You know when you're in the mood for something and you can't quite place your finger on what but nothing you find is quite it? And you spend hours searching and find nothing? Yes well Obscura for me was that except I found Exactly what I was looking for. I am currently in the middle of the first love interest of my first playthrough and already had to stop just to sing my praises.
First of all, from the get-go the artstyle, music, and ambiance is absolutely stunning. The setting is this dark fantasy marketplace with religious undertones. I am looking forward to seeing the developments of the world.
The pacing and transitions of the story feel very natural as well. I feel like a lot of visual novel games, especially otome ones can be somewhat obvious in terms of like "THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CHOICE" where you can clearly tell when a choice is going to deviate the path one way or another. While this is sometimes helpful, I really love how natural the choices feel.
In a similar vein, as many people in these comments have mentioned, the MC is wonderful. I think they feel very natural and have realistic reactions to situations they are placed in. Again, many visual novel otome games can struggle with making likable and natural protagonists.
Finally, the progression of the relationships. Once again, just remarkably well-written and paced. Nice and slow, I like that they don't immediately start out in love with each other (I am a sucker for slower burns) and that the story takes time to build the relationships. I also love a bit of toxicity in fictional relationships so I look forward to seeing some darker themes throughout.
Basically, this is a stunningly beautiful and well-written game that honestly deserves better than being called an otome. And this is just how I feel after about an hour of playing. If you are a fan of dark fantasy, religious themes, slow burn, and romance than I really cannot recommend this game enough.
Edit upon finishing a few endings:
I very rarely try and achieve every single ending in a game the way I am trying to here. I think it really speaks to the quality of the game.
A few other notes, I really appreciate the various aftercare resources both in and out of game, especially in regards to Cirrus's route. (Although for personal preference I do find it somewhat immersion breaking but I understand the necessity for it for those that may need it, and it wasn't distracting enough to stop me from playing through his routes several times so I still consider it a good choice overall)
So far my only complaint is entirely in personal preference where honestly I think Cirrus's routes could go even darker but I'm an enjoyer of pretty dark fiction and understand it isn't for everyone. Just overall an amazing game with so much effort and creativity put into it. Can't wait to see where it goes from here.