[Review posted on 2021-08-09];
My dream and the reason why I submerged in JP learning.
To be fair when I just finished last "true" route, my full view of the story' perspective didn't changed. When you just completed the very first route - you'll obtain the gist of the situation. That means that after entire completion you may have a bittersweet aftertaste by receiving the cliffhanger in the end. The suspense sensation that you felt through your denpa-journey just crumbling down and breaks to peaces. That is the emotion that I had. Even though ending may be justifying and interesting in some way, but anyway, I had a thought like "That's it? You're joking? I mean, that it is the script of some beta-eroge that still ain't finished or something."
Besides some personal expectations off game' scenario, I want to emphasize the highlight of this ゲ - it's the OST.
BGM in sayooshi trully a gem against the background of some eroges. It has everything i am a fond of - dark, changeble, fickle rhythm of the songs and themes of heroines, that full of mystery and its own energy. I still remember every track from sayooshi.
Prose and atmosphere complementing by OST, - it's a holy truth. Gloomy, crimson, frightening, remarkable descriptions of events and environment makes the blood run cold in your veins. And how clearly it's noticed - that's another plus in "pros" section.
Characters on the first glance may be seem like they are poorly written, but after finishing route of some heroines, you're getting into their inner natures and may even percieve sympathy toward them.
Visual, CharDes/sprites and CG.
Glad that old eroges have a function of font changing. When you first interact with sayooshi, you're literally cannot read anything easily, because the outlines of the font literally doing it unreadable. So, in the end I changed it to font with almost zero outline and it was literally superb.
There was some interesting solution that closely related with plot when protagonist begin to talk, and right in that moment another character doing the same. I had to mention that one, because it's really unusual for VN's. It's pretty interesting element.
Character designs in sayooshi may look a bit strange when it comes to faces, but still, they are really expressive.
CG's, especially in some rare h-scenes, were shocking and astonishing. One of the most important things in sayooshi - it's an orange filter's color correction, that goes as splendid addition to an overall atmosphere, mystic sensation and charm to its characters.
In conclusion I want to say that sayooshi is winning hearts of the readers/players by the whole vibe and one more point: sayooshi have so far (for me) one of the best scenes with sincere, truest violence, which resonated within my inner self or complexes, but it's honestly as it is. It's clearly representing the pure wrath and hate toward women. If you have resembling views or thoughts, sayooshi's your case. It will one hundred percent find a response in your darkest corners of your soul.
In the end sayooshi is a story about frailness of mind, as some reviewer mentioned. It's clearly shows how human's brain cannot escape from consequences obtained by some tragic events in the past and how hard it is to face the new reality, even though it goes unconsciously from the perspective of the damaged human.
Excluding the meme-status of sayooshi, I declare that this is a really worthy denpage.

Ringing in the new year with completing my first foray into the denpa genre at a friend’s recommendation. Best read very late at night.

A sickly orange twilight is our backdrop to an acute, albeit harshly dated, portrayal of mental fragility and staggering acts of sudden violence. It’s no secret sayooshi is a hard to read title, I required frequent day long breaks in order to get to the core of the presented narrative, but it’s not something I regret at all. What lies beneath a veneer of sadistic fantasy is a story ripe for engaging critical analysis.

Outside of intentionally repetitive script which proved quite effective for both emphasis and flow, the rawness of the prose often stopped me in my tracks. Living in the protagonist’s head for the period of my playtime had me thinking of both his and others’ dialogue long after closing the game; the writing is gripping, the reader hanging off of every word as scenes end, leaving them with some final mysterious phrase which would only be elaborated on in another route.

The artwork is infectious in style, with the sharply pointed noses and almost melting eyes growing on me instantly. Paired with the warm reddish overlay layers and hauntingly stark 3DCG pre-rendered backgrounds, sayooshi establishes an iconic, instantly memorable presentation which is respected and referenced to this day. I especially enjoy the very much alive cult following and fanartist community this title keeps well after 20 years, a testament to its impact.

Upon first thinking the soundtrack merely did its job as background noise, before I knew it I was listening to the tracks outside of the game. Simple synth notes and drum samples make up evocative musical themes for every cast member, along with their use often adding to horrific juxtapositions in mood. My favourite tracks ended up being the smoky “Feignant” and the meandering, dreamlike “Inmobilite et Tourbillon”; the sound of an attempt to return to normalcy.

I don’t feel comfortable giving a rating, but I encourage those able to stomach more extreme scenes and seeking an entirely unique psychological horror experience to dive in.

じゃ、さよなら…