Really neat mystery/horror VN that condenses a good story into something that never gets boring - yet never rushes things at all-, so the pacing is very solid for its medium (although it already has quite some elements and mechanics outside of the traditional VN format).
In terms of ambience and setting, it's strikingly good. The soundtrack is quite nice and did its job well, and even if I didn't grow too attached to any particular melody or tune, the jazz style the investigation music had going on for the detectives' section got me really enjoying every second of it.
The visuals and aesthetics are very nicely done as well, and are the cherry on top of the whole thing, helping cement the whole "urban legends and the darkness surrounding the streets and people of 80's Japan" setting's vibe.
The artstyle is really good, both cute and horrifing at times. The characters' sprites are very expressive and really got to me, and the game's more unconventional use of angles, camerawork and character positioning managed to make dialogues very dynamic and fresh, effortlessly making not many sprites to be used in a wide arrange of situations without it being too repetitive.
And while the characters may not stand out much at first sight, they end up making their way into your heart in one way or another. Richter may be the best example: even if at first he may look real shady or a pathetic joke character at best, he became my favorite in no time.
This is all thanks to the quality of the writing and the dialogues between characters, which felt very compelling.
The story itself is very nicely put together, and surprisingly for its genre and medium it actually ties everything up in a very solid way. The ties between every little aspect and character of the story had me constantly glued to the screen needing to unravel more.
The only complaint I have is that some times the narrative kind of relied on the reader not having picked up on some twist for quite a while which I had already seen coming, but then kind of throwing you the answer to another which I didn't even have time to dwell on and resolve. But nothing major to undermine the experience.
I feel the horror was very nicely done, adding a modern understanding of gameplay to deliver the scares, which felt clever and not just cheap, loud jumpscares. If anything, its more 'quiet' jumpscares were the most bone-chilling part for me.
Overall it's a very solid game with a lot of neat and clever tidbits and a really good atmosphere that completely sets you in its mood, and is very much worth its time.
In terms of ambience and setting, it's strikingly good. The soundtrack is quite nice and did its job well, and even if I didn't grow too attached to any particular melody or tune, the jazz style the investigation music had going on for the detectives' section got me really enjoying every second of it.
The visuals and aesthetics are very nicely done as well, and are the cherry on top of the whole thing, helping cement the whole "urban legends and the darkness surrounding the streets and people of 80's Japan" setting's vibe.
The artstyle is really good, both cute and horrifing at times. The characters' sprites are very expressive and really got to me, and the game's more unconventional use of angles, camerawork and character positioning managed to make dialogues very dynamic and fresh, effortlessly making not many sprites to be used in a wide arrange of situations without it being too repetitive.
And while the characters may not stand out much at first sight, they end up making their way into your heart in one way or another. Richter may be the best example: even if at first he may look real shady or a pathetic joke character at best, he became my favorite in no time.
This is all thanks to the quality of the writing and the dialogues between characters, which felt very compelling.
The story itself is very nicely put together, and surprisingly for its genre and medium it actually ties everything up in a very solid way. The ties between every little aspect and character of the story had me constantly glued to the screen needing to unravel more.
The only complaint I have is that some times the narrative kind of relied on the reader not having picked up on some twist for quite a while which I had already seen coming, but then kind of throwing you the answer to another which I didn't even have time to dwell on and resolve. But nothing major to undermine the experience.
I feel the horror was very nicely done, adding a modern understanding of gameplay to deliver the scares, which felt clever and not just cheap, loud jumpscares. If anything, its more 'quiet' jumpscares were the most bone-chilling part for me.
Overall it's a very solid game with a lot of neat and clever tidbits and a really good atmosphere that completely sets you in its mood, and is very much worth its time.