27th VN I will and rate (at light speed).

Edit 1: Just read it. Big brother but with dates. I felt like the VN wanted to eat more than it could bite, but it might be more fleshed out in future updates.

This is another victim of ambition. There’s way too much the developer wanted to do and it all just doesn’t fit a month-long Game Jam. Multiple choices, apparently many paths, this was never going to be finished properly at the end of a single month. As to what is there, the prose is just very basic with a couple of semantic and grammatical errors. The way one of the characters reacted to the possibility of the MC being a trans person kinda rubbed me the wrong way (the whole situation did, actually, but I think, in part, it’s the intended reaction).

A very interesting start.

The custom backgrounds were appreciated. Also how the sound design adds to the overall feel of the VN is a nice bit of worldbuilding. The writing is good and approachable. The title screen was good too.

I'm finding it tough to say that I loved it considering it is so early in the story, but I like what's there so far. Am eager to see where this goes in the future.

Finally got to this one!  As you've already pointed out, it's strange how similar the names were for our wolves, even that we named the same ones similarly!

I am interested to see where the story goes, and can see there's already a plan since I also found one of the endings already ; )

I do wish it was just a bit further along before the end, but at least you have a foundation tonwork off of now.

I look forward to seeing more!

Cruisin' for Love... and murder – it's a lot of fun! Its satire of reality TV is delightful, and its tasteful use of NVL mode keeps the game feeling dynamic to read while also smoothing over the timeskips. Although the art is very "game jam" in its level of polish & detail, things like the animated title screen and the use of music to indicate when the characters are on camera are very much appreciated, as are the accessibility options. In general, the work feels like a VN very in touch with its medium.

It won't probably surprise you to hear that being unfinished hurts the overall product a lot. I have to admit: not even having the titular murder in the story yet felt blue-balling to the degree that I started second-guessing whether I had imagined the second part of the title all along. The plot elements Cruisin' is playing with – murder mystery, a competition with a clearly defined endpoint – just have a very hard time shining without a climax in sight. I think leaning further into the reality TV inspiration and structuring the VN like an episode of one of those could have salvaged the concept, but this stretch is just too brief to really have an internal structure or a clear arc with a satisfying payoff.

I'd love, love to see more of this, but the currently released portion just reads badly as a standalone package and is hard to rate favorably as an entry in the game jam. (Also, as a sidenote, I'm having a hard time figuring out the connection to the theme?)

Silly premise and the merciless mocking of the reality TV format is entertaining, but we don't get enough of the characters or the plot for it to feel like a complete experience. Regrettably, it doesn't last long enough for more than a hint at the characters and the plot. Some good potential here, so hopefully we'll get to see more once the jam is over.

The premise is pretty interesting, even though (and I'm saying this as someone who also didn't submit a finished VN) what is there so far isn't really enough to give me a good feel for how the game is going to be. It did spark my interest though.

I love the animated menu and I respect the choice to go for simple drawings as backgrounds, although I have to admit the presentation does not really work for me: the highly detailed sprites and the simplistic backgrounds do not jive together at all. I'd rather you had used either simplistic sprites as well or pictures as backgrounds for this one.

While the premise is interesting, there isn't much story yet. Even what is there, the first date with one of the contestants, flies by too quickly and doesn't let much of an impression (although who knows, maybe it does make sense because the real focus of the story is elsewhere, too early to tell). I love *love* the way you poke fun at the phoniness of the whole show though.

Spoilers Follow:

Theme: I don't know if I'm seeing it. The conceit seems to be more about concealing information and the obfuscation of intrigue.

Story: There's not enough here yet, is the frank answer. What's here currently is amusing, albeit it feels like it may have been spread a bit too widely for anticipation of the future scope, with the branching choices potentially influencing further matters to come.

The premise reminds me of the old internet shit-post where it's a reality tv show but "15 gay men enter... but one is secretly straight???" except they're all straight and playing gay chicken the whole time to win the money.

It's interesting to see the first elim sans the other contestants. It feels like you're utilizing the limitations of your assets by batching them, in part.

I did enjoy your characterization of the contestants. Really carved out the archetypes reality tv loves.

Presentation: I appreciate you having the sound indicators. I thought it was an interesting stylistic choice to only have music when the show was filming, albeit I don't know if I felt like there should still have been music elsewhere, and just have had the show only had one theme song instead throughout to signify that it was to represent that? Maybe if the work went longer I'd notice the silence more.

I liked how you used NVL mode to kinda infodump/note background information. It made it feel kind of like the reality tv show where you get the name & role moments.

Also appreciate your title screen animatic.

Creativity: Murder on a reality tv show where the bachelor(ette) has their gender obscured. Curious enough! Always a fun premise. Also always funny to have an early opt-out ending.

Overall Thoughts: I thing the main thing is what others have already noted-- there wasn't enough of a narrative yet. The premise has promise, but there's not enough to latch onto, and it kind of zooms quickly into the game show (and we learn things that the protag ostensibly already knows after they already know them). The pacing might be a bit askew, but hard to say without more.

I did want to continue further though, so that's a good sign :p.

Best of luck on your further work with this!

I wish there were more of the story, especially the "murder" part. I do think it's too early to really form an opinion, but in fairness to everyone else who has pulled their best to deliver a game in just one month, we gotta do with what we have.

While the potential to implement the theme is there, it's hardly seen as it is now. Nevertheless, CfLaM has a fun, interesting premise, turning something that should be infuriating into something entertaining. I stan for Reina. She definitely can step on me. Looking forward to where things will go.

I would like to see where this story is going, but it being unfinished is unfortunate :( We don't know the characters yet, it's difficult to like them without knowing them.

I hope you make it into a full game later !