I loved it! The art and writing were a treat! It was a smart move to have a cute visual style as it not only solidified the characterization and made the characters themselves more animated and expressive, but it also makes exploring mature or grisly themes approachable by retaining a light tone.
The slightest complaint I have is that the "memory" theme felt a touch weak in what was presented thus far, but it is made clear in-game that this element would be explored in earnest in the ensuing part, when this cast of misfits start playing Alexis's game- who among them is lying? We shall have to wait and see!
An outstanding introduction to what will hopefully be a cracker of a VN! One to watch for sure!
Viewing post in The Murder at Montague Manor jam comments
Thank you so much for the comment — glad you enjoyed it!
I agree that the theme is a bit weak, unfortunately. We originally had the idea to do a murder mystery VN where “memory” was used as a mechanic — i.e. the player would have to correctly remember details of the investigation in order to answer multiple choice questions to proceed to the next stage. In implementing that idea, it ended up not really communicating the theme very well. Ultimately we decided it was better to stick with our idea and produce something we were excited about and would be proud of, even if the theme was a little loose! We still learned a lot and had a blast working on this... but I agree that the theme was something we didn’t stick to very well in this jam in the end. Oh well, maybe next time! :)
Thanks again for playing and we hope to have the full game up soon!
- Emma