Hey guys, finally got around to checking out the new build, and I just want to say it was phenomenal once more!
I didn't stop in after v0.2.5 so let me start there: I love the changes that came up in the first 2 episodes of content! The improved insight into the lounge decision just feels so much better now, and the whole charms system not only expands the worldbuilding a bit in a positive way (including adding the hook of the old passports), but turned Luke into a _much_ more believable and interesting character to me. I think the extra time tuning those two episodes coupled with the new UI is 100% worth it, and makes the game stronger for it.
As for v0.3 here, I am just blown away at how good it all was. I feel like I barely know which part to start talking about first, as there was so much to love about this build, but I think I'll start with the thing that left the largest impression on me: how hard I was laughing at the amazingly written and timed first breakfast scene, of Asterion's struggle in three acts. Not only was the prose delightful, the timing of the whole thing was utterly magnificent. In a playthrough where Kota is your lounge manager, you get the nice but serious food exploration contrasted to the humorous played straight ridiculousness of Luke's greasy abominations. Ismael provides some comedic relief (though I doubt anyone on their first playthrough picked the most hilarious "Anime is an abomination" response), but really, your first real tension breaking comedy is this magnificent and utterly relatable trainwreck of Asterion being a bull in the china shop, and things escalating from every attempt he makes to manage it and fix things. That moo is the single most adorable, hilarious, heartbreaking, and relatable thing, and it caps the amazing scene, which then gets even better by transitioning into a heartwarming part of helping clean and then hold his hand. To have been building the tension through the whole episode (and game, I'd say, since I decided to play from start for v0.3) in a reasonable way that it didn't feel bursting, yet feels so good after having it released an a perfectly timed comedic scene is a sign of how amazingly good the writing and pacing is. Kudos to you two for this scene alone, MinoH team.
Since I'm talking scenes, I also want to complement on my other favorite scene, Luke joining Asterion to look out at the stars. As I'm sure was intended, this scene turned Luke around from being a character I wasn't sold on (which, again, was better after v0.2.5), to one I now fully enjoy, because we get to see past the lecherous front he puts up once Asterion starts to push past that shell. This scene is amazing not just for the art and what it shows us of Luke, but of Asterion - He's the Keeper of a hotel for the lost, and his expertise of working with lost souls shines through once he is out of his own head (being away from the pressure of us being the Master, coupled with playing his music). Asterion plays Luke like a fiddle once he starts opening up, and seeing how much Luke needs to be somewhere he can be remembered to start his healing, he pounces to get him to commit to the Hotel so it can begin. The counterpart scene of Asterion talking to Kota is nice and shows some of this too, but because Asterion can take a more active role in helping Luke, it comes across wonderfully here, and makes me real proud of who our moo is as a person.
Switching gears from the powerful scenes I loved, let's talk that powerful scene I hated (but kind of in a good way) - Asterion in his room if you send him out into the valley twice (specifically, this is sending him via explorations, I still haven't decided if I want to see the content of sending him out when Argos first asks for him, frankly). The breakdown he has here, beating himself up and ramming into the walls is... god it's too well written. It is exactly the breakdown and snapping I expect out of sending him out, of adding on to the mental trauma on the fragilest of people, twisting the recovery from his second death into even deeper torture, trying to turn him against the hotel. It's fucking dark and I hated it.
In a way, I can agree with what you two have been saying, that seeing this darkness reinforces doing the right thing to Asterion, and helps make the player feel better about their natural inclination to treat Asterion well and help him. But I don't need to stare into that darkness any deeper, personally, and I think I'll have to get any lore insights from those legitimately evil routes from these threads instead... That's a complement to how well written it is, frankly, but a sign that the content is not for me.
Those are the three standout things I wanted to cover, otherwise I just want to say that everything not mentioned was still excellent - love the new songs, love the Killigan's Treasure style background art with figures including background Kota and Luke, love the mysteries that keep unfolding in a great pace that answers some questions while planting others, love the backgrounds feeling meaningful in a natural way (and not trying to shoehorn in a special dialogue option for each background when one pops up, but instead having them occur naturally), love so much about this game and especially love the moo, best boy of the century over here.
Thanks for all the hard work you guys put into the game.