h hhh my heart can't take this...
I can't say much without spoiling stuff so in short:
THIS GAME IS AMAZING, PLAY IT (ESPECIALLY IF YOU'VE PLAYED AND ENJOYED BLACKOUT HOSPITAL!!!!!!!!!)
now spoilers ahead (for this game and blackout hospital):
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Where to start where to start...
I'm actually gonna start with the few negitaves cause everything else about this game I adored.
So the mafia thing... that was a little out of left field right? I see that seeds were planted throughout the main story, like Twyla being rich, her and Crowven hating eachother, the cabin being so secluded for a reason. But it was all so vague that you could've played all 6 normal endings and not the true one and have literally no idea the game had anything to do with that. Not to mention it felt pretty disconnected from the initial premise of a girl that talks to spirits, and a serial killer on the loose. It wasn't bad by any means though, I mean this in the nicest way possible: the true ending felt like an episode of riverdale except I actually cared about the characters. I like the twist that the mystery number came off as so creepy just cause Ovidius didn't know how to text properly, that scene was very funny. Also, I'll acknowledge it's totally possible there were some more direct clues that I missed or that went over my head.
OKAY UNABASHED PRAISE TIME:
DUDE I CAN'T. The first ending I got was Crowven's bad ending and while I don't think it's necessarily the worst one IT HIT ME LIKE A TRUCK!!! IT WAS SO SAD!!!!! I might be partial towards Crowven since he's the least insane out of the main three, the nicest, and the one I did first, but it just hurt so much for him to disappear and have that ending screen of Mary crying. I didn't even realize there were good and bad ends for each route at first so I just kept playing. I did Twyla's route and got the bad end, and so I thought Reginald's route must lead to a true end, but I actually got the good ending first try there. So after thaaat I went back and did the others. I decided to do Crowven's good end last, and I'm glad I did as it was just the most feel good. Agggghh their relationship is so wholesome (minus all the mafia stuff heh.)
I kept calling Reginald Tetra at first cause I was just coming from blackout hospital, but I shifted over time. His route is so good at luring you into a false sense of security. He's so charming and there is really only a few minor times he's blatantly suspicious, like when he's all shifty at the restaurant, so much so that you actually start to trust him juuust a little bit by the time you need to spend the night, even having played blackout hospital (it does help that I stayed with him like twice already trying to get other endings and nothing bad happened.) But then, the game pulls the rug right out from under you. DUDE one detail I loved so much was that the polaroids in his drawer were from points in the game Mary felt uneasy, or was asleep. One simple line sent chills down my spine: "I can tell when you're lying." OOH, CHILLS! Not because it's creepy, because it's a callback to when you first meet him. THAT'S SOME GOOD WRITING!!!
I don't have much to say about Twyla's route except that you did a good job making me realllly hate her hehe. I don't know if senseless gang violence is really a good morale or anything, but it was relieving seeing Mary's family safe. One thing about Twyla's route I will say though, is that the ending gave some great insight into Reginald, and made the ending to blackout hospital make a bit more sense. We defintley don't have the full picture yet, but you can tell that this is a wide spanning, well thought out story.
Some misc things: Great art! The POV and style (as well as Crowven's whole route honestly) reminds me of Night in the Woods, which is another great game. I can tell you got more ambitous with animations and transitions in renpy towards the end as well, as stuff was just more alive in certain parts of routes, and definitely in the true ending with all the panning shots and stuff. It was also cool seeing all the guest artists for the posters, shows, books, and photos. The Vasilis cameo as well made me :D
Alright I think that's all (I probably forgot something I wanted to say and am gonna feel dumb later)
GREAT GAME!!!! bye now