itch.io

shame that even after you've done the comet, you can't go back to the village :(

:) no problem!

Hey, found a typo. "horde all your magic for yourself?" Should be "hoard".

Take magic again or be friends with Myka and go to the lake with her iirc?

Can I end up staying while still being with any of the "outsiders", like Len and Fezzi? Or is that a no-go?

I first bought this game - though finding $20 a bit dire - because I was intrigued by the unique art and interesting UI. I did not expect the game to be Fantasy Zero Escape. ZE is one of my favourite game series and I've always been enamoured by the fact that it uses the video game medium to its full potential: the player remembers information through different playthroughs, and that in turn changes the route the game takes. I was very surprised when it turned out the game was taking this route: you could use knowledge gained on other playthroughs in times where the character shouldn't have that knowledge yet, and that in turn opens up more to discover.

What I didn't like as, unlike in ZE, this seems mostly meta. Vyn doesnt seem to be aware or question why they know things ahead of time or from places they never visited. This seems to be handwaved as them retrieving memories from their past self or advice from the sage beyond death, but the "loop" of the game constantly returning itself to the same point in time at the start of every playthrough is not addressed in any way. In ZE, this is explained as time existing in a 4D or 5D space in the same way as consciousness, with the physical body existing on a 3D plane. If this is explained in COT, I either missed it or didnt understand it.

Putting together the clues for the true ending felt truly exhilarating at times. It's a hark back to the days where this was how video games were played, with people writing down the important things, though now in an era of quest logs and save files it's gradually becoming a lost art. It took me seeing the body with the carving on its arm about four times before I realised I was probably meant to be taking notes here. I enjoyed that! I enjoyed the feeling that this was my work and my mystery to solve, and that the player is rewarded for paying attention to and inspecting art in a game rather just mindlessly consuming it. I love that there are details hidden in the art, so one has to inspect and appreciate the work put into it. The philosophy, also? I love a game that makes you go hmmmmm. 🤔

The fantasy setting is unique and mesmerising. It's been a long time since I've felt so engaged by the lore of a work. I could read books of this, I really could. It has overall a very dreamlike quality with its striking metaphors and focus on illustrative physical sensation, and the washed-out ink drawings, with their great detail and high constrast, really serve to emphasise this.

The twist was great - I saw it coming, but it was still really interesting to see it play out. I think thats the best you can ask for, really. The most out-there twists can be ruined by bad writing, and even the most cliche can be elevated by good writing, and I really think you stuck the emotional and dramatic landing in every way here. The writing really shone here. Fantastic.

Theres some typos, like fiercely being written "fiercly" and rubble as "rubbel". "They leaned real close" in the story about Ilar seems too modern and colloquial for use in writing. "Until not a single piece bare any resemblence of life" should probably be "bares", since "piece" is one thing. Theres also a bug at the true end just before the ritual where if you have a custom name (and also in the third person epilogue), the player is still referred to as Vyn.

That said, this is unlikely to be a game I forget soon. It's something that has had a profound effect on me, that has left me thinking. One that's left me with mixed emotions in the best possible way. It's haunting. It's well worth the price I initially sniffed at. Thank you for this.

You're doing god's work

No official reply or update in nearly two months. It's been seven months since I invested. This seems, sadly, like more and more of a waste of my money every day.

I was worried about this too, but no fear! The game had been delayed while the writer moved house in December and finishes off another VN a long time coming, but a new demo is appearing this month at PAX East 2017, as reported on the author's Twitter: https://twitter.com/yandere?lang=en. The team is busy, but Spirit Parade is not cancelled!