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Before You Depart's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Story | #1 | 4.808 | 4.808 |
| Presentation | #1 | 4.923 | 4.923 |
| Creativity | #1 | 4.923 | 4.923 |
Ranked from 104 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Team Members
Author - Cetus
Artist - Arcadia Adair
Coding - Bowser Puma
Music - Camazule
GUI - Rackoon/AZiDBUNZ
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Comments
Well shit. No wonder everyone says this was the atom bomb. It hurt, and not exactly how i expected. It was one of the longest things that i've read in VC that never got old, or tired me out. Damn how did you call me out so hard.
Shut up, dad.
Amazing, its so sad yet so powerfull. I love the use of colors.
This VN made me cry till the end with this goofy smile on my face. This was truly a great experience for me and im happy to have read it.
I don't think it needs to be said that this one is in a league of its own in terms of presentation. The art and visuals in particular are stunning, but all the individual elements have been very competently made, from the writing to the audio.
While the individual parts are great and the production values are through the roof, I must admit that I personally wasn't as invested in the story (that obviously still managed to strike a chord with a large audience!).
As a story about dealing with death, I thought the whole framing wasn't really the best way to explore this topic. It feels to me like the real story should have taken place before the narrative even begins: the MC's actual death and the long years leading to it and having to deal with it are left in the background (in his relationship with death Mori doesn't come off as someone who's had plenty of time to deal with his own mortality), while we focus on him dealing with a surprise second death that feels less poignant than the real thing simply because it comes to extinguish a hope for a new life that was only held for a couple of hours.
And while Memento was plenty adorable, even now I struggle to categorize whatever the relationship between the two characters was as romance, considering it was mostly based on lying, antagonism, and... belly rubs!
I'm sorry it seemed the novel didn't strike a chord with you. Was excited to see your reaction to it a lot but... Yeah. Anyways, to address some of the issues, I really don't know how else I could've framed it. It was mostly supposed to be a retrospective on a life snuffed out and Memento being present as Mori dies I think would've had some logistical issues like does everyone get a reaper that appears before you before you die or other stuff that I think would've overcomplicated the kind of story I wanted to convey. And, I would like clarification on the second part about Mori's second death being less poignant? I don't understand this section because Mori died once, and psychopomps are beings that take the spirit to the after. It is a "second death" in some sense but it was more the erasure of Mori's soul and consciousness. His first death the erasure of his physical being, the second himself.
As for the last part, Memento and Mori never had a genuine romantic relationship like long time partners would. It was, a fleeting moment of intimacy between a being that's experiencing it for the first time and a man who has longed for someone to be close with. It wasn't really a romance in the conventional sense, but a romantic experience that they simply shared.
Sorry if I was maybe a bit too harsh in my comment. Seeing as you guys had already received plenty of (well deserved) praise for your work, I mostly wanted to focus on my personal gripe with it. But I just want to underline that it is still a very good story, and I did very much enjoy the ride, so you have reason to feel proud of what you've accomplished!
But to address your question, I'll try to explain better what I meant. Basically, we start with an already dead Mori, seemingly at peace with his situation: he stares at his body as a ghost, free of the old shackles of his body and curious to see what this new life after death entails.
This is why I think this "second death" feels so disconnected to the real thing, at least to me. It doesn't come grieviously to rob you of your life and future: those are already forever gone by the start of the story. It doesn't come mercifully to relieve you of your pain and suffering: Mori already relieved himself of those at the start of the story. This second death is still scary and terrible, yes, but it's also robbed of much of the pathos of the real thing to my eyes, because everything has already been lost and gained. Even the possibility of framing Death as a friend, come to free a sick man of his suffering, doesn't work in this context because Mori has already gained freedom from it.
Again, there's this weird tension, I feel, between living Mori, on the one hand, who is someone who is supposed to have known for a long time that death was around the corner and I would expect to have a more mature outlook on death, and dead Mori, who is effectively a newborn robbed of his new life by surprise and who reacts to it as if it was something sudden and unexpected.
I hope that makes sense and again, I hope you don't take it too harshly. The story is still great! :-)
Let's not beat around the metaphorical boar in the bush. Team Lycoris was going to win from the start. I knew that after seeing the team composition. It's like seeing the Megazord form in front of your eyes- you're dead, buddy. I can say that with 99.99% certainty. For the sake of my stomach and mental sanity, I'm not going to talk about the 0.01%. And it's so good that I'm 761 words into a review dissecting it. I only hope that more people get to experience it for themselves. Furthermore, I also hope people check out their individual projects, as they each have quality in abundance there.
I'm flattered by your reaction! And I honestly think your project should be much closer in the race. I for one think the voice acting is wonderful and out of all the people who used the default wolf sprite, I think the one you made fits the absolute best and the character written as well as the performance my lovely okapi buddy Akiba lends to him makes this iteration of the wolf character the one I remember the most. So, c'mon, I think you should pat yourself on the back too man! ^^ Tbh, out of every other project, your guys' one was the one that I thought would give us the biggest run for out money. And yes, please check out After Passion, it's really great with amazing voice acting a very dynamic character movement that brings the whole thing to life!
This is so good! I almost cried during one of the later scenes, and I rarely cry from VNs (Only Adastra, Shelter and Remember the Flowers so far)! Also I love Memento so much! His begging-like sprite creeped me out a bit, but that’s what you get from him being the Grim Reaper! And I see what you did there, Memento and Mori ;3
Fun fact: Originally, his name was going to be Morty so it wasn't exactly Memento Mori. However, upon reading it, Arcadia told me VEHEMENTLY that we should not do that.
Yes, it's entirely because of Rick & Morty.
poggers
Remember the Flowers was the first visual novel to make me cry. I can proudly say that Before You Depart is now the second visual novel to do so. A masterful, hauntingly beautiful conversation about life, death, and the point of it all. It doesn't provide any answers. Nothing ever can except for the moment when our time comes, but this is one of those pieces of media that can get the conversation going.
Please take a moment to tell someone you care about that you love them today. You never know when they'll be gone.
The story The arts and music really puts me into the characters feelings throughout the whole story,And the ending is so melancholic mix with the music and art I couldn't help but feel emotional at the end .
This surpasses all the other VN's of this jam by quality hands down.
Very nice. The polish and the amount of effort put into every facet of the game is seriously impressive, especially for a game jam project. Given that staring at those same three sprites for like 20 games in a row gets inevitably kind of monotonous, I appreciate the choice to forego the game jam sprites in favor of original character designs, especially in how it allows the project to fully pursue its own visual style.
Narratively, the story is not necessarily the most original or subtle take on the concept, even if it is very delightful as an interpretation of the basic MY WOLF premise. But the prose is good and the dialogue is good (apart from the shouting section that leans too far towards melodrama, being so long and in ALL CAPS, and feels kind of unearned to me as a result), and the visuals and the music add a lot to the atmosphere. It's a satisfying read all around; my thanks to everyone involved for their hard work.
this game is amazing it deserves first spot !!!
please check it out , i promise it's worth your time
If for some reason this does not win the jam, the jam is rigged
Like it's not even a contest, this surpasses by far the quality of all other VN's of the jam by far
(I'll just repost my rabid babbling about this MASTERPIECE and hope it fits the comment lmao)
Yall.
you're gonna want to play this shit NOW.
nooooowwwwwwww
TGTRXFDHTR IT'S FUCKING INSANE
>fffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkk dudeeeeeeeeeeeeeee oh my GODDDDDDDDDDD this rocked my fucking shit
>I did NOT expect them to go this hard UITHRDLXUIHDXGFBHRD
>HOLY S H I T
>LIKE YEAH I KNEW IT WAS ABOUT SMTH IN REGARDS TO MOVING ON/THE AFTER LIFE BUT WOW
>W O O O OO O OO W W WW W W
>THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AMONG MY FAVORITES NOW THAT'S INSANE
i'LL JUST POST THIS HERE FROM THE THREAD CAUSE HOLY S H I T
I DID NOT EXPECT THEM TO GO THIS HARD FOR A FRICKING MY WOLF JAM
LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON FROM THE TEAM POPPED THEIR HARDEST PUSSIES FOR THIS PROJECT AND IT S H O W S
i am actually at fucking awe how fucking well they handled such a fucking classic as a post mortem moving-on story
genuinely insane
they nailed absolutely every single emotion possible you could have in a story like this
the fucking joy, the hope the empaty the absolute SADNESS and dispair in this
holy fuck dude
AND THIS IS ALL TAKING INTO THE ACCOUNT OF LIKE
HOW EVERYTHING WAS CRAFTED SOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFULLY, NARRATIVE, ART AND MUSIC ALL SETTING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FUCKING SCENES.
ACTUAL BATSHIT STUFF.
like oh my g o d ???
hcthrd LIKE THIS HAD EVERYTHING TO WOO ME AND LITERALLY ANY FUCKIN ONE
this could make fucking waves even outside the furry niche there's no way
it's that fucking good you can just show this to anyone
it's beautiful
honestly
HTDFBXGTDHR
I DID NOT EXPECT THIS JAM TO PUMP OUT ONE OF MY GENUINE FAVORITES SHORT VNS TO DATE
I am genuinely feeling so fucking FULL after such a fucking experience
IT'S GOD SO RARE TO FEEL THIS
HTGCFTHRDGFRHTD SO FEW THINGS THAT CAN SHAKE YOU UP LIKE THIS IT'S SO FUCKING LOVELY
god i fucking love existential stories like this they resonate so fucking well
and they KILLED it
they absolutely did
this is the epitome of well executed classics
HTBGRFXHD THEY JUST REALLY WANTED TO FLEX
LIKE THATS HOW YOU FUCKING MAKE A BEAUTIFUL ASS ROMANCE
GIVE ME AN UNIMAGINABLE INFINITE BEING LEARNING TO LOVE FROM A TRAGICALLY FINITE PERSON
THAS THE RIZZ
actually fucking RACKING my brain with the amount of stuff you can fucking say about this
ugh
it's so fucking good
it's so soft and beautiful
every aspect of the art is just. immaculate
like I LOVE the black and red palette for HORROR but man
man they made that shit just, BEAUTIFUL in the most romantic way of the word
it all plays so fucking well together
literally a fucking theater play
it takes the breath outta you
literally just read this
read this and give the creators the best fucking thanks you can if you like it cause holy shit they deserve it
they did NOT need to give us something so fucking HTFGXBTHR MASSIVELY GOOD LIKE THIS
IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
but yeah like, just hearing about it and the premise and everything is really not enough to do it justice with how everything harmonizes together in the story and you really have to read it yourself to like GET the amount of effort put into this
HELL I DIDNT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE MUSIC YET LMAO
GENUINELY LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT ELSE CAMAZULE HAS COOKING BECAUSE THE DUDE KNEW EXACTLYYYYYYYYY HOW TO SET UP EVERY FUCKIN SCENE AND KEEP THE STYLE CONSISTENT ACROSS THE BOARD
but thats even harder to describe with words because it's honestly just something you'll be blasted away by the moment you open up the VN, i loved every single track
god i am absolutely gonna be recommending this to people long after the jam n shit lmao
actually an experience
-------------------and heres the SPOILERY BIT of what i had to say for the bit where they go over the 4 years-------------------
Ok.THIS scene. Thiiiiiiiiiis fucking scene. they SNAPPED. god they did SO FUCKING GODLY. Hell we've all seen a scene like this, the terminal illness patient or someone just simply at the cusp of their death monologuing about their life, their trajectory towards death and whatnot but man. IT does take some fucking PIZZAZZ to nail that shit WELL. LIKE MAKE IT SINK INTO YOU LIKE THIS. ONCE again the fucking DREAM team over here aligning writing, art and music to just suspend you in this fucking vaccuum of a memory, like god that was actually fucking beautiful.
I ADORE how the illustrations are basically like ancient greek vase illustrations depicting his spiral also alluding to his love for the theater, like THIS was his one play. And just the utter loneliness of the music, thats quiet and grainy, droning as you read. Ugh. It's so good. it's done so fucking WELL. Cetus popped the fuck off, i really should've known he would, with the way he wrote shit in ICO he had a knack for emotional scenes already, like giving characters real substance you can FEEL. this ACTUALLY MAKES ME SO ECSTATIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF ICO BECAUSE OF IT TOO LMAO. DUDE IS GOOD. REALLY GOOD. Actually fucking brilliant narrative, that was wonderful and resonated in. a lot of ways . (MOST SPECIALLY THE WHOLE THING ABOUT BEING A CREATIVE PERSON BEING FORCED INTO DULL CAREERS FOR THE SAKE OF LIVING COMFORTABLY THAT WAS FUCKING H A UN TING TO RELATE TO,,,)
woooweee thats GOOD. THEY COOKED. HTRDFGXBTHRD THEY COOKED SO FUCKING HARD FOR SUCH A SILLY LITTLE GAME JAM THEME
this vn broke me. hadnt cried in months. sobbed until i struggled to breathe. really beautiful. give this a read and you wont be disappointed.
Its rare for me to get so emotionally moved by a piece of media. The last time I felt like I'm on the verge of crying from a piece of media was the Violet Evergrace Movie. And I thought it would be a long while for me to get into that state again.
Well, then there's Before We Depart.
With the amazing presentation of the beautiful, expressive art by Arcadia, the engrossing music from Camazule (not to forget the efforts Bowser and Rackoon have done to bring it all together) and I cannot forget my talented friend Cetus, the author of this vn to absolutely destroy me.
While I am familiar with cetus' writing style, he has really put his all into making this story, with some laughs and mostly cries, this VN is absolutely one of my favorites in recent years.
A story about death that's not only harrowing but hopeful is something I will remember for a long, long time.
I hope Team Lycoris get as much attention as it deserves and the members within continue to put their passion into their separate projects.
Thank you for this important piece of media.
One of the best VNs I've ever read
I did not expect to be sobbing at the end. Such great music and art too. I think this will be a very big highlight for me, not just in the jam but from all the furry VNs I've read in general.
Didn't know I'd want to wax philosophical with a doggo-grim-reaper, but it was great. Sweet writing, and banger art and music