I decided I'd try out this game thinking it would be another cute/sexy furry visual novel I could binge through in an afternoon.
I was Wrong.
I spent the better part of a week going through and savoring this game in a single playthrough, not for the usual sex appeal, but for the writing.
This is, in my opinion, the most nuanced character-driven storytelling I have seen in ANY visual novel, and should be celebrated as one of if not the best furry visual novels to date.
The characters and situations are treated with maturity and a deep understanding of its core underlying themes and material. I can't tell you about any other game like this where the first (and at this point only) sex scene occurs within the first few chapters, not containing the main character, and leads to a character moment of harsh self-reflection and self-loathing. This is a very human and real feeling that I believe many of this games core-audience can relate to. It was after reading this scene with Luke that I knew this game was special. It wasn't afraid to show the mental luggage these characters were carrying, and the writers knew how to deal with them in what I found to be a believable way.
I can't begin to describe how much kinship I felt reading Pedro's story in the hinterlands, discovering his history bit-by-bit and realizing how much I saw of both my younger self, and my current self. His inner intrusive thoughts are nearly identical to how I have to struggle with myself on a daily basis, and seeing this part of me represented through this character was a very welcome sight, and felt natural to what he went through. I nearly cried at the end of the story right alongside him, learning his family will finally know he and his grandfather weren't crazy, knowing he can finally take at least one of many loads off his mind. I felt like I was watching myself getting past some of my own ordeals, and it reminded me that there is always an end to things, and everything can and will turn out for the better if you just hang in there.
On that note; the Hinterlands, I feel, do so much to both mirror and contrast the main plot so well. From the small details like how Asterion calling the main character "master" or "lord", is turned on its head with Pedro calling Oscar "kid" to the similar, albeit more subtle, dismay of the younger minotaur. Even the whole aspect of Pedro having so much power over Oscar in the context of possible love interests is directly addressed and handled well, while being mirrored with the main plot between the main character and Asterion. Lastly, I find it wonderfully poetic how the two plots are ultimately mirrored in Asterion being trapped in the Hotel, while Pedro and Oscar are desperate to find a way into it. It's really small details but it really makes the two plots feel thematically entwined with each other, to the point where I don't really feel like I'm leaving the "main plot" when I get to a hinterlands part.
I could go on and on about how much I loved and cherished my experience with this game if it weren't for my own sleep in jeopardy, and my anxiousness about writing this all down in the moment before I forget the words that I feel so inclined to share right after my first playthrough. So with these closing remarks; Thank you so very much Minotaur Hotel devs. I feel you have shown us a true work of art that took a long time to make, and I wanted to express how thankful I am that it exists because of all your work.
- A genuine fan