-caleb just standing there made me giggle a lot. genuinely. with rei i was lowkey shitting myself at the concept of being 'hunted'. guess caleb wants to be the one hunted rather than doing the hunting. He was just... there. and his, surprisingly, unsettled me the least. then again, all of the bad endings unsettled me. like. what do i even do. he's not even hurting me. he's just. watching.
-dear god. i knew penelope's would scare the living shit out of me the most. and i was right. dear lord what in the actual flying fuck. the fact that she just cages mc after kidnapping them? felt wrong on so many levels. like. huh. the kettle description of the cage made me laugh though. but i love the way she was written. so perfectly insane in a love-bombing, infatuated nature.
-THE MUSIC!!! MADE EVERYTHING 10X WORSE I THINK I WAS ABOUT TO SHIT MYSELF DURING REI'S. I DIDN'T EXPECT MUCH FROM REI'S CONSIDERING HOW TAME HIS GOOD END FELT BUT. WOW. ANYWAYS THE SOUNDTRACK IS GORG I LOVED IT A LOT.
OVERALL I THINK THIS GAME PERFECTLY DEMONSTRATES THE EXTENT OF ONLINE FRIENDSHIPS. SOMETIMES IT CAN BE HARDER THAN JUST PRESSING A BLOCK. PEOPLE CAN BE EASIER TO FIND THAN WHAT'S COMFORTABLE TO THINK ABOUT. NO ONE IS EVER TRULY SAFE ON THE INTERNET AND I THINK THIS GAME JUST ENCAPSULATES THIS SO WELL. LIVE WITH THESE FLAWS, OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES? IT'S TRULY A LIFE-RUINING CONUNDRUM THAT IS VERY REAL AND MANY PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED. COUGH COUGH, THANKS A LOT DISCORD. ANYWAYS YES I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH FOR NOW. I LOVE MY MALEWIFE CALEB. ALSO I DO NOT EXPECT ANYONE TO READ THIS SHITTY YAP SESSION OF A COMMENT SO UH HI IF YOU ARE. DEFYING ALL ODDS, I SUPPOSE.