When your beliefs tell you that you shouldn't exist - what is there to believe?
I really adored this reflection on religion and homosexuality. While I'm admittedly not overly familiar with this topic, in the past I've found such discussions steeped in the "technicalities" - whether homosexuality is actually forbidden, why it might be permitted, the verses and phrases and texts that regulate the permissibility of such acts. So what I found beautiful about this game in particular is how it mostly ignores this, instead opting to explore the emotions and inner conflict of someone struggling between the desire to love and the desire to be loyal to their religion.
The prose is gorgeous - simple, but poetic. The feelings conveyed are beautiful in their rawness and sincerity - from Romaine's longing for Juliet, to her confusion and sadness over the fact that she will never be able to act on these feelings. Of course, I adore the naming - Romaine (Romeo) and Juliet - very fitting for a story about "forbidden love" (especially considering that this is a love that is socially forbidden, even though not in the typical Romeo and Juliet sense). The BGM is perfectly chosen - slow and pensive, wavering between sweet and melancholic. The slowness almost evokes a feeling of being lost in time, like how time seems to be moving in slow motion during this moment between Romaine and Juliet.
The visuals are absolutely gorgeous - I love the contrast between the minimalistic GUI and text and the lush, extravagant, fantastical coloring used for Juliet. It really draws your eyes to her as she is the most striking thing on screen - mimicking how Romaine is also entranced by Juliet. The entire aesthetic evokes a very dreamlike feel. The saturated pink (too saturated to be natural) really evokes a truly "rose-colored" reality - one that is both fairytale-like and also a bit uncanny/unnatural - as if this is a world in which only Juliet and Romaine exist. The slightly blurred background and the rough pencil strokes used for Juliet contribute to this surreal/dreamy vibe, and the blues and greens of Juliet's coloring contrast very well with the saturated pink of the background. The sparkles and the green leaves floating across the screen offer a lot of contrast to the pink background and a lot of depth to the scene. (I also really like the slight green tinge to the background of the UI - SPECIFICALLY if you enter it from the gameplay. It offers a great visual contrast with the pink text but also a slightly eerie vibe - almost reminiscent of death).
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What I appreciate most about the aesthetic is how much it contrasts with the actual writing. The aesthetic is extremely fairytale-like, and yet the story itself is anything but a fairytale - it has no clean resolution, nor a happy ending. It is romantic to the extreme, and yet there is also an underlying, pervasive sense of melancholy.
Romaine has been utterly in love with her friend for years, and Juliet actually reciprocates her feelings, despite being engaged to a man. It's a dream come true. Even when they come out, they are accepted by their community - everything seems like it should be happily ever after. And yet, each ending has a bittersweet taste. Because no matter how accepting their families are, no matter how much they love each other, no matter how well things go for them - there is an underlying sense that their god, their religion does not accept them. That they are sinning, simply by existing. And while I'm not personally familiar with this conflict (being neither religious nor having to deal with homophobia in my daily life), I was struck by this sense of discomfort - this feeling that, no matter what, their existence is wrong. The feeling of confusion that Romaine experiences reminded me a lot of other games about religious trauma that I have played. That you want to be good and obey your god, but you don't understand his orders; you want an answer from him, an explanation WHY these teachings are written, but you receive none. And in the end you're forced to either disobey and sin, or blindly follow - not exactly knowing if it's the right thing to do, or why this is a command you must follow in the first place.
The three endings are very fitting - in the first, Juliet and Romaine simply accept their love and try to find happiness with themselves, even if they are unsure if their god actually accepts them. In the second, they acknowledge that their love is wrong, but they try to do good in order to make up for it, resolving to be together, even in sin. And in the last, Romaine refuses Juliet, unable to live contrary to her god's teachings. Even then, she is uncertain of her choice, and she wonders if she would have been happier with Juliet. She concludes that she will never be happily married to anyone, but resolves to try her best to be happy despite that - ultimately putting her happiness in the hands of her god. All three are explored with nuance, and none are presented as a perfect answer. Yet, none of them are presented as wrong, either. There is no judgment, no clear answer - because there isn't one. As is the case in reality, this is a problem with no solution - you simply have to try your best to live with whatever choice you make, and try to be happy in spite of it. It's a simultaneously bittersweet and surprisingly optimistic/empowering resolution. I also love the addition that, no matter what, Juliet breaks off her marriage and decides to live true to herself, even if Romaine chooses to stay in the closet. It's a ray of light, even in the "darkest ending" - reassurance that you can be true to yourself and there will be people who accept you.
Overall, it's a beautiful game. It would be difficult to call any of the endings "happy" - but in the end, I think it would be a disservice to do so. Presenting an entirely happy ending would be fantasy, one that does not reflect the reality of people struggling with their beliefs and their sexuality. In the end, if you are told that you shouldn't exist - all you can do is exist, and try your best to be happy as best you can. Fantastic job to the dev (and thanks for giving me the privilege of editing and betaing the project!)