I overthink a lot stuff inculding converstion but thise game made look it bit more postively that other pepol probly not overthinking that wone akward thing i said and they do apprcite me bwing there i only played wone the routes the Kaiel route becus I was like nha Giest aint no good and honstly at first i thougth gona be sill romance game but no it made geunily postvie impact on my day thank you for making thise game if you see thise comment person that created game I want you to now now that I hope you have good day
what if i say I FUCKING HATE GEIST.....BUT no i love your art and your writing,how you present psychology authentically.But the way he make mc look down theirself pissed me off ;))) i just fear that i have to skip Geist's dialogue to prevent me smashing my keybroad
Ame la historia. Ambos finales son buenos, pero mi favorito es donde continuamos nuestra amistad con Kalei. Gracias por traducirlo al español ❤️. Aborda la salud y la ansiedad de manera perfecta.
Are there any movies like the one Kalei’s group was talking about during the group movie scene? ‘Sixty Years, Six Months’? The plot sounded actually interesting, lol!
deus, chorar com 2 minutos de gameplay por conviver com o geist na vida real, só que bem menos bonito e eloquente, me deu uma vontade grande de ficar em um canto escuro e amargo pelo resto da semana, infelizmente facil de se relacionar com o protagonista hahaha, vou ficar com a rota desse loiro e me afundar num vazio existencial pelas proximas duas horas
This game is almost fully voiced, amazing. I liked the pace of the game, too.
spoiler. One small detail I didn't like
I was always friendly to Kalei, but after making one wrong choice I got Geist’s route. It happened when I chose to stay alone after being in the crowd. It’s a bit odd that one wrong choice changed my route completely. Narratively it makes sense, of course.
Oh I'm so glad that you enjoyed the game!!! Thank you for playing! 😊
===SPOILERS===
Hmm that's strange - I purposefully balanced the game so that while it's easier to get Geist's route, you definitely have some wiggle room getting Kalei's (i.e. no one choice determines your route) 🤔 Since I wouldn't punish players that much - healing journeys are never linear, after all (and I don't think that people have to be extroverted all the time either 😂 I'm certainly not!) For that choice in particular I think I weighted it relatively lightly because imo wanting to be alone after a stressful situation is a reasonable response!
I'll do a playtest and see if I can recreate it - it might be a bug. Otherwise I hope that you had no problems getting both endings (there's a walkthrough available if you need it!)
Thank you for replying, I totally agree with you on that. Oh yeah, I think it might a bug. I’ve first played in browser, and I just replayed in browser again to be sure, and the bug persists. I’ve also downloaded the game, and I’ve still encountered the same bug.
Thank you for recommending the walkthrough, I’ve just checked it. I didn’t have any problems while figuring out how to walk through the game.
(Dropping by to say - thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! I confirmed that it was a bug - I didn’t take into account that choosing that option also locked off other options to increase Kalei’s points, so that one choice did indeed lock off Kalei’s ending! I’ve adjusted the balancing to take this into account! Thank you again, I can’t believe I never realized this 😅)
This game is so cute! I got Kalie's ending. Thank you so much for making this, mental health really needs more accurate representation. Because of stories like this, people can feel less alone and alien. To whoever reads this, please know that you are not alone in your struggles, and if you keep putting yourself out there, you will find people who accept you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!!! Don't change yourself for anyone else but you. <3
I got Kalie's ending and OH EM GEE That was such a cute game with an amazing narrative on social anxiety!!! I have it, so I clocked Geist instantly. Amazing job, beautiful characters, and amazing story!!!! Eeee!!! :3!!! I wanna try the other ending but Kalei :(((( bahaha!!
Yes, I remade it in Ren'py (whereas the original was made in Godot)! I did this so that I could implement a new GUI, add translations, and port the game to Android/Web (and include all of the bells and whistles Ren'py has, like rollback). All of the art is the same (I didn't add or significantly change anything in that regard), but the new version should be a bit sleeker/more accessible to play!
Recién terminé el juego con la ruta de Kalei, y debo decir que me sentí muy identificada con la protagonista, o bueno, al menos como era antes. Y aunque Geist aún me sigue molestando, de alguna forma, siento que este juego ayudó a comprenderme y a mis emociones. Siento que ahora podré manejar mejor a ese Geist ruidoso. Muchas gracias por este juego increíble! Conecte con la protagonista y amé a Kalei. Felicidades a los creadores. Exploraré el resto de sus juegos! De nuevo, muchas gracias por tan maravillosa historia!!
Me encantó, se ha vuelto una de mis novelas visuales favoritas, si bien, la ruta inicial que tome fue la de Kalei, Geist tambien me gustó mucho, como personaje [aunque odie por completo cuando hacía sentir a MC mas insegur@ de lo que ya era] sin duda, está novela visual transmitió lo que muchos sienten, y fue el motivo por el que se agrega a mi lista de favoritos, un aplauso para el/la autor@
Honestly Geist was annoying me so bad that I would usually skip his monologues and pick the choises that straight up ignore him lol! I'm glad I was able to give the mc a good ending as someone who struggles with pretty similar stuff. To anyone who also struggles with this type of stuff, know that you are not alone. I know from expirience that even while knowing it's just the anxiety speaking it is tough to actually get through it and live your life at the fullest. Please do no be afraid to reach out to get help if you need it and like I mentioned above, you are not alone.
The edit was to fix a spelling mistake! (I ALWAYS MISS THOSE IDK WHY)<3
Esta novela es TOP, DEMASIADO buena, en serio, terminé llorando y quise gritar con el final de Kalei, lo amo muchísimo, me gustó bastante. Felicidades a todos los que participaron para crear este hermoso proyecto. 🏆
1000000/10, i played this a while ago but i cant help but replay it again and again wich never leads to disapointment. Huge props to everybody who worked on this masterpiece along with the voice actors! the protag is just so relatable like its a carbon copy of me, or from what i see here, about the copy of 90% of yan vn players lol. Geist oh, how much i love that man, broski is like a prideful pretty but extreamly territorial golden cat fighting over you with the local overly energetic and caring puppy Kalei. These two little idiots have my heart frfr <3
meu deus eu AMEI esse jogo, eu saquei de inicio que o loirinho era coisa da cabeça dela, mas tirando isso eu adorei a mecânica do jogo. a tradução em português tá maravilhsa!! nota 10 para esse jogo!
OMG THIS GAME IS SO GOOD, I really loved it. Playing it felt like a little bandage for my heart—I felt so identified with the protagonist :( it represents social anxiety and mental health topics really well. Geist is my guilty pleasure HAHAHA, although I also loved Kalei, he’s so sweet, and having someone like him—who you click with effortlessly and who listens to you—is the best :3 I truly loved everything, I even feel like I see life differently now HAHAHA. And thank you so much for the Spanish version! I loved EVERYTHING ♡
DIOSSS ESTE JUEGO ES SUPER BUENO, de verdad me encanto, jugarlo fue como una curita al corazon me senti tan identificada con la protagonista:( representa super bien la ansiedad social y temas de salud mental, Geist mi gusto culposo JAJAAJ a un que tmb me encanto Kalei es super lindoo y tener a alguien como el con el que encajas sin intentarlo y te escucha es lo mejor :3 ame todo de verdad hasta siento que veo la vida de manera diferente desde ahora JAJAJA y muchas gracias por la version en español! me encanto TODO ♡
English:
OMG THIS GAME IS SO GOOD, I really loved it. Playing it felt like a little bandage for my heart—I felt so identified with the protagonist :( it represents social anxiety and mental health topics really well. Geist is my guilty pleasure HAHAHA, although I also loved Kalei, he’s so sweet, and having someone like him—who you click with effortlessly and who listens to you—is the best :3 I truly loved everything, I even feel like I see life differently now HAHAHA. And thank you so much for the Spanish version! I loved EVERYTHING ♡
I just played through and got kaleis ending- and oh my lords did I love this game! The accurate depictions, kaleis sweetness, finding someone that grounds us as the player, it's just exquisite! I honestly think limiting some of the dialogue options really added to the game experience, that feeling of being out of control and helplessness was really amplified in my opinion, and in kaleis ending being able to truly choose for ourselves was just the cherry on top!
I will also say, I was silently losing my composure every time that British man spoke, he's the epitome of an unlikable character! I love him! Brilliant idea to make geist British, we all know the brits aren't real(≧▽≦)
I will definitely be making fanart and fanfiction of my precious kalei, I have simply fallen for him!
This story hit way too close to home, the dialogue of Geist, especially the MC’s spiral of overthinking was such an amazing depiction of anxiety. This genuinely felt like a materialization of anxiety itself(based on my own experience yes ofc), goodness,I don't even know how to describe it, but I’ve never felt so seen. LOL
I just want to say that I absolutely loved this game! ⋆˃ v ˂⋆ ( Though I doubt my reason for that was intentional :'D ) I just played and got Geist's ending , and I adored it (•˕ •マ .ᐟ (I was so happy and this honestly might've just become a comfort game for me now ꒰ა(/ˊᵕˋ)/✩‧₊˖°✮)
From what I can tell, Geist is supposed to be quite manipulative? (which is certainly obvious from the start, he was also quite rude lmao-)
However, as an Aplatonic person (Aplatonic means lacking platonic attraction or not being able to form strong platonic bonds, preferring to pursue relationships rather than friendships.), the fact that the kinder interactions from him were very romance coded ( like he didn't seem like he saw the MC as a friend, and he didn't show any signs of lust either, I'm also Ace lol, so more romance focused scenes were nice to see! As opposed to anything focused on lust), made him feel like a really safe person/character, save for when he was putting the MC down emotionally :/ Taking their phone was also a bit much. (compared to the other love interest Kalei, who, while he was very kind, he was also very clingy in a way that felt very friendship orientated, mind u I did chose to see him as a friend due to him not being my type tbf so that may be on me x])
Kalei reminds me a bit of acquaintances who've ignored my boundaries when I explain I don't feel comfortable spending extra time with them. I feel guilty that I can't return their friendship, but it's not healthy for me to spend time with those people when I'd rather spend it by myself or with a partner ^^'
What I'm saying is, some of the dialogue from Geist, that I assume was meant to be read as manipulative, ended up being a summary of my lack of interest in friendship said in a very clear and concise way (I understand him assuming the mc also feels like that without letting them say it themselves or disagree was manipulative and rude of him, though as I do also share his sentiment it came across to me more like being understood lol), and having a character seemingly respect that and treat the mc in a more romantic way, not expecting them to be best friends first or anything, was just so comforting and a breath of fresh air from how I've often been treated irl :']
So thank u, even tho it's likely that Geist's behaviour wasn't intended to be received that way, I still appreciate finally seeing a dynamic between a MC and a love interest that feels healthier to an Aplatonic individual like myself then what's often portrayed in visual novels (I still do not forgive him for how rude he was at the start tho lol, when I say healthy I mean when he treats the MC better and treats them as a partner)
This was a really good game and gave me a lot to think about! /gen Again I'm sorry if this review was difficult to understand ≽^◞ ˕ ◟^≼
While ik my interpretation of the game likely isn't shared by most people, nor is it likely intentional, it's awesome to see a bit of accidental representation for a part of my identity that I never see even discussions about online or irl. I also appreciated the option to make the MC's pronouns He/Him (I only made an account so I could post this comment, but it's so cool to see so many games on here that're LGBTQ+ friendly ! :3)
Oh gosh, you made an account just to leave this comment; I'm very honored!! I do admit that your interpretation wasn't one that I intended, but it is fascinating...🙏 While I've heard others say that Geist is a comforting presence, this is the first time I've heard it articulated in this way (and I can definitely see it!) 🤔 Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience - I'm very much of the opinion that art isn't just a product of the creator, but instead a dialogue between the creator and the audience, so I really love hearing how people interpret the things that I make 😆 especially if they get an experience out of them that wasn't "intentional"! It's one of the main reasons why I make games and share them publicly, so thank you 🥰 I'm really glad that you enjoyed the game!!!
no começo achei que o Geist era apenas um amigo toxico da protagonista, mas ao longo do jogo percebi que ele se trata da voz da insegurança dela, a sindrome do impostor, como sofro com ansiedade, indentifiquei isso rapidamente, pois me indentifiquei hehe. mas recusarmos o fato dele ter mais ações do que nós durante a história, mostra a luta que temos que ter diariamente para lidar com essas vozes da nossa cabeça
I like to think that Kalei has something similar to Geist, but much less "concrete," since Kalei does struggle less with his own insecurities! So it wouldn't take the form of a person like Geist, but might take on the form of something like an animal 🤔 probably a cat 😂 🙏
I created an account just to make this comment. Wow.
At first I thought this would be your classic, idiotic, romance, where it glorifies stalkers. But no. This is probably going up there as one of my favorite games ever. I struggle with my own Geist, and seeing him repersented so perfectly made me feel very validated. I love how it shows that truly, most of what Geist says is inaccurate. Like when Kalei is drifting off, and Geist whispers how he's just thinking about how miserable of a person you are, and then it turns out Kalei is just thinking about an apocalypse situation! It really, really, really helps me. Such a beautiful depiction of social anxiety, and really helps me.
It gives me hope that one day, I'll find my own Kalei, if I just don't listen to Geist. And that's a beautiful thing for a game to do.
¡I love it! But I have a question. Is Geist real, or are we just imagining it? Is Geist a person we invented because of our insecurities? Do we have a mental problem? I can't understand it ;(
Thank you so much for playing!!! If you're interested, you can check out the postmortem for the game for a little more detail about my thought process while making it! As for your question:
===SPOILERS===
I mostly left Geist's identity up to player interpretation, since I didn't think that whether he is "real" or not significantly changes what I want people to get out of the story 😂 and I wanted to give people the freedom to interpret it how they wanted without being bogged down by some kind of "canon" answer!
In my own headcanon, Geist is just a manifestation of the protagonist's mental problems - mostly because I think it would be a total bummer to have a gaslighting ghost hanging out for your entire life, third-wheeling when you just wanna hang out with your bf 😂 However, I also did give Geist a real "ghost backstory" that I detail in the postmortem - mostly because well, he has a romantic ending, and I didn't want to tell people "well that ending isn't real because Geist isn't real!!!" You can end up in a codependent relationship with the ghost if you want to!!! 😩🙏
tl;dr Feel free to interpret "Geist" how you want, there isn't a wrong answer! If you want my "author headcanon," Geist is indeed a manifestation of the protagonist's anxieties and doesn't exist in real life.
As someone who deals with panic attacks, it made me realise how much I suffer from it. But honestly, I'm so sorry, but I WAS IMMEDIATLY PISSED OFF BY GEIST LMAO, but ey, I found his name fitting since Geist means Ghost in German. Def one of my favs
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This was one of the best games I loved playing more than once \(^_^)/
I overthink a lot stuff inculding converstion but thise game made look it bit more postively that other pepol probly not overthinking that wone akward thing i said and they do apprcite me bwing there i only played wone the routes the Kaiel route becus I was like nha Giest aint no good and honstly at first i thougth gona be sill romance game but no it made geunily postvie impact on my day thank you for making thise game if you see thise comment person that created game I want you to now now that I hope you have good day
what if i say I FUCKING HATE GEIST.....BUT no i love your art and your writing,how you present psychology authentically.But the way he make mc look down theirself pissed me off ;))) i just fear that i have to skip Geist's dialogue to prevent me smashing my keybroad
coollll
Ame la historia. Ambos finales son buenos, pero mi favorito es donde continuamos nuestra amistad con Kalei. Gracias por traducirlo al español ❤️. Aborda la salud y la ansiedad de manera perfecta.
Are there any movies like the one Kalei’s group was talking about during the group movie scene? ‘Sixty Years, Six Months’? The plot sounded actually interesting, lol!
:)
deus, chorar com 2 minutos de gameplay por conviver com o geist na vida real, só que bem menos bonito e eloquente, me deu uma vontade grande de ficar em um canto escuro e amargo pelo resto da semana, infelizmente facil de se relacionar com o protagonista hahaha, vou ficar com a rota desse loiro e me afundar num vazio existencial pelas proximas duas horas
Woop woop nele 🤑
This game is almost fully voiced, amazing. I liked the pace of the game, too.
spoiler. One small detail I didn't like
I was always friendly to Kalei, but after making one wrong choice I got Geist’s route. It happened when I chose to stay alone after being in the crowd. It’s a bit odd that one wrong choice changed my route completely. Narratively it makes sense, of course.
Other than that, I liked the game.
Oh I'm so glad that you enjoyed the game!!! Thank you for playing! 😊
===SPOILERS===
Hmm that's strange - I purposefully balanced the game so that while it's easier to get Geist's route, you definitely have some wiggle room getting Kalei's (i.e. no one choice determines your route) 🤔 Since I wouldn't punish players that much - healing journeys are never linear, after all (and I don't think that people have to be extroverted all the time either 😂 I'm certainly not!) For that choice in particular I think I weighted it relatively lightly because imo wanting to be alone after a stressful situation is a reasonable response!
I'll do a playtest and see if I can recreate it - it might be a bug. Otherwise I hope that you had no problems getting both endings (there's a walkthrough available if you need it!)
Thank you for replying, I totally agree with you on that. Oh yeah, I think it might a bug. I’ve first played in browser, and I just replayed in browser again to be sure, and the bug persists. I’ve also downloaded the game, and I’ve still encountered the same bug. Thank you for recommending the walkthrough, I’ve just checked it. I didn’t have any problems while figuring out how to walk through the game.
(Dropping by to say - thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! I confirmed that it was a bug - I didn’t take into account that choosing that option also locked off other options to increase Kalei’s points, so that one choice did indeed lock off Kalei’s ending! I’ve adjusted the balancing to take this into account! Thank you again, I can’t believe I never realized this 😅)
I’m glad you saw my comment. Thank you for being so attentive and appreciative and taking your time to investigate.
i wish my anxiety came in human form 😔
This game is so cute! I got Kalie's ending. Thank you so much for making this, mental health really needs more accurate representation. Because of stories like this, people can feel less alone and alien. To whoever reads this, please know that you are not alone in your struggles, and if you keep putting yourself out there, you will find people who accept you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE!!! Don't change yourself for anyone else but you. <3
I got Kalie's ending and OH EM GEE That was such a cute game with an amazing narrative on social anxiety!!! I have it, so I clocked Geist instantly. Amazing job, beautiful characters, and amazing story!!!! Eeee!!! :3!!! I wanna try the other ending but Kalei :(((( bahaha!!
i have a theory that geist is a figment of our imagination from the MC social. Anxiety and lack of self esteem and for Kalis is a way out of our head.
was it remade?
Yes, I remade it in Ren'py (whereas the original was made in Godot)! I did this so that I could implement a new GUI, add translations, and port the game to Android/Web (and include all of the bells and whistles Ren'py has, like rollback). All of the art is the same (I didn't add or significantly change anything in that regard), but the new version should be a bit sleeker/more accessible to play!
amazing, thank you! i'll try to make time to check it out.
Acho que eu preciso de um Kolei na minha vida XD
i took the time to get both endings and holy shit this game is like super good
Recién terminé el juego con la ruta de Kalei, y debo decir que me sentí muy identificada con la protagonista, o bueno, al menos como era antes. Y aunque Geist aún me sigue molestando, de alguna forma, siento que este juego ayudó a comprenderme y a mis emociones. Siento que ahora podré manejar mejor a ese Geist ruidoso. Muchas gracias por este juego increíble! Conecte con la protagonista y amé a Kalei. Felicidades a los creadores. Exploraré el resto de sus juegos! De nuevo, muchas gracias por tan maravillosa historia!!
Me encantó, se ha vuelto una de mis novelas visuales favoritas, si bien, la ruta inicial que tome fue la de Kalei, Geist tambien me gustó mucho, como personaje [aunque odie por completo cuando hacía sentir a MC mas insegur@ de lo que ya era] sin duda, está novela visual transmitió lo que muchos sienten, y fue el motivo por el que se agrega a mi lista de favoritos, un aplauso para el/la autor@
Honestly Geist was annoying me so bad that I would usually skip his monologues and pick the choises that straight up ignore him lol! I'm glad I was able to give the mc a good ending as someone who struggles with pretty similar stuff. To anyone who also struggles with this type of stuff, know that you are not alone. I know from expirience that even while knowing it's just the anxiety speaking it is tough to actually get through it and live your life at the fullest. Please do no be afraid to reach out to get help if you need it and like I mentioned above, you are not alone.
The edit was to fix a spelling mistake! (I ALWAYS MISS THOSE IDK WHY)<3
It's probably just me, but anytime I hit no for the content warning, the game exits unexpectedly
(Oh the game asks "Do you want to continue?" So click yes if you want to continue! Otherwise the game closes.)
OH ok
I really liked the game, and i love Kalei! He was fun and kind!
Esta novela es TOP, DEMASIADO buena, en serio, terminé llorando y quise gritar con el final de Kalei, lo amo muchísimo, me gustó bastante. Felicidades a todos los que participaron para crear este hermoso proyecto. 🏆
1000000/10, i played this a while ago but i cant help but replay it again and again wich never leads to disapointment. Huge props to everybody who worked on this masterpiece along with the voice actors! the protag is just so relatable like its a carbon copy of me, or from what i see here, about the copy of 90% of yan vn players lol. Geist oh, how much i love that man, broski is like a prideful pretty but extreamly territorial golden cat fighting over you with the local overly energetic and caring puppy Kalei. These two little idiots have my heart frfr <3
meu deus eu AMEI esse jogo, eu saquei de inicio que o loirinho era coisa da cabeça dela, mas tirando isso eu adorei a mecânica do jogo. a tradução em português tá maravilhsa!! nota 10 para esse jogo!
made a acc after so long just to say I REALLY loved this game thank you sooo much for making it omggg
OMG THIS GAME IS SO GOOD, I really loved it. Playing it felt like a little bandage for my heart—I felt so identified with the protagonist :( it represents social anxiety and mental health topics really well. Geist is my guilty pleasure HAHAHA, although I also loved Kalei, he’s so sweet, and having someone like him—who you click with effortlessly and who listens to you—is the best :3 I truly loved everything, I even feel like I see life differently now HAHAHA. And thank you so much for the Spanish version! I loved EVERYTHING ♡
DIOSSS ESTE JUEGO ES SUPER BUENO, de verdad me encanto, jugarlo fue como una curita al corazon me senti tan identificada con la protagonista:( representa super bien la ansiedad social y temas de salud mental, Geist mi gusto culposo JAJAAJ a un que tmb me encanto Kalei es super lindoo y tener a alguien como el con el que encajas sin intentarlo y te escucha es lo mejor :3 ame todo de verdad hasta siento que veo la vida de manera diferente desde ahora JAJAJA y muchas gracias por la version en español! me encanto TODO ♡
English:
OMG THIS GAME IS SO GOOD, I really loved it. Playing it felt like a little bandage for my heart—I felt so identified with the protagonist :( it represents social anxiety and mental health topics really well. Geist is my guilty pleasure HAHAHA, although I also loved Kalei, he’s so sweet, and having someone like him—who you click with effortlessly and who listens to you—is the best :3 I truly loved everything, I even feel like I see life differently now HAHAHA. And thank you so much for the Spanish version! I loved EVERYTHING ♡
Amé el juego, espero que algún día hagas más juegos con traducción al español 🩷
I just played through and got kaleis ending- and oh my lords did I love this game! The accurate depictions, kaleis sweetness, finding someone that grounds us as the player, it's just exquisite! I honestly think limiting some of the dialogue options really added to the game experience, that feeling of being out of control and helplessness was really amplified in my opinion, and in kaleis ending being able to truly choose for ourselves was just the cherry on top!
I will also say, I was silently losing my composure every time that British man spoke, he's the epitome of an unlikable character! I love him! Brilliant idea to make geist British, we all know the brits aren't real(≧▽≦)
I will definitely be making fanart and fanfiction of my precious kalei, I have simply fallen for him!
(Also will be playing your other games<3)
Idk if this can count as spoilers but..
This story hit way too close to home, the dialogue of Geist, especially the MC’s spiral of overthinking was such an amazing depiction of anxiety. This genuinely felt like a materialization of anxiety itself(based on my own experience yes ofc), goodness,I don't even know how to describe it, but I’ve never felt so seen. LOL
I just want to say that I absolutely loved this game! ⋆˃ v ˂⋆ ( Though I doubt my reason for that was intentional :'D ) I just played and got Geist's ending , and I adored it (•˕ •マ .ᐟ (I was so happy and this honestly might've just become a comfort game for me now ꒰ა(/ˊᵕˋ)/✩‧₊˖°✮)
From what I can tell, Geist is supposed to be quite manipulative? (which is certainly obvious from the start, he was also quite rude lmao-)
However, as an Aplatonic person (Aplatonic means lacking platonic attraction or not being able to form strong platonic bonds, preferring to pursue relationships rather than friendships.), the fact that the kinder interactions from him were very romance coded ( like he didn't seem like he saw the MC as a friend, and he didn't show any signs of lust either, I'm also Ace lol, so more romance focused scenes were nice to see! As opposed to anything focused on lust), made him feel like a really safe person/character, save for when he was putting the MC down emotionally :/ Taking their phone was also a bit much. (compared to the other love interest Kalei, who, while he was very kind, he was also very clingy in a way that felt very friendship orientated, mind u I did chose to see him as a friend due to him not being my type tbf so that may be on me x])
Kalei reminds me a bit of acquaintances who've ignored my boundaries when I explain I don't feel comfortable spending extra time with them. I feel guilty that I can't return their friendship, but it's not healthy for me to spend time with those people when I'd rather spend it by myself or with a partner ^^'
What I'm saying is, some of the dialogue from Geist, that I assume was meant to be read as manipulative, ended up being a summary of my lack of interest in friendship said in a very clear and concise way (I understand him assuming the mc also feels like that without letting them say it themselves or disagree was manipulative and rude of him, though as I do also share his sentiment it came across to me more like being understood lol), and having a character seemingly respect that and treat the mc in a more romantic way, not expecting them to be best friends first or anything, was just so comforting and a breath of fresh air from how I've often been treated irl :']
So thank u, even tho it's likely that Geist's behaviour wasn't intended to be received that way, I still appreciate finally seeing a dynamic between a MC and a love interest that feels healthier to an Aplatonic individual like myself then what's often portrayed in visual novels (I still do not forgive him for how rude he was at the start tho lol, when I say healthy I mean when he treats the MC better and treats them as a partner)
This was a really good game and gave me a lot to think about! /gen Again I'm sorry if this review was difficult to understand ≽^◞ ˕ ◟^≼
While ik my interpretation of the game likely isn't shared by most people, nor is it likely intentional, it's awesome to see a bit of accidental representation for a part of my identity that I never see even discussions about online or irl. I also appreciated the option to make the MC's pronouns He/Him (I only made an account so I could post this comment, but it's so cool to see so many games on here that're LGBTQ+ friendly ! :3)
Oh gosh, you made an account just to leave this comment; I'm very honored!! I do admit that your interpretation wasn't one that I intended, but it is fascinating...🙏 While I've heard others say that Geist is a comforting presence, this is the first time I've heard it articulated in this way (and I can definitely see it!) 🤔 Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience - I'm very much of the opinion that art isn't just a product of the creator, but instead a dialogue between the creator and the audience, so I really love hearing how people interpret the things that I make 😆 especially if they get an experience out of them that wasn't "intentional"! It's one of the main reasons why I make games and share them publicly, so thank you 🥰 I'm really glad that you enjoyed the game!!!
no começo achei que o Geist era apenas um amigo toxico da protagonista, mas ao longo do jogo percebi que ele se trata da voz da insegurança dela, a sindrome do impostor, como sofro com ansiedade, indentifiquei isso rapidamente, pois me indentifiquei hehe. mas recusarmos o fato dele ter mais ações do que nós durante a história, mostra a luta que temos que ter diariamente para lidar com essas vozes da nossa cabeça
Also! Question that might be a little silly! Does Kalei have his own 'Geist' ghost?
Oh that's a good question 😂 🙏
===SPOILERS===
I like to think that Kalei has something similar to Geist, but much less "concrete," since Kalei does struggle less with his own insecurities! So it wouldn't take the form of a person like Geist, but might take on the form of something like an animal 🤔 probably a cat 😂 🙏
I created an account just to make this comment. Wow.
At first I thought this would be your classic, idiotic, romance, where it glorifies stalkers. But no. This is probably going up there as one of my favorite games ever. I struggle with my own Geist, and seeing him repersented so perfectly made me feel very validated. I love how it shows that truly, most of what Geist says is inaccurate. Like when Kalei is drifting off, and Geist whispers how he's just thinking about how miserable of a person you are, and then it turns out Kalei is just thinking about an apocalypse situation! It really, really, really helps me. Such a beautiful depiction of social anxiety, and really helps me.
It gives me hope that one day, I'll find my own Kalei, if I just don't listen to Geist. And that's a beautiful thing for a game to do.
¡I love it! But I have a question. Is Geist real, or are we just imagining it? Is Geist a person we invented because of our insecurities? Do we have a mental problem? I can't understand it ;(
Thank you so much for playing!!! If you're interested, you can check out the postmortem for the game for a little more detail about my thought process while making it! As for your question:
===SPOILERS===
I mostly left Geist's identity up to player interpretation, since I didn't think that whether he is "real" or not significantly changes what I want people to get out of the story 😂 and I wanted to give people the freedom to interpret it how they wanted without being bogged down by some kind of "canon" answer!
In my own headcanon, Geist is just a manifestation of the protagonist's mental problems - mostly because I think it would be a total bummer to have a gaslighting ghost hanging out for your entire life, third-wheeling when you just wanna hang out with your bf 😂 However, I also did give Geist a real "ghost backstory" that I detail in the postmortem - mostly because well, he has a romantic ending, and I didn't want to tell people "well that ending isn't real because Geist isn't real!!!" You can end up in a codependent relationship with the ghost if you want to!!! 😩🙏
tl;dr Feel free to interpret "Geist" how you want, there isn't a wrong answer! If you want my "author headcanon," Geist is indeed a manifestation of the protagonist's anxieties and doesn't exist in real life.
As someone who deals with panic attacks, it made me realise how much I suffer from it. But honestly, I'm so sorry, but I WAS IMMEDIATLY PISSED OFF BY GEIST LMAO, but ey, I found his name fitting since Geist means Ghost in German. Def one of my favs
I hate myself cause of asking ts but wut type of game iz diz
It's a psychological visual novel! 🙏
geist is lowkey fine shyt LIKE HELLO he also lowkey looks like my favourite mlb character, felix son. im crine