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It's good to compensate our indie devs for all of their incredibly hard work!

The music absolutely SLAPS, had the game open and just bopped along while working on my own stuff for a few hours. The art is very colorful and vibrant, I loved all of the sprites, the level designs looked good but in TOTAL HONESTY I am not SUPER great at platformers, I couldn't finish most of the levels, but that's more on me than the level design itself, I'm a very simple gamer. 

The message itself was lovely as well, it was nice to see that the obvious "people-pleaser" options weren't actually the best ones to take in the long run, and I thought the characters were very endearing outside of when they were clearly not meant to be, it was nice to see more than one side of everyone even in such a short amount of time.

Jason is my favorite LOL NOT JUST BECAUSE HIS LEVEL WAS THE EASIEST! Loved the crux of his problem just being "no i just miss my partner lol"

Very entertaining lil game! Excited to see what else you guys work on 

It's been days and I swear I'm writing up a more cohesive review that has much more detail but I needed to get it out now that the line "Of course I care! Of course I love! Of course I love you!" has been burned into my BRAIN I can't get over how emotionally raw that scene was jdfvbsdkjf I'm still thinking about it

I am INCREDIBLY smitten! Oh my goodness what a lovely little story! I was never 100% sure what was going on, but I didn't feel totally in the dark either, and the concept is FASCINATING.

Even with the darker theme, there were so many heartwarming moments. [Also funny ones, I adore Fanny.] Peyton is just such a refreshing character in his simplicity. Very sweet, very patient, very attentive, but he never crossed into pushover territory. It never felt like he was a one-dimensional character, his dialogue was incredibly smooth and thoughtful and, even though it's a shorter VN, his and Phebe's relationship developed very organically to me. She gradually relaxed around him, it didn't feel abrupt or rushed because of how her responses changed slightly with each day. 

The portrayal of her emotions was very well done, it almost touched on unreliable narrator territory just because of how little she really understood about her feelings. I felt like her anxieties and discomfort were conveyed so well, without her having to actually verbalize any of it, just by how she spoke and the way her expressions would change. 

[The sprites are SO expressive by the way, Peyton's soft smile made me actually squeal the first time I saw it.]

The writing in general is also just very beautiful to me. The poetic repetition, the callbacks to certain phrases, the nightmare sequences are some of my favorite scenes purely because of the use of prose, the descriptions were surreal, it very much gave the impression of being strange and dream-like. I have aphantasia so I can't picture things, but it set the tone for the setting beautifully. Every morning after one of those nightmares, I would also feel a little uneasy, I kept waiting to see if something outside the farm had changed or gone wrong. The atmosphere was incredible. 

I took notes while I was playing, so I could keep track of the things that I found particularly interesting, and it felt like the word choice for specific scenes was noticeably intentional. I like that a lot! I write in my personal time, so I know how easy it can be to just throw synonyms around to avoid using the same words over and over again. With this story, though, it felt like there was a lot of intent behind certain phrases used, I really do think the wordplay was incredibly thought-provoking. 

When you describe dead flowers as CORPSES, you have my immediate attention LOL

The soundtrack is wonderful by the way, I didn't used to play VNs with sound on because I tend to get a little overstimulated with a lot of noise, but lately I've been making sure to keep the background music on so I can better immerse myself in whatever mood the writer is trying to set. The title screen song SLAPS, and occasionally I would just tab out and kind of bop along to the general BGM. 

Most of my notes are just me screaming about how precious and sweet Peyton is, I wasn't expecting to gush as much as I did since he isn't the type of character I gravitate towards. He was so conscientious of Phebe though, I loved how gently he interacted with her, I loved how he recognized that she would never be the one to call him out, so he took it upon himself to bring up his own mistakes/motivations to clear the air.  Absolutely the sweetest man, I should have attempted Hugh first because I don't know how I'll recover now LOL

The resolution was so bittersweet, gonna be honest I'm petty so I didn't want to see the old man get a happy ending, but for Other Phebe it was nice to see her be able to rest. I love the notion of using the butterblue flower as the new core, and I love that it was even hinted at in the journal that there could be something other than bones used. 

Speaking of, the set-up for the mystery was also very good. I don't think I was handed too much information too quickly, I did manage to guess what was happening early on, but I didn't get the specifics correct and there were other details I wouldn't have EVER been able to figure out. 

And Phebe was a delight as a character, I genuinely enjoyed reading her thoughts because her perspective, the way she looked at the world is so unique, it was interesting. Having a unique lens like that for a character to view the story through I think adds so much more to the experience, it's like there's an added layer of the mystery to sort through. I liked having to stop and think about her word choices for a minute, or certain reactions that I couldn't understand right away. Just a very engaging character overall, even though one might not think so at surface level. 

Evocative is a good word to describe this VN, I think. There was so much packed into the few hours I spent playing, I know I'll have to play it again now that I know what's going on just to see if there were any other hints that I missed. 

A beautifully strange, memorable experience! I mean that in the best of ways. I look forward to whatever you work on next, and I'm definitely going to go back and look at the other games you mentioned in the authors notes! 

I don't even have to read past the ao3 tags section to know i'm downloading this one cause idk what "that house is full of bees" means but i HAVE to find out LOL

Okay! Now that I've properly finished all of the routes, I can leave some (more) of my thoughts here.  I've bothered the devs enough, so I'm going to keep this very succinct LOL but know that I would be writing  paragraphs of praise  if I wasn't avoiding being annoying.  [Light spoilers!]

I love the art, it has a lovely charm to it and the backgrounds for faerie are all so colorful and unique, one of my favorite things about fae-related stories is seeing how every artist and their writers interpret faerie, and this is another of my favorites to add to the list. The sprites are beautiful, expressive, and quite varied! You don't usually see so many variations to the outfits and character designs, but Astora gets several lovely wardrobe changes. 

The story itself is short and sweet, but I wouldn't call it simple. I was taking notes throughout each run, and I can go back and see certain points where I made specific connections that would come into play later, and it made the whole experience much more enjoyable. Each playthrough has a different facet and perspective, so you'll learn just a little more with each route. 

The characters are all incredibly charming, not just the love interests. Pix is my BABY, and the triplets were very endearing with their picture-bargaining. F'liri is a dear. and I loved that Aeden gave us a little more insight into her personality (and relationship.) I adore Rhistel, even though he's a much quieter figure, I became very attached to him throughout the course of the game. He's like a grandpa.

And the romance, I wasn't at all prepared for just how smooth the dialogue would be. The banter was engaging and fun, very flirty in both playful and sensual ways depending on the characters. It was nice to see the range, because the writer absolutely killed it with the romantic buildup. There's a well-balanced blend of classic vampire/werewolf vibes without going too far into being a stereotype, though I admit internet culture has ruined the word 'alpha' for me, that's a personal problem LOL

There's so much nuance and strong characterization packed into the world and the cast, I feel like I got to learn so much about them all, and since not all of the information was given to me through text, but rather from inferring through body language and clues, it really gives the feeling that the setting is so much bigger than we get to see. There's a lot of depth, I think, that might be easy to overlook if you don't think there's anything deeper to find. There is. 

Overall, a beautifully done story.

I'm sorry in advance I will probably be commenting twice bc I'm in the middle of playing the game atm (I'm taking NOTES can u believe this) but I wanted to ask if you have any other social media that I could follow? I'm completely enamored with this project and would love to support others if possible!

I have hella THOUGHTS on this VN! THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE INSANELY LONG AND HAVE HELLA SPOILERS SO PLS DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED IT LOL

This is also gonna be a scattered ramble of my incoherent thoughts so APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE I NEED TO SCREAM INTO THE VOID ABOUT MY OPINIONS BC THERE ARE MANY 

THIS IS NOT A FORMAL REVIEW IN ANY WAY ITS PURELY A WOMAN SCREAMING WITH FEELINGS

God so Cirrus right? Walking red flag, biggest red flag I've ever seen in my life, but ho boi put me on color correcting glasses because I've never cared LESS about a man being problematic. 

Okay I cared a little but it's fiction and I'm safe so it's completely fine

ON THE TOPIC OF SAFE ACTUALLY CAN I JUST GUSH ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE THE AFTERCARE PAGE LOL?

Being able to talk to the MC and also just the checklist variant of the aftercare segment was incredible. I didn't personally need it because none of this content was especially triggering to me personally, but I did have moments where I was genuinely uneasy and I took the time to go to the aftercare corner to take a breath and also see what it was like, two birds with one stone and all that. 

"You and me, we're a dream team. Nothing can change that."

BE STILL MY HEART MC I LOVE YOU and it was nice to have that moment of reassurance. 

"Also, I'm completely safe. Always was and always will be." MC YOU ARE A LIAR BUT ALSO IT WAS VERY APPRECIATED IN THE MOMENT LOL 

Also Cirrus' aftercare segment was a HUGE pleasant surprise! Having the multiple options and seeing how he was willing to fulfill whatever specific need the character had did wonders to ease whatever tension I was feeling from the aftermath of the scene. (I've referenced this feeling twice and I do want to stress that for me, this is a very good thing, I'll touch on it again soon.)

Seeing that he was willing to adapt to the MC's needs (even reluctantly, when asked for space) was so nice, and while I wouldn't call it WHOLESOME It still felt very sweet and did make me feel more secure in that moment.

I loved everything about that scene. The intensity was great, had me in an actual metaphorical chokehold the entire time, the pace was incredible and I actually physically felt that tension to the point I had to tab out and just do something else for a few minutes because I thought I was going to combust.

AGAIN, IN A GOOD WAY LOL I KNOW IT SOUNDS BAD BUT I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT

I enjoy darker content, quite a lot actually, though I understand why it's not very popular and I'm not one to put my own wants above the needs of other people, fantasy is a safe place and I can see why darker themes would be too much for some.

It was nice being able to just indulge in a scene like this though, a story like this, beautifully written and engaging and perfectly paced with the intensity of the narrative. I was completely enthralled. 

ON TO WHY IT WAS GOOD THAT I FELT UNEASY BEFORE I FORGET TO TALK ABOUT IT LOL

I'm not a self-inserting kind of person, I love looking at the MC as their own character and looking into their dynamics with the rest of the cast, that's how I get my enjoyment out of the stories I read and the VNs I play. As a result, however, it's pretty hard for me to actually become immersed in a VN. I don't consider this a bad thing, but sometimes it does impede my ability to really grasp the tension of a scene, it's easy to dismiss the conflict when I don't really feel involved, when I don't feel the potential consequences. 

That was absolutely not a problem here. When MC was caught eavesdropping I was so STRESSED man I WAS SO WORRIED I WOULD GET THEM KILLED OR IN TROUBLE LOL I SAVESCUMMED SO HARD BECAUSE OF HOW NERVOUS I WAS, CIRRUS HAD ME HOLDING ON TO MY CHAIR FOR DEAR LIFE

And that tension carried beautifully throughout the rest of that punishment sequence, I was physically tense the entire time, to the point that when the aftercare started and I had begun to relax, I could feel the ache in my muscles lmfao but it was such a good experience, it was both thrilling and kind of horrifying, I wish I had better words to describe it

I don't even think I could begin to describe what a rush that realization was, I hadn't even noticed I was so sucked in until that moment.  The music contributed to it perfectly by the way, I definitely haven't put enough hype on the soundtrack but MAN does it sell the atmosphere. 

So to BRING IT ALL BACK BEFORE I GO OFF ON A TANGENT

Having those moments where I felt uneasy and uncertain was wonderful, It's not often I have the luxury of being immersed like that, so even after closing the game the fact that it still lingered in my mind while I was just going around doing different things was wonderful to me, I love having experiences like that, I love when those experiences sneak up on me and I'm not ready for them to stick as well as they do, and this one has quite thoroughly latched onto me.

ALSO?? THE DIALOGUE OPTIONS?? "YES" "YES" "NO YES" I ALMOST LOST MY MIND LOL FREAKED ME OUT IN THE BEST OF WAYS AND IT HAPPENED TWICE

ALSO x2 It was nice to have an MC that could be receptive to this sort of thing. The options to lean into it and enjoy the punishment were actually very fulfilling, and almost validating in a way? The whole "I didn't take you for a masochist" and "You didn't ask" thing was so nice to see, I'm excited to explore that more and see where it leads.

My fragile little heart wants a happily ever after so damn BAD but I'm so thoroughly ready for the absolute PAIN I KNOW IM GONNA GET PUT THROUGH LOL BOUTTA CALL MY FRIENDS UP ON DISCORD AND MAKE THEM PROVIDE ME EMOTIONAL SUPPORT WHILE I PLAY THESE CHAPTERS

CAUSE I DON'T TRUST THIS MAN EVEN HALF AN INCH BUT HE'S GOT ME UTTERLY HOOKED HOW DID THIS HAPPEN I WAS SO CAUGHT OFF GUARD HOW DARE THEY WRITE SUCH A COMPELLING AND ALLURING CHARACTER ITS SO RUDE 

Have I rambled enough about Cirrus yet? I think I lost my train of thought, I WARNED YOU THIS WOULD BE SCATTERED

SO ONWARD TO KEIR! WHO WAS THE FIRST ROUTE I TRIED

I think for future content updates I might save Keir's route for after I finish Cirrus.

I love the dark stress that I get from Cirrus, the tension, the unhealthy dynamic, it's so compelling and alluring. 

But, it is still a wee bit stressful, which is not a bad thing at ALL I HAVE TO STRESS THIS VERY HARD I DO LOVE IT A LOT LOL PLEASE DON'T LET THIS COME OFF AS A BAD THING I HOPE IVE MADE MY THIRST CLEAR 

While the route with Keir starts off a bit rocky, it very quickly turns into something more comforting for me. This might very well change later on! I have no way of knowing! But so far it does carry a sort of found-family vibe to me, and it was very sweet and GOD THE BANTER IM NOT READY TO GO INTO ALL THAT YET BUT IT WAS SO GOOODDDD

So I think for me personally, in terms of play-order, Keir will go after Cirrus for the sake of my sanity.

SO THE BEGINNING 

"Do you trust me?" 

NO OFC NOT BUT I HAD TO PICK YES BECAUSE IM A SHITPOSTER LOL

"The fuck?"

I wheEZED SO HARD I CANNOT HIS REACTION WAS SO FUNNY LOL

THEN HE CHASTIZED MC FOR IT AND IT WAS HYSTERICAL 

I did go back and pick no because it made the most sense to me, but that was definitely a clue about how much fun I was about to have on his route AND I WAS SO RIGHT I HAD SUCH A GOOD TIME LOL

This route was what cemented this MC as my favorite MC ever btw. I love wit and banter, I've seen it done phenomenally in other games, but absolutely nothing could have prepared me for "You look like a throw pillow fucked a jewelry box" 

I sent a screenshot of that line to my friends and absolutely lost my SHIT I was laughing so hard

Griff: It wasn't that funny

me: NO IT WAS ABSOLUTELY THAT FUNNY LOOOL

I'm an absolute gremlin and I'm so proud of it bc that was HILARIOUS

I don't think I've ever laughed so much at an MC before, and the bright wit compared to the completely dark setting for the story is pulled off so damn WELL. It didn't take me out of the story at all, it didn't feel out of place or forced, 10000/10 I love MC

(Also if this part of my rant seems a little more organized and detailed it's bc I'm going back and replaying Keir rn so it's a little more fresh in my mind, which is why I have more direct quotes compared to when I babbled about Cirrus)

AAAA ALSO THE POSES? FOR THE SPRITES? THE DYNAMIC POSES WERE SO GOOD I LOVED SEEING THE CHANGES IN POSITION especially since in VNs we rely so much on facial expression, so being able to convey that much emotion through body language instead to compensate is really clever I feel, and it was done very well the art is beautiful and very eye-catching. 

I mentioned it briefly before, but the found-family thing (assuming that's what it is, it might wholly just be my perception, either way I still enjoy the dynamics with everyone) felt incredibly fulfilling. It's clear they're still keeping the MC at a distance, but it was wonderful to see by the end how they began to warm up to them, just a little. 

Kind of like a slow-burn but for friendship? I thrive off of that, especially when there was as much emphasis placed on how hard trust is to earn, it felt gratifying to see the change after a difficult job done well and getting to see some of that tension and distrust melt away.

AND! THE! SCENE! AT! THE! END! WITH THE HEADPATS! AND THE SAPPY TALK! AND THE EMOTIONS?!

Keir's route so far feels so emotionally fulfilling and validating while still maintaining that dark and dreary setting from the rest of the story. Thing's aren't bright and happy just because of one good job, but that happy moment felt fuckin EARNED!

Cirrus feels, permit me this NSFW thought, sexually gratifying in a way, though that's something that I imagine is unique to myself and people who have similar tastes. Neither route is comfortable, per se, but they balance each other well and god I'm so EXCITED

TO SEE

WHERE IT GOES 

SKDJFVBHJFD I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE WORLD BUILDING AND THE LORE AND I WANNA SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH MC?? AND THEIR SICKNESS? WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER (IF) THEY GET CURED? DO THEY HAVE TO LEAVE? THE ANTICIPATION WILL KILL ME BUT I WILL WAIT VERY VERY PATIENTLY (or try to)

while also screaming into the void on occasion.

Whew this was definitely very long I'm so sorry I screamed so much lmfao I just had a lot of feelings and WANTED TO PUT THEM SOMEWHERE 

TLDR I think this is a beautiful, wonderfully concocted story aND IT WAS ONLY ONE CHAPTER THATS INSANE TO ME, both of the characters are so appealing and intriguing and I JUST KNOW IM GONNA GET HURT BUT ILL HAVE TISSUES AND ICE CREAM AT THE READY

now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go write some NSFW Cirrus fics to cure the brainrot going on in my head THANK YOU FOR INDULGING MY SCREAMING HAVE A NICE DAY EVERYONE

MAN THIS GAME PISSED ME OFF BUT IN THE BEST WAY LOL I mean that wholeheartedly as a compliment, I've played way too much WoW and FFXIV so when I saw the raiders acting up and sort of lashing out, it felt very familiar and realistic to how I've seen some of my guildies act out in the past, so it was very easy for me to be immersed in the setting and get invested in the story, I'm incredibly excited to see the rest of the game!

waIT I DONT KNOW WHAT THIS IS BUT IT SOUNDS SO COOL im linking this to my GM so they can play it alongside me lets goooooo

I haven't even been able to really play this yet because every time I tab in to start reading I just keep squealing over how fricken cute this man is

I'm sure once I actually get around to playing it I'll have more to say I just had to fangirl really quick over this precious boi aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

OH THATS WHAT YOU MEANT im so sorry oh gosh im really slow thank you for the help sorry to bother you aaaaa

I think maybe it might be bugged then? Whether or not I choose reason or instinct, Jaylene says the same thing and both answers take me to the bad ending, or maybe my files are messed up, ill try restarting the game just in case

I can't tell if it's intentional or not, But on Xanthe's route when I have the option to "Let her go" or "Let her stay" It doesn't let me actually pick an answer,  I ended up getting the bad end and I'm not sure if this choice was the one I needed to get a better end.

Man, normally when playing a demo or VN i have a pretty clear hint on who I'm going to like most, and I don't really know this time.

(okay thats a lie I obviously love Tuck the most but since he doesn't count atm i'm going to pretend i'm unbiased)

I thought I was going to dislike Will,  despite his beautiful design, but damnit the cheeky mf pretending not to know how to dance, I'm not sure why it was so cute to me.

John is just such a sweetheart, and I love that all the guys so far have a little mischievous streak, it makes their personalities seem more rounded. He's probably the character I most love aesthetically, but I just don't have a favorite yet ;~; 

Robin I thought was going to be kind of a standard prince character, but he's ALSO a cheeky mf lol I think he's so endearing, I can't wait to follow the development a little more and meet the other characters. Sorry if this was a little too wordy, I'm super excited /o/

When I was playing through Jason's route, I ended up getting text from Alex's route instead? And then it went back to Jason's before I got an error and it closed the game. I'm sorry I'm not super specific on when it happened, I can try to go back when I wake up and find the scenes that glitched

I think the intro is a bit... fast-paced? It kind of rushes by a lot of the events and we're introduced to everyone almost too quickly, but I think the concept is very interesting and I think just a little more fluff in the beginning to fill it out a bit would be good, but it's still a great start either way! Very excited to see how this develops~

Hello! I want to say that I really love this game, I've been following kind of silently for awhile, and I noticed in the discord you were posting progress images of the characters, I didn't want to say anything at first but i don't know, it's kind of an unpopular opinion but here we go.

I think the new sprites don't look good, the MC"s shoulder looks a little large in comparison to everything else, and everything is just so dark, I understand it's a dark themed VN, but when the background is dark, the story is dark, and the characters are dark too? There's no real contrast, unlike the original that had darker backgrounds and brighter looking characters, they were a little easier to see, but now it's just a lot of black shading on black. I don't want to sound too harsh, I just want to offer another perspective, Tom's sprite especially. I think his jaw is set a little too low, it looks more like he has wider cheeks instead of a wider jaw, it's a tad unflattering, which is a little unfortunate as Tom is probably my favorite character. Charlie is also very dark, it's just a lot of black shading, and I don't want to discourage you or make you think i'm trying to just be negative, I think the story is fantastic and the scenery is beautiful, I just think having especially dark characters with dark backgrounds is a mistake visually, and some of the anatomy is a bit off. Obviously not all art will be perfect, and always striving to improve is a good trait, so I hope this doesn't come off as toxic, criticizing always gives me a bit of anxiety because I'm worried it will be taken as just insults and not constructive like I want it to be, I just want to help a little if I can, and i know people will probably disagree with me, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, I think the older sprites were more visually appealing, even if they weren't anatomically correct, but it's also a personal opinion. I'm really looking forward to the development of this VN, and I hope to support it however I can. I'm really sorry if I caused any offense ;~: 

Alright the artstyle had me thrown for a loop at first, and i didn't really think it would be my kind of story, but I read a couple of the other reviews and everyone else seemed pretty blown away, so i gave it a shot and like

I got no sleep playing this visual novel okay

I was up until like 4am finishing Noct's route and holy fuck

Yknow how you "lol" but you dont really laugh? Jazz made me actually laugh out loud and it was just a really really good story, 

I DIDNT ASK FOR YOU TO PULL MY HEARTSTRINGS BUT YOU DID ANYWAY SO THERE YA GO

I really really love carol and noct and the families and it was just too wholesome for my toxic heart and I can't appreciate u enough  ok ty

god I played this forever ago and i still think about it, it left such a weirdly lasting impact on me that I can't explain, I romanced the guide my first time through and it was such a weirdly bittersweet thing that it stuck with me, sometimes I wished for a happier ending but I think that might be why i still think about it, because it was so heckin beautiful and it left me with a hole in my girly soul, the voice acting was great and honestly i love the horror/romance vibe, i wish it was more popular, not the spooky vampire stuff but genuine horror, like this, stuff that I really should not be playing at 2 in the morning but I do anyway because i'm irresponsible. Sorry i'm rambling a bit, i've recently been looking into more VNs of this genre and Lake of voices is the standard I keep comparing them all to, my weak heart can't take it ;~: 

this is the 2nd time i've seen you just say "hmmmm" on a game lmao maybe re-work a greeting so it comes off a little less odd

I thought I was going to like August the least because of their stoic intro, but they're such a blushy bby and i love them so much it hurts, Omen is also my precious bun and as embarrassing as it is i cant wait to see if my little shy demon spices up a bit >:3c

Lowkey glad its 18+ because the story and characters are so sinfully good I can't help but want some s t e a m

I love this so much, I stayed up until 4 in the morning just to play it all the way through. I did have some glitches but the game was still so enjoyable, Loveless is forever my favorite character >u>