itch.io

Hello! I am so very glad to have met a fellow ManlyBadassHero fan here in the wild
Likewise, thank you, I did have a quite-decent-evening! 

About Lee's escalation: this is why I view this game as a "great horror story but an unfortunately missed  opportunity to explore this under-represented,  very complex ,dehumanised  , dynamic of relationships and own struggles from a neurodivergent perspective, which, frustratingly enough, it was doing already very well"  as you have pointed out  here briefly too.
The game was very mature and very humane in its depiction and, well, because of this I chucked Lee's action here  as something redeemable, very specific to that very context.
She(they?) needed somewhere to crash out.

This gesture was explainable and understandable but also a bit odd ,
this is why it is a great plot twist for a horror story where trust-is-given-then-broken, which it did pan out to be, yet. just such a slapstick, tongue-in-cheek aversion, to the aversion of stereotypes the game raised my hopes so high to be. 

anyways, sorry for restating what already was stated, I too agree that the game was good
thank you again!

may your cat get lots of pats

beautifully put, honestly, this is what I mostly thought myself too
You worded it so well, thank you so much

wonderful work! you are such  a great animator! please never feel obliged to keep your work away

I am so glad to see this, this is genuinely so lovely.
Have a great day, this might seem small but this inspires me a lot!

honestly, good point that I somewhat share.
Thank you for posting this and putting something I couldn't quite grasp myself.

I had saw many rpg-esque horror games (manly badass hero) and played some myself.
So, as I was playing this game, throughout the middle part, I have had the sense that: "Well, there seems to be something that's  too off about Lee's house and behavior", "this is shaping to be a pretty solid and standard horror premise"

The cop out 'chasing scene' when Angel first went up. 
How then, just after that. Lee overshared about his mother's implied  abuse/neglect and painkiller overdose
The detrimentally selfless,  response Lee gave to Angel when she brought up  suicide. 
weird timing and odd framing


I felt that  there was something codependent forming. A type of manipulation they would both inflict on each other because of their past trauma and feelings of inadequacy.
This, in turn,  made me be really invested into the story. I wanted to see how this would pan out
These seemed like they could have been just some transitional responses. Out of fear and their own type of self neglect that could be corrected, through boundaries etc.
I wanted to know  how this is would   turn out 'healthy' for them
I thought that well, Lee could  help Angela have a better grounding in herself and her life,  and, int 'turn', Angela could perhaps help him open up to his feelings and trust and process

I too have expected that the story  would follow a process of healing and how tumultuous  and terrifying, but ultimately so beautiful it can be    

I have also said that " well, if this will turn out to be something horror where... I don't knoooow, Lee is a murderer or something,  crazy thought but, if that's so, this is a great horror story"

and look, I do respect it for that. I respect how Lee did not harm Angel, I think that was a quirk that would be hard to tell off  (especially after seeing the shrine) and an overall interesting dynamic.

In the same ending, I also have found the fact that Angel goes out to save herself, somewhat signaling the fact that she is trying and wants to heal herself, that she is willing to respect herself  in in contrast to her  depending on others to be a good choice for this path

BUT, honestly, this ending did feel like a afterthought and the cliffhanger, while indeed more real, maybe felt a little cheap? I do preffer it as my canon though
All of this said, I do personally believe this was a great ***horror game***in all of its deserved earnest, but it could've been something just soooo much more interesting and unique.
Not to say horror rpg games and tropes are necessarily bad or anything, god knows how the Purgatory series is one of my favorite horror rpg stories of all time, despite how pulpy it is(pulp... that it kinda create somewhat)

But I feel this game was just so... mature? and intricate, and complex, and the horror ending made it slightly tongue-in-cheek

anyways, i hope you have a good rest of your evening out there!

I have actually finished this

[SPOILER]

jesus christ man...

I thought the scary parts were just the fear  (like the first scene with the corridor) weren't that much hinting at the horror undertone but at how somebody who had went through such abuse  may feel scared and unsure even by normal stuff as they are in constant tension

I mean, of course, it could still be that very thing. I just didn't know it was actually going to derail into horror. Which just serves to say: this was masterfully  built, tittering just on the edge of the player's expectation which is a REALLY hard line to keep on threading. FOR the most part (and after looking at the story from my refreshed perspective, for probably all parts) the writing was phenomenal and surprisingly very, very mature which I admire a lot. Especially for the scene where Angel talks about how she doesn't want to feel different now about  sex, despite the sexual assault she went through, the frustration, the guilt for not being 'bothered enough'  was portrayed  just so  tearingly human and real.

I had saw many rpg-esque horror games (manly badass hero) and played some myself. So, as I was playing this game, throughout the middle part, I have had the sense that: "Well, there seems to be something that's  too off about Lee's house and behavior", "this is shaping to be a pretty solid and standard horror premise" The cop out 'chasing scene' when Angel first went up.  How then, just after that. Lee overshared about his mother's implied  abuse/neglect and painkiller overdose The detrimentally selfless,  response Lee gave to Angel when she brought up  suicide.  weird timing and odd framing I felt that  there was something codependent forming. A type of manipulation they would both inflict on each other because of their past trauma and feelings of inadequacy. This, in turn,  made me be really invested into the story. I wanted to see how this would pan out These seemed like they could have been just some transitional responses. Out of fear and their own type of self neglect that could be corrected, through boundaries etc. I wanted to know  how this is would   turn out 'healthy' for them I thought that well, Lee could  help Angela have a better grounding in herself and her life,  and, int 'turn', Angela could perhaps help him open up to his feelings and trust and process

I too have expected that the story  would follow a process of healing and how tumultuous  and terrifying, but ultimately so beautiful it can be     I have also said that " well, if this will turn out to be something horror where... I don't knoooow, Lee is a murderer or something,  crazy thought but, if that's so, this is a great horror story"

and look, I do respect it for that. I respect how Lee did not harm Angel, I think that was a quirk that would be hard to tell off  (especially after seeing the shrine) and an overall interesting dynamic.

In the same ending, I also have found the fact that Angel goes out to save herself, somewhat signaling the fact that she is trying and wants to heal herself, that she is willing to respect herself  in in contrast to her  depending on others to be a good choice for this path

BUT, honestly, this ending did feel like a afterthought and the cliffhanger, while indeed more real, maybe felt a little cheap? I do prefer it as my canon though All of this said, I do personally believe this was a great ***horror game***in all of its deserved earnest, but it could've been something just soooo much more interesting and unique. Not to say horror rpg games and tropes are necessarily bad or anything, god knows how the Purgatory series is one of my favorite horror rpg stories of all time, despite how pulpy it is(pulp... that it kinda create somewhat)

But I feel this game was just so... mature? and intricate, and complex, and the horror ending made it slightly tongue-in-cheek

   very interesting, thought provoking and beautifully crafted but I hope people who had played this, and the authors themselves didn't see this as a  cute-but-twisted love story.

 I hope, and I don't want to be judgy. I do not know how the main creator is as a person. so  even after seeing what  'homie', homonculus100 has made before, I hope that this is a good kind of disturbing, some sorts of exploration of the macabre, abuse by our closed ones and the systems that surround us and how it  can derail into even more abuse (e.g. how Angel froze when Lee came in the basement like how she described when she got sexually assaulted)

I honestly want to believe the stay-with-Lee-ending is not the canonical rout, even if more 'beautiful' from the epilogue  As Angel had said, it isn't real real respect, it isn't real love, it isn't real happiness, it isn't real.

About controls, a small edit, It kinda sucked that I wasn't able to move back (so if I accidentally pressed any button I couldn't read what I have missed or seen what I have missed unless I was to skip

Manually, and in a very cumbersome manner,
through all the dialogue (as I had to watch the, albeit beautiful cutscenes)  to that  very scene 

from a weirdly placed save because you can't save unless you are out of a cutscene 

which is weirdly and far spaced
thing that did put me in a bit of a situation as I had to abort for something quite important but I didn't want to lose too much progress) 

although, I can see how that could be a mechanic of its own, something akin to fear and hunger, although I do think it should be flashed out a bit
adding a skip button could just be such a great start 

[/SPOILER]

I guess thank you for making something that will stick in my brain for a long time, not because it was cheap, but because it had a lot of meat on its bones to chew and think on

[SPOILER]

I hope you have a wonderful day and that you are indeed a sane person (which let's be real, you probably are, I am biased and I am not apt for psychoanalysis)  because it would honestly make things unbearably awkward 

8.9/10

[/SPOILER]

I have actually finished this

[SPOILER]

jesus christ man...

I thought the scary parts were just the fear  (like the first scene with the corridor) weren't that much hinting at the horror undertone but at how somebody who had went through such abuse  may feel scared and unsure even by normal stuff as they are in constant tension

I mean, of course, it could still be that very thing. I just didn't know it was actually going to derail into horror. Which just serves to say: this was masterfully  built, tittering just on the edge of the player's expectation which is a REALLY hard line to keep on threading.

FOR the most part (and after looking at the story from my refreshed perspective, for probably all parts) the writing was phenomenal and surprisingly very, very mature which I admire a lot.
Especially for the scene where Angel talks about how she doesn't want to feel different now about  sex, despite the sexual assault she went through, the frustration, the guilt for not being 'bothered enough'  was portrayed  just so  tearingly human and real.

  
very interesting, thought provoking and beautifully crafted but I hope people who had played this, and the authors themselves didn't see this as a  cute-but-twisted love story.

 I hope, and I don't want to be judgy. I do not know how the main creator is as a person.
so  even after seeing what  'homie', homonculus100 has made before, I hope that this is a good kind of disturbing, some sorts of exploration of the macabre, abuse by our closed ones and the systems that surround us and how it  can derail into even more abuse (e.g. how Angel froze when Lee came in the basement like how she described when she got sexually assaulted)

I honestly want to believe the stay-with-Lee-ending is not the canonical rout, even if more 'beautiful' from the epilogue 
As Angel had said, it isn't real real respect, it isn't real love, it isn't real happiness, it isn't real.

[SPOILER]

I guess thank you for making something that will stick in my brain for a long time, not because it was cheap, but because it had a lot of meat on its bones to chew and think on

[SPOILER]

I hope you have a wonderful day and that you are indeed a sane person (which let's be real, you probably are, I am biased and I am not apt for psychoanalysis)  because it would honestly make things unbearably awkward

[SPOILER]

Hello!  Late reply.
So to play it on linux (mint) I have used 'proton', which is a fancy way of saying I just added this game on steam as 'a non steam game'

1. Add new non-steam game from bottom corner in steam

2. Find the location where you have extracted the game, make sure to select 'all files' format, and select the .exe file

3. After that, there should appear an instance on the left named "Game.exe" (an other thing that confused me quite a bit as I was searching for "Clinical Trial" but the instance took the file's name... I guess that was to be expected though?)

4. and that's kinda it!

I have used this tutorial
Make sure to watch it closely,
I happen to not tick the 'Force Compatibility' thing and it sent me on a preeeetty long tangent

A little specification though, I tried multiple variants of proton  and the one in which the game runs QUITE smoothly is 'proton 11.0;
I think the latest version?

It plays as if it was on native hardware,give or take some weird visual quirks, like how I haven't found how to make the game fullscreen yet

Oh also, if there appears a half/full white bar at the top of the window, restarting my pc made it disappear, just make sure you save your game before, it seems it doesn't autosave 

I hope this helps!
Yeah I totally get the confusion and frustration lol
I am neither a very tech savvy person myself and  Linux can seem just so nebulous at times like these

linux is linux though and nobody was born knowing it!  
And this game was totally worth  the struggle it gave me to emulate it, listen
I haven't even finished it yet and it is just so beautiful; Genuinely, just so beautiful and touching, I have no words.
As somebody put it here best "I'm incredibly grateful to have stumbled upon this through another developer's favourites"

I hope you have found / will find a way to experience this beautiful game for yourself, hope you have a good day<3

oh my god the image this is such a perfect comment 

I really eant these in my mesages and stuff they are so cool!

It genuinely made me smile and snicker! I loved it a lot, for being 'low effort' the writing, the characters and the pacing were just astoundingly scrumptious<3. I always wanted to play lots of visual novels and experience story in games, but I have had also a great problem with time commitment — it feels like a great task to take head on — so I end up never really actually doing what I like!

I also am a bit of a perfectionist. I struggle a lot with making things myself and  perfectionism has been a big reason as to why

So, thusly, As you can imagine, this just hit the spot in so many kind ways, thank you so so much. <3 I am sending this to my also hard to read x shy girlfriend asap.

I was always able to comment on my own game. which,  has been quite the ice cold stuff

type type type

Oh wow great game I have totally played it my comment brings good worth in here, you see, I totally just don't know what to do as I have never been this early, I do really like your stuff that you make so I am hyped, yet I can't play this because tomorrow I have a lot of assignments how the world is funny like that

have fun y'all please, tell me how it was !

Awesome stuff!

great stuff!

He truly had that dog in him, pesky comedically placed bear-trap and falls

Here from Pr1vateLime, great game you psychopath!!!

Na thanks dog fam but I like my guilt as is it's quite the cool guy reminds me of my past mistakes so I don't repeat them myself nallathat, even if blu' can be a little rash at'imes bugga means good, I'll just give 'em herbal tea and figure 'em outout not mate's fault for being a skosh silly afteral' it's evolution's and nurture and nature nallathat, but thanks for the offer tho' appreciate it keep it uuuupp (─‿‿─) ｂ

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo

A very respectable and sharp looking avian here

I actually believe this option is even better than Gumroad ngl, 

so
even gooder call! hope more people will start to naturally find you here too, this place has lots of unharnessed potential :)

Oh, I didn't know you were active here too,
What a surprise! 

very cool, hope you have a great day! :)!!

Yo, I hella am down to contribute 

Contacts? You already have my discord, dummy

Oiii you posted a new game? That's so cool!

终于 我终于明白它在说什么了!!!(─‿‿─)

Short, but nice! Really moody and the plot-twist was good! 10/9,2313,13354