everything about this game was just awesome from the moment i open the game till the end. this is such an awesome game and easily one of my favorite entries.
This is the first time I've played any of your games and I'm STUNNED! First of all, I'm amazed at how optimized the game is. Especially the fact that this was made in Unity, plus the animation? (Oh boy, I struggle a lot on the optimization part from there, so really, great job!). Next, the amount of controls on the settings is insane and all relevant! It definitely enhances the user experience! Graphics and animation? OMG. I really love the way you color the illustrations, especially the lighting! Like the softness of the sunlight on Raku's hair? It really suits the scene and made it a lot more heartwarming. ❤️ The writing? OMG. The voice acting? OMFG. There were a lot of times when their voice acting made me cry. Awesome voice direction! I'm in love with Raku! Probably one of the best entries I've played from Otome Jam. Great job!
Thank you so much, Izumi!! I'm so happy you tried it out! While I think Actala has better characters/story, I definitely tried to up the polish in Karamu a bit, so I'm glad the effort paid off! YES, Unity optimization is SUCH a struggle! Honestly I'm not happy with the performance on mobile compared to PC, but at least I hope it's not too noticeable/the game is still playable! Thank you for the compliments! It was my first time working with VAs, so I'm just so happy they were able to take my novice direction and do SUCH a good job with the lines! Thank you again for playing and for the review, I appreciate it so much!
this is SO WELL DONE !!! The graphics were so cool and the GUI (plus having the whole tutorial and walkthrough accessible from the menu) are SO great. The overall atmosphere and how the story unfolds was so satisfying. I was definitely blown away while playing. Super excited for more games thank you for the awesome project!
Thank you so much for playing!!! I tried to put as much as thought as possible into creating an easy/enjoyable playing experience when making my codebase so I'm glad that came through! I'm really happy that you enjoyed it; I'm going to take a little break before diving into more projects, so I'm ecstatic to have you along for the ride! (Ah, if you can, I would really appreciate a rating! It helps so much!)
(Don't read this review Play the game play the game play the game, it will be ruined if you read this before playing and you don't want it ruined for you! Go shooo!)
Apologies the video went to shit, I wish I could have given you that because I was honestly very proud of myself for getting every ending while reading without stuttering and telling jokes lolol I also guessed some shit! I swear!
Alright pacing and writing is so so good, I didn't know what to expect since you told me to play this game before Actala, and I was astonished at the quality, some lines were just-mmmmm so so good! I was like "Chatter is eating with these lines GOD."
The art was brilliant and spooky, and hot and...cute? Yeah I said it, CUTE I was skeptical of Raku ofc because like, well look at him,
BUT NELLI
I adored her before, during, and after everything is said and done so much more, watching this game unravel was fucking wild, but what made it so much better was that when everything was unraveled (hehe see what I did there) everything made more sense!
Also I like Raku and Nelli together, sue me, like it's really fucked up (the most fucked up honestly) was how he blackmailed her to stay with him in the kiss ending. But like, Idk confident/angry murderer Nelli and spider-man Raku are just a match made in heaven honestly.
I want to know what made you come up with this stuff? Like, I have so many questions and things to say, and I already said them and I hope I can remember some of what I said so I can say it again.
Bro, Shay and Zoe went so hard and only helped this already awesome product reach a higher level!
I'm so satisfied with every ending to an extent and though I am super squeamish with horror stuff, this wasn't so much scary as it was a bit unsettling and suspenseful which I lovedddd!
I kept saying you're doing a bad job at making me dislike these characters, because the more of themselves I got to know the more I liked them.
I just- man so much to say! I wish I could truly express how much I enjoyed it, I did in the video (like it got close) but, as a writer words fail me- but they sure as hell didn't fail you.
INCREDIBLE job, pat yourself on the back for this, please for me if nothing else. This was a fantastic project and blast to experience.
AHH thank you for leaving such a long review?!?! I'm still going through the stages of grief after listening to your Kawaii-chan VOD, it was so funny; your playthrough of Karamu is truly a treasure lost to the ages );
I'm glad that you enjoyed the writing; it was mainly a lot of self-indulgent lines, to be honest!! (Admittedly I think that characters/story is the one part where Actala is WAY better than Karamu, though it might just be my tendency to be overly wordy/include too much lore...)
Haha, I'm so intrigued by your feelings about Nelli! I did mean the ending to be a bit "polarizing" I suppose, both the conclusion and what happens with her character specifically. Honestly I love that you ended up liking her more after the reveal! Indeed I think that they are a toxic couple but perfect for each other in a lot of ways!
sdggfg I had a process, I'm excited to chat with you!!
YES, Shay and Zoe were SO good!! (Thank you so much for all your help with that!!)
Haha I'm glad!! I was aiming for more "creepy/a bit morbid" over outright "scary" (since an outright scary yandere is difficult for me to root for), so I was hoping that it's okay and most people can enjoy it!
I'M GLAD! Honestly I wasn't attached to these characters at first (and made them somewhat unlikeable on purpose), but as I continued making the game I became more and more attached to them...I'm glad that there are at least some people who like them after everything that happens!!
Ugh yes I totally get what you mean! So often I just want to say "Ahhh this was amazing!!" over and over when I play other amazing games! Thank you so much for playing, I'm so happy you tried it! (And I am also going through the stages of grief, rest assured...)
OH MY GOD??? The quality in this game is INSANE!!! There's so much care and detail put into it, I'm amazed in the best possible way skjdgbksjbg!! BRO, THERE'S EVEN A TUTORIAL WITH AN ARROW ANIMATION, AND A WALKTHROUGH INSIDE THE GAME?? I CAN'T EVEN- GUYS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WAS DONE IN 2 MONTHS?? TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, SENSEI!!
Seriously, this was such an amazing experience from the get go: the backgrounds, the art, the animations, the UI, the voice acting (kudos to the VAs, they did such a great job), THE WRITING!!! It was all so well-done and it flowed together so naturally!! At times, it felt like I was watching a movie, the story is really cinematic and knows when to use the animated CGs in order to make you feel even closer to the characters.
The way this fooled me into thinking it was going to be a certain type of yandere story... and then it's basically the meme of: WELL, YES, BUT ACTUALLY NO. Reeeeaaaaaally good pacing, it leaves you more and more curious until you finally learn the truth of the mystery.
What else can I say? The characters felt very much alive. It's difficult to write characters in a way that seems like they had a life before you get to tell the story inside your game and I feel Karamu managed that very well!
Great Job, Chatt!! <3
AGHH I am so honored that you played it, Pri!! sfdksdfa Don't be too impressed, I did reuse quite a bit of my Actala code for it, including the tutorial and whatnot! (My coding turmoils near the end were mostly just bug fixes...)
Ahh I'm so glad that you enjoyed the story!! Especially knowing how good you are at crafting mysteries! And thank you so much for your compliments about the characters, I really do try my best with them, so knowing they were written well means so much!
Aaaah dskjgbdskjgb I still need to play your game Actala too! I think I didn't play it yet cause it wasn't available on Mac. But I do have a Windows Laptop too! Just a bit on the wonky side LOL, but I definitely want to play your other game too <3
I think it's perfectly okay to reuse some code of your previous games! It's yours after all and every little bit helps! And aaahh I feel your pain with the bug fixes!!
Askjdbfsdkjb I'm still learning a lot with crafting mysteries, but it makes me really happy that you like them too T_T And, of course, I really liked the way you wrote the characters, the dialogue felt really natural despite being an unusual situation and a having a not so sane ex-boyfriend character, and again, the pacing was on point!!
Aghhhh I am so flattered thank you!!! I didn't release a Mac build for Actala because I had a hard time playtesting, but now that I know that the Karamu build mainly works I'll post one! Don't pick it up anytime soon though, it badly needs a code update...Otome Jam was definitely a learning experience!
I'm looking forward to your games so much too!! Both the completion of your current ones and Potion Pleasing!! (Watching you up your game with each title is SO inspiring!!)
I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started playing this haha. But wow, it was so, so good!! My favorite part is the art. Those plot twists too! I'm super impressed with the attention to detail with all of the cool UI features. Voice acting was nice as well.
I really enjoyed this. Karamu is fresh and creative. The artwork, design, music, atmosphere, writing...everything is excellent. The game does a great job at drawing you into its world, and I felt almost hypnotized while I was playing this. The artist/developer is very talented! I would recommend this 100%. Looking forward to future titles from Chattercap.
I loved every ounce of suspense, from the writing, to the music, to the monochromatic vibe, and to the amazing job of the voice actors!
I've said this before and I'll say it again - your work is practically PROFESSIONAL level and the way you paint a picture for us not only with your specific word choice but also WITH REAL ART is astounding. You are SO talented, and Karamu + Actala only attest to that (Karamu especially, as I've seen lots of improvements!)
The story was super well thought out, and I feel like each of the four endings were well explored (though of course I'm gonna say the kissing one was my favorite!)
I feel like I can't delve too far into this review without massive spoilers, but to everyone considering it: PLAY IT! It is 100% worth your time, especially if you are a horror-romance/yandere fan.
Ughhh thank you Snakks!! And thank you so much for beta-testing the game for me! I think that PROFESSIONAL level is a bit...a lot of an overstatement, but I am happy with how my work has improved between Actala and Karamu! I'm looking forward to going back and polishing up Actala now that Karamu is out! I hope that I can produce higher quality stuff from now on!
I'm glad that the endings were satisfying! Some of them were more confusing than others, so I was worried that players wouldn't find them as satisfying as the others...I'm glad that most people are taking the time to play through and find most, if not all of them!
Haha, yes (so many spoiler sections in the comments below LOL)! But ughh thank you for the recommendation! With so many good jam entries coming out the rec does mean a lot!
Wow, the game was a ride, and so well-written, too! 😯💕
I enjoyed it a lot, the animations and the voice acting (excellent!) made for a very immersive experience. I think you did a great job setting the mood and fleshing out the characters. I could feel Nelli's uneasiness and Raku's hope turning into desperation and anger as the conversation progressed. And then the endings? I did NOT expect THAT. 🫠
The art is lovely and the GUI has a polished (if not professional) look to it and I especially loved that little sparkle effect you get when you click something. (and the GUI sounds were very pleasant, too) 💕
Overall, very immersive and polished! Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout 👌
Ahh thank you so much for trying it out, Hiro!! Thank you for the compliments! I'm glad that the ramp-up in tension turned out decent; since the story is relatively simple I worried a lot about making sure that I dropped hints, but not too many, and "escalated" the story in an appropriate way!
Thank you!! I did try to improve the art this time. I didn't leave myself enough time to REALLY polish the GUI, sadly (and also it's the thing that I have the least confidence in really), but I do think it turned out better than previous attempts!
Thank you so much for playing!! I really appreciate it!
THIS WAS SO GOOD???? LKDJFALSKDJFADSF I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WAS EXPECTING....... ok I slightly did just because of some of the lead-up posts........... BUT LIKE EVEN THOSE EXPECTATIONS DIDN'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO THIS KDJDKLFJAD
This was just FANTASTIC?? Like. Everything about it. The art. The ambience. The characters. The CHILLLLLLLS it sent up and down my spine. The intrigue??? The building tension and terror? THAT ONE CG HOLY GOD LAKDJFALKDSJFADSFA
Gosh.
I love, first off, how it just like... I don't know. It really transported me into the world right off the bat. The BGs are gorgeous??? The sheer immersive-ness of them. Mixed with those ambient background sounds. Like. When it raining I could practically feel the raindrops on my own skin. That's how much I felt immersed in the vibe you had created. It set it up right away for this kind of... subdued, tense isolation that then built beautifully as more and more got revealed.
The animated CGs were beautiful!! Every single one of them was like a work of art. And I really loved the composition of the various comic panels and just how you set everything up. It really added to the feeling of immersion you already had going, like being sucked straight into each and every scene and really feeling it in your gut.
The story GUHHHH. Fantastic. I got the ending where you're not quite sure what's going on at first -- only that something bad is going on. Probably because I was so Dubious about Raku that I instinctively didn't always answer as kind to him as I could have LOL (though even despite that, I still was never mean to him, since I felt like that wouldn't have gone over well either hahaha). So then I retried following your advice and was able to get two of the, mm, more intense endings lkdjfasldka God, I started to guess more and more bits of what was actually going on the more I played it -- which is a great testament that you wove enough little foretelling bits in and out of the story. For instance, in the first ending that I got, the mention of the spider watching Nelli, I was like wait............. but even despite having that inkling after that IT DID NOT PREPARE ME FOR THE ONE CG GODDDDDDDD LKDJFASD
I enjoyed also how depending on your choices you could "go along with it" or..... not, and though that changed the outcome, it didn't really change Raku's hold on Nelli because at that point it's too late. Both of the endings were so chilling just in different ways??? HELP BUT THEN YOU HAD THOSE CUTE LITTLE SPIDER CHIBIS IN THE FINAL TEXT FOR THAT ONE AND I SNORTED A LITTLE BIT.
Anyway...
I just loved this so much. What an absolutely fantastic thriller that just devolves into creepy horror that makes your blood curdle. I'm such a sucker for dark stories that still include some romance so this was right up my alley already, but it was just so well done. It's going to sit with me for quite a while!! 🤭💕
There is still one ending I need to get, so I'm going to keep testing more options to try and get it!!
(OH ALSO RANDOM BUT I LOVE HOW THE LITTLE TUTORIAL IS THE SAME AS ACTALA'S??? It feels like this cute little connection to you as a dev and your games. Like "welcome to my world, here's a little tutorial" ldkjfadskfa idk I just wanted to mention it hahaha)
AHHHH THANK YOU CARROT!!!! Coming from the horror MASTER this means so much!! I hope I managed to capture a fraction of the absolute gut-wrenching emotion/terror in OW?!
Thank you so much for your comments about the art!! I did try to make it more high quality this time, so I'm glad that they came out well!
AHHH I'm so happy that the foreshadowing/little hints/buildup worked well! Since the story is pretty simple, I was worried about leaving too many hints but not enough that the player could guess everything! In truth I hope that the player plays through the endings in a specific order since they are mostly just ordered in order of "intrigue," but I did want to give people freedom of choice!
I'm glad that you found the spider chibis cute!!! I thought it would be a funny joke after the ending, though I'm not sure how many people actually found it amusing (or just horrifying...) (Indeed, the ending is mostly foretold from the very start - and from the synopsis, even - Raku wouldn't have it any other way...)
AGHHH thank you again, this means so much coming from you...I hope you have fun with the final ending?? There's a walkthrough if you need, but ofc it's more fun getting it yourself!
(Aghhhh thank you for complimenting my laziness with reusing some of Actala's assets, haha! I did reuse almost all of the code - though I tried to change everything a bit, but not too much, so that the GUI is kind of a signature in a way? Or at least that's what I tell myself because I hate designing GUIs...)
Ahh THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! Heehee, I didn't say it explicitly, but you did catch the hint! ;) That is indeed what happened~
I completely welcome the stalking!! (And I'm actually considering a prequel/sequel to this title because I had too many ideas when I was making it, so those might come sometime...in the not-so-near future...)
I'm so excited to play this ever since I followed the development; I'm awed! The sleek interface, the sprites and how pleasant it is to click around -- it's very well done! 🥹✨ Without much spoilers, Karamu has brought my feelings on a completely unexpected emotional roller-coaster ride. Congratulations for the release!!
An extra info that may be helpful: there's no Linux build but you can run the Windows version of Karamu on Linux smoothly with the help of Steam!
Ahh thank you for playing it, Kona!! It means so much that you tried it! I'm glad that you experienced the emotional roller-coaster; I hope it was fun!!
Ohh I wasn't sure if anyone was interested in a Linux build! I was worried about adding one since I don't have Linux set up, and I couldn't test it...now that I know it works, I'll think about adding one!
Okay, I played this game and honestly? Of course I was expecting everything that happened and wasn't surprised in the slightest. Completely predictable... Nope, not surprised AT ALL.
On a more serious note, this is a very good game: a thriller and the most unique exploration of the yandere trope I have ever seen (and that's saying a lot). The art is immaculate (the rendering, in particular, is just spectacular), the music works perfectly to set the mood, the writing style is top-notch, the GUI looks very good too. All the game is plunged in these tints of blue, as if we were trapped in some eerie world... And of course, the voice actors were absolutely EX-CEL-LENT, and that's an understatement.
Overall, I can't believe you sold it as "mostly sappy unhealthy romance" when it is more, but SO MUCH MORE than that! Your game is one of the most unique ones I've ever played, and certainly what is going to be the most unique entry of the jam! You surprised me and, if there is one thing I caught pretty quickly during my playthrough, I was definitely NOT expecting the game to go in the direction you chose, and it fitted, especially considering it wasn't an easy thing to write! I won't talk too much about it for now as it is spoilers, but damn! It was good and, I'm not someone easily scared by games (horror games tend to lean into the gore, which disgusts me more than if frightens me), but here, I was FRIGHTENED. So congrats!!!
And that's it for the non-spoiler part of the review, so for anyone reading this who hasn't played the game yet: go play it, it's not too long and it's worth your time.
OF COURSE it had to involve some sort of Eldritch monstrosity! How did I fail to see that knowing you? frgbsrdcsfsdvvef Honestly, this gave me chills! Although I understood quickly that Nelli murdered someone (what gave it away is her refusing to let Raku hold her bag) and suspected Ji-Hoon to be the victim quickly too (when Raku mentions Nelli has been seen coming to his house and getting closer to him), but what I consider is the true ending (so, the one in which Raku turns into a spider-like creature) GAVE ME CHILLS. You managed to pull off nothing less than a genre shift, turning the game into absurd horror!!! And it worked so well!! Wow, I was flabbergasted!!! I started having chills the moment Raku uncovered Nelli's plan, but DAMN, I wasn't expecting this turn of events!! Really, you did something so great here! And to be honest, I didn't catch up directly the whole scope of his "It smells delicious" but GOODNESS. And even the final part of this ending, with Raku realising they won't break up because Nelli now needs him... The possessiveness!! It really made it a horror game for me!
The third ending I got was the other "secret" one, and honestly, it was so frightening too! When Raku was behind Nelli, telling him "I wasn't done talking, Nelli." I was like VADE RETRO SPIDERMAN AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The last ending I got was the spider web one. I supposed I already had the bigger picture, haha, but you still managed to create a good sense of mystery!
The first ending I got was the cat one. The illustration has a great meme potential and, if it weren't so spoilery, you should definitely use it for the "ad parody" ("Sky! My husband!", with the two choices, "Reveal you've had an affair with the cat" or "Eat the cat"), but on a more serious note, you really managed to write Nelli's paranoia.
And to conclude this meaningful review: in the end, to think Nelli has been the smelly one this whole time... the real plot twist of your game...
I'm so glad you weren't surprised by anything and this was a completely smooth and uneventful experience! I just wanted to make a cozy, relaxing game, so this was completely my intention...
I'm happy that you enjoyed this take on the yandere trope! Yanderes can be a hit or a miss for me, and so when I was thinking of "what would make a yandere particularly appealing to me/what relationship would suit a yandere?" this was the premise that I came up with! Thank you for your comments on the GUI/art/music/etc. - I did try to make this title's aesthetic a lot more cohesive, if not completely polished! Agreed that the VAs were AWESOME, I could not have asked for better ones!!!
Thank you for saying it's so unique; I think you're exaggerating a bit, but I really appreciate the sentiment! I'm glad that you were at least partially surprised! My beta readers were completely surprised, but then one of my beta testers guessed everything from the first playthrough, so I was worried!
Thank you so much for playing and leaving me your thoughts!! I loved reading them!!
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everything about this game was just awesome from the moment i open the game till the end. this is such an awesome game and easily one of my favorite entries.
Thank you so much for playing, Maple!! Ugh, I'm so flattered!! I'm really glad that you enjoyed it!
This is the first time I've played any of your games and I'm STUNNED! First of all, I'm amazed at how optimized the game is. Especially the fact that this was made in Unity, plus the animation? (Oh boy, I struggle a lot on the optimization part from there, so really, great job!). Next, the amount of controls on the settings is insane and all relevant! It definitely enhances the user experience! Graphics and animation? OMG. I really love the way you color the illustrations, especially the lighting! Like the softness of the sunlight on Raku's hair? It really suits the scene and made it a lot more heartwarming. ❤️ The writing? OMG. The voice acting? OMFG. There were a lot of times when their voice acting made me cry. Awesome voice direction! I'm in love with Raku! Probably one of the best entries I've played from Otome Jam. Great job!
Thank you so much, Izumi!! I'm so happy you tried it out! While I think Actala has better characters/story, I definitely tried to up the polish in Karamu a bit, so I'm glad the effort paid off! YES, Unity optimization is SUCH a struggle! Honestly I'm not happy with the performance on mobile compared to PC, but at least I hope it's not too noticeable/the game is still playable! Thank you for the compliments! It was my first time working with VAs, so I'm just so happy they were able to take my novice direction and do SUCH a good job with the lines! Thank you again for playing and for the review, I appreciate it so much!
I love it! Im so satisfied and its worth of time. The art is so brilliant. RAKUUUU
Ohh thank you for checking this one out too, Panda!! 🤭 I'm really glad you enjoyed it! (I'd appreciate a rating, if you feel so inclined!)
this is SO WELL DONE !!! The graphics were so cool and the GUI (plus having the whole tutorial and walkthrough accessible from the menu) are SO great. The overall atmosphere and how the story unfolds was so satisfying. I was definitely blown away while playing. Super excited for more games thank you for the awesome project!
Thank you so much for playing!!! I tried to put as much as thought as possible into creating an easy/enjoyable playing experience when making my codebase so I'm glad that came through! I'm really happy that you enjoyed it; I'm going to take a little break before diving into more projects, so I'm ecstatic to have you along for the ride! (Ah, if you can, I would really appreciate a rating! It helps so much!)
(Don't read this review Play the game play the game play the game, it will be ruined if you read this before playing and you don't want it ruined for you! Go shooo!)
Apologies the video went to shit, I wish I could have given you that because I was honestly very proud of myself for getting every ending while reading without stuttering and telling jokes lolol I also guessed some shit! I swear!
Alright pacing and writing is so so good, I didn't know what to expect since you told me to play this game before Actala, and I was astonished at the quality, some lines were just-mmmmm so so good! I was like "Chatter is eating with these lines GOD."
The art was brilliant and spooky, and hot and...cute? Yeah I said it, CUTE I was skeptical of Raku ofc because like, well look at him,
BUT NELLI
I adored her before, during, and after everything is said and done so much more, watching this game unravel was fucking wild, but what made it so much better was that when everything was unraveled (hehe see what I did there) everything made more sense!
Also I like Raku and Nelli together, sue me, like it's really fucked up (the most fucked up honestly) was how he blackmailed her to stay with him in the kiss ending. But like, Idk confident/angry murderer Nelli and spider-man Raku are just a match made in heaven honestly.
I want to know what made you come up with this stuff? Like, I have so many questions and things to say, and I already said them and I hope I can remember some of what I said so I can say it again.
Bro, Shay and Zoe went so hard and only helped this already awesome product reach a higher level!
I'm so satisfied with every ending to an extent and though I am super squeamish with horror stuff, this wasn't so much scary as it was a bit unsettling and suspenseful which I lovedddd!
I kept saying you're doing a bad job at making me dislike these characters, because the more of themselves I got to know the more I liked them.
I just- man so much to say! I wish I could truly express how much I enjoyed it, I did in the video (like it got close) but, as a writer words fail me- but they sure as hell didn't fail you.
INCREDIBLE job, pat yourself on the back for this, please for me if nothing else. This was a fantastic project and blast to experience.
-Joy (going through the stages of grief still)
AHH thank you for leaving such a long review?!?! I'm still going through the stages of grief after listening to your Kawaii-chan VOD, it was so funny; your playthrough of Karamu is truly a treasure lost to the ages );
I'm glad that you enjoyed the writing; it was mainly a lot of self-indulgent lines, to be honest!! (Admittedly I think that characters/story is the one part where Actala is WAY better than Karamu, though it might just be my tendency to be overly wordy/include too much lore...)
Haha, I'm so intrigued by your feelings about Nelli! I did mean the ending to be a bit "polarizing" I suppose, both the conclusion and what happens with her character specifically. Honestly I love that you ended up liking her more after the reveal! Indeed I think that they are a toxic couple but perfect for each other in a lot of ways!
sdggfg I had a process, I'm excited to chat with you!!
YES, Shay and Zoe were SO good!! (Thank you so much for all your help with that!!)
Haha I'm glad!! I was aiming for more "creepy/a bit morbid" over outright "scary" (since an outright scary yandere is difficult for me to root for), so I was hoping that it's okay and most people can enjoy it!
I'M GLAD! Honestly I wasn't attached to these characters at first (and made them somewhat unlikeable on purpose), but as I continued making the game I became more and more attached to them...I'm glad that there are at least some people who like them after everything that happens!!
Ugh yes I totally get what you mean! So often I just want to say "Ahhh this was amazing!!" over and over when I play other amazing games! Thank you so much for playing, I'm so happy you tried it! (And I am also going through the stages of grief, rest assured...)
OH MY GOD??? The quality in this game is INSANE!!! There's so much care and detail put into it, I'm amazed in the best possible way skjdgbksjbg!! BRO, THERE'S EVEN A TUTORIAL WITH AN ARROW ANIMATION, AND A WALKTHROUGH INSIDE THE GAME?? I CAN'T EVEN- GUYS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WAS DONE IN 2 MONTHS?? TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, SENSEI!! Seriously, this was such an amazing experience from the get go: the backgrounds, the art, the animations, the UI, the voice acting (kudos to the VAs, they did such a great job), THE WRITING!!! It was all so well-done and it flowed together so naturally!! At times, it felt like I was watching a movie, the story is really cinematic and knows when to use the animated CGs in order to make you feel even closer to the characters.
The way this fooled me into thinking it was going to be a certain type of yandere story... and then it's basically the meme of: WELL, YES, BUT ACTUALLY NO. Reeeeaaaaaally good pacing, it leaves you more and more curious until you finally learn the truth of the mystery.
What else can I say? The characters felt very much alive. It's difficult to write characters in a way that seems like they had a life before you get to tell the story inside your game and I feel Karamu managed that very well! Great Job, Chatt!! <3
AGHH I am so honored that you played it, Pri!! sfdksdfa Don't be too impressed, I did reuse quite a bit of my Actala code for it, including the tutorial and whatnot! (My coding turmoils near the end were mostly just bug fixes...)
Ahh I'm so glad that you enjoyed the story!! Especially knowing how good you are at crafting mysteries! And thank you so much for your compliments about the characters, I really do try my best with them, so knowing they were written well means so much!
Thank you again for playing!!
Aaaah dskjgbdskjgb I still need to play your game Actala too! I think I didn't play it yet cause it wasn't available on Mac. But I do have a Windows Laptop too! Just a bit on the wonky side LOL, but I definitely want to play your other game too <3
I think it's perfectly okay to reuse some code of your previous games! It's yours after all and every little bit helps! And aaahh I feel your pain with the bug fixes!!
Askjdbfsdkjb I'm still learning a lot with crafting mysteries, but it makes me really happy that you like them too T_T And, of course, I really liked the way you wrote the characters, the dialogue felt really natural despite being an unusual situation and a having a not so sane ex-boyfriend character, and again, the pacing was on point!!
Looking forward to more of your games!! <3
Aghhhh I am so flattered thank you!!! I didn't release a Mac build for Actala because I had a hard time playtesting, but now that I know that the Karamu build mainly works I'll post one! Don't pick it up anytime soon though, it badly needs a code update...Otome Jam was definitely a learning experience!
I'm looking forward to your games so much too!! Both the completion of your current ones and Potion Pleasing!! (Watching you up your game with each title is SO inspiring!!)
I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started playing this haha. But wow, it was so, so good!! My favorite part is the art. Those plot twists too! I'm super impressed with the attention to detail with all of the cool UI features. Voice acting was nice as well.
Thank you snoopy!! I'm a big fan of your work so I'm honored that you played!
I really enjoyed this. Karamu is fresh and creative. The artwork, design, music, atmosphere, writing...everything is excellent. The game does a great job at drawing you into its world, and I felt almost hypnotized while I was playing this. The artist/developer is very talented! I would recommend this 100%. Looking forward to future titles from Chattercap.
Thank you amazingwombat!! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Please tell all of your wombat friends!
As always, another BANGER from Chattercap!
I loved every ounce of suspense, from the writing, to the music, to the monochromatic vibe, and to the amazing job of the voice actors!
I've said this before and I'll say it again - your work is practically PROFESSIONAL level and the way you paint a picture for us not only with your specific word choice but also WITH REAL ART is astounding. You are SO talented, and Karamu + Actala only attest to that (Karamu especially, as I've seen lots of improvements!)
The story was super well thought out, and I feel like each of the four endings were well explored (though of course I'm gonna say the kissing one was my favorite!)
I feel like I can't delve too far into this review without massive spoilers, but to everyone considering it: PLAY IT! It is 100% worth your time, especially if you are a horror-romance/yandere fan.
Ughhh thank you Snakks!! And thank you so much for beta-testing the game for me! I think that PROFESSIONAL level is a bit...a lot of an overstatement, but I am happy with how my work has improved between Actala and Karamu! I'm looking forward to going back and polishing up Actala now that Karamu is out! I hope that I can produce higher quality stuff from now on!
I'm glad that the endings were satisfying! Some of them were more confusing than others, so I was worried that players wouldn't find them as satisfying as the others...I'm glad that most people are taking the time to play through and find most, if not all of them!
Haha, yes (so many spoiler sections in the comments below LOL)! But ughh thank you for the recommendation! With so many good jam entries coming out the rec does mean a lot!
Wow, the game was a ride, and so well-written, too! 😯💕
I enjoyed it a lot, the animations and the voice acting (excellent!) made for a very immersive experience. I think you did a great job setting the mood and fleshing out the characters. I could feel Nelli's uneasiness and Raku's hope turning into desperation and anger as the conversation progressed. And then the endings? I did NOT expect THAT. 🫠
The art is lovely and the GUI has a polished (if not professional) look to it and I especially loved that little sparkle effect you get when you click something. (and the GUI sounds were very pleasant, too) 💕
Overall, very immersive and polished! Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout 👌
Ahh thank you so much for trying it out, Hiro!! Thank you for the compliments! I'm glad that the ramp-up in tension turned out decent; since the story is relatively simple I worried a lot about making sure that I dropped hints, but not too many, and "escalated" the story in an appropriate way!
Thank you!! I did try to improve the art this time. I didn't leave myself enough time to REALLY polish the GUI, sadly (and also it's the thing that I have the least confidence in really), but I do think it turned out better than previous attempts!
Thank you so much for playing!! I really appreciate it!
THIS WAS SO GOOD???? LKDJFALSKDJFADSF I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WAS EXPECTING....... ok I slightly did just because of some of the lead-up posts........... BUT LIKE EVEN THOSE EXPECTATIONS DIDN'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO THIS KDJDKLFJAD
This was just FANTASTIC?? Like. Everything about it. The art. The ambience. The characters. The CHILLLLLLLS it sent up and down my spine. The intrigue??? The building tension and terror? THAT ONE CG HOLY GOD LAKDJFALKDSJFADSFA
Gosh.
I love, first off, how it just like... I don't know. It really transported me into the world right off the bat. The BGs are gorgeous??? The sheer immersive-ness of them. Mixed with those ambient background sounds. Like. When it raining I could practically feel the raindrops on my own skin. That's how much I felt immersed in the vibe you had created. It set it up right away for this kind of... subdued, tense isolation that then built beautifully as more and more got revealed.
The animated CGs were beautiful!! Every single one of them was like a work of art. And I really loved the composition of the various comic panels and just how you set everything up. It really added to the feeling of immersion you already had going, like being sucked straight into each and every scene and really feeling it in your gut.
The story GUHHHH. Fantastic. I got the ending where you're not quite sure what's going on at first -- only that something bad is going on. Probably because I was so Dubious about Raku that I instinctively didn't always answer as kind to him as I could have LOL (though even despite that, I still was never mean to him, since I felt like that wouldn't have gone over well either hahaha). So then I retried following your advice and was able to get two of the, mm, more intense endings lkdjfasldka God, I started to guess more and more bits of what was actually going on the more I played it -- which is a great testament that you wove enough little foretelling bits in and out of the story. For instance, in the first ending that I got, the mention of the spider watching Nelli, I was like wait............. but even despite having that inkling after that IT DID NOT PREPARE ME FOR THE ONE CG GODDDDDDDD LKDJFASD
I enjoyed also how depending on your choices you could "go along with it" or..... not, and though that changed the outcome, it didn't really change Raku's hold on Nelli because at that point it's too late. Both of the endings were so chilling just in different ways??? HELP BUT THEN YOU HAD THOSE CUTE LITTLE SPIDER CHIBIS IN THE FINAL TEXT FOR THAT ONE AND I SNORTED A LITTLE BIT.
Anyway...
I just loved this so much. What an absolutely fantastic thriller that just devolves into creepy horror that makes your blood curdle. I'm such a sucker for dark stories that still include some romance so this was right up my alley already, but it was just so well done. It's going to sit with me for quite a while!! 🤭💕
There is still one ending I need to get, so I'm going to keep testing more options to try and get it!!
(OH ALSO RANDOM BUT I LOVE HOW THE LITTLE TUTORIAL IS THE SAME AS ACTALA'S??? It feels like this cute little connection to you as a dev and your games. Like "welcome to my world, here's a little tutorial" ldkjfadskfa idk I just wanted to mention it hahaha)
AHHHH THANK YOU CARROT!!!! Coming from the horror MASTER this means so much!! I hope I managed to capture a fraction of the absolute gut-wrenching emotion/terror in OW?!
Thank you so much for your comments about the art!! I did try to make it more high quality this time, so I'm glad that they came out well!
AHHH I'm so happy that the foreshadowing/little hints/buildup worked well! Since the story is pretty simple, I was worried about leaving too many hints but not enough that the player could guess everything! In truth I hope that the player plays through the endings in a specific order since they are mostly just ordered in order of "intrigue," but I did want to give people freedom of choice!
I'm glad that you found the spider chibis cute!!! I thought it would be a funny joke after the ending, though I'm not sure how many people actually found it amusing (or just horrifying...) (Indeed, the ending is mostly foretold from the very start - and from the synopsis, even - Raku wouldn't have it any other way...)
AGHHH thank you again, this means so much coming from you...I hope you have fun with the final ending?? There's a walkthrough if you need, but ofc it's more fun getting it yourself!
(Aghhhh thank you for complimenting my laziness with reusing some of Actala's assets, haha! I did reuse almost all of the code - though I tried to change everything a bit, but not too much, so that the GUI is kind of a signature in a way? Or at least that's what I tell myself because I hate designing GUIs...)
Ahh THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! Heehee, I didn't say it explicitly, but you did catch the hint! ;) That is indeed what happened~
I completely welcome the stalking!! (And I'm actually considering a prequel/sequel to this title because I had too many ideas when I was making it, so those might come sometime...in the not-so-near future...)
OH if you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a rating! It would help a lot also!
I'm so excited to play this ever since I followed the development; I'm awed! The sleek interface, the sprites and how pleasant it is to click around -- it's very well done! 🥹✨ Without much spoilers, Karamu has brought my feelings on a completely unexpected emotional roller-coaster ride. Congratulations for the release!!
An extra info that may be helpful: there's no Linux build but you can run the Windows version of Karamu on Linux smoothly with the help of Steam!
Ahh thank you for playing it, Kona!! It means so much that you tried it! I'm glad that you experienced the emotional roller-coaster; I hope it was fun!!
Ohh I wasn't sure if anyone was interested in a Linux build! I was worried about adding one since I don't have Linux set up, and I couldn't test it...now that I know it works, I'll think about adding one!
Okay, I played this game and honestly? Of course I was expecting everything that happened and wasn't surprised in the slightest. Completely predictable... Nope, not surprised AT ALL.
On a more serious note, this is a very good game: a thriller and the most unique exploration of the yandere trope I have ever seen (and that's saying a lot). The art is immaculate (the rendering, in particular, is just spectacular), the music works perfectly to set the mood, the writing style is top-notch, the GUI looks very good too. All the game is plunged in these tints of blue, as if we were trapped in some eerie world... And of course, the voice actors were absolutely EX-CEL-LENT, and that's an understatement.
Overall, I can't believe you sold it as "mostly sappy unhealthy romance" when it is more, but SO MUCH MORE than that! Your game is one of the most unique ones I've ever played, and certainly what is going to be the most unique entry of the jam! You surprised me and, if there is one thing I caught pretty quickly during my playthrough, I was definitely NOT expecting the game to go in the direction you chose, and it fitted, especially considering it wasn't an easy thing to write! I won't talk too much about it for now as it is spoilers, but damn! It was good and, I'm not someone easily scared by games (horror games tend to lean into the gore, which disgusts me more than if frightens me), but here, I was FRIGHTENED. So congrats!!!
And that's it for the non-spoiler part of the review, so for anyone reading this who hasn't played the game yet: go play it, it's not too long and it's worth your time.
--------------- SPOILERS --------------------------
OF COURSE it had to involve some sort of Eldritch monstrosity! How did I fail to see that knowing you? frgbsrdcsfsdvvef Honestly, this gave me chills! Although I understood quickly that Nelli murdered someone (what gave it away is her refusing to let Raku hold her bag) and suspected Ji-Hoon to be the victim quickly too (when Raku mentions Nelli has been seen coming to his house and getting closer to him), but what I consider is the true ending (so, the one in which Raku turns into a spider-like creature) GAVE ME CHILLS. You managed to pull off nothing less than a genre shift, turning the game into absurd horror!!! And it worked so well!! Wow, I was flabbergasted!!! I started having chills the moment Raku uncovered Nelli's plan, but DAMN, I wasn't expecting this turn of events!! Really, you did something so great here! And to be honest, I didn't catch up directly the whole scope of his "It smells delicious" but GOODNESS. And even the final part of this ending, with Raku realising they won't break up because Nelli now needs him... The possessiveness!! It really made it a horror game for me!
The third ending I got was the other "secret" one, and honestly, it was so frightening too! When Raku was behind Nelli, telling him "I wasn't done talking, Nelli." I was like VADE RETRO SPIDERMAN AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The last ending I got was the spider web one. I supposed I already had the bigger picture, haha, but you still managed to create a good sense of mystery!
The first ending I got was the cat one. The illustration has a great meme potential and, if it weren't so spoilery, you should definitely use it for the "ad parody" ("Sky! My husband!", with the two choices, "Reveal you've had an affair with the cat" or "Eat the cat"), but on a more serious note, you really managed to write Nelli's paranoia.
And to conclude this meaningful review: in the end, to think Nelli has been the smelly one this whole time... the real plot twist of your game...
I'm so glad you weren't surprised by anything and this was a completely smooth and uneventful experience! I just wanted to make a cozy, relaxing game, so this was completely my intention...
I'm happy that you enjoyed this take on the yandere trope! Yanderes can be a hit or a miss for me, and so when I was thinking of "what would make a yandere particularly appealing to me/what relationship would suit a yandere?" this was the premise that I came up with! Thank you for your comments on the GUI/art/music/etc. - I did try to make this title's aesthetic a lot more cohesive, if not completely polished! Agreed that the VAs were AWESOME, I could not have asked for better ones!!!
Thank you for saying it's so unique; I think you're exaggerating a bit, but I really appreciate the sentiment! I'm glad that you were at least partially surprised! My beta readers were completely surprised, but then one of my beta testers guessed everything from the first playthrough, so I was worried!
Thank you so much for playing and leaving me your thoughts!! I loved reading them!!
Wooo!!! Congratulations upon release! Very excited for this one!!!
Thank you azure!!! 🥹💕 I hope it's fun!!