itch.io

Just found this again after a few years, and I fell in love with it all over again. Oculum is my favourite character. I hope you're well! Good luck with development!

I played the demo and have complicated feelings about it.

In many ways it's awesome: The visuals are a treat, the writing is fun and engaging, the world is interesting and has lots of potential, all characters are likeable (except the murderer of course), and the game really captures that Ace Attorney feeling. The gameplay features work very smoothly, though some mechanics could still use a little tweaking (for example the "examine location" part: I'm one of those players who don't want to miss anything, so I clicked on every single door in the upper hallway, which was a bit tedious since they all had the same text. It was the same on the lower floor with the lamps and candles. )

The one part where the demo felt a bit lacking was the plot. Tyrion's special ability could become a very interesting mechanic in the full game and will probably be an important piece of the overall plot, but it also breaks the very first Rule of Magic the game introduces. Now I'm going to take all magical rules with a grain of salt, which limits my enjoyment of the game because it feels like it's more about guessing instead of deducting. In my opinion that's a pretty big issue for a mystery game.

The ending also felt a bit rushed, not only the conclusion of the case but also the subsequent conversations with the client and the mentor. They weren't bad by any means, but the last few scenes just don't develop as well as the rest of the demo did. 

(And about the case: Maybe I missed something there at the end, but if the victim was holding the bottle, the autopsy report doesn't make much sense without some additional explanation, right?)

The case also felt a bit too easy, even for a tutorial, but maybe I've just been playing too many Ace Attorney games.

All in all I have no doubt that this will be a great game once it's finished, but right now it still falls a little short of that.

That's awesome to hear! I'll definitely check that out. Really love the superhero costumes you're posting on Twitter, by the way!

So, uh, somehow I just stumbled on this demo even though it has been around for more than a year? I thought I was an avid VN reader, but I guess not?

It took me a few scenes to get used to the art, but the style works pretty well for the game. 

What really impressed me was the sheer variety each playthrough can have: The NPCs remember everything you say or do and aren't shy about pointing out contractictions. It seemed to me like every single line in the game could change at least slightly depending on what you do. 

You can theoretically become friends with anyone, just not everyone at the same time. But it was really rewarding to replay the demo and pick someone else for that one, very crucial decision: The demo isn't really long enough to get to know the NPCs very well, but each one of them has some endearing (and some annoying) traits. 

(I haven't tried yet if I can get everyone to hate me in a single playthrough, but it does look like that might be an option.)

Also, letting me choose not just my own name, but everyone else's as well (even against their wishes) is a really nice touch.  (I am usually a very supportive guy, but Nightmare is an awesome superhero name, so deal with it, Two.)

I would have liked to see more of the Captain since I assume he will be the last RO. He only has one line (or rather, one or two words) and is mentioned a couple of times.

I really hope this game will be completed.

Act II is everything I hoped and feared it would be.

It´s painful in all the best and worst ways. There were a couple of parts where I felt like I needed to stop reading for a while and process everything, but couldn´t because the game immediately threw me into the next life-threatening situation and I just had to find out what happened next. 

I was never prepared. For anything. Not even for the introduction of the final main character. This series doesn´t just have an unusual setting for an otome game, its whole way of unfolding its story is unconventional. 

Now that the cast is "complete" I certainly do have my favourites, but there isn´t a single character I don´t care about, which made for an especially intense read.

The recurring characters from Act I change with more exposure to the war, including Elfriede herself. Most of them not for the better. Which was to be expected, but it also made me wonder: Where will these people end up physically and emotionally once the war is over? If they even survive? Am I just setting myself and Elfriede  up for (even more) heartbreak if I pick this route?

I want to say I love this game. The plot is great, the writing is fitting, the characters are all extremely likable, and the MC has a lot of personality for an otome game. I'm sure it will be great once it's complete. 

That said, Act I is just an introduction to the world and (some, not all) ROs. The story is just barely getting started by the end of Act I. When it ended it left me feeling frustrated, for a number of reasons. (THAT ending, aargh.)

If the other Acts hold up as well, this could easily become the best otome game ever for people  like me who like their dating sims on the angsty side. 

I definitely want to see how Elfriede's story continues.

Wow, I got way more invested in this than I expected. The drawing style nearly made me skip this, but once I got into the story I noticed it really fits the tone.

...Just please tell me the full version will have a different ending for Sigurd's route...

Thank you! I'm really happy to hear this still lives.

Take all the time you need. I'll be here waiting.

Um, hi.

Just wanted to ask how the game's getting along. I've been spending these past few months checking for updates every other day both here and over at lemmasoft. Could you perhaps give a short progress update? I don't want to pressure you or anything, but not knowing whether the game is still being worked on is starting to get to me.