Just played through a really large part of the game on Steam before realizing I had to reset when I realized I needed zero deaths to see my pookie lawrence /lh im totally fine guys i say sobbing on the floor. This is REALLY good so far, and I wanted to post about it on the page I found it on :) While it's kinda hard at first to realize the different steps to take for different results and endings, some tutorials have led me to piecing together some new options and endings on my own :) Normally I get frustrated when I need to look up a tutorial because I like trying to go through the process of finding it out without outside help, but honestly it was still enjoyable because I was moreso pushed into the right direction than just taking an easy way through it :)
The routes are all so unique, I am honestly so giddy to complete all of them :) Derek's definitely the most uncomfortable; with having people like you and figuring out quickly who you can and can't trust, along with some of the most genuinely interesting characters in the entire game (Tom, Jacqueline, and Machete my beloveds oh i hold them so very near and dear to me id sacrifice Derek for them in a HEARTBEAT) and a nod to the previous Legacies that shows a certain man paying eternally for his curiosity in humans at their most desperate, this was the first route and probably the one I tried the hardest on, and god was it worth it. During the entire route I felt uncomfortable and desperate, I felt genuine dread whenever Derek or any of the other masks (excluding my unproblematic king Machete. probably unproblematic idk) showed up because I knew there was no way to escape them.
Celia my beloved. I was iffy about her route at first because I was like "damn, only one room?" BUT OH BOY WAS I WRONG, her route and her as a character was so interesting to me, she's probably my favorite person to develop a trauma bond with. She isn't just a person with bad morals, she's lonely and venerable and, when you choose the right options, caring and borderline reliant on you not only for company but for her happiness. When I got her ending telling me I'm all she has and how almost desperate she sounded to keep me from dying I had to pause and put my head in my hands because oh my poor wife. Oh my wife. She actually had me sympathizing with her and wanted to choose the kind options because I knew she'd actually appreciate it and reciprocate it, unlike Derek or Mason where it would have been abused, she felt the most human, which is a really important thing for me as a player. She's a bad person, but a good woman to fall in love with. Whenever I want a route I can enjoy and play for fun instead of terror I go for hers :)
MASON. OH HIS WAS THE SCARIEST LMAO, Derek's was uncomfortable, it was so scary all I could feel was discomfort, while Mason's I was so scared all I could feel was dread. Aside from making me have like 2 hours of dread at the fact I had to delete all my progress so I could see my pookie bear in his route, something about his route feels the most realistic, which made it the most terrifying to me. Not only is he a Canadian who isn't very nice, this man feels reasonably terrifying. He doesn't flaunt his wealth, he doesn't have his own trauma-bonded ending, he tries to give me a chance with supplies because he wants to watch me fail and not know how to survive, and that is terrifying to me. Plus, what you did with Lawrence is probably my favorite nod to the old Legacies. Love demon Strade, but forever undead Lawrence? I'm licking that plate clean because you cooked with that. I was constantly struggling to survive, and after awhile I realized how scary it was because Mason being the most realistic, I really wouldn't know how to survive him. With Derek I can always find the friends and survive my little pony friendship is magic style, Celia I can just fall in love with, but Mason is the most real to me, and that made him the most terrifying :)
FOX. OH FOX MY BELOVED OLD MAN. I can't say too much without spoilers but GOD I love that man, I can fix him (i say while probably accidentally making him so much worse in the process). The entire time I was heart eyes until I got really scared and actually had to stop playing to take a mental break because what do you mean my pookie became this? My twink?? What do you mean he isn't lame and he's actually so scary now and I'm not fixing him??? By the time I got to his route, I began to actually have a good feel for the game and start trying to think about what I need to do to survive instead of just trying to make good choices. What a route to do it on AND FIGURE IT OUT ON LOL HHH....his route broke my heart for what he became but also quickly fall in love with him all over again. The DEFINITION of unconditional love because had he been anyone else I'd be too scared to pay attention to his route lol.
I honestly have so few complaints about the game. I would have liked it if there was a way to get some help with getting new endings/making new choices, it's honestly so easy to forget what you have and haven't done that at times I would get a bit confused at what to do next. Also, for Mason's route, I would get ideas like "OH I can do this to survive" and the option wouldn't be available </3 Using the blade from the knife and heating it with the fire to close the wound he gave me, breaking into his cabin and taking some pelt to keep warm, looking through cupboards for food, setting a trap somewhere else outside for Mason (or food!) to stumble into, etc! Some ideas I felt so smart for thinking of but weren't options </3 I know you have more games in mind for the future, and honestly I think it'd be super fun to really push the idea for survival like that if possible :) I wanna feel so smart for the maybe 3 survival tactics I know actually know of because it def isn't marking maps or knowing which way North is. Maybe even a secret way to interact with things instead of just having "Search Area" as an option, kind of making us look around and finding things on our own on a time limit would be terrifying but fun in concept. You have a really amazing way of pushing survival in a lot of these routes and making us WORK for it, I'd just like some more chances for it to come up in future games if possible <3
So sorry for the long rant its 2 am and this is a special interest i do fear. Thank you for making a good game :) Super excited to support your future works <3