CANIDAE as a horror story delivers the unsettling lead up to its first "horror" scene, but drops the ball after that.

Its gravest misstep is in the little use of the audiovisual aspects of being a VN. For instance, while there are sound effects, they often don't really fit the action being performed (some impact sounds in particular have some dissonance). The sound track seems to have been picked for being "horror themed" rather than fitting the scenes that take place. And the actions scenes really lack something visually engaging for the most part, making for oddly still moments that should be more action packed.

All that said, the writing is on point. Making it first person really sells the horror of the situation, especially when combined with some of the character's almost poetic descriptions. The creepy elements before "shit goes down" are also handled pretty well in writing.

This is a project worth experiencing for yourself. My only advisory is for those particularly affected by depictions of animal cruelty and violence.

A smart, stylish little game featuring a seamless intermarriage of form and narrative.

Juxtaposing the theme of transformation with the unchanging sprites is such a fun way to use the medium – the push-and-pull of reader expectations surrounding how representative it's all supposed to be makes for a potent sense of unease. The pixel aesthetics are the key here, allowing the photobash assets to blend in more smoothly while providing a crucial extra layer of abstraction. Some interesting things happen structurally as well: thanks to the weird character names, CANIDAE opens with a slightly surreal tone, priming you to be ready for anything before steering towards what feels like a more grounded direction.

Another strong choice is the split ending. Only explicating the mechanics in one route is not just economical storytelling – it creates an interesting contrast between where the two paths locate the cause-and-effect dynamics at play. The ending where everything remains more subtle allows for a reading where the boys become what they do; the other surfaces a more literal horror conceit where they're affected by forces beyond their control, at worst enthusiastic participants in the roleplay. Guilt & culpability being big themes, this laser-targeted piece of ambiguity could not serve the story better.

Not going to say more in the interest of not spoiling everything for whoever is reading and still hasn't played CANIDAE, but it's so good, very much worth your time.