Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
(+2)

I'm really excited to see something like this! I'm a celibate queer Christian, and this is the first time I've seen a story that's anything like mine represented in a game. Everything from the flowery idealized atmosphere to the fixation on not having "lustful desires" as a reaction to being treated like a predator feels like an echo of parts of me that I haven't seen reflected in media before. I think this is also the first queer narrative I've seen that presents religiously-motivated celibacy as a real option on equal footing with the alternative. The narrative takes Romaine's internal conflict seriously no matter what choices she makes, and doesn't shame her for any of them. That's something I really appreciate.

The way you use the term "love" in this story really caught my eye. The impression I get is that Romaine's community defines love in a way that's very marriage-centric but doesn't actually leave room for a strong theological understanding of why marriage should be thought of as exclusively heterosexual. It's a worldview I've seen in some real-world religious spaces, and it feels very "You can't have it. No, we won't tell you what 'it' is or why you can't have it. It should be obvious." I feel like the modern concept of love is very, very different from how many religious worldviews traditionally think about love and sexuality, but most straight religious people never have to confront that conflict because the standard life trajectory of "get married, have kids, live happily ever after" is superficially compatible with both worldviews. It's very interesting to see a character actually wrestling with how her community thinks about love and having to decide what to do with the fact that the values she's been taught don't align with one another.

Anyway, good visual novel. It's very bittersweet, but still beautiful, much like the journey it represents. Best of luck on your own journey!

(+1)

Hey! Thank you so much for this detailed feedback and for sharing your experience! I'm ENTHUSED you found it relatable, because I did notice media would tackle it in general as "queer religious but not so religious kid wants to be queer but the environment doesn't let them" which is a valid experience that we should shed light on, but at the same time, it neglects the one experience I wanted to tackle, without indeed shaming Romaine, no matter what choice she makes because... it's just hard dfvgfdfg

And interesting thoughts on the concept of love! It's an interesting perspective to oppose love in the common sense to a possible more theological meaning!

Thanks again for all these kinds words, and for sharing your thoughts. Best of luck on your journey too!