Oh yeah! I know... that bug... ;;7;; I've fixed it now in the latest version lmao.
Originally everything worked fine actually, but after a few bug fixes to the menu screens the photos got messed up... and then while fixing the photos the text got messed up LMAO. That's the mistake of rushing to fix bugs... you start making new bugs. )-)o
Thank you for playing! While writing the characters I wanted to stay as true to myth as possible... of course things vary from culture to culture though LMAO
When I saw the thumbnail for this game I was like... wow... this looks scary... I must play it JSLfKGjSH
And yeah! Mom was REALLY scary! But honestly, I'm surprised that there wasn't more like... jump scares or something. I say surprised, but I'm pleasantly surprised.
I really wanted to check out this game since I was really interested on how it talks about the themes of homophobia with a controlling/helicopter mother. Like, Butterfly Soup but with a horror twist.
And it really delivered! I felt like the cinematography (if that's the right word) was amazing. The transition from the toilet to this abstract reality was really well done. And following that, the chase sequence with the janitor/staff(?) was excellent as well. It really gives you a rush.
Mom coming into your room through the door with the visible sound effect of the door opening was so GOOD... the whole appearance of Mom, with this extra long neck and freaky smile is really spooky. And it gives you a sense of dread like, "I'm scared of her showing up again." Which ties in really well with Everything.
I feel like the ending (the fight) was also well choreographed, the moving arms give Mom a very unnatural feeling. Very spooky.
A really great short game. I feel like it was able to accomplish all it needed within the short amount of time that it took. Good job!!
Um, so. I yap about a lot of stuff at the end of the VOD but I also want to make a more coherent comment here.
I really loved this game! The tiny town setting is great and the character designs are so cute! Also ur art... is tasty... I love the pixel art.
I hammered through and got all four endings, I believe (want to believe) that the one with Cain is the true end LMAO. I really like him and Rafael... (i bet that's a shocker /s) and I am totally normal about their relationship.
I'm sorry if this was not your original intention, I'm a shipper at heart and I really can't help myself OTZ
The reveal at the end about... everything. It caught me off guard but like... the moment it was said, all the pieces connected together and EVERYTHING MADE SENSE... it was really good!
I hope you have... maybe... plans for this universe/game in the future? I feel like one of the downsides was the ending feeling a little abrupt. There were still a few mysteries that I'm not 100% sure on. Namely the letter that's found in the back room of the post office? I also wasn't able to look at the data for Michel or Monday... I don't know if that's intentional or if it's because of an affection thing.
Either way, game is amazing. I will continue to think about these characters for a while SJLFKGJSHSH :DD
Hi. Me again. Wanted to throw a comment here as well :>
So other than all the stuff that I yapped on the game page, I also wanted to mention that the story itself was also really good!
I loved how naturally it felt going into V's route, and how all the other characters still stayed relevant. The overarching plot of "creating your serial killer persona" also stuck around until the end, which helped tie everything together nicely!
If I had to nitpick, there were a few moments I felt like things were a little strange/inconsistent? Mostly to do with lying to V about our real identity. Since there's the option to tell him the truth about who we are before Ronin starts pressuring us to. And I understand it's kinda played like a joke... but it feels a little awkward later when MC is thinking about how hard it's going to be to break the news to him. Cause... we low key already did that?
Another nitpick is that... I don't think this game should be in the BL category. Yes you can be a guy and date a guy, but you don't HAVE to. It's only optional BL. If I were to play a straight woman, I would go this whole game without any BL. And to me... that doesn't really qualify it as a BL game.
When I think of a BL game, I think of a game that focuses on the romance between two male characters, in which both male characters are individual fleshed out characters... When it's a dating sim, the player MC character is a bit more malleable since they're supposed to be the player. Their personality and responses are different depending on who is playing. It's like... how I wouldn't classify Stardew Valley as a BL game even though you can technically be a guy and date another guy. You get me?
Anyway, just wanted to throw my two cents there for a Well Rounded ReviewTM. The game is amazing, and it was super fun to play! The dialogue between the characters was the highlight for me, and I laughed a little too much at their stupid jokes LMAO.
(Also the most horrifying thing is realizing that I also Capitalize Things For Emphasis like Ronin does... and now I have to live with that fact... OTZ.)
I give most of my review/thoughts at the end, but wanted to generalize it and put it into a coherent and readable text form as well!
This game is VERY COOL, very baller-- I love the Blooming Panic like discord set up, with the voice/video calls and texting and going in between the two of them.
The MC creation is also so cool! So much work must have went into that since there were also expressions for the MC during video calls?? That's so crazy!
I love the general vaporwave/cyber theming of the UI. The discord HUD is also crazy detailed from the statuses to the roles?!?! and also REACTIONS ON MESSAGES?? Literally what,, it felt so natural.
I've only played through V's route, but outside of talking with V, I really enjoyed the banter between all the characters. The side couples were also very cute. And getting to his good/bad ending wasn't too hard either, which is very appreciated.
Anyway, bless you. I have an otome/amare addicted friend that I will definitely be recommending this game to. I know they will love it LMAO
HI... it's me :> I also wanna throw a comment here.
You've already hear me yap about this, but I still wanna write up a more coherent spoiler-free review.
Wow? These two?? Are they gonna kiss?? Cause... I hope they do--
But really though, I think that the way the mystery of the location and the inconsistencies panned out was really cool! The plot twist(?) at the end as well was pretty insane. I loved how all the dots connected together. NEURON ACTIVATION.
But yeah um. OTZ Totally did not brainrot over them afterwards. Thank you for this <3
Thank you!! :>>> I had to start recruiting more people once I realized what the scope was LMAO... it was a lot of work but I really didn't want to end up with only a DEMO. I'm glad you enjoyed the whole story!!
That bug sounds odd... I'll try looking into it!! Thank you for letting me know :>
So there are 4 events for both Sprout and Tangerine. If you get all 4 with either of them and choose the right response all 4 times then you'll reach their endings. (Given you aren't failing your assignment.)
I've updated the itch.io page with the correct responses in order to get their endings.
The order of the events actually doesn't matter, they'll start the conversation based on how many dates you've been on regardless of what you're doing.
Except for one of Sprout's, which is during the Gaming date.
Other than everything I said on the game page, I loved how you guys were able to keep the maze coherent while also making it maze-like enough for the player.
I do think that this type of game would have really benefited from a point-click mechanic and perhaps a moving from room to room mechanic? Giving more independence to the player to roam around and piece together the puzzles as they go.
But of course, Spooktober is a month!! And figuring out a point-click thing is hard, and you guys did really good without it anyway! :>
I guess my one other critique is that the "victory" ending where MC remembers everything was kinda hard for me to get. On one hand-- lowkey my fault, I forgot that we could drink the fountain blood. But I had also checked it off in my head with "oh it's probably just another death".
Like I said on the stream, slowly coming to the conclusion about the MC's lore is what was the most fun for me. Being able to reach the end of the game without figuring that out kinda felt like... huh? That's it? You know?
And most of the lore I had managed to piece together through the rooms, so when I did eventually get the victory ending, it felt pretty satisfying. But if I were to have drank the blood on my first run, only having gotten the chalice and not knowing anything about MC yet, I feel like the reveal and ending would come as a huge shock. I'm not sure if you guys had any checks in place to prevent that from happening. But if it could happen, someone who played through the game that way would have a completely different impression of it.
ANYWAY, overall it was a super enjoyable game!! I had a blast playing through it! Good job!! :>>>
WAA You guys did so well with this game! I know I already yapped in the stream but I'm here to yap again. (In a more coherent text format.)
I'm always so impressed with how you guys edit free assets for your games, it's hard to make stock images/assets not look like... they're just stock images/assets. But like, the backgrounds for example, editing everything to fit with the color scheme and themes is so good!
I also liked the swirly vine borders on the sides. It just gives everything that kind of "spoopy" vibe.
Man, and the story/mystery/lore with the MC was super fun to theorize and read about! Honestly, as I was going through the maze and piecing together the clues, I felt like a real detective LMAO. It was great!!
Each of the rooms was also so creative and interesting, and there were SO MANY!! That was so crazy. Each time I felt like I've seen everything, a new room/place would show up.
Hi. It's me again. I'm also adding a comment here. uwu
Other than what I wrote on the game page, I think that the characters themselves were super well done! Especially Adrien. I think that the four romance-able characters were also so cute! And their designs were all so good!
I guess the only critique I have, at least with how I played through the game, was that it was hard to get a grasp on ALL of the 4 love interests. Especially when you're say, focused on only one of them. I think the interactions you have with them are fun, like the day-to-day small talk. But it seemed to be more for building the story/world instead of about the characters themselves. (They do have their moments though!!)
And even though I have the ability to go through the game's slice of life sections again and get to know everyone, it feels a little awkward with the overarching story being the same? It feels like our 4 friends, even though they're with us at the end and helping us through everything... they don't have as much of a story impact as the MC, Adrien, or Major.
But I get that large casts of characters are super hard to handle, especially when you've got a big overarching plot and only a month to make it all happen. I still had a lot of fun talking with them!! And Nissa was really sweet :>
And I like how the MC, Konrad, and Adrien's struggles kinda fit in with the themes at the end too! It really ties them into the story and grounds them as characters.
Anyway! As always, great game!! AND STRENGTH BEST STAT!! WOOOO
Ugh, you guys are so good at this world building thing. Dude, we only had a month!! /lh
Maybe slight spoilers here in my yap session, but nothing too heavy.
But yeah, as always the UI slaps. I love the space hardware on the sides and the futuristic design of the boxes and what not. And I especially love the artstyle you guys went with-- that kind of 90s anime feeling is SO COOL and really makes it all stand out.
The 3D backgrounds with the subtle camera movement are also so sexy and keep the entire game feeling less "static" which is something VNs unfortunately end up falling into.
I also loved the different "scenes" or "screens"-- I'm not sure what you call it. But the difference between the normal chatting ADV mode and the lowkey NVL-like text battle mode, the livestreaming cutscenes and the cutscenes that were just a CG and text at the bottom-- they're so good. And it works so well at like... mentally shifting your mindset to what's going on. Like having the stuff on the sides of the UI disappear really lets you focus in on what's happening. Good stuff!!
Also I forgot to mention this on stream, but the stat checks were also so cool! I really like it when games use their mechanics to also do a bit of story writing. Like how it'll say a stat check of 40 WILL failed, but it's not like you could have gotten 40 WILL anyway. Or during some of the final scenes with the stat checks all failing at requirements you aren't able to reach-- it really shows how (quite literally) under-leveled/unprepared you are for the current situation.
ALSO... the story!! How the hell did you come up with this... it's so crazy how everything clicks into place at the end. And the hints from all the tiny pieces of world building as you play through. Honestly as I was reading some of the text... interludes(?) I was thinking to myself, "Oh god, I'm so confused... is this game too smart for me to understand... that would be embarrassing." But it's all put together so well at the end that even someone with a lack of INT who put all their points into STR could get it!
(And that one line right before the... GuyTM shows up,, holy shit.)
ANYWAY, sorry for literally writing an essay on your page. Thank you for the super cool game as usual!! yippEE
Other than what I've said before about everything, I think the ending still falls a little flat-- the lack of movement/camera work towards the end where it's just all the sprites on the screen staring back at you felt a lot more plain compared to the start of the game. And it was a bit strange considering how the narration of what was happening was very action packed. Most likely a "ran out of time" issue, I'm guessing? Though sometimes with these jam-crunches, once you plan out the story, you don't have to work linearly through it. (Perhaps working on the ending first?)
But! I love how everything wrapped up and ended on a happy-ish note. I also liked the tease for a possible?? Sequel?? Or something?? It really gets the gears turning.
Oh and the jumpscares were so unexpected. Wow, how dare you!! /lh
Hi, I'm also commenting here, but woah! This was such a fun game :DD
You've probably heard my yap already, but I'll write it more coherently here :wheeze:
I love the UI design, especially how the screen bends a bit like an old TV. And the stream selection page was so cool too!
Also, the use of camera movements, transforms, etc. to counter the lack of assets is very effective! I especially love the scene with the CEO of the other company and the blur on the sprite in the back! (Sorry I'm trying to be as non-spoiler-y as possible LMAO)
The story and the mystery with the doxxing was also fun to read and make theories for as I played. Always a sign of a good story when it has you cooking up conspiracies HAHA
Hello! Here to add on that yes, the saves are deleted after you reach the "correct" ending for any case. This is so that you're forced to start again from the beginning (to trigger another case) and lowkey manually perpetuate a time loop.
You SHOULD be able to skip through anything you have seen before. I'm not sure why it would prevent you from doing that.
But in the off-chance that you would like to try to get the true end/different case, you can toggle the skip "Unseen Text" in the preferences to True.
I have written stuff in to stop skipping when you've reached certain sections. (Like the end of the Prologue for example.) So even with skipping "Unseen Text" you should still be able to get back to the new content. As long as you don't have skip "After Choices" turned on, it should give you breaks to stop skipping.
Thank you for playing the game though! Other than the saves/skips I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for playing!! I'm glad you had fun with the investigation and the visuals were Visualizing LMAO
Also yes, I too like Tiger x Dragon. I would have brought in more not-subtle stuff, but I would be mixing too many things with the story if I did HLSFKJGLSFH.
Thank you so much!! :>> For this comment as well as on twitter and the game jam page ;;7;;
Honestly, you're right, IDK how I was gonna juggle 13 characters LMAO... while I was coding the positions, camera, and stuff during the discussion I could feel the massive weight of work looming above me. I'm just glad that by some miracle I made it.
But yeah, thank you for your kind words! This really was too big of a game for a game jam and I kind of regret not trying to make a smaller game. But seeing people enjoy it makes everything pretty worth it ;;7;;
Thank you!! AA I'm so happy you had fun with it! And I'm so happy you enjoyed the story (and the twists) :>>>
For the item highlighting, I was honestly going to do that originally but went with the ? cursor for time. I'm working on an update to the game right now (typos and minor bug fixes) so, hopefully I can squeeze in a quality of life improvement with the investigation too :>
The move screen stuff is so stupid LMAO,, I showed my friends and they were like "You're gonna make your game so unserious" and I'm like: "yeah but it's my game, my jokes" HLSKFGJ
For the evidence scrolling, you should also be able to click and drag to "scroll" so it should be fine even without a mouse!!
