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Spoiler-Friendly Discussion

A topic by Minoh Workshop created Aug 21, 2021 Views: 16,967 Replies: 294
Viewing posts 1 to 108
Developer(+2)

It's exactly what the name says. This thread is spoiler-friendly, so feel free to discuss whatever you please about the game.

(1 edit) (+2)

I'm up to chapter 16, game is 👌

I think Hinterlands 3 dragged on a bit too long but at least Storm is cute as hell. P is also really good, I very much relate to all those intrusive thoughts...

The flashback to Asterion's sentencing was such a good part, really helps piece together Asterion's time living (as someone who knows next to nothing about real greek lore, lol.) I still don't know what happened to Laomedon and his father, though.

A small inconsistency(?) that bothered me is when you read the letter. It was addressed as being from "P" -- probably the peacock's grandpa -- but they act like it was Clement who sent the letter despite his name not being signed and MC's inability to decipher the entire letter. Even after they learn who P is from Themba, who I recruited first.

I also wanna know if the choice of god in chapter 15 matters. Does Aphrodite make things horny I NEED to know

Deleted 3 years ago
Developer(+4)

I'll give you a few spoiler-free answers.

I also wanna know if the choice of god in chapter 15 matters. 

Yes, but maybe not in the ways you think. Picking Aphrodite does not make things hornier, although that is something we could add in 0.5.1.

About the P/Clement inconsistency, when you finish the game please tell me what you think about it. I'm curious.

Thank you for your input and kind words, it's extremely appreciated.

(1 edit) (+1)

I completely forgot to reply to this, lmfao


Obviously after what happened I have more questions than answers, but...really, I just forgot that Jean explicitly said the letter was from Clement and was lying. I suppose I'm missing something, since as I learned from the survey there's a way to actually figure this out before the twist happens, so I'll need to replay

(+1)

I kinda thought when Hermes said it was from the old man P could be Poseidon.

(+2)

Bingo.

does putting in a different name affect the story majorly?

Developer (2 edits)

Yes

Edited because I said too much lmao

oh... welp hope changing my name on that phone doesn't get me the bad ending lmao

Developer(+2)

Relax... one thing I really dislike in VNs is stumbling upon bad endings because you didn't guess the correct dialogue options. We don't do that. Some events just play out differently.

(+1)

This may sound funny but I tried "Io" and "Argos".  Surprised there wasn't a passing mention at the very least.

Well okay I was doing that for giggles but still...

Developer(+2)

Hey, that's not a bad idea. I could add those.

(1 edit)

I used Nanoff with the phone contact for the route I finally ran into the anthill and originally thought that was what unlocked it lmao

I was being a little shit, so I chose "Pan".

Was half-sad I didn't get anything...

(+8)

Welp. It took a few years, but I finally bit the bullet and made an itch.io account for this comment. 

First things first: Wow. Absolutely incredible job, to everyone involved.

I’ve been following Minotaur Hotel since its first build’s release on itch.io (god, that feels like ages ago, huh?), and I’ve been waiting excitedly for 0.5 since 0.4 first came out. While you guys and your previous builds left me with faith that 0.5 would be good, I couldn’t have possibly expected 0.5 to floor me as much as it did. I could talk about this for ages, but I’ll limit myself to a few(ish) areas I feel this build resonated with most for me (also, given the nature of this thread, looooots of spoilers).

In regards to the general plot/story: the developments regarding P, Argos/Dominikos, and Hermes felt super satisfying. There were more than enough hints that something was up, but figuring out exactly what was going on with each of them and how their situations were related to one another was excellent to piece together. It made that scene near the end when they crashed the re-naming celebration so much more tense! Having all those threads come together so (almost) disastrously was wild shit and I loved it.

As usual, the art was great! Something I’ve always loved about this VN is how expressive the characters are, and that continues to be just as great (if not better!) in 0.5. The updated sprites (especially Asterion’s) and Dominikos’s frightened expressions really stuck with me. Loved the new backgrounds, too! Also, I’m extremely gay and there were cute guys to look at. A+.

The romance in this patch felt really soft, and I mean that in a good way! It wasn’t all fluff, as Asterion has a lot of complicated feelings to work through, but it still felt very cozy, I guess. Asterion and the MC’s relationship was progressing in a way that felt natural and right (kind of related, but Kota’s scenes with both Asterion and the MC were really sweet, too). Plus, it offered some much-needed respite to the more harrowing stuff going on (particularly some of the darker topics in the Hinterlands, which was good in its own right— but I’ll get to that). Also GOD finally the kiss. The tension. It hurt me.

Where the build really shined most to me, though, were the characters. To be honest, I was wary starting 0.5 knowing how much Hinterlands content was going to be in it. My initial fears were that it was going to serve as a distraction from the main story with characters I didn’t know about or care for, and I am incredibly happy to be wrong. Seriously, Oscar and P’s characters were so much more intricate than I thought, and they have great chemistry together whenever they show up. Seeing how they each responded to the different (usually Not So Great) locations in the Hinterlands, and how they responded to each other, and watching those interactions change as they grew closer together... great stuff. Between them, and all the stuff with Dominikos’s role as an Argos, and the aforementioned romance stuff with Asterion... god, if the characters in this VN were good before, they’re definitely top-notch to me now.

Really, the only thing that comes to mind for personal criticism would be simile repetition (the “like hummingbirds at the back of your head” one comes to mind, for example), but that honestly feels more like a nitpick than anything else. Could 100% just be my personal preference, too.

You guys have done absolutely stellar work with this most recent patch, and I hope y’all are able to take as much time as you need to rest. I’m really looking forward to hearing more about what you guys do in the future— thank you, truly, for making such an incredible experience.

(+3)


that time when life imitates art / you maybe meme something into existance

(+3)

Now that the 0.5 meme embargo is over



(+4)

I've only just started playing the new update, but this choice had me Cackling outloud, and I lost my breath laughing, I should really give a proper review soon but this choice had to be caught

 

Weren't Jean and his brother both French?

Especially Asterion asking whether I am British :D

I finished the build and the survey. Pages 5 and 6 got me feeling like I fucked up somewhere, lmfao

I think I wanna add that I really didn't like Jean and Kota playing matchmaker. I guess it's fine that they just wanted to nudge MC and Asterion in the right direction, but a part of me wanted them to mind their own business lol

Developer(+1)

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "slight dislike" and 5 being "active hate", how much did you dislike Kota (not Jean) getting involved?

I'm not 100% sure on how to put it into words, but if I had to put it on a scale, I would say 2 or 3. Not enough to ruin the character of course but it kinda bothers me. Thinking about it, I do like the scene in the garden where he's concerned with MC taking advantage of Asterion, and later trying to potentially coax Asterion's feelings out. That was good and touching. The later scene with MC and Kota I like less (especially since he's conveniently drunk off his ass.) I actually thought at first it was going to be about his own love, or the red dragon he's looking for, but it just turned into him ripping away MC's insecurity, as well as Kota's opinion on gay people in general (which I feel is even less necessary since this is a gay visual novel and he's tolerated Luke up to this point.)

Developer(+3)

Thanks for the reply! This is important info for us, and we're gonna watch out for how other people feel about Kota's involvement in this.

Making a gigantic build like this allowed us to make a very big build up, which I think was important to make this part of the story come together in a way that felt right, but that also meant we didn't have the kind of frequent, step-by-step player feedback that would let us fine tune every part of the story. I feel like this is maybe what happened here.

We'll most likely give it some time to catch more feedback and see how much we can improve these scenes, what parts in particular need more work — or if they require a rewrite.

This is probably not a very definitive answer. Still, thank you for the input. It's always very useful when people can articulate what specific parts aren't working as well as the rest.

(+1)

I'd just like to add that for me, it made perfect sense. Not only is he a river god who has seen people in all their different states of humanity, he's also spending time around Luke and realizing hidden strength he once wrote off. A river is ever flowing, but Kota has chosen to take root for the time being and is changing from that. I think this is reflective of how he is interpreting rebellion. It's a little awkward, but there's a lot of experience, second only to Asterion. 

I think having Kota of all people give permission to you to not necessarily pursue things, but to feel these things, is an important part of the power balance. You are going through something similar to Asterion by not allowing yourself to want. Of course, yours is discipline, whereas Asterion's is embedded, but that's why Kota acts as a sort of link connecting the two to their natural conclusion. I don't think any other character would have that effect, although Luke likely softened you up to hear something that's simultaneously more gentle and more powerful.

(Actually, Luke's comment about Mom and Pop shops is slightly damning. Because it showed you were still considering Asterion as beneath you and something to be handled instead of given full agency. But it's understandable why you're not ready yet. It's a perfectly reasonable response to all that power.)

I've been going through multiple permutations of the Hinterlands section, trying to find outcomes that lead directly to the Hotel and anything in relation to finding the missing child. I got through the butterfly wall at the pond, but I'm really not sure what to make of the shack scene, or what it changes (if anything).

My brain is suggesting to me that it's probably actually impossible for Pedro and Oscar to find the Hotel during Hinterlands, and that they just reach the Hotel during a future chapter as a mandated part of the main plot. But I still can't help but feel that I'm missing significant secrets or outcomes in the Hinterlands beyond the straightforward stuff involving the tapir and the 12. Can anyone shed some light on this?

(1 edit)

From the few times I ran through it, I wasn’t able to find the kid, either; I replayed that specific section several times and I was never able to find him. The stuff with the hotel becomes more apparent later on, so don’t worry about it too much for now.

Going to the library and selecting non-fiction adds a book to your inventory, and you can change Oscar’s outfit at the tailor, but those are the only “minor” permanent changes I noticed— I’m sure there’re more if you keep looking!

Anyway, from what I can gather, it seems that three major things can change as a result of your actions in the Hinterlands (two of which you already brought up):

  • Returning the tapir god’s skin
  • Putting the 12 to rest
  • The nature of Storm and Pedro’s relationship (platonic or romantic)

On that note, I tried a few different permutations of the Hinterlands, and I was only able to ever complete 2/3 of them (first route I ended up helping the tapir god and strengthened their relationship, and Pedro says they’ll bury the 12 on the road). There could be a way to get all three, though!

Developer(+2)

As caketo said, getting to the hotel becomes more apparent later on. As for finding the missing boy, you can't rescue/find him now but it's possible for P and Storm to set the groundwork to solve that mystery at a later (hopefully not much later!) date.

Deleted 3 years ago
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I was very close on my run. I feel like if i finished Asterion's project i could of gotten a full score ;-; I feel like i could go back and pick up a few more achievements

 but later.

Deleted 3 years ago

omg then i need to figure out what i missed to give him the best. What is your secret?

Deleted 3 years ago

I'm still processing everything that's happened, I couldn't fall asleep until I was done with the build. But I'm loving it, I'm loving Nikos' growth and that scene from the ancient hotel, I'm loving how there's much more going on than initially thought. But most of all? The  kiss and all the build up to it. 

Think I'm rambling like 'not-Clément' and really need some shut-eye now.

(+2)

I was very impressed with the update. Especially the growing relationship between MC and Asterion, Nikos' development, and the Hinterlands. It was nice to see some of my theories confirmed. I remember Carbon telling me to not look to the original 4chan quest for speculation since things had diverged heavily, but that seems to have been misdirection since my confirmed theories were aspects from or adjacent to the quest.

Personally, I was fine with Kota's involvement in the matchmaking since it clearly came from a place of concern. Kota's happiness slipped away, so he's not about to let his friends miss their own chance at happiness together. Jean's part in it did bother me though. He came off as rude, and overly nosy and pushy. It felt like he was just projecting due to the mistreatment of his son. His plans shouldn't even need MC and Asterion to be romantically involved.

While Jean's goal is ultimately good, I disagree with his methods. Trying to kill Nikos for doing what he himself had ordered him to came off as reprehensible to me. I also don't get how that would've even helped Asterion in any way. Nikos actually wasn't a threat to the hotel.

Initially we were told Asterion's crime was meekness, letting Theseus kill him. Then the tablets suggested it was his mercy killing of Tithomus. But now that got expunged. The transcripts I got from the Olympians' trial suggest that some of the gods were afraid of him because he is a demigod and wields the labrys. In other words, his crime was merely existing, under no fault of his own. This makes the official sentence of meekness make less sense, since if he was cowardly like they accused him of being, they'd have nothing to fear from him. And the trial was rigged with two of the votes in his favor being thrown out on lame technicalities. I've always maintained that Asterion did nothing wrong, but this makes his eternity of torture even more tragic than it already was. I'm glad things are finally looking up for him now, but can anything actually make up for what he's been unjustly put through?

There have been pieces of media that would have considered that last part the climax... and yes it can be annoying to leave so many threads hanging... but I guess in some of those cases it's a matter of "go buy the damn books".

So how much lies ahead?  I mean especially for... party B and Nick.

Developer(+2)

I can give a few details without saying anything truly spoiler-ish. In Build 0.6 Oscar will join the hotel's staff, and this happens to everyone regardless of whatever choices you made. You could say he's part of the main story.

As for P and "Nick" (as you called him)... Well, for most players only one of them will remain in the hotel. If at the end of the build you saw a scene of one of them going out of the hotel to have some alone time, that character will leave and get back to their regular life.

If you did not get that scene in your playthrough, you should be able to pick which one you want to join your team. But if you have the Leader background you should be able to get both of them in a single playthrough.

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Well shoot.  The big jerk could at least have explained where he got a device (or whatever he used to call our little star out for a live meeting).

Well he can stay in touch yeah?

(+5)

Man, the details you guys put into this patch are incredible. Two little things I've noticed while playing:

  • When choosing who to dedicate Asterion's rite to in the lounge, selecting 'Hermes' makes a certain someone change their expression ever so slightly compared to answering with any other god. 
  • During Luke's drinking game, saying 'Drink if you'd do someone at this table' gives Asterion a little extra dialogue in the scene that immediately follows. Interesting...

Those are just what I've found so far, but I'm certain MH's wonderful writers have yet more secrets to uncover! Hats off to you, Mino Hotel team. Y'all are the real Kings of Kings!

Developer(+1)

There's at least one big secret no one found so far, I'm just waiting for it to come up.

I'll try to guess without completely giving it away. Is the big secret something that Hades and Nikos both mention about Asterion while talking to him?

So... did anyone post the big secret already? I'm kinda craving to know what it is.

Im honestly wondering if i did the Hinterlands 3 section properly. I did take the remains to the memorial and helped out that jack ass of a god, but...i'm not entirely sure. Was there more i was supposed to do? 

It would appear it has more quests than they give you time for.  With that I'm not sure about "supposed to do".

So im guessing there will be more Hinterlands stuff in the future?

If they do put more stuff in the hinterlands... would be nice to have some kind of time extension quest.

Developer

Hi! I wrote an answer to IceKingChernobog (right below this one) that answers your point.

Developer

I'll only give a few spoiler-free answers.
There's more stuff to do in the hinterlands than what you described. There's also more things you can discover, even if you cannot act on them just yet.

There is not enough time to do them all. You have to choose your priorities.

We might add a few more little things to see in the Hinterlands in future versions. We had some ideas we couldn't put in because of time constraints. But that definitely won't come in with a time extension, as that section of the game was designed and balanced with that time frame in mind.

(+5)

I finally got through all of the main route content, and I can't overstate how satisfying it was to read through. So much so, it was a struggle to pacify the internal dissonance stemming from the knowledge (and frequent visual and narrative reminders) that this is a furry VN -- a subgenre of a subgenre notorious for amateur projects and shallowness, and casual, emotionally masturbatory gratification -- with the actual quality, thoughtfulness, and humanity of what I was reading. I would love to know what other creative works the members of the writing team have put out there "officially", besides what's listed on the Minoh Workshop creator page, but anonymity no doubt takes precedence.

Anyway, that aside, there is one possible plot hole or oversight I would like to discuss. Within the Labyrinth's Constitution, under Fragment B, it is stated that the token of ownership, the deed to the hotel, reverts back to the Overseer upon the death of the previous owner --  apropos Clément -- if there are no applicable living relatives. Assuming I read everything correctly, it was explained by Hermes that this was a necessary part of their plot for setting things right, with the death of Clément providing the result that "the deed reverted to the old man." The old man, of course, almost certainly being Zeus. But it was indicated by Nikos during the altercation in the final segment of Chapter 18 that Hermes was his Overseer, and indeed that Hermes has been masterminding the affairs of the Argoi. This seems to contradict the Constitution and the reversion to Zeus -- is Zeus the Overseer of the Labyrinth as per the terms of the Constitution, or is Hermes? Are the Overseer of the Labyrinth and the Overseer of the Argoi two separate positions entirely, with an unfortunately shared style leading to this particular confusion? My apologies if this is not some kind of oversight, and instead is clarified in some portion I missed or misunderstood, or another part of the game in the Ruthless route.

(+1)

Well it comes to a point where it just says "living male relative" (after descendants, siblings, and nephews).  If it turns out they're descended from Zeus that would be such a pain.

The skip button is being a donkey so it would be a while for me to check myself.  Was "reverted to the old man" really the EXACT words?

Developer(+1)

It's not really a plot hole, it's just that we couldn't explore this thoroughly just yet. Hermes is the overseer, the deed as a physical object reverted to him. But he gave it to the old man, who requested it, and in turn he passed it on to the player character.

(+1)

Given the revelation that Clement has been deceased for a few months, is there any indication in game as to who the old man who gives us the deed is?

Developer(+1)

There are enough clues to figure it out, but you'll have to play a lot of branches of the game.

On my first Playthrough i thought the oversser must be Zeus or Hermes. However --as Mathmatican-- MC  i answered  "Athena" being the overseer for roleplay purpose. In most Saga i read (so yes, i am biased)  Athena has been very helpful for humanity; Jason and the Argonauts, Odysseus, Thesseus and she propably helped Daidalos to contruct the Labyrinth. My MC  assumed that Athena must be plotting against all Olympus to set Humantiy free from the Gods, therefore she set up the trail that Zeus was going against the oath to Styx.

(+2)

Loved this current build, was definitely worth the wait. My only major gripe is that Nikos without the pelt, please let us get him a hoodie or something at some point in the game. Bonus if its a cat girl hoodie in speed runner route with mc lying about them being horns.

(+1)

I was also thinking of getting him something to wear but what I had in mind was something with a hat.  The way he hangs out in the sun.

Ok yeah hat, didn't realize he got a turtle neck only in certain endings of the build.

Oh!  I could have asked this the other day but how in the loop is the "overseer"?  They seemed a little behind on what was going on in that last chappy.

(+1)

hi hi, I'm still taking my sweet time enjoying the new chapters. Though, I found a small bug! I think it suppose to be Storm saying the line. (Android version)

I almost forgot that one.  I was playing PC though.  Well older PC.

Developer

yeah... we might put out a hotfix with the little stuff people brought up.
Thank you for reporting it!

Deleted 3 years ago
Deleted 2 years ago

... I'd like to hear the answer on this too.

Developer(+2)

A little bit. The only options that really affect your relationship with Asterion are whether you drink or not for stuff that you've done together, like feeling your heart race from holding someone's hand, or sleeping on someone's lap. Asterion will act a little differently in the following scene depending on how sexually active you say you are, but he isn't offended, and it doesn't have a lasting effect. The point of that scene is to treat it like a fun get together with friends and less about micromanaging Asterion's affection, I think it's better if you answer those questions honestly.

Well, I must say, more often than not, I could put the Storm and P story in northeast states. I'm not, by any means, saying that coronelismo happens only on northeast, (and not even under torture I would say any family names), but that's a thing. In southeast, Rio would be the most probable place to put, even knowing way too well where it happens. And I'm loving every single second of the history.

Developer

The Hinterlands are (very loosely based) on a specific location in the Northeast.

(+2)

Any chance of the master getting a nickname at some point?  I mean other than the one from a little birdie.

Like little beacon?  Like a lighthouse that keeps ships from crashing ashore or lets them know where harbor is.  I think it fits with Asterion's little star.

(+4)

A B S O L U T E    M O N A R C H 

(+3)

You bastards made me cry, i hope you're happy with yourselves,  I mean you should, its a testament of how good the writing is. 

Also , on my first playthrough i chose wolf, but didnt get Themba nor  Khenbish, is that you can get  only one of them? 

if so i want to speak with the manager

Developer(+3)

Why, yes, I am very happy with this outcome.

(God, Jesus Christ, I've been meaning to post something like this image ever since we started the game, fuck this feels so good.)

And yes, you can only pick one of the boys. It's either Themba, Wolf or Khenbish. But if you pick Arts as your background you can pick two (one with Jean, another one later by adding a decoration to the reception.)

...That said, if you pick Leader you'll be able to recruit two characters in Build 0.6, when otherwise you would only recruit one. So that's another neat bonus.

Ah, what a conundrum, eh?

(+2)

can you afford to take that chance? 

well,  second playthrough here I go, art boi this time 

(+3)

Hinterlands III followed by Chapter 16 is such a one-two punch of Minotaur Hotel's strengths. I was sure Hinterlands III would be the highlight with how deftly it gets you to care about these two new characters while simultaneously expanding and twisting the time management system that was just introduced. And then everything happened with the Deep Labyrinth. The conversation of why Asterion, our Little Star, calls you master; how it's a form of gloating, while the gorgeous and evocative Foolish Child plays in the background is cathartic. It gave me real House in Fata Morgana vibes, which speaks to how wide this casts its net. 

I only started with the 0.5 build, so I can't say how it's always been, but I'm consistently impressed by the music. It enhances the already transportive writing. And I love how alive the scrolling text and eventually sprite movement makes things. It's fitting you first get that movement when finding Asterion holding on, as alive as he's forced to be, only to grow the more people enter the story and hotel. For a story about being stuck to one place, there's so much movement. I can't imagine any of this was simple, but I'm so impressed by the what everyone has made. 

Thank you for this experience. 

(+4)

You can't do this to me, Asterion. You're too precious for your own good. 


Also i need the music that plays during the upside down scene. Feels way too FFXIV and i love it. 

It's the one way at the bottom of the list in the music player from the menu.

Developer(+2)

It's called "Foolish Child" from the album "Slaves of time" by Antoni Castells. You can listen to it here.

What does it say there by the way?

google never translated it for me q.q

(+3)

Nikos is such a little shit and I love him. I'm doing a second playthrough and his scene as Argos fighting you about recorded music is so damn funny knowing he's just trolling you as part of his role. 

Developer(+2)

Finally someone noticed this, we've been waiting for this day for two fucking years.

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Hmm?  I must have missed that part. When did Nick get in a discussion about recorded music?

Speaking of Nick: any chance him and Panedro can get along?

same I need to know too!

Developer(+1)

When you meet Argos for the second time he'll say different things depending on how the first encounter with him ended like. If memory serves me, it can end in 5 ways (sent Asterion to the valley, accepted the contract without questioning, questioned and got the wrong article, questioned and got the right article, used the Humanities/Leader perk to skip the puzzle). Only one of these will lead to that outcome...

...Sadly I can't remember which one is it, and I can't check now.

(+1)

It was Art, refuse to call Asterion, immediately accept his contract lmao.

Gotta say, my dumbass character this run has led me to realize how different things can be since he never realized Argos was playing a role. He's being so obvious going on about Pandora's box and how the cruelest thing is to give Asterion hope and my character just thinks Argos is an idiot. I love it.

Or went off his rocker.

(+2)

Um. 

Khenbish in a tank is really hot.

That's all.

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In...?  How do I find him in such?  I must know.

Suina folk are my top favorite... when they aren't involved in squick.

Did you mean in the drinking game?  Sheesh I miss things in a crowd.

I did, although hopefully he ends up wearing that in more scenes. 

Welp I just finished my first full playthrough from the start up to Chapter 18, trying to get all the best choices I had and all that. The wait was so worth it! I think this is one of the only VN updates that didn't leave me with a "plot blue balls" sort of cliffhanger. It felt like a properly done season finale.

I can't wait to go through some more playthroughs. Hopefully this time I can stomach going through the Ruthless route...

love the game, very well put together and the story is really great and Asterion is really cute. I've played through several times already and just wanted to ask, is there any new scenes i might have missed? i mean like cg's like Luke's? 

(+1)

I pissed away an hour trying every combination in Hinterlands III to find that godforsaken anthill in my art save, only to finally be able to relieve myself in the speedrunner route. I have many thoughts, but mostly do NOT let Pedro near dead animals. Good to see that gamer spill leaked into Pedro with his "No homo" to Oscar at the lake.

As painful as some of the speedrun options were*, Nikos has the worst of it knowing he has to bounce off of you. He practiced his whole life for this and this is what greets him. Shameful. Telling him blood turns brown when it dries and that he didn't think things through is worse than anything else he's had to suffer. My art character may have been less intelligent, but at least he cared.

*I think immediately telling Asterion about Notre Dame burning down is one of the worst moments. I was cringing when Asterion mentioned that in my first playthrough knowing its fate, but this time my character just blurts it out. Like he just got some of his strength back, chill out. Pogchamp is up there, though. The fighting game inputs to confuse Asterion just make sense.

(+1)

I just happened to pick "speedrunner" when that was my last achievement for that section.  Upon seeing what the area entails I was like "of course it's on the joke route".

Also I'd been thinking a while that P and Storm are like a fun-house mirror of our heroes.

Yeah, I wonder how much they're connected. I would love it if the Speedrunner route hinted at something lore wise that the others haven't touched on yet haha.

(1 edit) (+3)

Alright, i've been lurking for a long while, reading plenty of vns on itchio, but this is the first time i bothered making an account just to comment. Now, you guys spoiled me with the length of this... build ;). I'm currently addicted and high in love with Minotaur Hotel, please let me marry it. I know it was said to take my time with it but i just couldn't stop reading, it messed with my sleep and now i'm dealing with the emptiness from exhausting all paths i managed to find.

The music (Foolish Child) in the underground, when the little star manifests, is not what i'd normally listen to, but it was tied to such a powerful scene it stuck with me and i've been hearing it in my head on the last few days. Nothing was said for the reason why, but my take is that Asterion finally felt comfortable to be himself again after millenia, and that's my current head canon. I did guess correctly who was the overseer, and right before the big reveal i knew when i saw them, which is telling on how the writing played with my subconcious. Which i will also say, the later chapters where an absolute mexican soap opera in which everyone was someone else. Hinterlands 3, aside that trying to find how to best navigate being worth a standard vn update on it's own, was incredbly fun, and i adored P and Storm "little" adventure and their gradual warming up to each other.

I could keep going  but i believe this covers the main experiences from this build that stood out to me. Hopefully this venting is enough to give some closure until next update. All i ask is to please continue hurting me with such whimsical storytelling.

(+1)

Hello,  I can't leave an in depth review because English isn't even my first lenguage but mostly because I'm kinda dumb with words. 

All I wanted to say is that I just finished playing this game and I have to say I love it, I think this kind of games are called visual novels right? I don't know much about them, only similar game I've played is Adastra but never even finished it. 

So I was curious, is this game gonna get updates? I got what I guess is the good ending, where Pedro and Oscar get to the hotel (reading a bit it seems there's other endings) and end up with Asterion. But is that the end of it? Will future updates expand the story from that point? 

Another thing is I tried the game expecting it to be way more nsfw, don't get me wrong I loved it, I just thought there would be more nsfw situations like the first (and I think only one?) with Luke, I really liked that scene, a lot! and after it I thought there would be more like it, even if more less, umm, intense. Honestly I was hoping to be able to maybe see something between Luke and Kota, or at the end when Pedro gets to the hotel, I imagined him finally resting his troubled mind and having some sexy time with Luke to celebrate, something like that, and many other situations, mainly involving, lol. 

So just that, I loved it, I hope in the future we get to see the story expanded a bit, I'm definitely making some fanart, thanks to the everyone involved in the development, I had a great time. 

Developer(+1)

Hi! Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words!

The game will get updated, yes. We are about halfway/two thirds of the way through the story right now so there's still a good amount of story to cover.

We did think of adding another NSFW scene to the game with this build, but there was so much content already that we thought it more prudent to save it for later. Another point relating to this one is that, as of today, only Luke is in a position character-wise to be having NSFW scenes, so that also limits our range. Later down the road we'll get back to this topic when it fits the characters and their story arcs.

Thank you for taking the time to send us your thoughts.

Developer(+1)

Glad you enjoyed the game Roben! 

First of all, yes, the story is still not done. We're about 2/3 of the way through with the main story, and we can always add side content like R&D projects, exploration rewards, daily agenda side quests and guest scenes. We're taking a break at the moment because the latest build took a lot from us. 

As for NSFW content, yes there will be more. I think the one Luke scene that is in the game is a little intense (we're planning on giving his whole intro a bit of a revamp since it kinda clashes with the game a little too hard and we've seen people streaming on SFW mode horrified, worried that any second now they'd get their video demonetized) but we plan on having more between the characters that can be paired up, especially now that the Mc and Asterion are a couple.

(+1)

Anyone know if there's a way to remove the charm from the restaurant guy in the hinterlands? The guy who fades between human / goat(?).


Also, is there a point to the bus stop?

Developer(+1)

You can't remove the charm from him. There is one thing you can do in the Hinterlands that enables you to see through his charm, so if you could see a bit of his true form (fading in and out) you already did it.

I don't believe you made a sprite without intending to explore it further >_> Such effort is not allowed.

Developer(+1)

What if we already explored it further and no one figured it out?

(+1)

Your making me wonder whether trying to find all secrets of this game or decompiling it and reading the renpy files takes the most effort. I really don't wanna try decompiling though, sorta ruins my own enjoyment? Same reason I don't wanna read whatever story inspired this one to spoil myself. Guess Ima have to wait for the wiki for some secrets. :)

I get the feeling you really enjoy hinting at stuff & watching people whirr around like blind ants looking for crumbs :P

Developer(+1)
I get the feeling you really enjoy hinting at stuff & watching people whirr around like blind ants looking for crumbs :P

I'll say that the whole thing was designed with people coming together and exchanging information in mind. Not all of the "secrets" are mechanical things you can unlock, many of them are just little details that come together to reveal things. Sometimes you really just have to play detective, and try to be more astute than P himself was. So I'd say that decompiling the game won't necessarily show you all the fun things.

(It would show you just how many little variations we add all over the place to account for details though.)

I'll also say that we thought that having a Wiki would be good to make this process less chaotic and more accessible. Maybe people who crack what's going on will go there and throw their interpretations.

Cthonic Minoh

(+4)

I just had a conversation with the narrator in the good route, which I did not expect. She was talking to me directly, but I loved her complaining about how full of it Athena and her people were. The deliberate text pause showing her thinking about how much she wanted to say was really good, too. Little touches like that really go a long way.

So many lovely secrets. I finally got Pedro to say he loves Oscar, too, or "thinks he does", which is a lot from the birdbrain.

(+1)

A rather one sided one was it not?

(+1)

It was and wasn't, which was great. I love how she's slowly getting more comfortable with you since she's really only there on Asterion's behalf.

Yes! I'm surprised this is the only post I've seen to mention it, but when I got the narrator talking to us directly, I was shook for a second - had to back up a few lines to read closer when I realized what it was! I assume it's from putting in the right name to Jean's phone, a lot of text is different from that point on because the player is usually on their second playthrough.

I really really enjoyed it because this person being the narrator (well I suppose it's maybe 'these three') makes a lot of awesome sense. And it being three of them can really explain the shifting tone that the narrator sometimes has. In previous builds, I had the idea the narrator was a character, but gave up on it. Having this almost blink-and-you'll-miss-it little twist was a huge source of delight for me!

(+1)

I think it's both entering the name and figuring out what's going on with Argos, but with how many playthroughs I've done trying different options I can't remember. It may be just entering the name.

Also it's unclear from your post, but if you haven't done the ruthless route yet I'd highly suggest checking it out. It's not what it seems and quite good.

Thanks for the insight! You're right, I haven't yet, but with the truth of Argos coming out, I actually plan on doing it now! I tried the ruthless route previously before it was finished/had endings, and I just didn't want to see any more of it. Now that I know it's not all grim (even if it's not going to be sunshine and rainbows) and that it honestly does have important insights to learn, I'll do a run of it soon.

(+1)

Whelp. I'm back after the ruthless route. I'm glad the point of view shifted for the second chapter cuz it was still pretty rough. Still, you are correct I was wrong in assuming the Narrator was/were the 3 Fates! Made a big assumption there on the 'my sisters' line, this is definitely more interesting and personal. Makes even more sense now why the narrator talks to us as she does here, why she would find humor contrasting Athena's deeds back then with what she put together now, and how it all flies in her face. Cool stuff!

Yeah, the rutheless route gets a bad rep for it's implications. It actually expands the lore in a scenario that couldn't happen in the "good" routes. Honestly, i believe the advertisement is just too off putting for people to give it a chance, but it really isn't about being evil to Asterion.

Ehhhhhh, you're taking someone that is very obviously traumatized right now and heaping more problems on top of it. Deliberately causing a panic attack with your ordering him to come join you to eat is really shitty and kinda evil in my mind. And you're taking the one good thing Asterion had, the hotel, and turning it into its own form or torture with how closely you interact with him in all the commanding, ruthless ways. 
If there wasn't a narrator and we didn't hear into Asterion's thoughts, it's easier to dull the empathy and just play the mustache-twirling villain MC to see the content. But that's exactly the point the VN is making in the normal route, that you're doing basic human empathy to Asterion and he thinks you hang the moon because of it. 

I don't disagree that it tells a fascinating tragedy if you go down it, and it shows a lot of things that couldn't be told if the master of the hotel was good, but it was still really rough and I'd say evil, personally.

Oh, what i mean to say is that it's not "about" being evil. It happens, yes, but most of the route is learning Nikos background and motivations, along with aspects of the labyrinth and the divine beings. Plus, i was expecting MC to be relishing more in Asterion suffering,  yet it felt to me like MC just didn't care about him or anyone. Then again, this opinion is due to a contrast with expectations, which are subjective.

Can we name the wolf, calling him Wolf is kinda weird 

I have a question burning now.  Did any of the previous masters try including some condition in their attempts at protection contracts?  Something that doesn't entirely cut off the chances for the valley to do harm?

Does anyone know how to get the secret achievement between Best boy and My little bletchley  park? It's pmuch the only achievement left for me but I dont have the slightlest idea on how to unlock it

You can put an alternate name in the contacts of a certain someone.  Just need to call out a twist in that.

(+3)

Thanks I managed to 100% achievements the game finally :), I admit it didnt even cross my mind to do that.

Developer(+1)

Congrats! As far as I know you're the first to get there.

By the way, did you try clicking on the button below the achievement percentage once it's over 85%? Just checking if it does look like a button to people.

(Also the reward is a little half-assed, pun intended, but we'll try to expand this feature on the future.)

(+1)

not the guy you replied to, but I didn't press the button when I got over 85%. Mostly because I wasn't looking for anything in the first place - I think it could be made more clear, if your intention is to have buttons that are enabled on certain achievement thresholds.

Thanks and I did in fact, although I must admit it was by complete accident haha.

I dont really know how I triggered it tbh, but you get My Little Bletchley Park from Argos dropping a notebook during an encounter in the valley, then having your R&D team decrypt it. I got this on my second caring master run-through, along with the thing with Luke sending you memes and Argos messaging Asterion under his real name acting a missionary (also don't really know how I triggered those two, maybe these sub-events are RNG?) Wish I could be more help :(

Developer(+1)

They are not RNG! :)

Haha, yeah I probably should've figured. Silly right brain :P

Just had a thought; One thing I did differently was that I made the sacrifice to Hermes with the Argos loophole and toasted to Hermes when Asterion asked. Maybe that's what triggered the notebook thing? I haven't tested it yet, but lmk if you do

Has anyone found the transcripts for Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, or Hephaestus?  I've replayed the section after they're added to exploration so many times I'm starting to think they aren't in the game yet.

Developer(+1)

The first two are not in the game yet, we're saving them for later. Aphrodite and Hephaestus abstained from voting.

(+1)

spent my sweet time enjoying every single words to the end. I said it before so I'll say it again, definitely worth the wait and it feels good to read it multiple times (finding new stuffs, scenarios, secrets and achievements).

(1 edit) (+1)

Yaaaa, I finish my first route! And unlocked nearly half of the achivement!

The 2 quests(?) in hinterland are easier than I thought, plan on treating Strom the best in the next route.

Is the achivement "The tale of Argos and Io" and "Cthonic Regalia" have requirement? It seems they just accomplish within the main story.

What is the star on Asterion head means? His divine part?

And It is quite wired when you should put down your name in Jean's phone, but the speical answer is to put down his name. 

Developer(+1)
Is the achivement "The tale of Argos and Io" and "Cthonic Regalia" have requirement? It seems they just accomplish within the main story.

Yes, some achievements are obtained as part of the game's normal story progression. This way the achievements screen serves as an easy way to check how far someone got in the game in their most advanced playthrough.

What is the star on Asterion head means?

I'll leave that to interpretation! :)

(+1)

I really hope the lead ring generated by the binding contract supress the typical lead trouble: Plumbosis

Developer(+2)

Yeeeeeeaaahhh that's something we failed to touch on, that's on me! The idea we had is that the lead ring only looks and feels like lead, in truth it's made of some magical material unique to the realm. So no worries, the MC won't get lead poisoning.

...We should probably fix this in the story though, h-haha.

Developer(+1)

FYI we're adding a little line addressing this in Build 0.5.1, we finally got off our asses for that one. Thank you.

(+2)

Thank you so much. I've found the new dialogue meanwhile I started again with another background.

(+4)

I'm going through my many screenshots and this is my favorite out of context screen. Oscar just met his not-dad but he is not going to stand for this shit hurting his boy.


(+3)

 A Short review.

 I want to first say that thank you for giving this amazing game, I have been playing this game for days and I love it. I am very biased towards Furry VN games that have the MC as human and the rest of the cast as other races, love those scenarios the most. I will be giving the rest in segments.

The lore is so amazing and deep into the story, I had to replay a couple times it took me a while to understand since mainly I was interested in my relationship with the minotaur lol. I was never interested into historical events no matter where it came from, so props to you all convincing me to research haha.

I love the characters in this story they have their own personalities that make it fun to run the hotel.

I don’t understand how people can dislike the art, I think it fits great in this setting, and Asterion has the cutest and most wonderful expressions, he is such a precious Mino. Everyone else has great expressions

The music themes created and selected, are just fantastic they fit every place where they should be, I love the desert themes the most, Asterions themes always makes me teary, like damn.

 I want to say tremendous congrats on the writing it is excruiciatingly and painfully good. I was always playing the good route when I could and so I heavily debated doing the ruthless route. I finally did out of curiosity. When I did my first run on the Ruthless route I went as evil as I could be, I was mortified, the writing had me writhing in my seat with torture of the MC becoming a sadistic tyrant just giving brutal treatment to the poor Mino, I wanted for him to die, and I am glad I got that wish when he drank that potion expecting argos to give him eternal youth. and OH MY GOD ARGOS, that poor snek. He has a damn heart of gold only to be treated with that acursed fate for freeing Asterion. After I was done with the route, I was left in my seat just broken, I didn’t have it in me to go through the other ruthless endings. But by doing this route I learned more about argos, so at least I got something out of this torment. I’m sorry but I am a big softie, it was my fault going through it, but damn ive done false endings before in other VN but it was never this brutal My god, I have not been emotionally wrecked since I had watched fruits baskets, and mind you I have been playing other visual novels. 

Just superb and excellent work  you guys, You deserve that vacay kings, absolute monarchs, lords…etc. 

(+3)

Ok, just finished.

I think my main complaint is it's a little anxiety inducing to not have enough TIME to do all the things you should do. Asterion's project, the side character routs, recruiting Robert. In a game where the premise of the fantasy is "time enough, at last, with the people you care about" it bothered me a little that it felt like I was being forced to leave so much untouched. I hope the plot isn't, like, FINISHED? That future builds give the player some to actually see Asterion and the PC happy with eachother? As is, it felt a little like we got to see them finally find echother, and then that was it, the end.

I love the worldbuilding, the careful syncretism that's gone into the world. This is one reason I felt resentful of not having more leisure time to explore it. So often works that try to combine pantheons and mythologies feel like they treating them as irrelevancies: they're all true because none of them particularly matter. Here you did the opposite.

What I loved most is the idea of the Recursion, that Pedro explains, how people become trapped reliving different versions of the stories they were born into. And I really appreciate the earthy, practical, go with what works, the-symbol-is-the-thing style of his ritual magic. It gave a lot of context for what was wrong with Hermes, at the end.

It takes a lot to get me to buy a happily ever narrative. You did it though. I'm invested, and I really really hope that future builds are going to let us see some of it, not just leave us here.

Developer(+2)

Hey theodwulf, glad you're enjoying the game!

Don't worry, there's still a third of the main story to go, and it will have lots of tender moments between the player character and Asterion. We just like to wrap up every build in a satisfactory way, like it's the ending of a tv episode (or season in this case, since we took so fucking long with the update). The next builds will give the player more time, of course, but the game is designed with replayability in mind. You can't really do every side quest and get every character in one go.

This might be a very dumb question that could be answered by carefully re-reading dialogue early on in the game, but just to be 100% sure and solidly clarify, given I can't remember if this was cleared up or not, but do guests still have to pay money to stay the night like a normal hotel or are guests allowed to stay for free, given as Asterion did make it clear it was a sanctuary for the lost.

The normal rate was kind of low but they can be free if they want to.

There's only so long staff can work for free even with the most obvious charity.

I thought staff were paid with currency and valuable items the owner could generate using the Labyrinth? 

You CAN'T generate currency.  And yet gems are ALMOST no problem.

Liked the hinterlands 3 section, even though I thought it was hitherlands until I had to verify the name for the survey. The characters are really cute most of the time, Y'know, when they're not trying to murder each other.  Luke went from a crude and annoying eagle to a less annoying but still pretty crude eagle. Jean reminds me of Steve from minecraft from a front angle view. In my opinion Robert is the best new staff member, but I haven't gotten Themba yet so I don't know how that'll turn out. I wanna punch Jean for trying to hurt my poor little Argos, speaking of Argos, 0\10 not enough Argos simping.

(+4)

Did anyone else noticed the Hotel quietly popping up in a certain part of Hinterlands III when Storm and P are talking in the car? I just remembered it and had to post this

(+2)

I think I've seen it pop up in two parts.

(+2)

I've noticed it  appears after visiting storm's house

Yup! It's a lovely detail, fading in and out of the background when P and/or Storm are feeling lost but too absorbed in their own struggles to see it, yet when their resolve has come back up, it fades away again. A phenomenal bit of dramatic irony, we as the readers know how the hotel works and that the more they try to find it, the more they can't. 

If every time there was an argument or some problem that they felt lost appeared in the background

(+6)

The Labyrinth's Constitution seems to have some pretty significant bombshells in it and I'm surprised they haven't really been brought up yet. I'm starting to get worried I'm reading too far into things, but, well, here goes for wild theory-crafting:

Fragment D
The Labyrinth shall pull in people in accordance with the Master's specifications, from whichever location is appointed by him.

Unless otherwise stated, the Labyrinth shall pull in lost beings located anywhere under the firmament but no deeper than the surface of the Earth.

Reading this a little less than literally, an additional contract could effectively give the MC the absolute power to summon anyone he wants, from virtually anywhere (even somewhere in the afterlife), to the hotel. There are quite a few ways that power could be used to serve the story, and a potential resolution to at least one person's quest.

Fragment E
The Labyrinth's fauna, flora and geography will act as to bring the prisoner suffering in whichever way is possible.
The Master may, through contract, determine which forms of life the Labyrinth may spawn and what behaviors they may display.

Again, less-than-literal interpretation means a contract could in effect allow the MC to purge or pacify virtually all the creatures of the valley. In his encounter with the skinned effigy, it was strongly-suggested that he can already command them to his will. If that's extended to the entire valley, the MC could effectively nullify all potential dangers to Asterion.

And here's what I think is the biggest one I've noticed, which doesn't mean much on its own, but depending on where the story goes, is a very peculiar opening to a long-shot potential resolution to the entire conflict of the plot:

Fragment B
The Master shall receive ownership of the realm. He may transfer, sell, borrow and bequeath it to any individual born of human parents.

The MC could lend his position to anyone born of human parents. Not an important article on its own, but then comes Oscar, who may, in fact, be a minotaur born of human parents. If that turns out to indeed be the case, then there could be a master who is also a minotaur. There are a lot of ways that could potentially flip the story on its head and, for instance, impose contradictions on the contracts binding Asterion that could ultimately invalidate them.

All of this is just wild speculation on my part, but it's been bugging me and I'm on break so eff it, I figured I'd share :)

(1 edit)

Belief is at the core of the story, isn't it? Like, trust is another form of belief. As is faith.  Hm.

I'm thinking about the mechanics of the hotel. How much of it showing up for people is because of Hermes mentioning it to someone vs. trust of a stranger to not lie about something ultimately conjuring the hotel to appear for them. Like how the underworld exists in Hades because the residents who live there trust it to exist but no one new is going there because no one believes in it anymore. So maybe Hermes starts the trend of getting people to believe in the hotel, and then people returning from a stay spreading their word of mouth take over?

I'm thinking of how the series might end and wondering if it's possible for the hotel to become a new underworld since it's already been reformed into something resembling Asphodel Meadow. Lots of half-formed ideas, but I think, to be honest, that Asterion is going to ultimately reject leaving the labyrinth based on what happens in the ruthless route. 

This has been late-night thoughts while waiting for food. Cue cue out. *salute*

(1 edit) (+4)

Before I go into the theories that have been bouncing around in my head I must say hats of to the team behind this magnificent story just (Chefs kiss).

1. Oscar/Storm is or at lest is a piece of Asterion's divinity that the god's took from him and was born when one the god's ( I'm thinking Hermes) got Oscar's/Storm's mother pregnant in order to Give Asterion his divinity back ( I'm only guessing about the why this seems the most logical). I am making this guess mainly on what the narrator said in Ch. 18 when Oscar/Storm and Asterion meet in front of the hotel "From the slit in the star-spangled horizon, he comes. The drop of blood" this i felt was a way to signal us as the reader that they are more closely related than it would seem a first glance. We also know that having divinity means the person has ichor flowing through them and we also know from conversations with Robert that Asterion no longer has his divinity.

2. Luke's Brother died on the January 28, 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. I base my theory on the the conversation you have with Luke when you give him time off he mentions a really difficult test that he and his brother needed for their dream job. I believe it is reasonable to assume that Luke and his brother were trying to become Astronauts based on Luke's love for the stars and the fact in Luke1 we see him in Cape Canaveral waiting to see the shuttle launch.

3. The Protagonists of the story is subconsciously bringing in gay Mythical creatures in to the Hotel. I don't have much to say other than how unlikely it is for Mythical creatures that also happen to be gay to come to the Hotel and become a part of the Hotel's Staff.

4. The Protagonist was influenced/ Possessed by Hades when Hermes was about to kill Argos/Nikos in Ch.18. I base my theory on the nearly rotten flower smell the Protagonist smells now this by itself could mean anything but Hermes mutters a name to himself which means someone he knows interfered and it stands to reason that Hades interfered to prevent Hermes from killing Argos/Nikos.

I would love to hear other peoples theories. I'm also open to hear if you disagree on my theories and why

(+1)

I was thinking the flower smell was from a flower shop using a certain god for a mascot but I guess Hades makes sense.  It seems we speak a lot clearer than he would've though.

(1 edit)

I just figured that if this (if my theory is correct)Hades is one extremely pissed off and two only gave a short order.  Also it has been a couple of centuries since the events when we saw Hades last so he could have changed since Asterion was punished. 

Regarding point 4, I don't think the rotting flowers smell is supposed to be Hades. I do think it's one of the other gods influencing Hermes into madness, though, since the MC pushes back the smell with with his power in the realm, a power which is supposed to be sovereign over other gods except the Overseer (sort of). If Hermes is the only god allowed in, possessing him or intentionally driving him to madness can give you influence in the hotel to enact your plots. I also think it's not just the general god madness that seems to come from diminishing worshippers (source: the Tapir God if you get him his pelt back, and the 'old man' who we already know is another god and very far gone), but I'm not sold on who the flowers are yet. It's important to note that while Hermes, Hades, and Hestia are most certainly on Asterion's side, any of the other gods could've shifted either in or out of his favor after all of this time. I wouldn't put this past Aphrodite if she got swayed against Asterion for some reason.

Eating the flesh of God's child to gain eternal life. Where have I heard that before? 🙃 I have questions about the number 12 but I don't feel qualified to ask the right ones yet.

God, the tapir's design is horrifying in context. Like the bits of missing muscle. Nope. Which means I can't wait for him to be a romance option for one of the guests or for him to find the hotel and immediately chased by Wolf. Good boy.

okay, so both children and worshippers. So basically if Pontius Pilate had killed Jesus's disciples and left him with the powers he had but no one with which to spread his gospel. Interesting P name ya got there, Pontius.

Imagine getting called a wretched twink by defiled Jesus. Oh, P.

(+2)

Pregnant 13-year-old with a dress sporting the virgin mary. Yep.

Also: Did Nini kill P's grandfather? She's definitely the "wannabe witch" who used his feathers to perform spells against the tapir. When is another question entirely, though. And would that have harmed P or Storm if skinned Jesus didn't let them know beforehand? She had a very ominous moment saying she was still hungry when looking at P that I just took for candy the first time around. I'm much less sure this time.

Developer(+1)
Pregnant 13-year-old with a dress sporting the virgin mary. Yep.

We were extremely deliberate.

I need to yell at itch to let me upvote posts on mobile. I can't wait to meet sirs Hydra.

I'm screenshotting every dialogue box I think could be important or is interesting and that's basically every screen so far. I gotta stop myself.

(+1)

Oh my god.

Oh my god.

Those aren't even Luke's memes, they're fucking Nikos goddamn it

Give the snake some goddamn jujubes. I can't with him. He's the sweetest fucking troll. Arrrghhhh(os, etc. etc.)

Fuck.

(+2)

AND HE DOES DRINK WINE

THAT SNAKE

Developer(+1)

But there's no phone reception in the valley! How did he get the wi-fi password?

(+2)

>:(

I will consult the manager of this realm later to find out, Minnow. You watery, slippery beast.

(I should double check if the contract in the underground labyrinth breaks depending on whether you can find out about Nikos or not. I thought it was a Luke vs. Kota thing but that may have been coincidence. I will drive while listening to the MiHo soundtrack and reflect.)

(+6)

I cried for 2 hours after playing the love-route again. That music when they're both deep into the hotel, it's just sad. I know the scene's supposed to be happy but all the weight of Asterion's "curse" is still there even though MC's love is there.

That game is so great, I'd kill to forget everything and play it again...

Thanks for making me cry, absolute masterpiece.

(1 edit) (+5)

it's so full of love but also heartbreaking. i can only hope asterion's future is discussed because things like the rusty knife you can find in the valley ("Perhaps, centuries from now, Asterion will find it and be reminded of your time together.") really make me wanna cry... like asterion said, i don't wanna imagine his future without the MC

Also I was wondering... In the latest patch notes it said they added four endings for the ruthless route and up to chapter 18 for the friendly route. Does that mean we'll get a continuation of the love story with Asterion?! I mean I was pretty happy with how things turned out but to realize there's still more ? That'd be even lovely !

Developer(+1)

There will be more, yes. We're about 60% of the way through the game, we haven't seen the end of Asterion and the Master's story.

(+1)

I had a question (if anyone doesnt mind me asking), but the part where a ring of fire was burning around Asterions throat where you go deep to see the flame with him, was that like a metaphor or was that real? I just got confused there.

(2 edits) (+3)

i think it's sorta both? there was a physical event with a sudden gust of wind and asterion writhing around and the MC reacts thinking asterion almost had some kind of seizure. i think there's also a metaphorical (well, maybe "mythological" is the more accurate word) part too that has to do with the semi-sacred shenanigans that just happened prior: kindling the hearth, wrestling with him, his star birthmark appearing. definitely check out this thread on the birthmark if you're curious! my take is that doing all the stuff underground rekindled the ancient divinity in asterion's soul (robert talks about this if you spend enough time with him) and that's what causes the scene. probably fitting that the sensation he feels is described as "expanding outward, like a star about to burst", although i don't know what to make of the ring of fire imagery

(+1)

( Apologies for the late reply) I see, I haven't went far into Roberts convo route but i am planning too ( no wonder i was missing the info lol ) and thank you for pointing me to the thread as well as replying friend. :)

(+3)

None of the triple A games I've played in recent years had me this glued to the screen with it's story as this little indie project. They have to get their shit together and step up. Anyway great game but still 7/10 since I couldn't boop the snoot of snek husbando

Eu adoreiii essa atualizaçao, perfeita, minha parte favorita obviamente, e a parte final do capitulo 16

Mas eu juro, que eu achei que no final desse capitulo 16, eu ia conseguir dar um beijinho no Astreon, ia ser tão fofo, ja criei algumas fanfics, ah, ainda nao terminei o jogo, to ainda animado para o que vai acontecer depois do capitulo 16

Developer

Continue jogando, você vai gostar do que temos nos próximos capítulos.

Deleted 3 years ago
Deleted 3 years ago
(+6)

(+1)

Um desenho que eu tava fazendo do Kota, eu tava com medo de postar porque eu achei meio estranho, mas meu namorado disse que era pra eu postar ele falo " Amor, posta ai quando você acabar posta no Twitter, ai eu falei " Será Amor? "  Ai influenciado por ele postei

Developer

Ficou ótimo! Já repassei pro Nemo, o escritor responsável por Kota. Muito obrigado, e por favor nos informe quando postar no Twitter para que possamos retweetar.

(+1)

awesome to see some kota fanart, thanks for sharing :]

(+4)

Asterion is very lucky this isn't a dating sim. Even if I'd probably gravitate toward him, I just need to reiterate that Khenbish. Is. Hot. 

(Khenbish is also one of the more quietly funny characters. Not as much as Robert whose indiscernible sarcasm I deeply resonate with, but in a more politely veiled way than Luke despite their similarities. And they are much more similar than either would ever admit. His concept art on the wiki is... downloaded, for lack of a better descriptor.)

Developer(+4)

Fun fact: Khenbish is part of an ancient and powerful pact. Two years ago when nanoff and I started discussing the project his condition for joining was for us to have a boar character precisely how he likes them. So let's just say nanoff put his all into Khenbish, and we had to go all out as well.

(+3)

I have a great many thoughts about this, but here are two:

1. Nanoff has amazing taste. That should be obvious but it bears repeating.

2. All pacts need a furry musclechub with some skin showing somewhere in the mix. I mean, what? Who said that? Uh...

(1 edit) (+5)

It's dawned on me why Robert is unfazed by virtually everything.

Dude has prosecuted the souls of friggin Nazis. Of course Luke had no chance of getting under his skin during the drinking game.

Gente postei a arte final desse Kota que eu fiz no Twitter ( Eu acho que postei, haha nao sei mexer direito no Twitte, mas acho que foi) ai eu espero que vocês gostem ❤❤

Developer

Oi, e muito obrigado! Ficou lindo, já mandei pro Nemo (o escritor responsável pelo Kota) e retweetei.

Ficamos muito gratos pela sua arte.

After reading the tablets, I am much more suspicious of our main character. There's a line in the middleground route (where you send Asterion to the valley during the first Argos meeting, but never again) where the narrator calls you both kings, or you both stand as kings. Something along those lines. And considering both Asterion and Laomedon were princes, my mind is turning. 

To be clear, I've always been suspicious of the MC being called "You" by the UI despite being given a name, but that was more of a metatextual element than anything in the story itself. However, I thought he might be Charon due to the Hades-like pattern of the neckerchief and misreading a line as saying MC and Charon had the same eyes when instead it said they didn't. 

(I do find it interesting that the bracelet seems similar to P's rosary like bracelet, and the neckerchief is reminiscent of Hades and Asterion... Hm. Bedtime. Otherwise my mind won't shut up.)

(+1)

Currently on chapter 15 of one of many playthroughs and I realized something.


The entire introduction of Jean (Hermes) and Robert to the MC might have been staged. We learn later on that Robert can see the composition of souls so unless Hermes could disguise his immortal soul Robert had to know right away what Jean was when he picked him up.

(+4)

What an amazing VN. Going into this I never expected just how engaging this would be. It's a testament to the writers talent how attached I am to these characters. What a great story. I know a few others have mentioned this but the music from the scene when they are deep underground and the star appears on Asterion's head is stuck in my mind. I'm amazed at the depth of atmosphere and emotion in that scene. Thank you so much for such a great story.

There are two little and strange things on my wishlist so I thought I'd mention them here.

1. Now that the hotel has Wi-Fi and things like tablets and phones are readily available to all the characters, I thought it would be really cute if the MC could start texting Asterion silly puns and dad-jokes whenever they are not together. And maybe start hinting at sexier things as well.... it would be cute as hell to see Asterion slowly comming more and more out of his shell as he responds.

2. For the project to build a gym, I really wish it would have included a sauna in the locker room. Anybody who's ever had a membership to a gym that is popular with gay men knows there's always one guy who goes to the gym all the time but doesn't work out... he just hangs out naked in the sauna. And we all know that would be Luke. I keep picturing a funny scene with Kota (who would obviously go for the "spa" experience ) being very irritated by a very chatty and very naked Luke talking his head off.....

Developer(+1)

Glad you enjoyed the game TractorBoy!

1) Don't know how much progress you made on Asterion's optional project, but if you want scenes with the player character explaining modern technology to Asterion, that might scratch your itch if you feel like giving the game a replay (or keep it in mind for future builds). We're only scratching the surface of cute stuff the MC and Asterion can do together in 0.5, so rest assured we'll be adding a lot of these in the next story builds.

As for 2), we actually planned to add a sauna project to the hotel, but it didn't make the cut. R&D was kind of neglected in general for 0.5, hopefully we can add some more to an 0.5.2 patch once we're back from break.

(1 edit) (+4)

wow this was a trip

I loved every bit of this game. The writing was great, it was romantic and so well placed. Which it stood out the most was the characters. My god each character had this hidden depth to them. I felt connected to them and their plights. Two who really stood out was Aster(of course right?) and P. I loved the breakdowns and the their high moments. To the writers, I thank you for your hard work.

I only played the 0.5 but I'm glad i did. I would of died of anticipation, but where it left off was perfect. Want me having more but not to a point a point that I'm loosing my shit.

The art is amazing and i laughed my butt off from what the reason was for the sprites. Besides that, I been a fan of nanoff for awhile so it was a givin that i would enjoy. Backgrounds was amazing and the variety of characters was pleasant.

The plot kept me at the edge of my seat, but was sorta like a roller-coaster. The fire never grew too hot so I was able to rlax and take it all in at times. Which just further my love for the Game itself.

All and All without spoiling anything for the game hopefully. This is sorta just my Ramblings to ease my beating heart from this wonderful game. I apologies for having no worthwhile criticism but just praise for a wonder experience 

edit- I realized i was in the spoiler friendly forum lol

I am no achievement hunter so i cant say i would do ruthless run. I would not handle seeing my favorite bull in that state again. Let alone hurt him, but reading it was quite interesting. Going more into P's character. He felt so human to me. The way he fights his inner evil just felt so raw to me. made his and oscars story a great add on. It was hard to hate argo when he spilled the truth and did all those nice things to make up for his crimes. Though i understood P's rage so i would love to see what happens with that. 

lastly the main character is a great fit. I suppose a little prudish towards luke at first. I thought it would be funny to keep at his antics.  but i found myself picking choices true to me through him. Plus the deep fried memes just sent my sides to orbit. there is a clear Love for greek mythology along with a proper mix of modernism 

where do you geth theese fried emes i keep replaying the speed runner but i cant seem to explore the game properly? /any advice on this?

(+1)

The memes are not a speedrunner thing, all the backgrounds can see them. 

Developer(+2)

The depend on how you tackle the first two argos encounters (chapters 3 and 11), that's all I'll say

Question, who is the Overseer? I can't figure it out ;-;

(+1)

Hint: You and every member of your staff excluding Wolf have met the overseer already :)

I still don't get it ;^;

(+1)

Whatever, this is the spoilers section anyway. Plus, it should be obvious if you read chapter 18. It's Hermes.

(+1)

Thanks!

Well Wolf might have seen them off in the distance but yeah didn't really meet.

(1 edit)

I seem to be having trouble with a few achievements. I did a second run to pick off what I left off. I got most of the other story quests done. But I was puzzled that I didn't have enough time to finish asterian's project. Or themba's thing. I picked mathematics instead of Arts. Did that make a pretty big impact. And I made less on the love chart at the end! It ain't the end of the world but I'd love to unlock all its mysteries.


Edit- I finally gotten most of the achievements, along with tons of different dialogs and play styles. I found a route that i am completely happy to run. BUT. How have you guys gotten all the stone tablets??????? Is it rng? 

(+1)

The tablets are RNG but, on one of the early days where you can start getting them from the valley, you can 'roll' a different tablet if you hit the back button a few lines. Once you get a tablet, it will permanently be unlocked in the main menu's files section, even if you rewind the conversation to roll again. You can just keep doing that until you get the achievement to pop, then go to the menu to read them.

(+1)

Your brain is so huge :0

(+1)

😊

This seems to stop working once you have your Office. I believe the random seed for determining what you find in the valley seems to be set before or as you click "Confirm Plan", which you cannot then use the back button to move past. 

Mind you, the tablets are the most numerous collection, the transcripts should only have 6 to find in the valley (Poseidon and Athena are being saved for later builds, 2 gods totally abstained (IIRC devs implied they won't get a transcript because of this), and you get 5 guaranteed transcripts from Argos it seems) and that feels reasonable to not have this easy reroll scumming to get.

Developer(+6)

Yeah. I hard-coded it on that one instance (if you push Argos to talk about the kilns) to always give you a tablet you don't have, so getting the achievement would be less annoying. 

Imagine being forced to grind on a fucking visual novel of all things. 

Just a question: In the ruthless route, why did Nikandros call upon and make a sacrifice to the Asterion-made shrine? He summoned a divine being and offered vitality of his own to get the bulk of the 'potion' he'd trick the master with-- but is this even necessary? 

In that route, he'd used the black color (reminiscent of divine ichor, maybe even real ichor) to hide the poisonous sap.  Why not just give the master a dose of the poison sap?  He'd be none the wiser. Did he want to trick but not lie to the Master? This makes sense if the ichor-colored fluid did have the effect he promised, just that he purposefully omitted the smidgen of poison that's included in the vial (haha). If so, why go the trouble? Wasn't he already resolute in offing the Master anyway? 

Developer(+2)

Keep in mind he's following a certain someone's plan. That person is not particularly worried about his physical safety or health, and in fact she would argue he deserved the punishment if he really wanted redemption.

(+3)

Ooh, I gotcha. He prayed for guidance and got the knowledge of Poseidon's gift, and in turn, had our gracious narrator pit his resolve, huh? Thanks!

(+1)

alright, I gotten most of the achievements and played enough times to fully enjoy everything put into this game. So as of now, I have finished a run that I am comfortable with to put the game to rest till next update. 


With everything done here is what I did


I went art because you get great dialog and extra staff members. Which is important to me because Khembish and Themba happen to be very useful with finishing renovations and fun at the drinking table. (Sorry doggo)


For hinterlands. Shout out to the hinterlands page and the peeps who gave the best idea with go with the tapir skin and nurse their relationship. Along with the cabin. Made a pretty great run. I just couldn't find the Christian burial that story impacting compared to the previous two. The salt storm gets and the relationship made me happy. 


Figured out his name :) get surprise. And of course Argos been through enough. I'm glad he had a redemption arc, and a good one at that. 


Lastly with all these wonderful staff and the ending clear. I had no one leave the hotel. I'm assuming all relationships I made ended up built neatly. Once again I'm glad to play such a game and most importantly. I'm glad to be apart such a nice community and share ideas and with all of you. 

Anyone have any thoughts about Hermes' shrine at the hotel's bedrock? Besides being possibly littered with Asterion blood crystals, it also bears resemblance to Hestia's shrine as described in the clay tablets (the original labyrinth in Crete). The specific similarities were the basin and the shallow depression beneath it. 

Hestia's shrine in the labyrinth had a basin which houses a fire, and the depression filled with water to make a shallow pool. In terms of differences though, the basin was cracked (after Tithonus's and Asterion's executions), and tainted by at least Tithonus's ichor. Furthermore, it had an adjoining section/spot/room? that housed the labrys. 

What does this mean? Is a basin and a shallow depression a significant detail in Greek worship or sonething?

Did anyone figure out who was the narrator that spoke the us directly? My guess is maybe Hestia. 

(+1)

Up until now I thought that the narrator was Nemesis since her reveal during the Ruthless Route, but now that you mention it, it might be possible that there are multiple narrators, since there are times when they refer to themselves as a collective rather than a person. It would also line up with what Argos says about the Labyrinth having "multiple voices", though that might be completely unrelated phenomena. 

Even so, I'm still inclined to believe that it's Nemesis who watches us during the whole story. There's some very explicit dialogue outside of the Ruthless Route that hints to her being the narrator (Ch. 17, after forgiving Nikos: "Oh, [name], what a fine art you make of this brand of justice! This ceremony of yours has been nothing less than the finest of hymns to our ears. Stay this course, and we may yet award you a fine pair of wings to match your fine-weighing scale."). The way she uses "we" is more likely a reference to her sisters.

oh neat, I'd love to research her to get a better understanding of Nemesis for future reference. I never did ruthless so i was thinking more of the scene on chapter 18 giving a few jabs to athena. I like the idea that there could be multiple narrators that represent each path. Though I'm not sure what kind of person Nemesis yet. Argos mentions the multiple minds like the multiple thoughts a human. Could it elude to Pandora's box? I'm really just throwing ideas against a wall lol

my guess was it was the chorus of a Greek play. 

(+3)

does asterion lactate, asking for a friend

(+3)

He tapes a straw to his breast with a carton of milk 

(+1)

I've only recently gotten back into the game, with the release of 0.5 and I have to say I'm completely blown away. I've never had a visual novel play so hard with my feelings before, and honestly I'm completely hooked. Every character is so charming and fun to read, the art is amazing as well. The little romantic moments with Asterion warm my soul.

It's going to be hard to compromise with the idea that I wont be able to do everything in one run because of how amazing each character is and the fact that I just want everyone to be happy

Not going to lie, I tried the speedruner background but that ended as soon as Asterion called my taste in clothes cringe, can't believe the bull would just murder me in cold blood like that.

I have absolutely fallen in love with this world and the characters in it, I am excited to see where you take the story next.

That being said I'm also pretty excited for the possible Middle Eastern or New Zealander character (myself being a NZ born Arab) both demographics you don't usually see much in media, let alone furry media.

Developer(+1)

We do have a concept for a Pacific Islander character! It will, however, take a while for us to implement him, he'll only become available later in the game and there are other priorities we need to deal with before getting to him.

im sorry but... 

how to make asterion wear a jockstrap >-<?

Developer

You can't get it in the game yet. We'll get to that soon-ish.

(+2)

So I noticed something a little weird after playing the Ruthless Route and then replaying the Hinterlands, and I don't know if it deserves its own thread so I'm just putting it here. In all of the endings that involve P and Storm arriving to the hotel, there's a small scene where Storm gets scared when looking back at P, and that's what makes P realize that the hotel nullifies the effects of charms. That struck me as odd after thinking it over because up until that point I assumed that P and Storm could always see each other in their mythical forms, so if they walked into the hotel they wouldn't notice. I went back to check and there are indeed multiple points in the story where P comments on Storm's animal anatomy in public (him swaying his tail while he's in the tailor, for example), when Storm is very much wearing the charm. I thought that since their Oath of Kinship involved P physically giving part of himself, that whole thing was kind of a side effect. There's also a moment the first time they meet the Tapir god where P can't tell whether Storm's charm is working or not, so he asks him to check if it's active. 

If P can't tell the difference between when Storm is using the charm or not, then why is Storm able to? Is that something only the rite master gets? But that wouldn't make sense either, because Storm alludes to P's animal anatomy many times too, specially the feeling of his feathers.  He also doesn't make any comment on P changing his appearance after getting within the confines of the hotel in ch. 18. Then how did he realize that P's charm wasn't working? Is there some kind of indicative, and if so why does P not realize until he checks his passport himself?  I know this is most likely a very minor thing, but I'm going insane thinking about it. Is there something I'm missing????

Developer(+4)

That's my bad! It's inconsistent/unclear and that's a mistake.

The ending of the Ruthless route and the Hinterlands were written months after each other and by different hands so a few details and explanations weren't coordinated perfectly. We might go back to fix this eventually.

I do have a few rules for how the charms work in this situation, though. As a rule of thumb, if you've spent  a good amount of time with a mythical when he wasn't wearing a charm you can see their true shape even when they're wearing a charm. Keeping in mind that charms only affect perception, it's basically that your brain gets so used to their real shape that it overcomes the illusion. Still, if you strain your eyes and make an effort you can still see their human form, kind of like tricking yourself into seeing an optical illusion in a different way.

So... P can notice on his own that Storm's charm is malfunctioning, it just takes a bit of effort. It's easier for him to just ask Storm to check it. That's the explanation for the inconsistencies you noticed.

We didn't touch on it as well as I wanted to but P's feathers make him capable of seeing through most charms, period. It's hard for any but the best charms to trick over a hundred supernatural eyes simultaneously. This also means that any mythical that P meets whose charm tricks him is packing some serious power.

Another detail is that, yes, the fact P made Storm's charm means that P can always see Storm's true shape, but that goes both ways. Storm can always see P's real shape as well.

(+2)

Ah, that makes a lot of sense!! The bits about the charm's workings are probably some of the most interesting parts of the worldbuilding imo, so I really like that you expanded on them here. But oh god, that thing with P... every new little bit of information that we get about Zezé just makes me more terrified of him. I'm really looking forward to see what happens with the whole missing children storyline, on one side because the scene in the shed is one of the best ones in the entire game, on the other because I'm just dying to know what the hell's going on. Hinterlands in general has me starving for more.

(2 edits) (+1)

omg wait

I moved house and have a crazy job and haven't had time to finish the update yet and am JUST NOW DISCOVERING that I was (maybe? idek) right about the P = Panoptes guess last update!?!

…okay fine I know it was obvious just let me have this

Developer(+1)

Good job, detective!

I knew all of the relevant information to piece it together, but somehow still managed to miss it, so congrats! 

I figured out the origins of the armbands though so I'm willing to accept the loss

(+2)

Speaking of sex with Asterion:

Early on in the new lounge, each route gets a personalized conversation related to their background. However, it's the math route that has the one with Asterion asking if there are guides to sex on the internet. This is not long after Asterion talks about a mathematician friend he was especially close with. Very good, very fun, very slip of the tongue wikihow to slip in the tongue clipart.png.

oh yeah he did mention that when we turn on the hotel with hestias mirror , I was waiting for him to return to that topic in the following chapters, but was cliff hanged on that part. Hope that they return to that topic soon^^

(+3)

I wonder if there is a correlation between the scene where the master jokes about Asterion doing indecent things with his laundry (and Asterion is embarrassed) , your flip flop being missing before watching the movie with Kota, and the drinking game where Asterion is conveniently absent during Roberts question.

(+2)

funny how the master on many occasions, smelled asterion. But i can't remember if asterion did the same, but the dots are connecting funny enough. 

(1 edit) (+1)

I think Asterion does, the only one that I really remember is when comforting emaciated Asterion during his breakdown he takes in your scent.

Funny enough the sister scene to the laundry one has Asterion joking about kissing your feet.

(+1)

many positions, especially hugs, speak of how asterion's nose is basically on top of you so I don't doubt that it will happen, and about what disappears in a certain question I like to imagine that it is perverted

You know the several times when the player character engages in taking in the scent of the big moo, it's in regard to sunlight, hard work and the sweet scent of the sea. But I wonder what does our dear friend smell when he takes us in. And if it might be slightly different depending on your background. 

I vaugly remember something of the first hug described as them taking in each others scent, I might be wrong though

Deleted 1 year ago
(+1)

wait till you hear about the wifi passward

(+2)

"Yeah that needs to be changed"
The real tradgedy in the ruthless ending is the fact that all the guests had to deal with the wi-fi password because they never got a chance to add screens to the hotel's translation lmao

(+4)

Just finished the game for the (technically) first time, and it was AMAZING
Initially i didn't know the consequences of sending Asterion out to the valley so for some reason, even though i treated Asterion really well during my first playthrough i still got to the start of the ruthless route and i was fuckin' enraged

So then and there i deleted the game for like a day, came back to it because i got the stupidest sense of game guilt, and ended up spending the next 2 days making sure i did everything right, took me doing the Hinterlands over once to figure out the best order for me, but i did basically everything there was to do except develop Pedro and Oscar's relationship to it's fullest, i found the shed, gave the 12 a proper burial, and returned the old Tapir's skin.
Honestly at first i hated the hinterlands chapter because i thought

"are they seriously not gonna find the hotel after all that, and only the ones inside the hotel get a happy ending?"

So i was, as you could imagine, relieved when they showed up at the hotel in the last chapter, i went down the romance route with Asterion and everything turned out A OK', it felt really rewarding giving everyone a pretty satisfying ending, even Nikos and Hermes, and i'm under the impression if i had filled Luke's bar all the way i would have been able to go on a romance route with him as well, decided against it tho before the final one, didn't get to complete Asterion's project or anything other than the restaraunt screens though..

I know it might actually be pretty tedious to implement this, and it would make a lot of players' really pissed if you did but, it would be interesting if there was a way to somehow complete every project, didn't keep me up at night though, i think it's already enough that Asterion and the MC have their entire lives to complete the game's remaining objectives in canon

(+5)

After a whole bunch of playthroughs and experimentation, I'm finally taking the time to write something.
First of all, congratulations on the update! I had a great time with it and I eagerly await for the next one. Been playing since the first build and I figured it was high time I gave praise.
Your writing, characters and worlbuilding all offer a great and interesting experience. The gameplay/management elements only enhance it. I'm impressed at how well you manage to weave in and intertwine myths together in general.

The Nikos twist was cleverly executed and, in conjuction with his role in the ruthless route, he easily became one of my favourite characters.
Speaking of the ruthless route, it certainly offers a different perspective making us appreciate the good route all the more. It also isn't torture porn and focuses on telling more than that. There's a lot of interesting stuff in there, and a great further exploration of Nikos' character.

I must admit that I felt a bit ashamed for not figuring out who Jean was before the reveal. Even with my limited knowledge of Greek mythology, a lot of hints (some of them obvious) led up to it. I knew something was up with him, possibly something divine, but I didn't try to push my reasoning and research further. Lesson learned! This update did a good of pushing me to dig more into the game's secrets.

Great job with the Hinterlands as well! There's a lot to investigate and speculate on in there. You also did a stellar job with the dynamic between Pedro and Oscar. I ended up loving those two.

I must commend you on the humour too, this update got quite a few laugh out of me (yes, even the "A frenchman!" option despite being french myself). I finally gave a try to the speedrunner route and it's a quality shitpost.

Last but not least, on the topic of Asterion, I must say I am thoroughly smitten. I'm greatly enjoying the developing relationship between him and the Master. It's very heartwarming to see him coming into his own and gaining his confidence back. The old labyrinth scene was certainly one of the highlights.

I have a whole lot of theories but I'll direct them to the appropriate thread(s) later or I'd be here for days.

On a side note, following the update and after delaying it since forever, I finally read the original quest by going through the old archived threads. I'll avoid bringing up any potential spoilers from it of course, but it was a fun ride, and it was very interesting to see the initial creative process and the ways in which the VN and quest differ.

Anyway, congratulations once again! I was already hooked before but I am even more now.

Bonus: I came across this:


(+8)

I'm arriving here after my first playthrough, and I'm blown away by the depth  of the story you're weaving. You've got me completely hooked.

One thing I forgot to mention in my survey is that I love the use you make of the ritual phrases. Every time I've got to "hug the man, hug the bull, hug the friend back together" I melted. I'm not ashamed to admit I cried in several moments.

Thank you so much. 

omg I remember that scene and I'm feeling it too

I wonder if an additional verse will be added to form a cycle. I don't know, does epic poetry prefer fours or threes?

(+1)

If you had to label each character in the game with a D&D class, what would you make them?   Pick 7 for the ideal party size. 

My personal favorite is:

Asterion: Bard

Luke: Barbarian

Kota: Cleric

Cobalts: Rogues (Three in one)

Robert: Paladin

P: Warlock

Storm: Fighter

And all of them share a single brain cell. Which Robert has most of the time. 

(1 edit) (+1)

I never actually played D&D but here's what i think by looking up the class names

Asterion - Paladin

Luke - Ranger (Wolf as an animal companion)

Kota - Monk

Robert - Warlock

Argos - Rogue

P - Wizard

Storm - Bard

Haha this sounds fun. What i think the classes they would be is

Asterion: Artificer

Luke: Fighter

Kota: Monk

Argos: Bard

P. : Druid

Storm: Barbarian 

Themba: Wizard

(+2)

Love this game! Just played it about a zillion times because I've got all the achievements but the stone tablets one. Thank goodness someone here mentioned the RNG and that I can just keep redoing the article 6 kiln thing until I get them all, because I was getting a little tired haha. Speedrunner was fricking hilarious ("I guess I am your little pogchamp, Sanic"), and the deep fried memes are hysterical. Nikos shot up to being my favorite character and Best Boy after all the Ruthless endings. But Storm x P is absolutely my ship. Every time I did Hinterlands 3 I always stopped skipping and rewatched the hot springs scene >.> Kudos on all of Hinterlands actually, especially P's depressed-ass inner thoughts that made him super relatable to me. Oscar for second best boy. Not that Asterion and the romance isn't great or anything, all of it is good. But my favorite scene in the game is the drinking game with Arts and everybody present. Luke is the best/worst and I appreciate him so much.

Man, I did my final run with arts for the exact reason. I love that everyone you grew to love at the table with you.

Developer

Very happy to hear your thoughts!

I'm glad the response to Oscar and Pedro's content has been so positive, we were kind of concerned that people would react negatively to most of the characters not being romantic interests for the player and lose interest in them, but fortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

Pairing up characters with set personalities and stronger characterization than the MC lets us do more interesting things with their romance, so I hope you guys look forward to more of that!

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I'm not particularly active on this website and I've been holding back on playing Minotaur Hotel since it does feel like a dauntingly big game.

However, I'm glad to say that it is indeed a dauntingly big game - but in a good way. I'm really liking how the story progresses, how it develops and I felt like its pacing is juuuuust nice. It felt real, like how the MC's day-to-day task is going to be affected by uncontrollable events that will happen on that day.

The characters feel REAL. Especially Luke. There is a sense of character development and progression within a few chapters - and I'm really glad about it. For some reason, he's my second fav in the game.

Seriously though, Asterion is so precious and must we must protecc him. Please give him a way out of this (romantic route) in the future update? Also what's up with the little star that sometimes shows up and sometimes doesn't?

I feel like there was one particular moment that's under appreciated, and that moment was when my MC (I usually play these types of games as an OC of mine) got to punch a god in the face. Like, I get Hermes is generally one of the more decent ones and all, but my MC had been itching to do it since he learned about Asterion's situation and honestly it was just as satisfying as I hoped it would be

Well not everyone got that, mine was Asterion who did the punching

Honestly my favorite moment, cause it shows how willing he is to protect his people, to the point he is willing to punch a full on god in tbe face if needed(but yeah, just hilarious with either punching him tbh)

There was a point in my playthrough where Asterion was turning to stone(?), which I assumed would be the next big plot conflict to deal with, but that problem seemed to disappear. I'm assuming one of the MCs actions fixes this issue, and that I just missed it. Could someone fill me in on what that was?

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Is there a particular moment you're referring to? There are a handful of times, from what I can remember, that Asterion muses he's turning to stone, but it's always as a metaphor for his apprehension, not a literal transformation :)

Aha, that makes more sense. I had assumed it was metaphorical at first but then thought it was more literal when the game continued to describe an inability to move his body. I should have stuck with the first interpretation.

I'm afraid that will happen because of how the game starts with a sculpture destroying itself but personally I think it's just tired of it and the way to describe it, it's not so literal

(+3)

Remember that one of the great things about this VN is the poetic language. Most of the time, to my knowledge Asterion wishes to turn to stone or become stone. Usually in response to additional trauma or emotional turmoil . To me, the weathering of that sculpture in the front is a metaphor for how our dear friend has been treated, abandoned, abused and neglected. 

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I've posted a few times here already, but I also want to sing my praises of this story. I first played this when it was in a pretty early stage in development, iirc it ended right when the second guest (Luke/Kota) entered the hotel, and I remember chatting with nanoff about the game a bit after finishing that part. At that point I thought it was alright, had an interesting concept. On a whim I tried this again, expecting to play for one night, maybe, but got much more invested than I thought I would, to the point of spending the whole weekend and then some playing this. The universe and characters are very compelling, especially Asterion and Nikos. A great improvement in every way.

Asterion's writing is superb. He's strong, but fragile. Traumatized, but hopeful. You want nothing more than to be his absolute protector from any and all sources of danger -- but you need to respect his agency, too. It is such a delight to slowly but surely help him feel again, and of course to reveal the farce of his sentence.

As much as I didn't want to at first, I did go back and do two of the ruthless routes, and while it felt awful to see what the master does there, it made the things I found on my next playthrough of the main storyline all the more gratifying (especially with the events around Argos in chapter 17 onwards).

How much reading must that all have been? There were figures about what was added in 0.5 being about a novel's worth in length? No idea how that extends  to the game as a whole. (I see now that the main page for the game lists the total number of words - my bad, not sure how I missed that)

Man. I have some serious book hangover now.

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They are the only 3 achievements that I have not yet obtained, How do you get this? I don't know where to take storm.

First dead than taking those achievements, I understand the fantastic writing and that we will discover more about asterion and many secrets but I am one of those who feels bad for accidentally attacking a skyrim villager and they will imagine how it would be to damage asterion

I've seen that some speak other languages in the thread, isn't it against the rules or something? I hate google translator because it changes a lot of what I want to say

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To get that first achievement, you have to do at least seven of the following things throughout the Hinterlands Ch 3:

  • Go to the tailor, get Storm a fully-tailored set of clothes, and give him P's jacket
  • Visit Storm's home
  • Visit P's home
  • Go to the library and browse the fiction section with Storm
  • Go to the plaza and hang out with Storm
  • Visit the second church
  • Go to the pond and stay with Storm
  • Visit the diner at the archaelogical site

As for the other two, it all really depends on how important completionism is to you :)

I'm definitely not going to be getting those.

Hmm how many days do you get in the Hinterlands again?  I keep recalling you only have time for 2/possible four 

7D

Thank you I never completed it because I like to return the skin to the tapir because well I love grumpy old men in games, they remind me of my grandfather (paradoxically I hate nini)

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The tapir god is genuinely my favourite character to voice. There's such a worn, manic insanity to him that really feels complete and realized... whereas Nini is just distressing and monstrous.

(+1)

for the rutheless route you have to keep sending asterion to the valley, once there all 4 endings can be obtained within the choices on the route.

 as for speaking other languages, there is no such rules that i've ever heard of. some might just prefer to speak in the native languages of the developers, which isn't english.

I just finished my first playthrough and I feel like there is/should be more to come. Am I right? There feels like a lot of loose story threads, and also the whole building up the hotel thing, and progressing the side characters routes and unraveling some more mysteries. Is the end of the game the real end of the story, or will there be more in a future build? I kind of thought I would be doing a Mass Effect 2 kind of thing and solving each of my crews problems.

Developer

Hi, wufke. There'll be more content, it's just not ready yet. And yes, you'll be able to hang out with the guests and help them through their issues.

In summary, the game's still in development and there's much to go through still.

From what I've read, it's intended to complete the main storyline between the player character and Asterion first and then start constructing more side stories with the staff? I sure hope there'd be interesting things like random events or post main storyline/epilogue content.

Developer(+2)

It's actually the opposite. For now we're doing some work on the staff's stories. We have a good production-based reason for it, it's because when we have more hangout scenes in the game it'll change the typical in-game day's pacing and we'd rather have that now so we can hit the right proportion between side content and Asterion's story.

There's also another reason, and it's simply that doing work on the side stories is very liberating creatively. It's giving us some fresh eyes that'll help when we tackle the next main story chapters.

I'm really interested in seeing what direction you'll go with if you develop a Wolf route. How would one even progress a story with a nonhuman mind? Maybe something more about the Labyrinth and its environment through the sharper senses of a natural predator? Or maybe something about taming the Valley? 

... It'd be interesting if the Hotel started being a refuge for endangered species would it not? Then it'd be an unusual explanation/and hopeful for sightings of all those species that are thought to be extinct. 

Ha, you've really set the mind aflame with a great story like this. Keep up the good work.  

you guys have done too good of a job wrapping up this one. too many people are getting confused whether this is finished or not. maybe consider uploading a new version that makes it more explicit it will still be continued?

Developer(+2)

Yeah, when we upload the next update (0.5.2) we'll make that clearer.

You know it sure is funny that it ends so well that people don't get the memo. I feel kind of proud of that, in a roundabout way.

Thanks for the reply. This game is beyond good. I can't wait to play more and unravel more of the mystery!

(+1)

One particular piece of writing I've found quite charming also shows Asterion gaining belief in himself back. Now I've never seen the dialogue before when you try to have Asterion go out, less than properly dressed. I respect the moo a bit much for that. However for a certain scene leading to a pit of wrestling after the laurel wreath is bestowed, I mistimed what would be the sequence of events and had him in the loincloth too early. But instead Asterion jokes around and ribs the player character for their trickery. I think it shows quite well how much Asterion has developed in his self confidence and self respect as well. Now I'm wondering if that can tie into a possible mechanic for Asterion being more... assertive as some people were wanting.  

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I have to say, i've played through 0.5.1 a couple times...and the thing that sticks out most to me is Argos/Nikos full vent at Asterion after he's revealed himself to the MC and made it clear he wants to help.  Like there's such an intense emotional out pour there where you can feel his disgust with the part he's played, the remorse that the Argos is ending, how the MC's compassion affected him, this respect for Asterion in how he changed his prison into a haven, i'd almost say envy for how much the MC cares for him at that point, his anger at the farce of Asterion's punishment, and frustration that Asterion SOMEHOW sees himself as worthless.  I think the line that really hit me was "he makes himself low so he can lift you up, and you still think you're nothing but dirt and ash?" Just man, Argos, let it all out.  If anything, THAT moment was Argos'/Nikos' greatest moment.

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I am really happy someone brought it up because argos is so inelegant and knew from the start that you mc loved asterian. Yes, Astrian had every right to be upset from how he was treated in the past, but when Argos just pours everything and sorta made him fully see how much the mc done for the bull. Going so far to be angry that despite to love and praise you give Asterian. He stayed overly humble, like Argos angrly telling him to love yourself because there are people who generally love him fully.

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There's one thing I've not understood, what exactly I the "birthmark"? I couldn't find much information on it In the game besides the MC mentioning it, far first I thought Asterion just got some dirt on his head because he was face down on the ground and his fur was white when it first showed up xD

(+1)

Pretty sure the game does not conclusively explain what it is yet. The most we have at this time is theories on the birthmark. All pretty much agree on its great significance though.

Just a heads up: thanks to the forum setup we have right here, it's easy to look up topics on like this. There's a search function in itch.io that can pull up mentions of a term and such. Give it a whirl!

ah, completely new to itcho.io. thanks for the heads up ^^

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Well, I just wanna say this game is such a gem. Really. You wouldn't regret playing this game. The ending was such a cliffhanger really. I think that's not the actual end yet and I'm looking forward for the next update. Though I'll take this chance to do a rerun for better results heh. First thing that I liked about this game is that I get to stay human. It's kinda unsatisfactory when my character becomes another animal like creature. Like, it kinda doesn't scratch the itch well. I mean that's alright too, but I think it's more fun if my character stays human. 

Second thing I love about this game is the characters! Especially Asterion! He's really lovely in his own ways. I like his character development. The romance is awfully slow however it's not annoying. It doesn't feel frustrating, the developments just felt so right.  It's no wonder that the development is slow because of what he went through. Every emotion, doubt, anxiety he was feeling was reasonable. It doesn't feel frustrating to see. It felt justified you know. Cheers to the creator if this game really. What a big bird- Uh I mean big brain you guys have. It's impressive. Another character I like is Luke! Ghad, if he actually exists we'd be total besties. We're vibin. I love how horny and playful he is. He's horny and slutty yes but it doesn't feel offensive to the eyes. He's such a funny character. Idk how many times I cackled because of that guy. Also Dominikos! It's sad how he was torn between doing what is right and upholding his clan's tradition, an Argos' very purpose. Though it doesn't justify the things he did to Asterion, I still pity the guy.

 Now then about the scenes in the game. I love thd drinking game part. It was a fun read because of Luke. I just kinda wish though that it could've been like a push for some steamy scenes between my character and Asterion but then again, baby steps. I do hope in the future updates there'd be, between my character and Asterion. Heh. I cackled on the part where Storm thought that Asterion was his dad. Sorry not sorry, t'was funny. I also love the part where Dominikos and Asterion are having a confrontation about the apology letter and the authenticity of the Gods' take in Asterion's trial. I cackled on the part where Dominikos revealed why my character was being good to Asterion. Cuz damn that minotaur needs that peptalk. That part where Asterion took my character down to the deepest part of the hotel, where he showed the fire thingy was so wholesome. And bitch Jean's real identity was surprising. I mean I have this feeling that Jean is a pretty sus character and that he's prolly not even human but it didn't crossed my mind that he'd be Hermes. There were subtle clues alright but I was too immersed about developing my character's relationship with Asterion that I overlooked those. Oooh and I love the details about Asterion' past especially his trial in the underworld. It's a real wonder and impressive how the devs came up with this game down to it's little details. Oh and I have a suggestion. If there'd be a steamy scene between ny character and Asterion, I do hope I get to have a choice to decide which position my character would take. Overall this game is really great. The devs have big brains I wouldn't be even surprised if they're mythological creatures as well with how awesome they made this game. Really looking forward to the next update! 

P.s I get the feeling that shit's about to go down in the next updates. 

Deleted 2 years ago
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long

(+3)

Was it intentional that storm is in the same exact pose when P found him that asterion was in when the MC found him?

ayo thats so tru i didnt think about it

Most things are deliberate when writing or drawing, specially since Storm is meant to parallel Asterion. So probably, yeah

(+2)

Just playing my second play through and picked the wolf and I kid you not, I laughed my arse off thinking "the damn wolf frenched Asterion before the MC did" xD

Oh great, now Asterion is going to reestablish a New Rome. 

(+3)

doing achievements and my MC called "Hinterlands ant hills" speed run stopped at this exact line during the skips, I feel attacked


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I have 2 questions, though I suspect that probably others have said something about it…

  • Does the fire collar mean anything in terms of his imprisonment?

I know it might be a symbolism of Asterion’s feelings towards the MC, still, I wonder if there is something else to it.

  • Why does the playful wrestling with Asterion feel like a sad little adventure?

Now, getting it out before anyone answers because of the song, I will say that yes, that might be it. Probably I might be the only one that had this feeling. But, I wonder if the developers intended to have someone take this little union of friendship or even love into an overwhelming sadness.

Man! I was barely able to read, I had to take my mind out for some time. I had my heart hurting, and I did cry. Not only that, but I might be a wimp, but, wow! It did knock me out of the game for a while. Kudos to the song though, the feeling is really strong [Foolish Child]. (Perhaps I’m the fool here and a well-placed song.) Wished it was for the other sad endings (but what do I know? I just finished 2 sides leading always to the same ending)

That’s probably why I got the impression of sadness there… anyway, I’m curious for any answers or even questions that might have been brought to me, and perhaps it was my misunderstanding of the situation. (Even now that I’m analyzing the song, it sends chills down my whole body and a strong ache in my heart)

Quick Edit Note: This questions I had prepared for the Q&A when it gets out, but I might as well make it a conversation since it really is interesting. Also, that this is my first time posting but, hey, I want to know what other people think of this situation.

I viewed the situation as something liberating. The song is sad, but very empowering, from he moment  asterion rising up and challenging the master to a wrestle. The collar part confused me a lot, and the only idea that comes to mind is asterion himself finally believing he is free. How calm he felt after the ordeal and tired. I feel like we might get more info later on, but for one of my favorite scenes, I am glad to see others really feel the raw energy the whole thing played out

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I have a theory on the scar around his neck.. I mean, he died of BEHEADING and the achievement we get is the story with Theseus who did it. So I'm guessing that what we did kind of was a parallel for his "fight" with Theseus, only, he broke the recursion spiral by fighting back and so the scar that exemplifies his passive "cowardice" in allowing the beheading vanished. (And maybe paved the way to annulling some contractual stuff later.. )

Or it has something to do with the other story, where he "cuts the thread" for that immortal guy whose name I can't remember.. Tithonus? and apparently takes on his shackles instead. Maybe those shackles are the "band" on his throat like a collar. It's a bit weird that Asterion himself seems very unconcerned with what happened and it really feels like a biased narrative viewpoint again.

(+4)

So I just finally finished my first playthrough (though I had to backtrack bc I accidentally saved over and loaded some files bc it got late and the buttons are right next to each other) and I got blown away by all the intricate story pieces and how they fit together! I apparently did pretty well since I got the gold wolf rating (just one little bit moooore? why?) and boy did I not expect some of these things.

For one thing, the tile I got from Argos' wine quest behind the kiln was the Ichor one that explains what these violet crystal obsidians in the bedrock are and HOLY COW is that disturbing! Paired with the description of Asterion's hands and the dried up tendons in his wrist and Robert's astute observation of "anemic" divinity and the fact that he was apparently a lot more dextrous in his youth..uh boy. Can I still fix him, please? Also that axe STILL dripping is ... is it draining him? it says something about Zeus' ichor, but somehow it doesn't seem to be it, when I got to read the trial transcripts. It also adds another explanation to Asterion's disturbing mental tangent about turning into stone. 

Second thing I took note of was the foundation thing with all the original terms. It said the Overseer is the only one allowed to enter the realm on his own, everyone else COULD be allowed through an invitation by the Master (aka us?) though. Now that could bring unwanted attention and we wouldn't want Athena or Apollo around and Demeter can go suck a coconut... but it opens some future possibility for Asterion to meet Hades and possibly maybe open the realm enough to meet his old friends down there again for a visit. 

Third thing worth mentioning is that Oscar's intuition is scarily good! His description of the hotel as a layer cake of bad with a frosting of good on top got him all new levels of respect! That he got called "the last drop of blood" just like it was worded in the founding statutes is peculiar and shows he's definitely meant to be there and can maybe help to figure out some major plot points!

The fourth thing is Moloch. Since Asterion mentioned him I looked the name up and the child sacrifice thing was horrifying. And then I got to the Hinterland quest and the conveniently there other bull and all the missing children?? (not Oscar the little sweet potato, I mean his mysterious dad) Also, the goat guy freaked me out a little.. were his eyes red? If anything he LOOKs like a devil, though he's old enough to know Ps grandpa, so ... maybe he got so big by eating the children, who knows. 

The fifth thing I'm keeping in mind is the beached mermaid, the rotten salt lands, the dried up rivers and land... the dried up Asterion.. who is a descendent of Poseidon of all things. Curious thing that. Also ichor was apparently used to create the realm, but it honestly seems to lack liquids (other than wine, thanks Dionysus, don't even need your transcript to figure that one out, you're a real pal!).

I'm sure everyone and their mother who avoided getting tricked by Argos (honestly, that was dumb luck but I'll take it) and figured out the whole Nikos thing already gushed about it (the fake Argos and Io and the "real ones" triggering Hermes? talk about spirals), so I'll take a pot shot at the three vultures (the two black ones circling MC and Nikos when he quits his job, and the white one Asterion sees in the parking lot) and venture a guess that they might be furies. (the whole punishment thing is kind of their domain). Then again vultures were associated with Hades, Ares and Apollo in turn and know as following cows and birds that don't kill (bc they only eat the ones already dead), so it's hard to say. Possibly even harpies under someone in the labyrinth.

I played the art background bc it said I could do renovations on the hotel and that sounded neat and I actually really liked the little bits and pieces where it was tangentially relevant/came into play. Though renaissance paintings, japanese directors, notre dam, the picasso sketches and zulu pottery, MC's knowledge is so eclectic. I also loved Asterion's shirt (I saw some screenshots with .. not so pretty designs and yeah, artists are the best.)
I lucked out a lot, bc with both Kenbish and Themba the hotel is actually fully staffed and functional for all areas and I loved Themba's connection to Asterion and the hotel, he DOES have some old friends still! I won't be able to pick Kenbish, knowing that, even though he probably needs the job more and the restaurant is understaffed as well...so yeah, Art MC for the win! (plus the reception looks friggin empty without some additions) Pedro can take care of his debts and go to uni and get some therapy, Niko can take shelter till we figure out what's up with the gods and go back home after they no longer want to kill him, and by then Pedro can come back and move in with a hopefully more independent Oscar. After a roundtour where he figures out what's up with the missing children, bc he left his feathers around the hut by the pond. I think. the dead butterflies and the salt were distracting.

A real compliment goes to whoever designed the hotel front, bc that IS a really great design! the bull imagery, the minoan architecture touch and the showcasing of Asterion's intelligence in figuring out natural temperature flows in infinite hallways.. it's great!

As for the staff, Luke is ... a bit crass, but growing on me. I like him more when I imagine him as a silverfox grandpa, rather than some young brash know-it-all, the age just helps me shrug my shoulders in resignation as I do at the dinner table on holidays.
Kota is very tightly wound up and I haven't done much in his personal quest, but he's looking for a red dragon and believes in soulmates, so I guess he's looking for them? If he's searching, why is he keeping all the information a secret though, he doesn't want to tip them off? They argued/betrayed each other? I'll unravel that mystery next playthrough (after sleeping. a lot.) But I liked that his romantic quest makes him into the aunt in law squishing our faces together and telling us to kiss. Robert is pretty cute, though I wonder for how long he can take a sabbatical from his job and his 0 for tech frustrates me when I want to put him in R&D rather then sending him exploring the desert in that outfit and can't. In general, so far his expertise with contracts is not really needed or comes to late for the game as it is now and it's a little sad that he mostly ends up being redundant/on tag along support)
Themba is by far my favourite though, and Khenbish on second place (yeah actually before Kota on third). Their backgroundstory and actually pretty solid emotional maturity are nice, though Khenbish's angry/shocked illustration is a bit extreme in some contexts (drinking game), because he looks like he's screaming loud enough to be heard throughout half of the floor.
The cobalts are cute and helpful, but I somehow hope their mysterious appearing out of nowhere will be part of a mystery solved later on, it would just be neat.

Now I really need to sleep and then manage a second playthrough where I actually don't just play in one setting.. I didn't realize it would be THIS long and just expected things to cut off for like 3h, 4h, 5h... But worth it! It's a really sweet and rewarding romance with a very solid build up of the relationship, even though it starts from the worst place imaginable. The only problem is...  I fell so hard for Asterion (and the fact that he's smarter than he lets on and struggles so hard and relatable) that I now miss him already.
It's a really lovely game and I didn't expect this level of story telling and emotional depth and believable characters all in one package in an essentially free download. Thank you for helping me survive the boredom of quarantine!

I love everything you wrote down! I been piecing a few things together and your take makes a whole lotta sense

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Thanks! Most of it is because I got stupidly lucky with the hints and tiles I pillaged in the valley, but yeah, I do tend to remember all kinds of usually inane details in games and books and it actually really helps in this game. Finally my talent is relevant! xDD

Edit: Though, it could still be wrong and most of it is conjecture, though not without context clues.

is the female humanoid monster made from coal a monster based from Greek myth?

So, review for build 0.6.1

Asterion's speedo has become my new favorite outfit.

Springbokkie had the most fun interaction of the drinks, since it had an specific rite to the comsumption of it.

Wrestling event has me concerned that some interactions may be too difficult to get in the main game. for example, you'd need the arts background and then recruit Khenbish, Themba and Pedro in specific and make sure to do the hangout when it's most opportune to make the most out of it.

Still, i enjoyed the cross character interactions with the expanded cast, cause up till now we had very little in events involving the newer guests. Kota and Luke seem to get most of the attention instead. Exceptions being the drinking game and the hinterlands.

As for Khenbish as a character, i'm most interested in the curse of bad luck, MC may claim that it's only decent that one doesn't blame the boars for something that's not their fault. But i feel like that's short sighted given that the curse itself might be causing them to be blamed for it, like an ouroboros that feeds on itself. Though i'm not keen in the internalised homophobia, hopefully the son of a "friend" of his father can get that sorted out and find acceptance both from outside and within.

As for the sex scene, now that was the most elaborated on the story so far and i choose to head canon it happened for real.

(+1)

Khenbish's subroute was really good. I'd say it 100% confirms the "players care about the characters that have a lot of content explaining them" proposition.

...and that was the most insightful, most tender, and most evocative description of a blowjob I've ever read.

Developer
...and that was the most insightful, most tender, and most evocative description of a blowjob I've ever read.

Mission complete.

I am on the hinterlands 3 part of the game and have some questions as to how to actually do it right? I know there are three major things you can do but I am confused on how to do any besides the romance route. Would somebody be able to give some sort of path for me to follow? I do be confused moment.

Developer(+1)

The basic gist is that you have a limited amount of time to explore the Hinterlands. Ideally you should approach it as a detective story — follow your intuition, look for clues, piece them together, pick your priorities, etc. There are some "quests" you can accomplish in the Hinterlands, but at least your first playthrough should be as unspoiled as possible. I think that's what most players would find the most enjoyable overall.

That said, I know this format can be very anxiety-inducing for some. Other just might not like the Hinterlands too much, or not mesh with its style. Because of this nanoff wrote a very brief walkthrough. Feel free to use it if you want to. Likewise, feel free to ask more specific questions here, as I'm sure there'll be others very willing to discuss things with you.

However, even with the walkthrough you'll still have to pick what you want to focus on, what you think is most important. There isn't enough time in-game to do everything.

Have fun!

Thank you very much! I am loving this game a lot, and it pains me that my anxiety hit me hard when it came to this part, but it did kagfa. Regardless thank you so much for the source!! I hope to finish the public release so far soon :>.

I could see Nanoff's influence in some of the reactions of Knebish(doubt I spelled that right), Asterion, and Storm/Oscar. Did AntiDev work on this? Cause some of the facial expressions of P/Pedro and Luke are straight out of Brogulls.