itch.io

Check out the Sicae playlist on Spotify or ask in Discord -> Music Channel.

Folks, the one and only Sicae spotify playlist has been updated to Ep6. Some songs are not available on Spotify, but available on Epidemic Sound and/or Youtube Music instead. If you struggle to find a song, ask in Discord -> Music Channel.

Link to the spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7fHrTOKoGMldxckoAyVpxh?si=0cb4a94c932e4762

His translator is busy with real life stuff

Why don't you play it yourself instead of fishing out for spoliers?

This feedback contains spoliers. Please don't read it if you haven't read this kinetic novel.

Dear Developers:

Although some scenes in this kinetic novel made me feel quite uncomfortable—I'm not particularly into the polygon monster designs—the plot itself caught my attention. While the game is still relatively short, I can already see the potential for a much deeper narrative to unfold.

I don’t typically identify with fans of "monster stuff," and I understand that those lewd scenes are part of the game’s setting and tone. However, what stood out to me was the stark contrast between the mindless, sex-driven monsters and the emotional bond between the two protagonists, Ava and Sarah. This dynamic reminds me of how some great TV shows and games, like The Last of Us, explore the complex sides of humanity amidst an apocalyptic crisis. Though I’m not comparing Contagion Crisis directly to The Last of Us, it taps into a similar narrative vein—how survival isn't just physical but emotional and psychological.



(SPOILER ALERT!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)
(SPOILER ALERT!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)
(SPOILER ALERT!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)



What is REALLY  intriguing is Ava's infection, and how she's going to fight it.

This is a fascinating exploration of how love, familial bonds, and sheer willpower can help someone overcome corruption. This is such a rare theme in adult visual novels, where the focus is often more on the erotic aspects. In Contagion Crisis, I see a lot of potential for the story to dive deeper into these themes and expand on the psychological battles that mirror our own struggles in real life.

I believe this kinetic novel could truly stand out if it continues to push the boundaries of storytelling, going beyond its adult themes to explore the nuanced sides of human nature in the face of a collapsing world. It's rare to find such a balance between survival horror and emotional depth in the AVN genre. I enjoyed adventure with girls in Eternum, learned more about love in My Bully Is My Lover, but this... this could be so much more. And I’m looking forward to seeing where the narrative heads next.

There are some other feedback I'd like to offer, but hey, it's your baby game and up to you if you'd like to take my opinion into consideration.

1) Again, I understand that this erotic novel could satisfy people who are fans of monsters, but I really wish that the monster scenes could be optional (like if there's a toggle to make these scenes optional). This could make this novel more appealing to the general audiences (the larger market, in my biased opinion) that are less interested in the monster lewd-scenes.

2) Since it's a kinetic novel, I understand that the choices are limited, but adding more moments of character-driven decisions could give the player more control and make the experience feel more personalized. That's what most AVNs do.

3) Positive note: renders and diaglogues are killing it. Absolutely amazing!

4) Looking forward to more world buildings and possible new non-zombie characters unfold in the future! 

（EDIT: Seeing two monsters that are having sex get killed by Ava and Sara was really great dark humor haha)

Good luck!

Pigrider

He created the Founder and thus he won't be.

Dalia's on the 0.8 update's poster cover. See dev's patreon post and/or discord.

You have a very narrow definition of what a "game" is, which hinders your ability to try to appreciate this "game". While I understand your PoV, I feel sorry for you.

Hi all, this is Pigrider. For those who enjoyed the music in this amazing game with huge potential,I'd like you to know that a Spotify Playlist (made by me) is available. 20+ saves so far. It is also pinned in the Discord channel, thanks to the moderators' courtesy. There are no rickrolls, scams, or weird content in this link.I don't ask anything for return, but if you'd like to visit this playlist, welcome!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/11NEmeudMyvLmMjTwHm9bu?si=a661311d764f4542

And I just wanna say thank you for this amazing game KS! Now I am in love with Japanese city pop and rap songs too. Please take good care of yourself and take your time for the next update!

Dude the game is free.
But people could support him on Patreon :)

Dear Dev, this game, albeit short at the moment, is cute and superb. 
    1) Character development:
        Goodness... I love Irena's character was developed... totally not expected how she turned out. In addition, MC is a fucking menacing badass! Reminds me again don't judge a book by its cover... Every character in this game has unique personalities and stories. I also appreciate there are other male characters who are not just some dumbass lusting for the girls, but rational people who have goals.
        One minor criticism was I was a little bit suprised when one of the LIs confessed to the MC at THAT moment. I understood she needed love and understanding, but I wasn't sure if romantic option was the best for her. That sudden twist in emotions was a bit abrupt. I am glad that we got options to choose whether to pursue feelings with her or not. She's just too adorable and I really wanna just see her as family. 

    2) Story:
        It's not perfect, some dialogues are a little bit dragging. But the main story is very intriguing and I'd love to see what happens on Episode 5!

    3) CG and animations:
        There was some lagging during the H-scenes (even the music for those scenes were lagging for a moment), which is definifely a minus. But nonetheless satisfactory.

    4) Music choice:
        They subtly fit the scenes. Just a side note, I recognized that there are quite a lot of Ehrling's soundtrack appearances in the game. Maybe it will help the game more immersive, if we were to use soundtracks from more artists.

Again, wonderful work!!! Looking forward to seeing the next update!

Dear Dev,
        I finished the game and ... I'd like to be honest and I meant no offense. I wrote this feedback that meant to be helpful.

Summary:
        This game has superb visual effects, has a lot of potential, but currently leaves me with a lot of confusion. 

Positive Feedback:
        I love how much intricate work you put into world building (like the news, advanced technologies of which I won't mention to avoid spoilers), renders and character models, animations. It definitely felt immersive at first. Everything is visually clean and pleasant.

Constructive Criticism:
        What confused me was the story and the background music choice.
        The title of this game is called "Between Humanity", but the major plot is centered on the MC's spiritual experience so far (no spoilers for those who didn't play). My question is: how does that relate to the title/theme of this game? So far in the two chapters we have, the most stuff I observed was MC's ordinary daily life and ...... his lewd scenes. To put it it frankly, I didn't understand what the main plot was, nor I saw huge story progress was made at the end of Chapter 2. I guess I am on the spectrum of people thinking "the game is a bit low paced", but with a different reason.

        Some may argue that, this is a AVN, the priority shouldn't be just stories, so it is perfectly fine to focus on the lewd scenes. But the popular AVNs like Eternum, MBML, etc..., present H-scenes as a natural outcome of the main story's progression, not based on...... random and less attractive "daily" events. But I also need to acknoledge that different people have different preferences. I'm just being honest about my subjective opinion.

        In addition, the immersive choice of piano-based background music makes the game experience less enjoyable. I enjoy listening to piano, but the scenes at home where MC interacts with other girls have similar melodies, rhythms, and... emotional implications. Some stories just... don't feel right vibe when overflown with these piano instrumentals. For those who want to argue the toss, I am not saying I dislike pianos. Quite the opposite, I am suggesting diversify the music choice to make the story more immersive. 

        I hope this is helpful and I wish you all the best! But whether or not you take my suggestion is up to you. It is your baby game after all, and you should be the one making development decisions for this game. If I did offend you with my opinions, don't give a damn about the stranger me haha. I'm just probably blabbing and am too demanding :)


Yours sincerely,
Pigrider
 

Technically there will be Chapter 2 Episode 1 instead.

Last Leah's scene is probably a hint to Niichan's planned third game, I am not sure though.

There is another ending if you follow the main plot instead of Emma.

This game is structured as the following:
A. Prologue, which contains Episode 1 - 7, and a choice that decides whether you'd like to continue the main story or go into Emma's solo endings (as of Sept 2024)

B. Chapter 1, which follows to Prologue's Episode 7. Chapter 1 contains 4 episodes. 
Thus, as of Sept 2024, Chapter 1 EP4 is the latest update.

Chapter 2 is planned but dev is working on his other game, Sicae, which basically the prequel to the MBML universe timeline.

Hi Dev, fabulous game and excellent work! I think this game contains peak HS1 model quality! It has the exact well-crafted amount of humors, emotions, stories and CGs. Lovin' this! I played all the way from prologue to Chapter 1 and man.. huge rollercoster of emotions I had throughout. Wonderful game. Lastly, I totally enjoy the mid-western vibe music and am considering making a Spotify playlist for this. I have made many playlists for Eternum, MBML, Ripples and so on. Want to add your beautiful work to our collection too.

The only downside is that the game could add a little bit more background music at some places, especially for the CG scenes. But hey, dear Dev, this is your baby game and you got to decide what's best for your game.

May I ask when this game will finish? Or more precisely, what is your planned "end version/final version" for Drop Out Saga? I will reach out on Patreon or Discord if I don't receive responses here :).

ahora no

I’m an old fan of Cari and I’ve received many requests about the names of OSTs used in OIALT, so I’d like to post it here.

For those who have trouble finding the OSTs for this fabulous game, I have made a COMPLETE Spotify playlist, where the sequence of the songs are tailored to the story chronologically. Feel free to save the playlist, or ask me on Discord! No BS, rickroll, or anything stupid. I’m just a Samaritan like Stabby Mike stopping by (THIS IS NOT A SPOILER)!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3FNd2UIB4ifJd3cJpa4Gp7?si=jxY1DKGKQlmJh-qkKCVsxQ&pi=a-6a_wUGAdS9uO

I have also made two playlists for Eternum (by Cari as well!) and thorough playlists for other games such as My Bully Is My Lover (by Cari’s dear friend Niichan), Sicae (Niichan’s work) and New Horizon (by KawaiiSukebe, KS). These games in my opinion have well-written stories along with excellent music tastes. Feel free to check these playlists out on Spotify if you enjoy these games!

Pigrider Regards ;)

This message was posted in Discord before, thanks to the generosity of Niichan's admin. I will post it again for folks who have trouble finding OSTs for this beautiful game.

Main Text:
Hi guys, I am Pigrider Starwatcher, a fan of Niichan's games. I especially appreciate the music choice and taste Niichan had for his games, MBML and Sicae (LCC). Both games are quite artistic! However, I observed that there was no comprehensive playlist on Spotify for both games. Thus, I made these playlists on Spotify so that you guys can find the songs you really enjoy! The songs are arranged on the "first-appearance" basis to best follow the story's trend. I don't ask for anything in return. I'm just a simple man like Seth from Sicae, "a Samaritan passing by (not a spoiler!)". But if more people stop by and save my playlist, welcome!!! These playlists are updated to the latest version of the game(s).


I will attach all the Spotify playlist links below, no scams, rickrolls, or anything stupid:
MBML (excluding Emma's Solo) playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2s8iJ6Raftrv3vdpM3Iug8?si=0ce86dd9133844df
MBML (Emma's Solo Ending only) playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0IgrxQKmE2Y9KgRPNpvAmE?si=2cb0c01ecf0c46a9
Sicae (Life Changing Choice) playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7fHrTOKoGMldxckoAyVpxh?si=fb5172065ee0402b

It's offcially in the game. When you download and enter the game, the main menu automatically gives you the option to switch between English and Chinese.

I have a Spotify playlist made for MBML and MBML's prequel, Sicae. You could check that out if you'd like to.

Now we have MBML Chapter 1 Episode 4 update published (i.e., Chapter 1 wrapped up), Sicae should deserve some attention.

Hi KS:

Just finished this lovely game of yours without skipping.

Here are my thoughts, suggestions, and some constructive criticisms.

1. Character and World building

I really, really enjoy the delicate and nuanced character development and the world-building process. The progression of relationships between each of them in the Japanese underworld setting is slow but natural. Your writing skills are competitive with those in Eternum and/or My Bully Is My Lover: both are popular AVNs. In addition, I found it interesting that you told us not to take everything in this game seriously at the gecko, but the stories and conversations regarding friends and families are so relatable. So far, Ayase and Mikaru are my favorite characters, and the male protangonist is awesome too. However, I am certain that as future updates become available, other girls will have their shining moments!

I also enjoyed your humor and "bloopers" during the credit scenes.It is the very first time I've seen such unique comedic narration in AVNs.

Lastly, there are some hidden hints you planted that may envision the overall direction of the story, and I like that!

2. Models and CGs

Using HS2 model and creative CGs with moans are excellent choices, although the story-writing is so neat to which I forgot there are even H-scenes in this game haha. A minor suggestion would be ... try to fix some minor glitching issues. For instance, in the chronological penultimate H-scene (I don't want to say the name to avoid spoilers), the girl's hair seems to "pierce through" part of her body. I think that's likely a model issue, but it's jut a minor defect and I'm not expert.

3. Music choice
I like the selection of American dream pop, rap, other forms of alternative rock, and Japanese city pop as the major background music genres for this game.

(Maybe I'm nitpicking for the following criticism... I apologize in advance)

However, one criticism I would give aims at the repetition of the same OSTs throughout the game. Take a look at Eternum, and My Bully Is My Lover, the number of soundtracks for either game exceeds 200; each song corresponds to a unique section of the stories in each game. Most players I know enjoy the diversity of OSTs employed in both games, and listening to them is basically a revisit to the fantastic stories. If you are familiar with both games, you will know what I mean exactly.

(I hate to be the guy who compares your game to another but... I don't know if there's a better way to do it)

In comparison, your game employs same soundtracks in certain situations, which make those part of the story a bit less unique. For instance, you used the first 30 seconds of "Extreme by My Merry Machine" in many mystical/stressful situations, or "Comedy Cinematic Inspiring" by Romansenykmusic in situations where something interesting and gleeful happens. In Eternum, during comedic scenes, a variety of music were used, such as E-swings (Jules Gaia/Gavin Luke's music, including Glitz At the Ritz, Extravaganza, etc...), Indies (Staionary Sign's No Need to Confuse Me), Mexican/Latin (Cacion del Mariachi by Antonio Banderas ft. Los Lobos), Funk (Astral Dance by Jimit), and others. Each music describes each comedic scenes in their own unique ways.

Conclusively, your taste of music (those you used in the game as OSTs) is awesome, but the collection of OSTs could be a little bit more diverse to make each subsection of your story more unique and memorable. But suggestions are suggestions. After all, this is your dear game and you should be the one who decides if my suggetions are worth the shot. Maybe other types of non-Japanese genre music might not fit the story...!

4. 中文是官方语言之一是我没想到的。Totally not anticipating that. Many of my Chinese friends love your game!

On final note, I'm looking forward to your future updates of this game! It has so much potential and I believe you will make it outstanding! 

I am also setting a Spotify playlist for this game which should be available soon.

Yours sincerely
Pigrider Starwatcher

This is one of my favorite AVNs. Eternum, My Bully Is My Lover + Sicae (I'd like to consider these two games as one), and Companion of Darkness.


Very solid writing and I could see that the quality of music choice and models have increased over time. I hate and like the cliffhanger of Chapter 8's ending...... I "hate" it because I am dying to witness what's to become of Noel and the MC.  I screamed in my bedroom and seconds later my ceiling collapsed, like "WHYYYYY I WANT MOREEEE".  I "like" it because it is well-developed!

Arsa, Clara, Rule B, Noel, Nael... almost every character's development was wonderful!

The only two downsides are:
1) there are plenty of typos and grammar errors in dialogues, which sometimes make the gaming experience less enjoyable.
2) Clara's England route ending was quite short. I was expecting some abundant content similar to Emma's solo ending in My Bully Is My Lover. I had minute disappointments, but it's just me.

Lastly, the Moon Chi Easteregg  was fantastic! I think I also saw Luna from Eternum...?

This was posted in Discord as well.

Hi guys, I am Pigrider Starwatcher, a fan of Niichan's games. I especially appreciate the music choice and taste Niichan had for his games, MBML and Sicae (LCC). Both games are quite artistic! However, I observed that there was no comprehensive playlist on Spotify for both games. Thus, I made these playlists on Spotify so that you guys can find the songs you really enjoy! The songs are arranged on the "first-appearance" basis to best follow the story's trend. I don't ask for anything in return. I'm just a simple man like Seth from Sicae, "a Samaritan passing by (not a spoiler!)". But if more people stop by and save my playlist, welcome!!!


I will attach all the Spotify playlist links below, no scams, rickrolls, or anything stupid:
MBML (excluding Emma's Solo) playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2s8iJ6Raftrv3vdpM3Iug8?si=0ce86dd9133844df
MBML (Emma's Solo Ending only) playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0IgrxQKmE2Y9KgRPNpvAmE?si=2cb0c01ecf0c46a9
Sicae (Life Changing Choice) playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7fHrTOKoGMldxckoAyVpxh?si=fb5172065ee0402b

No for neither.

It will. It's just this game only will have an update after his other game MBIML receives at least three consecutive updates.

        I like the Tai-chi-like and time-and-space travel genre. This game is very interesting, has a great start, and has a lot of potential. Nobody has started AVN with these topics!

        Here are some constructive feedback:
               1) Music choice and placement. Sometimes, the absence of music slightly took me out of the immersive story.
               2) Character development and world-building could be a little bit more exquisite.
        For instance, I'm interested in seeing the girls' backstories in this "Sect" world, including the experiences and challenges they have undergone. I also wish that I could see more details in the Qi elevation progress, which is a great opportunity for the main character's growth and development. 
        The conversations are great and straightforward. However, they could be smoother with better word choice. Perhaps the reason is you are not a native English speaker (based on my instinct), which is okay. Maybe you could ask AVN developers who excel at this. I recommend reach out to Caribdis (Eternum's developer), Niichan (My Bully Is My Lover's developer), and/or KatanaVN (Fate's Collide's developer). They have solid writing skills. I can mention your game to Cari if you'd like. 

3) Please proofread and fix some grammatical errors and typos, like this one.

        I'm looking forward to the next update (0.2)! If 0.2 turns out to be , I will help advertise this game to more people. Your work of art should deserve more attention!

Agreed. Eternum and My Bully is My Lover are great story-focused games, and their excellent choice of music is a great contributor to their success.

No spoilers please.

sicae is the prequel of mbiml, approximately 2 years before events described in mbiml

I played MBIML first (Ep3 Part 1) and then Sicae. I don't know if Niichan reads this but I first want to say, I genuinely wished him to feel better! Health is what matters the most!

Next, here are my short thoughts for Sicae so far (Episode 5), MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS:

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. SPOILERS!!!!!!!

        For the first two episodes, the storytelling were bit mediocre. However, once Episode 3 kicked in, I started to fully appreciate the story, and the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 5 was gave me chills through my spin. Fantastic story writing! In addition, I enjoyed the fluid animations for the fightscenes between other characters and the MC, and the appropriate choice for the background music for each arc is the cherry on top.

        In terms of character development, I love Lisa's story and personality the most by far due to their "evenly-matched relationship" and her personality really echo with me, althought I feel like the MC was a bit irresponsible during the last part of Lisa's H-scene. In juxataposition, other characters, such as Nicole, Yuna, and so on, their personalities and stories were well portrayed! The only little issue I had was Zoey's story set-up. Her relationship with the MC was seemingly far-fetched (just in my humble opinion, that was a bit weird for me), compared to the rest of the girls. But overall, most of the characters are fanstastic! There are also some call-backs to MBIML (like the conversation between Jess and her sister)! I love them! 

        I also have a couple of questions raised by the cliffhanger as well as the main story:

        1) The person that intrigued the most is Claire/Owl. We learned that she befriended Moon/Fang and worked with her under Jess in MBIML, and I am curious to find out about what changed her from an "delirious" assassin to the Claire we know in MBIML. What made her "delirious"? It seems she has a much more terrible background story than Moon does in MBIML.

        2) What was the "big mess" the MC's father left? 

        3) Learning what happened to Yuna, what's the MC's next step? I'm looking forward to their confrontations

Why are you even wasting time on this verbose and pretentious guy lol. Just tell him to get a life. He thought of himself as Breaking Bad writer and apparently nobody gives a damn.

Dear Caribdis:

        I just want to thank you again for composing this beautiful game. Usually adult visual novel games are for satisfying our desires and easing our tensions, but you have no idea how this game and its characters have been a positive and energetic life-changer for me. Ms. Dalia Carter, in particular.

        Likee I said here months ago, I love Dalia because her humorous and sharp personality, her hard-working spirits and efforts, and her experience, resonate with me the most. It was very easy for me to substitue myself into Orion's point of view and understand what Dalia was thinking. In addition, her ability to DEEP SQUAT GOD DAMN 350 lbs with THAT 57kg killer body of hers, is truly motivating. Orion's has a toned-shape too. To be in good shape like Dalia and Orion, I've been changing my lifestyle and working-out more often, while listening to some background music employed in this game. I could say I am in a better shape than I was ever at before! Everything around me is getting better and better, and the contribution from your game, as ironic as it may sound, is one that absolutely cannot go unnoticed!

        By the way I will write a short review after 0.6's public release, in terms of the music choice (MY GOD I LOVE ragtime songs!), story, and character development. Hopefully that will help! Much love and stay awesome!

Yours sincerely

Pigrider

Caribdis' Discord portrait is Nova, and his Discord animation background is Nova holding Dione so...  I guess his is Nova too lol

Only people with nasty eyes and filthy percetions see everything as shitty.

Hello Caribdis! Pigrider again! The guy who wrote a long essay to compliment your game a few weeks ago. May I ask what's the soundtrack when Orion met Alex in her cafe after the heist? I've browsed through the codes and been asking around, but I just couldn't find the song :(

Ahh it's okay. It doesn't affect the beauty and brilliance of this game regardless!

Same!

According to Caribdis' accouncement in the Discord a few days ago, 0.6 is 87% complete. My best guess is it shall be out in a month or two.