I left a "critique" of Eternum 131 days, during the version 0.2 era. And before I jump into my next critique, might I just say the fact that Caribdis responds to virtually every comment left is almost unique in this space. That by itself, places this creator in the top tier of VN novelists and is worthy of recognition. The fact that they take the time to not only read, but respond is a level of interaction with the fan base that most fan bases can only dream of. Even if it's not necessarily true, it allows the fan base to feel like it has some say in the development of a story that they are emotionally invested in. And in this case, maybe somewhat financially invested in as well. That connection is worth gold I should think in both directions and I sincerely wish more creators would take the time to cultivate that kind of connection with their base.
Critiques/reviews being what they are, I don't wish to leave the impression that I think 0.3 was some how "bad". That couldn't be further from the truth. I binged it, I enjoyed it, and I can't wait for the next installment. As a creator, you'd have to accept that as a resounding success. But based on reading other comments, Caribdis is not in lack of high praise for their work and while I'm certain all praise is welcomed, all of my commentary for any of these VNs tends to lean towards Review and Critique. I acknowledge given the length of these posts, not many will find it useful. I do this primarily for myself and for the maybe one or two other people who do find it worthwhile. To that end, please feel free to stop reading right here if long posts are not for you.
So, what about 0.3. IMHO, from the point of opening Calypso's box, installment 0.3 begins to take on a different tone. I can't say the tonal shift was bad; as I previously stated, I can't wait for 0.4. But at the same time, I'm not yet prepared to say it was good either. Having only finished bingeing 0.3 last night, I'm still kind of processing it all. However, I'm prepared to say for the moment that the tonal shift is absolutely noticeable. Maybe by the end of this commentary, I'll have a clearer perspective.
Through 0.2, the story, for lack of better words here, sorta felt,,,,,, wholesome? The protagonist was a young innocent "Babyface" if you will. And it's not that the protagonist turns "Heel" in 0.3, but, well, lets just say he's not opposed to going a bit "alpha". Again, not a bad thing. As I previously confessed, I'm typically into darker more carnal VNs. But it's,,,,,, how to say this? If you have children, than you know that there's a transition period in every childes life where they cross a line from being purely innocent and angelic, into adulthood. And I don't know how it plays out for everyone else, but for me, that transition was a mixture of both pride and a profound sadness that comes from knowing they would never again, be children and altogether innocent. I love my children and they are my whole world. But they are adults now, and are now saddled with the curse of adulthood. The curse is that as an adult, none of us can ever be considered "innocent" again. And that's the tonal change that I perceive between 0.2 and 0.3.
Our protagonist, while still being every bit the "Good Guy", is no longer a child of innocence. When you've reached a point of maturity where you're capable of "face fucking" a woman primarily for your own gratification and sense of power, you have clearly crossed the line into adulthood. And to me, there is something profoundly sad about that. If the protagonist started out as an adult, nothing he does would much phase me. But our protagonist didn't start out as a fully fledged adult even if he was legally of adult age. He was still in many ways, a child. And we are witnessing this child transition. In a strange way, I sort of wish I could protect him from that transition, the same way I wished this for my own children. But as all children must, the protagonist is growing up, and he is not the same character in 0.3 that he was through 0.2
Hmmmm,,, so while I do indeed find this transition sad, as a bit of story telling, I have to come down on the side of this being good. The fact that yet again, the author has found a way to make an emotional impact is in my opinion a mark of a good story. While there's certainly adult content here, this for sure isn't your run of the mill VN. I don't know if this transition was intentional, or if it just organically flowed out of advancing novel. But intentional or not, it's a transition and tonally the story is shifting in (my opinion) a realistic fashion. So,,,,, now I think this was overall a real win for the story. There certainly is a depth to the story that goes beyond the surface level story we're reading. And it's a depth that I've only found in just a relative handful of other VNs. I guess on reflection, Caribdis continues killing it at this point.
I will say however, 0.3 did take some,,,,,,,,, erm,,,, turns? That at first blush seem altogether out of step with the story through 0.2. There were some points in 0.3 (as in multiple points) where I had to stop for a moment and ask myself the question; "What The Actual Fuck Is Going On Here?" It's like, how the hell did we end up HERE? Keep in mind, there is a real world mystery going on. Eternum is straight up murdering people. At the same time, all the characters are very clearly invested in, and perfectly happy too, keep enjoying the "game". Even when at times remembering that they're supposed to be digging into the sinister side of Eternum, their adventures always seem to turn into just that. Adventures. Adventures that they cherish and wish to have more of. This is a stark juxtaposition to the FACT that Eternum is literally murdering people. 0.2 felt,,,,, grounded to reality. While 0.3 is feeling like it's becoming very untethered to reality. Maybe this is being done intentionally and I'll get to that in a moment. But the transition is very noticeable, a bit jarring, and confusing.
Now at first blush, my kneejerk reaction was that this all amounted to horrible writing. I was genuinely concerned that this story that I was so invested in and looking forward too was going off the rails. But I've had some time now to absorb what's happening and I'm not so convinced anymore. The real question is; is what's happening in the story haphazard and "Shooting from the hip" because the author has lost the thread of their own story? Or, is this all very much intentional and there is a far deeper story being told than just the surface level story we're reading? I sincerely don't know. From my perspective as a consumer of VNs, one doesn't really expect a "Deep Story" out of these "smut" novels. So, when something begins looking like there's a lot more going on then what's expected, I cynically tend to lean into skepticism; like I must be reading way more into this story than the story deserves.
If I give the author the benefit of the doubt however, I could make the case that there's an underlying commentary going on concerning how such futuristic technology would impact society. The question becomes, even in the face of blatant murder, is this technology so invasive to the human mind that murder takes a back seat? "Yea, Eternum is straight up murdering people, but it's totally worth the price". And how about the very bizarre "Turns" the story takes. Those moments when you think the story is going completely off the rails? Is this meant to illustrate how the game effects or is warping peoples perception of reality?
Does Eternum have an even darker side than murder? Is Eternum actually altering peoples perception of reality and re-writing what "normal" means in the real world? Is Eternum altering the real world? While everyone is too distracted and busy seeking to be the king or queen of the Eternum Universe, is Eternum actually conquering the real world? Bending the real world towards the ends of one person or handful of persons? Are the bizarre rabbit holes 0.3 takes us down meant to illustrate this?
The fact of the matter is, I don't know and I can't really tell. If this is being done on purpose, it's hands down brilliant and something that I was completely not expecting out of a VN like this. Like, we're starting to enter Matrix 1 levels of story telling here (we won't talk about 2 and 3). Alternatively, it's also possible that the author has just lost the thread of their own story and there is no deeper subtext.
I brought up Game Of Thrones up in my last critique and I'm doing it again now. GoT circa season 2 had nothing but potential. An epic story was unfolding. GoT could have been, in competent hands, a record breaking success that future stories would aspire too for many years, or maybe even decades or more to come. But we all know what happened to GoT in the end. I'm sensing a deja vu feeling with Eternum. Potentially, this story could be epic in it's conclusion. There is nothing but potential right now (we're sort of in that season two era of GoT). Are we witnessing an incredible depth of storytelling unfolding right now? Or are we witnessing someone shooting from the hip and making "Stuff" up as they go along? Is this all just a "stream of consciousness" flowing out? Or is there a real plan at work here?
I want very much to give Caribdis the benefit of the doubt and assume that we're witnessing a really deep story unfolding that's already been planed out (more or less) to the end, and really, Caribdis is just fleshing out the bones at this point. Taken in the only context we currently have, 0.3 was,,,, weird,,,, in it's storytelling and sort of feels out of sync with the story through 0.2. But, maybe context is the key here. Maybe we simply don't have all the context needed yet to make proper sense of 0.3. I strongly want to believe that as the story advances, that context will start to come into focus and it will all come together. So, for now the game is very much Caribdis's to win or lose. The potential is all there and for the time being at least, I'm still very much onboard this ride.