Wow. Just, wow.
I kept away from playing Our Wonderland until the full thing released, and so over the weekend, I put 15 hours in to play the whole thing, and what a ride!
First off, I love how unique this VN is in terms of atmosphere. The artstyle, the amount of CGs, the way you made stock music fit so well, the little animations of the characters popping in and out for more dynamism, the cutscenes, all of it is insane work, even more considering how good the end result was on that front! And of course, Wonderland itself has very interesting quirks too, with its recurrent monsters and places that stay consistent throughout the whole VN.
Which brings me to the overall structure of the VN. As the original Wonderland "plot" gets more and more twisted each arc, I could tell that the whole story was just one big buildup towards Arc 5, and sure enough, it delivered SO. WELL. Tearing down the masks each character made for themselves after all that happened before was so satisfying, and the end, along with the pickable romance scenes, were so well executed!
And of course, this VNs biggest strength is by far its deeply flawed,
and thus human, characters, and it shows. All of the cast is so unique and
unreplicable! The dynamic of said cast of characters is really
compelling the more you dig into the story, helped with the fact each
arc focuses on one specific character. They feel insanely personnal and
again, real. I could meet a Genzou, a Gidget, an Iggy or even an Orlam
in real life and wouldn't bat an eye, that's how rooted in reality they
are! Everyone has understandable issues, reasonings behind their actions and wishes, and reasons to feel how they feel, even when they are portrayed in a more antagonistic fashion!
I am extremely picky when it comes to saying a VN is a "masterpiece". An absolute 10/10 I wouldn't change anything from. But this. THIS right here. This VN is absolutely one of the very select few I would consider a masterpiece. Even as I'm writing this, I really don't feel like I'm doing justice to the absolute behemoth of passion you have created. Congratulations, Carrot, and thank you for making something truly special and worth being proud of!!! <3
It's an amazing game but if you can't handle very serious topics, gore or other stuff probably avoid it, If you can the story is really in depth and brought out emotions I havent felt in a long time. Also the ending came out the day after I needed something to put my whole life into perspective what what issues I need to face and the internal struggles inside me I shut off to survive. This game made me cry for like 7 hours straight I fell asleep and woke up my perspective on life and how I approach it completely changing whic is hard for me since normally I don't allow myself to feel
Just fabulous, absolutely exquisitely fabulous, with the top notch story, amazing CGs, and one freakishly brilliant creator <333
It's over.....it's over and it was perfect from the beginning to the end.
Good work, Carrot.
I don't need to finish the game to know it's worth infinity/5 stars! Seriously if you love horror and queer stories, you'll find nothing better! I could rant and rave about how much I love this game forever tbh. Just play it.
UPDATE FOR THE FINAL RELEASE:
I'm honestly speechless; I can't put into words how MEANINGFUL this game is, how emotional and thought-provoking and personal and expertly crafted it is. The strength and vulnerability and passion that it took to make this. I cried so much while playing OW, and I know that it will stay with me for the rest of my life (I have a special place in my heart for it now). Thank you so much for making this, and if you haven't played it - I'm begging you, please play it (if you can handle the content).
Original review:
Honestly words really can't describe how good this game is. Brilliantly animated, expertly written, emotional, raw, and visceral. While I appreciated it from a technical perspective, it also touched me on a deeply personal level. I can't recommend it if you're squeamish (make sure to read the content warnings), but if you can handle gore, I'll say this - you definitely won't regret giving this game your time.
FINAL EDIT AFTER THE FULL RELEASE: I'll endlessly thank you for this, it felt very personal. You handled everything with grace, sensitivity and kindness. Thanks for inspiring the world with your work.
I have to update my review here, because it's so much more than just torturing me and me enjoying it. It's speaking to my soul, it's making me cry so many times, but on the day I'm writing this, more than I ever have in my life. This is an amalgamation of craft, talent, skill, generosity, vulneariblity, passion, and things that go beyond these words. I just have to thank you, because you doing all this means so much to me, and I'm sure, to every single one of your players.
HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST VNs i have ever played! its so.. well written, the art is AMAZING and all the characters have perfect designs and stories :3 i love this morbidly twisted game with all my heart <3
so good. you will enjoy every minute of this !!
Asexual man has the worst time of his life over and over again. One of the best free visual novels available for mac on itch.io, can't wait for the final arc 5 update. The many trigger warnings are there for a reason!