I loved the story before chapter two came out, but I’ve only fallen even more in love with it.
Although there are only two Love Interests available right now, their personalities and desires shine through even more than they had before. Their banter with Vesper is absolutely delightful, and the sheer amount of lore that we can glean from these two routes is incredible.
I am utterly captivated by this world and these characters. (I cannot stop telling my twin things about chapter 2.)
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[SPOILERS! I try not to be too in depth, but be warned that there are SPOILERS!]
[READ AT YOUR OWN RISK]
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I chose Cirrus’ route first (because I was very curious about how that section of the story would go) and I… actually like him a bit more as a person, in spite of the glaring red flags. I already thought he was compelling as a character, but his fondness for Vesper shone through this time. In spite of the other, rather terrible things he does.
He still absolutely needs to get a hold on how he deals with his anger and he’s still very manipulative, he wasn’t quite as infuriating to me as he had been in the first chapter.
I really appreciated the actual gauge for his anger too. It was nice to see him appreciating Vesper’s ability to be a brat. Even if we could push him over the edge, to the point of… well, him overreacting.
It was a lot of fun, and it was amazing to see him actually get desperate for a change. My heart caught in my throat at that particular scene! (Same with the “finger cleaning” scene, though there’s no CG for that) It was incredibly beautiful.
And the good ending (which was surprisingly easy to get for me) made me gasp out loud. I am stunned, and I cannot wait to see where chapter 3 takes that particular outcome.
(As an aside, I actually cried when Francesco came in. The ending we could get there was so bittersweet. I love him. I love him so much. He’s so sweet and I’m excited for his route.)
Keir’s route was absolutely incredible too. I am in love with the slow-burn romance there.
I also really loved getting a chance to know more about the other characters, including Oleander. I knew that he and Keir had something between them before, but finally having concrete evidence of their relationship was delightful. Although I feel a bit bad for the both of them.
As for some of the great scenes between Keir and Vesper - I cackled far too hard at the "honeytrap" scene. Oh my god. Keir is a good actor, but him blushing is even better. And the flirting during the date also floored me. Vesper is oblivious, and Keir is way too serious with flirting.
In spite of the funnier/softer moments at the beginning, Keir’s route got dark really fast. I wasn’t entirely surprised about the darker endings during the heist (because it’s been made very clear what happens to thieves in this place.) But it still broke my heart. I dislike seeing these characters get hurt/killed, whether it’s all of them or just… one of them.
What broke my heart the most, however, was the continuation end. Especially after the sweet scene with him after getting all of the affection points.
I was so torn with both his reasoning and Vesper's during their conversation. I can completely understand why Vesper is both upset and sickened and angry with Keir. But I also don't necessarily disagree with Keir to the same extent Vesper does? It was such a difficult situation. (I do, however, think that Keir's morality is very black and white with some stuff, even if I do get it.)
But after all of that, I almost screamed at the actual end. I want everyone in Mouse Hole to have a happy ending, and now I’m going to be worrying until the next chapter. I truly hope that there is a good ending in Keir’s route. I love him and his thief buddies. And I just want him and Vesper to be happy and alive ;-;
(Also good job on those very fast changing/hard to get parts when we had to choose answers. It made the experience very stressful, in a good way.)
Needless to say, I’m still utterly in love with OBSCURA. I am excited for Francesco's and Oleander’s routes, and I am dying to see how chapter 3 ends up. This visual novel has been an incredible experience! I love everything about it… and at some point I’m going to have to also get it on Steam so I can get the achievements, and leave a review over there as well.
Thank you all for your hard work!
(Sorry for the long, really gushy review)