Finally got around to actually playing this. Unsure I'd say I "enjoyed" the experience (getting inside Bao's mind, especially towards the end of the duel, was a bit uncomfortable at times and I'm not really into guro), but I like the game.
The graphics are beautiful, and I especially love the animation of the duel scenes. I personally only have experience with the foil, but the scene at the dueling path felt neatly familiar to that. It contrasts nicely with the very not-that feel of the one in the dream. (Also, looking this up again, I just now realized Bao fights left-handed. That's an interesting advantage for her.)
The music is amazing too, though I don't know how to really comment more deeply on that.
I was a bit surprised how little connection the fencing in the dueling society seemed to have with Mensur. Given Bao's scar, the high level of formalism, and the wonky ideas of honour and building character, I started the game off expecting you to have drawn a lot from it. Though, now thinking of it, I could very well see the differences being an intentional divergence on your part to comment on gendering: In Mensur by standing still and stoically enduring a cut on your face you demonstrate your honour/masculinity in a student society that bans female membership. By contrast, the Academy's dueling society is co-ed and majority of the highest-ranking members all appear to be women. Maybe that and the way that the duels aim to avoid visible injuries and incentivize quick movement are connected?
Bao's really internalized a twisted and sad way to approach social situations / relationships. She keeps hurting not only others but also self-sabotaging and seemingly manages to read malice into everything. Love the way you naturally get into the way she thinks as the game progresses.
I didn't realize there were extra endings until I saw it mentioned in Extra.zip's README. On my first playthrough, I tried to still be normal about it, until that option was struck out. Next I selected to stab her right away, in the hope that a quick and clean messy kill would satisfy Bao's (blood)lust. Alas. After that, I just went along with what I felt she wanted. Given how you do get the extra endings, I keep thinking about that wrt. you as the player being part of Bao's mind at that moment.
Of the endings, I feel the "medium" ending is the one where Bao's got the best chance of actually fixing her life. In the "least bad", the way Bao pleads Jan for just one more chance, I don't feel she truly understands just how she's fucked up and I feel the rejection is only going to further entrench her into the same ways of thinking. In the "medium", she appears more aware of how she has wronged Jan, while Jan feels (interestingly enough) more sympathetic to her, telling Bao to fix her damn own self and stop hoping someone else will.
Okay wow this comment ended up way longer and less coherently organized than I expected. I'll probably make another comment under the Design Book after I've read it.
PS. This game is the reason why Ren'Py now works without issues out of the box on FreeBSD.