yeah so this review was originally like two words until i realized i actually had more i wanted to say on this game.
i'm not sure what this game wants to be ? all i know is it's probably one of the most cynical and angry pieces of media i've read, none of the characters in this game feel like.. actual characters, they feel like an extension of someone's who ego has broken down and who is extremely pissed off at the world, but if we talk about characters, we only really have two main characters
abby and zhen
zhen is probably one of the least likable protagonists in media? she just constantly manipulates others for her own self-satisfaction and is so self-centered and cares so little for others that it's baffling to me they try to play the death of a character who ""simped"" her as like an emotional moment for her because the dialogue makes it so plainly obvious said character was just a pawn in her schemes. they also just play her sympathetically? like..?
"oh man im so depressed, let me just become an imperialist and get sad afterwards"
abby is hardly a character at any point and she's just a yesman to whatever zhen does until eventually she tries to speak out against zhen and zhen has a temper tantrum
the entire game is supposed to tackle more darker and serious themes than homestuck, but it has so little to say about them that it's kinda silly
the game is just like "GUYS GUYS AMERICA IS BAD AMERICA IS BAD, CANCEL CULTURE BAD"
(did i mention the main character mentions systemic evil and cancel culture in the same breath as if they're.. remotely comparable)
but the point that really pissed me off was after giving a LITERAL dictator speech, zhen just flies off with abby with 0 consquences and a forced character conclusion that feels as earnt as the money that rolls into billionare's wallets
i suppose that's fitting though
i can't really give any credit to the music or art because the music is all reused tracks from older work and the art is.. just bad
and the game being a vn doesn't do anything other than justify the extreme amounts of just "words" in this game, because this game has no capacity to let the viewer interpret anything for themselves
it feels like a massive downgrade from homestuck which is like insane because homestuck isn't very good
but at least it has an idea of what it wants to be
this tries to be a period piece on 2020 society but has so little meaningful commentary that it's genuinely meaningless
it's also 3 dollars (and apparently 10 at launch)? which is the funniest shit ever
tld;r bro, what?