thank you so much, that means a lot <3
oxymoron
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fuck i literally mentally noted myself TWICE while playing the game that SirShrugsalot was the one who made the music and i STILL forgot, i'm so sorry 😭 my compliments to him!!
ohhh chihiro and subnautica 2 sound so cool as pieces of inspiration!! that's so awesome, you have such a good eye for details and motifs aaahhh <3
finally someone acknowledged the horror potential of that one tumblr mushroom post :D
seriously though, man. MAN. that was heavy. yes i know i say that with every single one of your games but it's your fault for making gut punches in videogame form every time. 🍄 wooo boy where do i even begin?
(SPOILERS)
since i played two sides of the same coin, i've been really interested in seeing how you'd incorporate the "two players giving each other hints" mechanic in a future game, and this didn't disappoint at all cuz it was super cleverly done! 🍄 the hints on how to continue were always clear enough to get them and hidden enough to need to pay attention. i played this on my own so i'm not sure how the actual two player experience would go, but i think it'd be really fun cuz of how well structured the progression is :> the day/night cycle with the crops was pretty fun! i'm not the biggest fan of looping game structures like this, and at times the game got a bit repetitive, but the minigames themselves were creative and well executed. 🍄 i liked how different they all were from each other and how they'd get harder as time went on (i literally said out loud "what are they feeding those bugs for them to move so fast??" haha). when i interacted with the crops sometimes they'd disappear and then reappear when i finished the minigames, idk if that was intentional or not but it was a bit distracting. nothing game breaking obviously though.
your art is incredible, as always! the way you combine beauty and horror so seamlessly until they're both one indistinguishable mound is something to behold. the vibrant color palettes of both parts contradict the emotions of the main character and make everything feel wrong in the best possible way; the growth part is way too lively for the unhappiness surrounding cybin, and the decay part is red and aggressive and it doesn't fit with the mundanity with which she does her chores. 🍄 it reinforces the feeling that she should just keep going, get used to the discomfort, just do what she has to and everything will be okay. UGHHH it's so good. and speaking of cybin, i felt like i knew so much about her just with how she looks and moves. how she puts her hands behind her when she stands, how she runs so carefreely, how the emotion icons show her being annoyed or frustrated or surprised, how she turns around impatiently when she's still... you have a masterful sense of characterization through animation (that also includes the way everything else constantly shifts and moves, it makes the visuals soo lively and dynamic). 🍄 and that's without mentioning details like the trees at the front of the forest that move differently than the rest, or the instructions part with the clouds (all your instructions are always super creative and a delight to see), or the design of the mushroom monster, or the lil fungi critters... ahhhh it all looks amazing. 🍄 also this may sound corny but the combined visuals and narration made me picture every described sensation like i was there! i'm now hungry for potatoes. oh also the music??? absurdly beautiful. SirShrugsalot has such an immaculate sense for OST, idk how you he does it but he's amazing at it.
the story... fuck, man. family neglect and trauma are a bitch aren't they? the way the story unfolded was both immensely depressing and intriguing. 🍄 i mentioned how much you get to know cybin despite not saying a single word, and that's a perfect contrast with her family, of which you know nothing about except the things they say. 🍄 the way they're portrayed really sells that they're not evil, that in some ways they're trying to connect with cybin, but from her point of view what she sees during most of her days is the neglect and abandonment they put her through for no reason. 🍄 but above all she still loves them, and that makes what happens ten times more heartbreaking. i don't know if it was intentional, but i thought the mushroom monster was an extremely good portrayal of how children or teenagers in bad family or friendship situations get taken advantage of by other people, appealing to their feelings of isolation in order to get what they want. 🍄 the ending of the decay part where cybin gives in to her fate, like she's been doing her whole life, since she cannot win in any way that matters, was goddamn devastating from that point of view (sorry if i'm getting too dark haha, i just think the themes in this game are super rich for thematic analysis. the fantasy element of everything is really cool as well! 🍄 spores are fucking terrifying as a concept and i'm glad somebody else realized that lol, and the apocalyptic vibe of the decay part was awesome and super original).
overall this was such a great and rich experience! 🍄 every single one of your games is like a painting, both harrowing and beautiful, and they always leave me with either a sense of renewed wonder, a deep pit in my stomach, or both. 🍄 it's been a while since i played one of your games and honestly that's on me, they're always such a treat.🍄🍄i can't wait to see what you do next and 🍄🍄🍄 wait wha🍄🍄t's hap🍄🍄🍄🍄penin🍄🍄g 🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄oh n🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄o 🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄 i bl🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄ame y🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄ou 🍄🍄f🍄🍄🍄🍄or 🍄🍄🍄thi🍄🍄🍄🍄s🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄
this was very fun, darkly funny, and intensely messed up. so a normal tuesday for liminace games, and i was all for it! :D
(SPOILERS)
i've never really looked into mukbang (tbh i didn't even really know what it was), but i think this game did a good job at representing the good and bad aspects of it in its plot and gameplay. i'm honestly a sucker for idle clickers and the concept was implemented in a really clever way, coupled with a plot that genuinely intrigued me and made me want to get to the end as soon as possible.
the gameplay was pretty fun! using stream donations for a clicker is super creative haha. it's satisfying and the short duration of each clicker part made it so that the simpleness of it never became annoying. the viewer points and money system is really original and intuitive, and my favorite part was how it diagetically coupled the story; how in every segment the money and view counters go up faster and faster. it gave me a subtle sense of building anxiety, and by the end when i had thousands of viewer points, it fully put me in the mindset of dread that the main character was in. aaah it's so clever. in the last few streams i kinda wished there was more to it so it didn't feel as repetitive, like maybe a new item in the shop? and the comments getting repeated a lot also kind of contributed to this feeling. but tbf this is a jam game so i don't know how much work you could've realistically put into it.
i liked how the story never gave you more information than you needed, it all felt really natural and intriguing. loved things like the contrast between amira's behavior on stream and off it, how they would make reasons to push themselves forward, how the narrator would justify themselves in doing what they were doing while acknowledging how wrong it was... speaking of the narrator, it was a really original choice to leave almost everything about them completely in the dark, it honestly made them really memorable and reinforced the point of their anonimity in the story. like i said, i think you did a good job at using the good and bad aspects of mukbang; it can be enjoyable for the creator and the viewers, and it can definitely be profitable, but it can also turn dangerous if the person pushes themselves too hard because of necessity (or because of a rich person indulging in feederism to the point of killing you. that's probably not good either). and it's a small thing, but the point of amira "not being the heaviest kid in class for anything" was quite poignant and sad in context. it's a simple story told in a really clever way!
the art is amazing and, as always, with every game it feels like it improves in ways i hadn't even considered. the use of more muted and reddish color palettes (special mention to all the food being pink, really clever bit of stylization) fit the themes and tone perfectly. it's almost as if the colors represented how amira's body was slowly decaying, if that makes sense. and obviously i have to mention the UI because it's so freaking well made!! the buttons and their small animations, the comments (which were really funny lol), the bar going up, the slight grain filter, the framing of the gameplay being a stream, even the small heart pattern of the text boxes... tbh i have zero idea how you made some of this stuff haha, ahh i love it when rpg maker devs twist and mold the engine! the visuals are so damn creative and well executed man.
i know i've said "creative" and "original" a lot lmao but it really is how i'd describe this game. another really cool idea done really well, and i can't wait to try your other one-offs! :>
hnngghjg ALZZZ shut the fuck up, fuck off (affectionate).
you're so right, the internet allows us to experience and explore aspects of life however we see fit, and if it doesn't work we can just walk it back. it's one of the best things about it tbh. everyone is the only person ever and they should experience life in whatever way they're most comfortable with. the human experience and all its aspects rock!!
thank you for playing my games and leaving your extremely nice comments, you're awesome <3<3<3
alz making a short game about a bug scientist and a jawless human semi-inspired by the concept of deep root disease was actually on my 2026 bingo card, so thanks for that :D
srsly tho, this was great!! such a grimy and intriguing and well written experience. it's really impressive that you managed to make this in one week, there's so much packed in here for a game this short. it doesn't feel overstuffed either, it felt really purposefully concise and every beat happened exactly when it was supposed to. ughh you have such a good grasp of storytelling!
(SPOILERS)
i really liked how deeply entrenched in mystery the story was. the details it lets out are scarce, and by the end i had the same amount of questions (if not more) than answers, but it didn't feel unsatisfying. it felt like getting a peek into a deeply complex universe, with just enough information to understand the story being followed, but firmly not a drop more than that. and this world seeming to be so complex isn't just due to the amount of information not given, but also by how realistic everything is shown to be. armillaria behaves in erratic ways for seemingly no reason, quatre sometimes does things that contradict their thought process, even something simple like how roots grow from the ceiling... and this realism is aided by the visuals, because they're fantastic! the tileset is so grim and dark and detailed, the character portraits are super well drawn and their light cartoonishness doesn't feel out of place, and the rest of the images (the science diagrams and the days countdown) fit the aesthetic and vibe perfectly :>
moreover, one of the things that strikes me most about this game is how it refuses to let characters and concepts be simple, or be defined by just one idea. it's something subtle that bleeds into every part of the plot; quatre is a bug scientist/surgeon, but they're also part of a species with deep existential purposes, but they also get annoyed if someone messes with their work, but they're also constantly being watched by a higher being, but they also consider humans a lower kind of life, but they also comfort the dying lower kind of life in their care as she dies. armillaria wants to escape, or maybe she doesn't, or maybe she's not conscious anymore, or maybe she is and she got scared at the end by her fear of dying, or maybe she got scared specifically because of the seed. the Room is not a room, there's a surface but there's no surface, humans don't matter but what quatre is doing will make them matter... i joked earlier about the "bug scientist" and "jawless human", but nothing in this game feels like it can be sufficiently defined by simple descriptions. as short as it is, it really feels like it needs to be played to be understood, and that's a really cool thing to experience.
i feel like maybe something could've changed in the Room each day so the gameplay loop feels less repetitive? it's not a big issue, but the descriptions of every item being exactly the same during the entire game (unless i missed them changing at any point lol) felt kind of like a wasted opportunity to justify the game not being just a visual novel (tho idk if you were too crunched for time to add something like that). also the part where you need to catch armillaria is a tad frustrating and immersion-breaking because of how fast she moves, but it's not impossible or anything.
overall this was fantastic! idk if you'll come back to this universe again but it left me super intrigued to know more about it. thank you for making this! <3
omg thank you so much for giving my game a try, and streaming it! :D
i'm really happy to hear you liked the story and the visuals! they're definitely the parts i put the most effort in. i hyper crunched myself over the course of a month to draw everything with real crayons haha. i'm glad you liked ter; you're totallly right about how time would feel in this situation. i think he's one of my favorite characters i've written :> watching you play was really fun, and i wish you the best with your channel!
thank you so much for playing!! <3
alz!! alz alz alz my GOAT, we must've been neurologically linked at birth cuz i feel like you always just get it. and i'm really glad you enjoyed this game <3
i strongly disagree, your comments are always super insightful. genuinely been thinking about your allegory the whole day, sometimes it's like that, isn't it? questioning and questioning and questioning until there's no more sensible questions to ask, and then worse questions pop up, and you keep on questioning until you either go to sleep, beat the shit out of tiny pretend people, or your head explodes. things like that are scary, but they're also kind of universal i feel? even if experiences are something that can vary wildly from person to person, i think everyone needs a release hatch from the bad stuff that comes from them. all brains are evil but in exchange they're also tools to bring some good in.
your praise genuinely means the world to me you have no idea. the thought that my games can connect with people so much is the stuff that keeps me going UGHH. i hope you're having a great day and i hope all your endeavors go smoothly!! and when/if you finish the naiko's room chapter 1 remaster and chapter 2 (no pressure!), or if you make any side projects at all, i'll be in the front row to experience absolute undisputable peak :>
thank you so much for playing, it means the world <3
yeah i can definitely relate to that; the desire to tell a story, to express your emotions after something happens in your life. it's a very human thing, and i'm really happy to hear you related to it and could connect it to your own experiences. i'm also glad you liked the story, thanks for giving a try :>
thank you so much for playing! <3
i remember your first comment on my first game very well, and what i said stands for it and this one both; it's one of the nicest things i've ever read <3
i can't put into words how much i appreciate you playing my games over the years. i've definitely experimented a lot with visual and technical styles, and i'm proud of the progress i've made to really come into my own. her was my first attempt at this kind of storytelling, and while it obviously had its shortcomings, i still hold it dear to my heart. hearing that you found something to like in all the games of mine you played is amazing, and hearing that this one hit you even harder than my first one really makes me happy (i guess "happy" is kind of odd in this context, but you get what i mean haha). you don't have to apologize for writing long ass comments, your thoughts are always super interesting to read! i won't go into detail because i'd like for everyone who plays this to come to their own conclusions (even if this game isn't as open to interpretation as the other one), but i think you hit the nail right on the head with the message. i'm glad that this game made you feel seen, that it made you reevaluate your own experiences for the better. i can't speak for you but i hope you found some solace while playing.
i hope whoever plays this game manages to get something out of it, and it's great to hear that was the case for you. moving on is a weird thing, but if we keep going, we're gonna be okay.
thank you for playing the game, and for your super nice comment ^_^
NEW EMAIL FROM OXYMORON@DOSSOWMAIL.COM
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well this was a really disturbing & extremely well made surprise!
(SPOILERS)
i love it when rpg maker games take the engine's capabilities and twist & bend them until they're unrecognizable, and DAMN i absolutely adore how this game presents everything!! the desktop interface is so cool, and it's super intuitive and easy to use (love how the icons you have to press are extremely clear). it's also really cool how consistent everything looks, even when different parts use different artstyles. the "squashed" look of the pixelart, the high contrast filters over all the irl pictures, the visual distortions whenever something spooky happens, the way chatboxes fill the entire screen... this game has an absolutely MASTERFUL use of presentation and not a single pixel looked out of place within the visual variety. and the sounds! the clicks, the music you can play on the desktop, the haunted garbled screams when horrific stuff happens... the audio landscape of this game is also impeccable on every level.
computer interface-based games are like catnip to me haha, and the way this game went about it was extremely well done! it really feels like going through a person's computer; random pics and emails, games, posts from your friends, options to customize the ui... all of it isn't necessary to finish the game, but it being there does wonders for immersion, and it's just fun to look through everything! especially the games, i was blown away with how expansive and cool they were! it's an astounding amount of effort for a side thing, and i respect the hell out of it :> but even with all this cool stuff to navigate through, i like how it's still easy to tell what you have to do to progress the story, so i didn't have to tiptop around all the apps to try to find all the secondary stuff and not accidentally move the plot forward haha.
speaking of the plot, i found it interesting! i like how diegetic it is; the way you learn the story through poking around, reading blog posts, and slowly putting the pieces together was super cool, and a really nice way to learn everything about the plot without feeling like i was being spoonfed information. the story itself definitely feels relevant to the jam's theme, and a stranger danger message is (unfortunately) always relevant.
my biggest issue with the game is that sometimes it feels like it kinda drags on. i appreciated how easy it is to tell what's necessary to do to advance the plot, but it also felt a bit repetitive to message all of lucy's friends and the conversations always going in the same direction. and i felt it especially with the last sequence; it drags out how evil this guy is for a bit too long, and not only did he felt exaggeratedly evil (i understand a story about the ghosts of victims haunting their killer wouldn't have realism as its main focus, but i think that aspect would've been even more impactful if the killer felt somewhat more believable), but it also felt like it went on for a tad too long, and didn't have a payoff satisfying enough to justify it (the hammer lodged in the guy's rectum was admitedly satisfying to read lol). i also found a glitch in the tomato game where, in the level with the blue walls, you walk up a wall that doesn't have its bottom portion, you can go inside it and get stuck out of bounds. but these issues didn't ruin my experience at all.
overall this is a fantastically made game that intrigued me from start to finish! it really shows your knack for horror presentation, subtle story reveals and unique gameplay sections, and i hope this game was as enjoyable to make as it was to play! :>
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omg thank you so much for such a detailed comment!!
i gotta watch nope at some point, everything i've heard about it makes it sound right up my alley haha. i agree 100% with your description of weddings and funerals; they're really big events, and they can definitely feel super important, but they can also feel odd, or painfully normal, or just like you're not feeling what you "should" feel. it's definitely something i wanted to touch on with this game; sometimes things happen and maybe they have a deeper meaning or not, but unless you find one, it's impossible to tell.
i'm glad you liked the art! the rougher sketching was kind of a departure of my usual style (seabound nonwithstanding), and i'm honestly really happy with the result :> i did have to navigate through wanting to fix every single pixel that looked slightly off haha.
please do go deep and existential when reviewing, that's what we're here for! :D to me, grief is one of the most complex and hauntingly expansive feelings that can be explored in art. everyone goes through it differently, and everyone, if they choose to show it in art, displays it differently. and it's daunting to look back and realize just how much everything is built upon people who are gone, from our lives, to our art, to all the knowledge we have. and sometimes it can feel like your actions or thoughts or feelings are doing them a disservice. but we have to keep going, always. that's what they'd want for everyone.
thank you for playing, and thank you for taking the time to write this comment. it's always a pleasure to get a piece of your thoughts <3
fuck, man. i always look forward to your comments, you really know how to write one.
it's beyond amazing to hear that the game connected with you so much. i won't go into detail about what's true irl or not, but i appreciate your feelings, and i did pour a lot of personal emotions into this project. i was kind of scared that would turn people off haha.
whenever i start making a game, i ask myself what would i want to see in one, and in the age we're living right now i think everyone wants to see more earnestness in the art they consume. i don't mean this in a "everyone makes shallow art except me" way, just that if you look at the bigger picture in art right now, it's hard to shake off the feeling that it's generally become more corporatized and artificial than ever (especially with the rise of generative ai). aside from personal reasons, i think my main drive with this game was going against this feeling, and proving that storytelling made with sincerity still has a place. again, i don't mean "i'm the only one who's ever made a sincere piece of art", it's just that making a game like this felt like a risk, and i wanted to show myself that risks, even if they don't pay off, are always the backbone of storytelling.
and itch.io has honestly been a giant inspiration for both this game, and my dev journey in general; joining this community and seeing so many people's projects, the progress of making them, the experience of playing, the responses to them... it's showed me that earnestness in art hasn't gone anywhere, and i honestly believe indie project platforms like this one are one of the biggest ways that all kinds of artists have made the statement that art made with passion is here to stay, and nothing will make it go away.
thank you for playing this game and writing this comment, alz. the sight of your mind is a wonderful one everytime <3
thank you so much for playing and for the feedback! tbh in my earliest games made a lot of events go incredibly slow when i was trying to achieve good pacing haha. it's something i've improved in my future works but i can definitely get why it'd be annoying here. and thanks for pointing out the grammar errors too, it's something i also overlooked slightly in my first games!
i'm really glad you liked the story and found standout moments that resonated with you. i wanted to capture feelings that i haven't seen displayed in any other game, and experiences i wanted to convey in a very specific way. this is one of my most personal projects and it makes me really happy to hear you and other people connected with it. the dialogues at the end and the option to name her were key parts for me.
thank you for playing!! <3
WOOOOO congrats on winning!!! :D
i sadly didn't have time to make a full review before the jam ended, but this game was hands down my favourite out of all!! the presentation was sublime, the story was super interesting, and overall the way it dealt with its subject matter was beautiful and really well done. honestly i wished it was longer simply cuz i wanted to learn more about the main character and her story. this was just brilliant.
congrats on a hard earned win! <3
wow this was REALLY creepy and well done.
while i haven't used omegle or any videochat programs much during the time when they were popular, i think you captured perfectly the feel of using it and how creepy of a concept it really is. this game succeeds immensely in making you feel a very specific type of dread that i haven't seen in a while, with a disturbingly real scenario.
(SPOILERS)
the plot does a really good job in seeming realistic, while keeping a certain degree of creepypasta feel. everything, from the actions of the main characters, to the conversations in the chat program, to the actions of the man felt disturbingly real, like i was genuinely glad this was happening in a videogame and not real life haha. it works both as a cautionary tale on the dangers of the internet, and as just a spooky tale. i also really liked the choice inputs; i tried all options whenever the game asked me to make a decision and all outcomes felt like they worked perfectly with the story. everyone's actions and dialogue felt really natural, which can be hard to capture, and with this plot it worked really well. also appreciated the use of non-default assets for the characters and tilesets, and the use of fake browser screenshots worked wonders! loved how they look. and i also loved the use of music and creepy sounds (like that one ambience track that plays in the more intense moments). the story and presentation are overall really solid and work really well.
a.v. dossow mentioned this already, but in some endings the mom character talked with the protagonist while the ending cutscene was playing. and while i understand there wasn't a lot of time to finish this game, i would've liked there to be an alternate ending based on your choices (or, if there is one already, for it to be easier to find). and this isn't a hard complaint, but on the second day if you interact with the phone before using the computer, it makes the music cut off, which i'm guessing wasn't intentional.
overall this was a REALLY creepy experience. definitely one of my favourite games of the jam in the horror aspect! i think you managed to capture extremely well the feeling you were going for. great stuff!
omg thank you so much! :D
i'm glad you liked the presentation! i have limited art experience so i always try to get creative with the visuals of my games, whether it's using different styles or making everything really simple. even if it's nothing amazing, i'm proud of how the art in this game turned out and i'm happy that people seem to enjoy it!
i'll fully admit i kind of struggled with presenting a story with only bits and pieces of information given as the player goes on. to me, that approach worked best with this story, but i don't have a ton of experience with that format so i'm sorry it was confusing! i'm really glad you liked the ending though, tbh to me the ending is kind of the most important part of a game? cuz it leaves the most lasting impression. i always put a lot of effort into making my endings satisfying, so it's great to hear it paid off for you :>
tbh a big part of the repetitive gameplay was due to the fact that i had like, a week to finish this game. when the jam started i had an idea for a game but i got too busy to finish it, and then i got a second idea but the jam was about to end, so i made the gameplay loop like it does to avoid the full game lasting only 3 minutes XD i still think the loop itself fits the game and drives everything home, but even when playtesting i noticed that it got a bit annoying to repeat the days so many times haha. still, it's good to hear you thought it fit the theme well!
thank you for playing!! <3
omg this was so creative and charming!!
(SPOILERS)
i really really like the vibe this world is going for. the bits and pieces of the world and the characters we learn are really interesting, and the way it just throws you into the middle of everything and makes you piece what's going on bit by bit got me engaged af. i love the idea of strange shadow monsters suddenly appearing, and your job being about reporting what's happening. journalist protagonists are always great, being a natural fit for piecing together the worldbuilding along with the characters, and it's no different here. but despite the fact that the mystery of what the "shadows" are is already intriguing, this game never loses focus on what it wants to be about, and as such i think the tone and overall *feel* of the game are really unique and well handled; an engaging mystery with hints of darkness but keeping the focus on lightheartedness and the main character's journalism goal.
i have to mention the art cuz i love it sm! the style is simple enough to be easily readable but expressive and detailed enough to make the world feel real (as someone who sometimes struggles with portraying furniture and small objects, the ones here are really great! and the shadow's design was freaky as hell). the character designs are really good and stand out very well with each other (love how they move their mouths when they talk), and the color palette pops so much, it kind of feels like a storybook at times? and i LOVED the window icons on top of the character portraits, CGs and text boxes! sooo clever. and the way each area is really big, giving an impression of real scale and detail in every map! at the ending part i noticed a door that was cut in half, and the entrances to other rooms being white lights was a bit odd, but i'm nitpicking. overall this game looks amazing!!
the writing and characters are really great too! i got a very good sense of who everyone was just with their character designs and their first lines of dialogue, which is a great feat in characterization. diune was a really good protagonist; i love how meek and happy she seems at the start, and then you find out about her ambition and how (apparently) she cares more about writing a good article than actually solving the shadows' mystery. i thought it was really cool and unique to show the main character in a more morally grey light. all the other characters were really intriguing, even though we don't see much of them, and i wanted to know more about all of them! (side note, the part in the office where all the desks gave you information about the person who worked in them was a REALLY neat detail, i love stuff like that!). honestly when the game ended i got really upset, cuz i wanted to know more about the story and characters!
others have commented on it too, but there are some sounds ("Save", "Load" and "splap") that make errors show up, which was kind of annoying and took me a bit out of the experience since the error kept appearing again and again (which to be fair, is a really dumb behavior on rpg maker's part lol). aside from that, while using default assets is nowhere near a dealbreaker for me, i do think this game could've benefited greatly from more original sfx, maybe even some ost. then again, making original sounds can be hard haha.
overall i was dying to know more about this game and its world!! you did a great job hooking me in, and i really hope you continue this project because it has astounding levels of promise :D
p.s. bonus points for having a bts folder, stuff like that is always cool as hell :> (also the concept art jokes were really funny lol)
this was really crazy but also pretty fun lol.
i dug the snappy and insane pacing; the story, the dialogue and all cutscenes happening so fast and being so goofy made the game feel really unpredictable. and the visual style also added a lot of off-the-wall-ness to everything. i never knew what was gonna happen next and, though the game is very short, i was really entertained all the way through haha. i also found the splashes of gameplay to not be too shabby: the few fights before the final boss were quite well balanced, even if they weren't many.
i don't know if it was intentional or not but sometimes certain images would flash onscreen for a single frame? like when i opened the menu for example. and moving around was a bit frustrating cuz the maps are wayyy too big and spaced out, and there's not a ton to interact with. if the areas were smaller and there were more dialogue options when interacting with stuff, i feel like it would've made the game feel more polished.
this was really short so i don't have a ton to say, but i enjoyed it! also thanks for not making the final jumpscare too loud haha. it was totally unexpected and kind of gave me the vibe of this being a troll game? but like in a good way? idk haha. overall this was fun! :>
akndfkjcdnsrmdldnjjejandesndskj THIS WAS SO GOOD WTF
every daybloom project game feels like stepping into a world that you didn't even know was possible to reach in rpg maker. i was completely absorbed from the first second to the last; the atmosphere, visuals and sounds are absolutely UNPARALLELED. genuinely couldn't believe my eyes haha. and outside of the atmosphere, everything else is top tier as well! i loved the feeling of uneasiness and unknowing i got as i tried putting together what was happening, and that feeling never went away during my entire playthrough. sooooo cool.
(SPOILERS)
first off the aesthetics are off the charts!! the wandering around gameplay gives super close vibes to the woods scenes in the FAITH trinity. love the super simple solid colors contrasted with the detailed shapes and movements. and paired with the vhs filter, it felt like i was playing a screwed up haunted retro game haha. and the switch ups to the realistic style?? unbelievably cool. the notes scattered around the forest, the pause menu, the goddamn shooting scenes! it's SUCH a cool and unique style, and it works super well with the horror; the retro aesthetic gave me kind of a sense of security and separation, so when the style got realistic i felt my danger levels shoot up haha. and the animation of the hand picking up the paper!! and the jumpscare!! and the way your reflection vibrates unstabley in the mirror!! god absolutely everything about the presentation is INCREDIBLE, sorry if i sound like a broken record but it really gave everything a perfect eerie vibe. awesome stuff. (oh and the sound design!! absolutely terrifying in the best way. GOD this game's presentation and atmosphere are fantastic)
the gameplay is really cool too! wandering through the forest felt really foreboding, and every time i found a new thing to interact with my senses became super alert haha. the notes scattered across the zone are really creepy and it made me feel like i was trying to complete a puzzle i couldn't fully grasp. that goddamn smile teleporting around was creepy as hell, made me feel like i was never alone. and of course the shooting scenes! i don't even know how one could code those parts. they were cool as shit and perfectly break the game's immersion to give maximum spooks. and i love the attention to detail, like when you come back to the cabin after the jumpscare, you're smiling! soooo cool, i knew there had to be something that had changed haha. i feel like the player's moving speed is a bit too slow, especially when i was right at the end and had to find the last deer. but to be fair it also helps with the worldbuilding; i felt like a hunter who was walking through a forest and couldn't run or i'd scare away my target.
the smile appearing at random is cool, though when it vanishes it leaves a tile that you can't pass through, and that felt a bit annoying when i was trying to reach certain parts of the map. and while the exploration overall is really well done, i would've liked if there was at least a small hint towards where the next deer is. maybe the smile could appear in the direction of the next one, or something like that? and while the notes, ending and overall story were intriguing and abstract, i would've liked if there were more hints as to what's truly going on (tho that's more of a personal preference thing, i tend to get really lost in stories that are really open to interpretation haha).
this was an amazing horror experience, and a showcase of incredible art, programming and atmosphere skills!! kudos to everyone who worked on this and i urge everyone who reads this comment to play this. SOOO cool.
p.s.: :)
thank you very much!! your feedback is very much appreciate, and i respect that you took so much time trying to solve that one puzzle haha. again, sorry for the mixup with my comment, i genuinely forgot you had to have sound on for that one part lol.
i tried to have everything be as intuitive as possible but like i've said before sometimes i definitely got tunnel vision, and certain parts weren't as easy to understand as i thought. and like you said, even if the walkthrough is available, just following it isn't super fun. i'll keep it in mind if i update this game, or make future puzzle games.
still, i'm really glad you enjoyed what i made, and thought the meta puzzles were clever! :D thank you for playing!! <3
i'm glad you like the meta puzzles! it's such a fun concept in general and they were really cool to come up with and develop :>
you don't need to have sound on for this game, dw. there's a walkthrough available if you get stuck, but if you want just a hint:
(SPOILERS)
you'll need to use an item on the black rectangle on the left of the xylophone, and then check if any previous part of the game has given you a hint as to what to use the xylophone for.
andsndnds help this was so silly XD
(SPOILERS)
i really loved the escalation from "awww this seems so cute!" to "woah looks like this girl is a prankster" to "holy shit she's a literal criminal" to "omfg she's getting brutally maimed" lol. it's such a fun progression and i was never sure how far the next part would go haha. and the general map design and story do a great job in guiding you to the next step; i usually get really stuck in puzzles like this, or parts that involve resetting the game and playing again, but the way everything is laid out made the progression really intuitive. and the plot was really fun! opening each present is goddamn hilarious, and the ending is surprisingly touching. i also really like how the plot integrates the myth trope of "if you do this one bad thing on this one time of the year, you'll be cursed", and it feels really natural in this world. i will admit i got a bit confused by the end; she got horrible presents because she opened them early, so does that mean when she travelled one day back in time, all the horrible things she did to the townspeople didn't happen? idk maybe i misinterpreted something.
the art was great!! tricky's design is super cute, and every picture that appears when she opens a present was really funny and brutal. and the ending where she gets actually good presents is adorable!! i also love how her appearance feeds into the subversion where she actually isn't as innocent as she seems, but from the beginning there's subtle signs that lead to it, like her name (tricksterra doucheberg is an A+++ name) or the pentagram on the christmas tree. it's extremely clever! also, the music that plays is great and gives perfect christmas vibes to the whole game (and i love how it cuts out with each present lol). i'm guessing it's intended, cuz of how the global switches in the game work, but i was a bit bummed out that i couldn't open the last three gifts again after i finished the game, cuz after opening the first three it only lets you open your mom's (though maybe saying that i want to see tricky get killed again is a sign that i'm insane. oh well :P).
this was really original and cute! and i don't know what universe this is set in, but if it's somewhere where a random wizard can make birds shit all over my home i am getting as far away from it as possible :D
aaaa thank you so much!! i was looking forward to your comment, and let me say that making people bite their knees in shock and delight is exactly my goal :>
i really wanted to push the boundaries and my knowledge of rpg maker, and a point and click puzzle game was pretty much the polar opposite of what the engine is supposed to do so of course i chose it haha. also making a point and click game has always been one of my life goals and rpg maker is the only engine i know how to use lol. it was challenging but really fun figuring out how to make everything work!
i'll fully admit i definitely suffered some tunnel vision with the puzzles. i tried to make them as intuitive as possible but i could've done a better job haha, and sometimes "this solution would be kind of funny/quirky" prevailed in my mind over "this solution would make sense", which is not great for a logic puzzle game lol. also you mentioning there is no game in your rating review is so cool cuz that was my main inspiration!! (wrong dimension is one of my fav games ever) meta puzzles like that, that both follow the game's logic and also break it, are suuuper fun and figuring out how to take a crack at it was a really neat process. i'm really glad you enjoyed what came out, and thank you for leaving a comment!! <3
omg thank you so much!!
i'm really glad you liked it, and enough to speedrun it?? that's sooo cool and flattering aaaa! and it's kind of funny cuz in testing, sometimes i had to beat the entire game from the start haha, so i also kinda had to speedrun it! (hint: you can get to the phone call in 3 minutes :>)
thank you for playing!! <3
(leave it to me to be so behind that i play someone's game almost the same day they released another one-)
(anyway aaa this was so cute & creative!! 👻👻👻👻👻)
(the concept is super fun and i'm really impressed with the execution. i absolutely love it when an rpg maker game is tweaked and twisted with its mechanics so it looks nothing like an rpg maker game anymore haha. i had no idea how some of this stuff was programmed. it feels like this game goes an extra mile with everything it does, and the result is fantastic!)
(first off, the visuals are amazing! the broodygaming™ style pops off as much as ever, and i loved how every aspect of the presentation is focused on channeling this ghost-like atmosphere (which is really fitting lol), but in a peaceful and fun way. the sky always being dark, the variety of colors, the looping animations, the different textures... it's aspects that have appeared in other games of yours, but here it feels like they have an extra purpose, if that makes sense? in a way, it feels like we're seeing everything through the eyes of the main character; like the reason why everything looks the way it does is because they're a ghost. but at the same time, this ghostly atmosphere is never used for horror or creepiness, it just emphasizes the nature of the game while still being light and fun (obviously there's still darker elements, which the game makes excellent use of). the visual design channels really well the vibe of "what if in a ghost story the ghost was actually nice" haha. and that's kind of the feel i got for the entire game; a subversion of the typical ghost stories that focuses on the more whimsical aspects of it, but doesn't hide the dark parts, instead using them to elevate the central theme of "you're just trying to help your friends"-themed kindness, and i dug every second of it! :> (i realize i've mostly used the visuals part of the review to gush about the game's concept lol, but i also need to mention the font, which is fantastic and fits the ghost vibe perfectly (seeing a new font with every chevie game is starting to feel like getting a surprise christmas present haha. no pressure on actually making a new one for every game ofc, it's just really cool when it happens), and the title screen, which is super cute and uses color extremely well and GOD that's what i call beautiful hair!!! (did i mention the main charater's design was really neat? :D)))
(and that sound design! the music was super good and fit the vibe perfectly as usual, and specifically the main theme?? super beautiful and ethereal and catchy?? hello??? an all timer for sure. and the way the last level switches up the music for realistic forest sounds!! sooo cool. and the little sounds that pop up with the character's actions were really good and distinct as well! the way this game sounds is pretty much as good as how it looks, which is saying a lot!)
(i really loved how the story and characters were handled; it feels both like the plot is non-intrusive and doesn't take attention away from the gameplay, but it's also the core of the entire game, and that's a really cool balance to strike. the beginning and end cutscenes were incredibly well made (using the "conspiracy theory pictures on a board" motif was a stroke of genius!) and emotional, and it's crazy how much the starting minutes of the game made me so invested in helping the main character's friends. and like i said, i loved how the plot uses the darker elements of a ghost story to focus on kindness; it's heartwarming to see the characters being helped by their friend, and it's especially effective due to the ambiguity of... well, whether they know they're actually being helped or not. i really liked how that was kept in the dark, with the final pictures possibly giving hints that go both ways (i headcanon that they don't know their friend is helping them, cuz i like angst >:D though if they know ghosts are real, they probably already guessed that their friend is a ghost lol). i also thought it was a super creative choice to have no spoken words, and leave the story and the character's emotions completely to the visuals, like how the dialogue of the friends at the van is expressed solely through emotion animations (maybe that's the only way main character can perceive spoken words now that they're a ghost... welp, back to the theorycrafting table!). the game's plot, while relatively light, is super well told and it manages to hook you for the entire game with so little!!)
(finally, the gameplay was creative and fun! i'll admit that at the start when every mechanic got introduced, i got a bit overwhelmed cuz it was a lot of things to remember, and while i still think it could've been introduced better, the strong visual distinctions of each icon made the gameplay feel kinda like second nature as the game went on. it's really fun interacting with objects and trying to find out the correct timing to make the characters see your actions. and while it isn't too hard to beat, i think the game balanced its difficulty pretty well; the belief meter restarting if a character sees an action they weren't expecting felt a bit weird and frustrating at first, but it kept me on high alert to make sure not to do the wrong thing by accident, which is easy to mess up if you aren't thinking. while sometimes it's a bit easy to spam the same event over and over when a character is in one room, overall the gameplay loop is a pretty satisfying juggling act of timing and movement that's a lot trickier than it seems at first sight! i will say that due to the main character's size, it was a bit odd figuring out what exact tile i needed to be on so i could perform an action, which was sort of frustrating in the more closed spaces where the characters leave the room pretty quickly. also maybe i just wasn't paying attention lol but i had no idea what the hearts meant, and why they kept emptying and filling up. still, the gameplay was fun! and like i said i have no idea how some of this stuff was programmed haha (also off topic but the fact that the main character can go anywhere and through anything, even outside the van in the scenes between levels, is a super cute detail! :>) (also also sorry for mostly talking about the story and visuals in this review when you explicitly asked for feedback on the gameplay snjdsmjsdj))
(btw, i don't know if this was a bug or not, but on the last level i filled both the characters' belief meters, but the level didn't end, and after trying out stuff i just ended up restarting it. i say that i don't know if this was a bug cuz maybe it had something to do with the hearts? just thought i should say it but maybe it was my fault lmao)
(overall this was such a great concept done really well! games that focus on gameplay but have an underlying story going on in the background are PEAK. and i could honestly see myself playing this on my phone as a mobile puzzle game haha /pos. great stuff!)
(p.d. if you're wondering why i put everything in this review in brackets, it's cuz playing this game turned me into a ghost. idk how you did that but i admire the commitment to immersion!)
i'm extremely late to this but... jesus christ.
this is one of the most emotionally moving games i've played in a good while. everything about this; the dialogue, the characters, the story, just felt so... real. unflinchingly so. it felt like i was looking at real people going through real emotional struggles. the presentation and writing were so incredibly immersive that i couldn't keep my eyes off the screen until the end. i think this game is a real achievement in storytelling, one that i'd urge absolutely anyone to play.
(SPOILERS)
before delving into the plot and characters, the visuals were really great!! i loved the character designs; everyone being a gray silhouette with the only detail being their facial features was a really cool style choice. it made me focus on their expressions first and foremost, which really aided how the storytelling is focused on the characters' emotions. the lack of detail also works in favour of the narrative really well, making you unsure of whether everyone is truly like this or if their appearance is being viewed through a particular lens, further amplified by the realistic objects and textures in the dream sequences (also the "is this person like this or is my perception of them warped?" feeling is REALLY clever for the story, as that's... well, obviously what the main character is feeling). speaking of the facial expressions, they're absolutely amazing in how they shift subtly from one line to the next, how they force you to examine what the character is really feeling and why they're saying what they're saying, how the same face can have extremely different meanings depending on the context... all of these details really help to emphasize the focus on emotions, like i said. and the tilesets were great as well! their level of detail works surprisingly well with the minimalistic characters, and the color palettes were super pleasing to the eye; i really loved how every location has one defining color (like false fruit, iirc) that helps establish its vibe super well. and of course, the dream sequences; the use of photorrealistic objects, textures that move and shift, the colours onscreen getting redder or darker... i wish i could focus on every little detail about them, because they're extremely unique and prove immensely that this game's visuals truly have a voice. amazing stuff.
and the music!! the tracks that played were absolutely perfect for every scene they were in, whether it was calming or absolutely terrifying. and the contrast they have with the large portions of the game that are completely quiet works wonders. the part where you wander around the house after the last dream was one of the HEAVIEST silences i've felt in a game in years haha. the music that plays during the horrifying nightmare scenes?? absolutely insane. my eyes were glued to the screen the entire time. the use of sounds and music is fantastic all around.
the characters & dialogue... GOD i loved both so much. i really like how avery was characterized; they can butt heads somewhat with amias cuz of typical growing pains of being roommates (at least i think they're roommates? that's my headcanon lol), but in every interaction it's clear they care a lot for him, and often try to nudge him into processing his emotions and taking the next step (but i also appreciate that their role is not 100% only helping amias; sometimes they just want him to show them stuff from his childhood and that's really valid haha). amias' mom was also great, i love how kind and gentle she is, while feeling like she's hiding... something every time she speaks. not something horrible necessarily, just something (which tbf is the whole vibe of the game). and amias... god he was so compelling. his more rugged and sarcastic demeanor is a nice contrast with the other two main characters (aside from him also being really funny when he needs to be). it never got annoying, and i like how it's not just "his dad died and that's the reason he's mean" (obviously i assume that had a part to play, but here his attitude is portrayed as just how he is, not a problem he needs to overcome, and i think that's neat). his conflict is shown in a really interesting way; how he both wants to get the answers he's looking for but also chooses to stop going further at many points, how he seems to soften up at certain points but is still feeling extremely lost inside, how he doesn't even know what he's looking for in the first place... i found him to be an immensely compelling protagonist, and finding out parts of his childhood bit by bit was extremely interesting. all the characters support the story incredibly well!! and the dialogue between them felt super natural, with details like small misunderstandings or conversations going a bit longer than you'd expect, really helping with immersion. like i said, everything about the characters and dialogue felt unflinchingly real.
(from this point on i get more subjective than usual so sorry if i get stuff wrong-)
and the story... fuck, what else is there to say? it's told in an impeccable way from start to finish. following amias as he tries to find out who his father was, why is he dreaming about him now, what is he even looking for in regards to him... every mention of his childhood is riddled with anecdotes about his father, or the places he went to, or the things they did together... but as the game goes on, it's made clear that every story amias remembers is not just a simple tale of something childish he did once, or how he'd do stuff with his dad before he died... every story is something that shaped him, for better or worse. it's something he can mention in passing, but in reality it's deeply linked to his very being. just like his dad's death; an event that happened really long ago, that everyone has moved on from, that he feels he should have moved on from, something that by now should be nothing more than a sentence to say when he's asked about it... but it might also be something that has been hiding aspects of itself, aspects that haven't been answered for and that have been hidden away for so long, for different reasons as time went on. this is best conveyed with the final dream sequence (my favorite part of the game) and the nightmares in general, as we can see how amias felt about the uglier parts of his childhood... it could just be the nightmares amplifying those negative aspects, or maybe it could be the very real result of emotions that have been bottled up for years and haven't been addressed properly. his performance at school, his father's expectations, his relationship with tulip, and the moment it got cut short (the most impactful and heartbreaking scene in the entire game), his father's health getting worse... all these things, compressed in the small span of his childhood that meant he couldn't really get to know his father as a person, suddenly bubble up at a random point in his life. and he needs to take care of it, because he needs to know who his father was.
i think it was a really bold choice to leave amias' conversation with his mom completely off screen, and the final lines by avery are thematically rich and a pretty perfect way to end. though, i'll admit that the very last scene felt a bit shorter than it deserved to be, like the game was supposed to go on for a bit more but it didn't. also, while the art & overall style are great, the single-colored character designs do feel a bit out of place in the cutscene images (like the diner or the photo next to the tv), like they're missing some detail. and this is a nitpick but amias' movement animation felt a bit rigid and odd with how wide the spreads his arms and legs. still, these are hardly dealbreakers when put up against the game's qualities.
i think i used every positive adverb in the english language to describe this game haha, but i really do think this is a must play for anyone. a showing of narrative skill propped up to an absurd level. it had me gripped all the way, and i can't wait to see what you make next!! :D
omg thank you so much!! this was wonderful to read! :D
i'll try not to talk too much about the thought process i had while making this game cuz i feel like the player coming to their own conclusions about it is an important part of the experience (and i also really like hearing people's interpretations of the themes hehe), but you hit the nail right on the head with a lot of it; self pity, heavy instrospection, isolation, self indulgence... it's things i wanted to portray in a way that i would find most compelling. which is, ironically, pretty self-indulgent haha, but i think first and foremost i wanted to make a game that felt a certain way that i haven't really felt anywhere else. that explored themes in a way i haven't seen in any other game. obviously i'm not saying i'm the best developer or storyteller ever when it comes to making a game like this lol. but i wanted to make something that felt truly personal, and hearing people say it struck a chord with them is the highest compliment i could ever recieve!! i'm really glad it's your favorite of mine so far, and thank you for taking the time to leave a review <3
if i'm being honest, i think i've strayed a bit away from this game's general vibe with my recent games... maybe i'll come back to it in the near future, who knows?
ooohh this was a great addition to EMFH's story! :D
(SPOILERS)
i thought william was a bit underused in the first game so seeing him get the spotlight (theater pun intended) is so cool! i love how his demeanor isn't villanous 100% of the time; before the play he acts ambitious and strict for sure, but you could totally buy that he's a normal dude, especially with how he talks to the other teachers and his friends. it also ties into one of the best parts of this universe: the combination of realistic character interactions and aspirations with the macabre concept of a school that teaches how to torture. and i think this game uses this contrast in a really clever way; the point where this "realism" starts breaking (that is, when william starts acting extremely deranged and self-aggrandizing) is when it's revealed that everything was just a fantasy. the vibe of this universe is super unique and it's used really effectively!
the art and music are top notch once again. the character busts and the CG look slick as hell, and it was cool how it paralleled the first game by having the main character be the only one with their own busts (aside from david, marcus and ms. elizabeth). it also played really well into the narrative, as the whole game is a fantasy where william is the main character instead of harry, and once again, the moment where this breaks is at the part where the fantasy stops. and the sprites are great too, super detailed and full of color, and seeing the puppeteer contraption (which was one of my favs from the last game) used on many people in a theater setting was delightfully dark. and the music was once again great and super moody! i did notice that at the very beginning the track felt way too somber for being at the first few minutes, but it wasn't too big of an issue.
for a short spinoff, the plot was really interesting and well written! love how i started by thinking "wait, he's alive? maybe i missed something...", then "wait, he has a position of power at the school? i thought he didn't do that well with his final project?" and when he starts going insane i truly realized that something's very wrong, which lead perfectly into the twist. love how much more depth the plot gives to william; displaying both his ambition and cruelty, and his humanity at the end with his final monologue. maybe this sounds weird but it kind of felt like... the game itself was halfway starting to realize how screwed up everything about itself was? like i said earlier, this world does a great job of balancing the morbid nature of the school with realism and normality, but in the first game there's a moment where that balance starts to break; right at the end, when all the students who didn't make the winning project get tortured and killed. at that point, it felt like the depravity of the school's concept appeared in full force, before going back to balance in the epilogue (i'm not saying this was a flaw, just how i saw it). and in this game, we see it again when william's fantasy breaks. at that same moment in time, when the students are getting killed, the horrible effects of the school show up without any realism to balance it. and that's not only shown by the killings, but by william as well: it feels somewhat implied that his ambition and fantasies of being viewed as a master of his craft come from the competitive nature of the school (after all, any who don't get the best score at the project get a horrible punishment, so it makes some sense that students would get competitive), and then... we see it again with the ending monologue (which is excellently written and super depressing), which not only shows william's human side but also the effects that this failure has on him. the concept of "everyone who comes lower than the best project gets killed" makes him think that he failed his parents and his brother; for not being the best like he thought he'd be, and because he'll literally never see them again. the final scene is probably the biggest standout moment in this series, and it overall feels like a perfect ending for this story. god the writing is so good!
i think i said it in my EMFH review but sometimes the dialogue scenes felt a bit too long and redundant; the king lear sequence was really cool conceptually but it also felt somewhat stretched out. and this is pretty much a nitpick but the design of the halls at the start where you're looking for different rooms is quite samey and i got kind of lost sometimes haha. also, past the start... i kinda wished there was more exploration? i know these games are very much focused on dialogue, but going through more parts of the school like that, even if it's just walking to the next plot scene, would've been pretty cool and immersive.
overall this was a solid and interesting as hell spinoff of this universe!! no pressure to make more content out of it of course, but if you guys do i'll be seated to watch more students using horrifying torture methods :D
(p.s. the vitruvian got perfect scores but the kill switch is slow enough for william to do an entire monologue? smh harry was a nepo baby in this essay i will)
liminnn how can you make me care so much for fictional characters i've known for less than an hour 😭
(SPOILERS)
out of all the games in this universe, this is definitely one of the most original and daring! i love how the story gets crazier and more intricate as it goes on; from thinking about running away, to knowing the townsfolk want to literally kill valentina, the dream sequence and learning about loren's past, the scuffle with loren's dad at the pyre... the plot keeps building and building, getting more intriguing with each sequence, until it reaches its crescendo in a really natural way. i wanted to know what would happen to these two sooo bad, and the ending was absolutely devastating, but it was very much earned. it might be an odd thing to say about a game with a blood witch as one of its main characters, but it all felt... realistic and grounded. like, if these characters were real, i'd 100% believe this is what would happen to them. the plot and characters have a lot of moments of exaggeration, but it feels like the core of the story –these people going through hardships in an unaccepting world– is never lost.
valentina and loren are amazing protagonists! and they do a great job at carrying the story, especially with how the narration POV changes midway through, which was really cool. val was super charming, and her doubts and questioning at the idea of loren running away with her made her feel realistic. her unease at harming villagers that have treated her like shit is a really interesting trait, and her mild (to put it... well, mildly) distaste for her family of witches was really entertaining lol (i also have the headcanon that when the game's narration gets really passive aggressive, that's her inner unfiltered subconscious lmao). and the witch powers she uses at the end was SO goddamn cool. meanwhile, loren was not only extremely charismatic, but her past and motivation to run away from her home was really compelling. her feeling trapped into a role she didn't fit, finding that valentina was the one person who truly understood her... ahhh so good. the flashback sequence was one of the best parts of the game, no doubt. and with the two together, i really appreciated how their relationship wasn't portrayed as perfect, but their love for each other was still made very much clear. val's doubts about loren's violent side and eagerness to run away from home was a really intriguing point of conflict between the two. but, of course, they cared for one another until the end, represented by the red trees at the park that to this day keeps being as vibrant as ever (the use of the word "lovely" when describing the red is especially poignant). overall this is some of the best character work in this universe, and while we probably won't see these characters again, their story was absolutely enchanting :> (also, it was really cool how the first half of the game being riddled with valentina's doubts kinda made it seem like loren was suspicious in some way, only to subvert it with the dream sequence)
the gameplay elements were extremely creative!! the seed planting sequences were quite fun, i was shocked by how satisfying it was to water and gather berries and flowers haha. i think there could've been a bit more resource management involved, like maybe if you don't grab a fully grown batch fast enough it withers away... or maybe that does happen and i never saw it cuz of my pro gamer skills, who knows. and all the other puzzles felt really original and fun to figure out! the flower paths, the piano & letter, the heart painting... they all felt just right in terms of difficulty; it makes you ponder the solution a bit, but never so much that it breaks the flow of the story. and the variety of their mechanics is also really cool; it makes all the puzzles feel diverse. the gameplay sequences were a really awesome surprise and they give this game an even stronger identity!
THE VISUALS AND MUSIC UGHHHH so so so good. the swaying of grass and bushes caused by the wind, the way water moves in the rivers, the leaves and twinkles that fall throughout the screen, the beautiful color palette at the forest, the different designs of the berries and flowers, the CGs (especially the ones at the climax, those were incredibly pretty), the mirror version of loren, the ENTIRE dream sequence with its abstract purple background, blinking pencil-like eyes, beating hearts whose colors mimic the ones of the flowers... you get the gist, this game is fucking beautiful in every way. and the music!! captures the vibe of every scene masterfully, the game really wouldn't feel the same without it. an especial mention to the dream track, sooo chilling but beautiful at the same time. don't really know what else to say, the visuals and audio are top notch as usual, and it feels like with every game a cool new detail is introduced to the presentation!
when i hit "new game" the first two times, the same glitch happened; at the starting cutscene, the scene suddenly changed to cardinal forest. like, the scene would play out normally, with valentina and loren arguing about running away... but it happened in cardinal forest instead. after it was done, i continued from that point in the game but at the log cutting part, spamming Q wouldn't work (not super relevant cuz the bigger issue is obviously getting taken to this map at the start of the game, but i thought i'd mention it since a few other people commented it and the cause might be this). at the third try of starting a new game, this time everything worked perfectly, and tbf i couldn't manage to replicate the glitch again, so maybe it was a SUPER random thing that we just got really unlucky for haha. still, i wanted to mention it cuz it felt really confusing when starting the game, since i had no idea i wasn't supposed to be there at that point in the game lol.
overall this was fantastic!! a super compelling love story with creative puzzles, gorgeous visuals, and a complex and incredibly poignant plot that grabbed me and didn't let go. now all that's left is for you and chevie to fight in a forest yuri battle to the death :D