I really ought to have started a notes document to keep track of all my thoughts throughout, but alas I will have to try my best to recollect my praises
From the very begging, I was plesantly very suprised to see such a stylistically majestic opening animation. It is not only great in quality but sets the tone of the story in a way I cant like, put into words? It just conveys the inner workings of the character
The premise, though not all that innovative, was utilised so well in terms of genuine characterisation of both MC and Grim. The characters were not shallow at all and genuienly felt like people, with their own complex emotions and character arcs; glad this did not meet my awful expectations of the MC not being allowed to be atleast a little cautious in a situation in which they really should have been. Loved how you could remain sceptical up until the very moment of actual proof, adds realism. I particularly appreciated the dialogue options for MC, they felt, most of the time, very genuine and there was, quite often, options which said exactly what I had wanted to convey, in a tone matching mine.
Speaking of, the comedy was ELITE. I cannot tell you how many screenshots I've taken of silly dialogue bits. Nailed the art of taking a mythical being and putting them in a modern-day setting.
Of course, many screenshots were also taken for masterfully crafted lines in terms of emotion, and, more importantly the romance aspect. I have to say that this game succeeded in getting me kicking my legs and taking my heart for a ride. Seriously, though, experessions of emotion are so endearing and realistic and charming and I'm running out of adjectives. Just magical, really.
Going back to the narrative, I cannot praise it's creativity as it doesnt feel all that ground-breaking, but the magic comes in how it's executed, as I already mentioned. It just feels very real and impactful and like we truly go on a journey with the characters. The twist of MC being life is quite predictable, but the idea is utilised very well inside the narrative to explore world-building and push story progression(giving proof to MC in the case the player chose to be more skeptical).
I have a few comments on the functions of the game. Firstly, the character customisation is perfectly interactive and makes the game more immersive, especially considering the fact that you get to see your character throughout(unlike some games where you make a customised character only to never see them again -_-). The only thing I could suggest, as a genderfluid individual who is currently under an enby identity, is that there would be a body option that is neither expressantly male nor female; the female gets close enough, but only a few of the outfits dont display, well, the feminine feature. I have, however, perhaps unfounded critique for the meaningfulness of the choices. I say unfounded, for I felt no obligation to re-try for different endings(this is not a fault for lack of replayability, I simply like to keep to one ending with longer games). But having gone back to saves during some of the prior choices just out of curiosity, I found the choices had little impact. With the more risky choices, such as offering to give up your soul prematurely, the character doesnt actually commit to these actions; perhaps for narrative purposes I can't be sure.
One final small critique I have is I'd say it would be worth putting in just a little bit of extra effort to have an option for some people to be able to manually toggle the more, forward, romantic options on or off. I have managed fine with just a little bit of discomfort, but I'm aware some others may find certain moments more uncomfortable than me. Then again, you kinda know what you're getting into, so I guess it's not that relevant. Just food for thought.
All in all, though, definitely a game I will hold in my heart for a long while yet. This is some professional level type of visual novel, and I'm quite suprised it is out there for free. 5/5
