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!!
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
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!!