Immerse yourself in a thrilling psychological horror visual novel taking place in the secluded Japanese village of Yasumizu. A heavy fog surrounds the village, preventing everyone from ever leaving. Ancient Gods have come back to hunt the villagers down one by one. The Feast has begun, can you escape the village alive?
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Look the first two routes are really good, but from there it was totally downhill. I know most people love the third route the most, but the fact he is unabashedly talking about grooming a 15 year old is disgusting. "Oh but it's to show what a bad person he is in this particular route" uh no cause he brings it up several times in later paths and there's even an ending where he goes off with her. Rationalizing the ancient mysticism of the mountain down to one ridiculously elaborate and obnoxious conspiracy? I don't care if the game goes "um actually he's an scp that forces supernatural situations to be mundane" booo booo tomato tomato tomato. Also Rikako literally raped/sexually assaulted the entire village when she or they were children, and she just gets off scott free cause Kiyonosuke is a pathetic wimp? What a loser. L game.
This game was so good for like 90% of the way. That last 10% feels like they had two different ideas for what was going on and they mashed them together and the result is unappealing. They needed to have gone with either option and instead the end of the game feels really off compared to the rest of the game.
The other routes were amazing to me, getting to see more and more of the characters under the different routes was really cool.
The other routes were amazing to me, getting to see more and more of the characters under the different routes was really cool.
I feel like it's pretty easy to rag on Raging Loop, and don't get me wrong there is A LOT to rag on here, in particular the plot is kinda messy, and it has really poor depictions of a lot of subjects, ESPECIALLY when it comes to its main villain. But honestly, I think it also gets a lot of things right that ARE really great, there's a lot of really intriguing mystery, the art style is cool and unique, the music is very memorable, and in particular, most of the cast are really well written! I practically think Haruaki is a really damn good protag.
So yeah I can for sure see why so many hate this one, it doesn't particularly make the best lasting impression, but if you're willing to overlook a lot of the ilk, I think there's still a lot of worthwhile stuff to be had here
So yeah I can for sure see why so many hate this one, it doesn't particularly make the best lasting impression, but if you're willing to overlook a lot of the ilk, I think there's still a lot of worthwhile stuff to be had here
This game was actually a WONDERFUL visual novel till the end got goofy
⏰ In a rush? I gotchu'! ⏰
What Works:
✅ Compelling Werewolf Theme: Engages players in a gripping social deduction game within a murder mystery setting.
✅ Interactive Narrative: Offers multiple endings and a narrative flowchart that encourages exploration of different story paths.
✅ Accessible Introduction: Includes a helpful tutorial and guidance features for newcomers to the visual novel genre.
What Doesn't:
❌ Underwhelming Art Design: Backgrounds are simplistic and lack visual depth compared to well-characterised main and secondary characters.
❌ Inconsequential Choices: Many decisions do not significantly impact the story progression beyond witnessing different death outcomes.
❌ Sound Design Issues: Some sounds abruptly cut off, affecting immersion, which is crucial in a game centred on its narrative and atmosphere.
🎭 A Macabre Exploration of Persistence: Raging Loop
One of life’s lessons is that persistence leads to success. However, how well does this advice hold up when the context is death? Raging Loop is a macabre exploration of this question and a high-profile venture from KEMCO, published by PQube. This visual novel, rich with psychological horror elements, centres on a murder mystery theme, reminiscent of titles like Danganronpa or Zero Escape, thanks to its overall strong execution.
🌌 An Intriguing Murder Mystery
The story begins with Haruaki Fusaishi, a 24-year-old Japanese man fleeing Tokyo after a falling out with his girlfriend. He then stumbles upon the village of Yasumizu seemingly by chance. In this seemingly peaceful place, full of curious and distinct villagers, the main character becomes embroiled in a variant of the social deduction game Werewolf (or Mafia). For further context within the Raging Loop universe, the experience always features two groups: a minority of informed individuals (werewolves) and a majority of uninformed individuals (humans). The goal is always to crown the surviving group as the winner. On one hand, the werewolves must achieve numerical advantage. On the other hand, humans rely on guardian spirits to help deduce who among them is different, choosing each night through voting and dialogue, one participant to kill in the hope that they are a werewolf.
🌀 A Looping Narrative with Multiple Endings
Although it takes a while to really kickstart it, the plot is quite fun to unravel, with multiple endings to discover. To reach them, decisions must be made throughout the story, which are easily accessible via an intuitive and simple-to-navigate flowchart. Unfortunately, many outcomes are inconsequential, detailing how Haruaki dies from making a wrong decision that doesn't progress the story. Despite many choices being relevant to the story’s context, their sole purpose is to push the narrative forward, as each time the main character witnesses his death, he returns to square one (hence the Loop in the title) and carries with him fragmented knowledge to make a better decision next time. This is particularly interesting as this feature is backed into the game's narrative, justifying its presence, unlike other visual novels where going back in the story (via flowchart, for example) is merely a player mechanic.
💡 Helpful Hints and Engaging Tutorials
Raging Loop is also very accessible to newcomers to the genre. At the beginning of the adventure, there is an optional, charming tutorial narrated by a chibi version of one of the characters, which provides the player with all the important aspects for an enjoyable experience. It even goes further by advising occasional breaks and discouraging sharing spoilers at a certain point in the story. Additionally, each time Haruaki reaches an undesired ending, a Hint Corner option appears, featuring a rude sheep that explains the obtained ending and offers a suggestion on how to progress.
🎨 Artistic Strengths and Weaknesses
However, Raging Loop has some weaker areas. Artistically speaking, the player is treated to well-characterised main and secondary characters, each sufficiently memorable. However, the background areas are too simple and unimpressive. At a certain point, it’s possible to have seen most of what this department has to offer. Additionally, some sounds, such as birds singing or water running, end abruptly (ironic in a game where half the title is Loop), breaking any existing immersion with the game.
🖥️ Text Legibility and New Game Plus Mode
Nevertheless, the text is always legible and comprehensible, even on a Switch Lite. Another noteworthy point is that there is a New Game Plus mode called Revelation Mode which provides more information and context about each character's thoughts, increasing the title’s longevity for those interested in learning more about its overall story..
🌟 A Solid Choice for Fans and Newcomers Alike
With an interesting and mysterious plot, despite the initial time it takes to become more engaging, and notwithstanding its minor flaws, Raging Loop is a solid choice not only for fans but also for newcomers to the genre.
🌟 M I S C 🌟
◻️ 🌳 Linktree for all my stuff.
◻️ ⚠️ Review for FNintendo (RIP) from Nov 16, 2019.
◻️ 🙋♂️ More Reviews by yours truly.
◻️ 🎮 Nintendo Switch Games I’ve played.
◻️ 🧵 Follow me on Threads for updates and more.
◻️ 📜 Review #008
✨ F I N ✨
What Works:
✅ Compelling Werewolf Theme: Engages players in a gripping social deduction game within a murder mystery setting.
✅ Interactive Narrative: Offers multiple endings and a narrative flowchart that encourages exploration of different story paths.
✅ Accessible Introduction: Includes a helpful tutorial and guidance features for newcomers to the visual novel genre.
What Doesn't:
❌ Underwhelming Art Design: Backgrounds are simplistic and lack visual depth compared to well-characterised main and secondary characters.
❌ Inconsequential Choices: Many decisions do not significantly impact the story progression beyond witnessing different death outcomes.
❌ Sound Design Issues: Some sounds abruptly cut off, affecting immersion, which is crucial in a game centred on its narrative and atmosphere.
🎭 A Macabre Exploration of Persistence: Raging Loop
One of life’s lessons is that persistence leads to success. However, how well does this advice hold up when the context is death? Raging Loop is a macabre exploration of this question and a high-profile venture from KEMCO, published by PQube. This visual novel, rich with psychological horror elements, centres on a murder mystery theme, reminiscent of titles like Danganronpa or Zero Escape, thanks to its overall strong execution.
🌌 An Intriguing Murder Mystery
The story begins with Haruaki Fusaishi, a 24-year-old Japanese man fleeing Tokyo after a falling out with his girlfriend. He then stumbles upon the village of Yasumizu seemingly by chance. In this seemingly peaceful place, full of curious and distinct villagers, the main character becomes embroiled in a variant of the social deduction game Werewolf (or Mafia). For further context within the Raging Loop universe, the experience always features two groups: a minority of informed individuals (werewolves) and a majority of uninformed individuals (humans). The goal is always to crown the surviving group as the winner. On one hand, the werewolves must achieve numerical advantage. On the other hand, humans rely on guardian spirits to help deduce who among them is different, choosing each night through voting and dialogue, one participant to kill in the hope that they are a werewolf.
🌀 A Looping Narrative with Multiple Endings
Although it takes a while to really kickstart it, the plot is quite fun to unravel, with multiple endings to discover. To reach them, decisions must be made throughout the story, which are easily accessible via an intuitive and simple-to-navigate flowchart. Unfortunately, many outcomes are inconsequential, detailing how Haruaki dies from making a wrong decision that doesn't progress the story. Despite many choices being relevant to the story’s context, their sole purpose is to push the narrative forward, as each time the main character witnesses his death, he returns to square one (hence the Loop in the title) and carries with him fragmented knowledge to make a better decision next time. This is particularly interesting as this feature is backed into the game's narrative, justifying its presence, unlike other visual novels where going back in the story (via flowchart, for example) is merely a player mechanic.
💡 Helpful Hints and Engaging Tutorials
Raging Loop is also very accessible to newcomers to the genre. At the beginning of the adventure, there is an optional, charming tutorial narrated by a chibi version of one of the characters, which provides the player with all the important aspects for an enjoyable experience. It even goes further by advising occasional breaks and discouraging sharing spoilers at a certain point in the story. Additionally, each time Haruaki reaches an undesired ending, a Hint Corner option appears, featuring a rude sheep that explains the obtained ending and offers a suggestion on how to progress.
🎨 Artistic Strengths and Weaknesses
However, Raging Loop has some weaker areas. Artistically speaking, the player is treated to well-characterised main and secondary characters, each sufficiently memorable. However, the background areas are too simple and unimpressive. At a certain point, it’s possible to have seen most of what this department has to offer. Additionally, some sounds, such as birds singing or water running, end abruptly (ironic in a game where half the title is Loop), breaking any existing immersion with the game.
🖥️ Text Legibility and New Game Plus Mode
Nevertheless, the text is always legible and comprehensible, even on a Switch Lite. Another noteworthy point is that there is a New Game Plus mode called Revelation Mode which provides more information and context about each character's thoughts, increasing the title’s longevity for those interested in learning more about its overall story..
🌟 A Solid Choice for Fans and Newcomers Alike
With an interesting and mysterious plot, despite the initial time it takes to become more engaging, and notwithstanding its minor flaws, Raging Loop is a solid choice not only for fans but also for newcomers to the genre.
🌟 M I S C 🌟
◻️ 🌳 Linktree for all my stuff.
◻️ ⚠️ Review for FNintendo (RIP) from Nov 16, 2019.
◻️ 🙋♂️ More Reviews by yours truly.
◻️ 🎮 Nintendo Switch Games I’ve played.
◻️ 🧵 Follow me on Threads for updates and more.
◻️ 📜 Review #008
✨ F I N ✨
Excellent journey poor ending.