i finally revisited this game after seven years. i didn't think highly of it when i first played, but this time it felt much worse.
while this game was made in rpgmaker, it didn't feel much like an rpgmaker, most especially in the second half of the game. this could have very well been a visual novel. exploration and puzzling-solving felt limited. in fact, i can only think of one significant puzzle that was fun. in the second half of the game, it practically becomes a walking simulator. the maps are simple and uninteresting as well. it didn't feel like there was much substance to its environmental design.
as for the story, i don't even know what to say. it throws in dark themes simply for the sake of being dark and edgy. it reads like a creepypasta. just actually jeff the killer. i'd rather not spoil much, but basically there are buzzwords thrown around without having much meaning behind them. for example, religious themes are thrown around without delving too much into christianity itself; rather, it is the veneer of christianity without having to give these characters concrete belief systems (which, in turn, results in 2 dimensional personalities). and not to mention this ringing bell sound effect that plays when something is supposed to be "emotional." character motivations are confusing and actively contradict things they say before. a majority of the cast is trope-y and hard to care about. i feel as though characters (especially side characters) we were meant to care about get one small blurb about their backstory and nothing much to tie it back to their present self, which is an important part of development. if backstories were presented, they were mentioned in some easily forgettable monologue. character growth, while visible, is limited because there is just no way of knowing what they are growing FROM. dialogue was repetitive and oftentimes broke immersion. there are loose references to what should be significant cornerstones of a character's personality, and even those cornerstones are vague and lack elaboration. by the end of it, i was spamming the confirm key just to get the story over with. if zack weren't such a goofy character i likely would have dropped the game. in fact, he may be the best written character in the entire game. his illiteracy was well utilized as a concept, both in terms of story and within gameplay. i wish it had been used more in gameplay, as it would have enhanced some mystery within the story.
also, this game does not like to tie up loose ends; many plot holes were left.
i feel this kind of relationship would have been so interesting to explore. a dynamic where one is dependent on being killed by the other is a fascinating concept, but it felt like none of it was planned out. perhaps it would have improved if one could have seen more internal dialogue from both of our main characters, but the game lacks such self-introspection. why does zack feel the way he does about rachel? why does rachel need to be killed specifically by zack? and my biggest question is what makes them care about each other at all? there is so little foundation for what could have been an intriguing dynamic that everything else afterwards leaves nothing for me to care about.
i am just shocked that this developer also created forest of drizzling rain. the characters in that game were very well thought out, and the story ties itself up rather well. angels of death was simply so flat and hard to care for when everything is a contradiction or something that is overpowered by zack's inhuman physique. i could name so many other rpgmakers that deserved an anime much more than this game.
while this game was made in rpgmaker, it didn't feel much like an rpgmaker, most especially in the second half of the game. this could have very well been a visual novel. exploration and puzzling-solving felt limited. in fact, i can only think of one significant puzzle that was fun. in the second half of the game, it practically becomes a walking simulator. the maps are simple and uninteresting as well. it didn't feel like there was much substance to its environmental design.
as for the story, i don't even know what to say. it throws in dark themes simply for the sake of being dark and edgy. it reads like a creepypasta. just actually jeff the killer. i'd rather not spoil much, but basically there are buzzwords thrown around without having much meaning behind them. for example, religious themes are thrown around without delving too much into christianity itself; rather, it is the veneer of christianity without having to give these characters concrete belief systems (which, in turn, results in 2 dimensional personalities). and not to mention this ringing bell sound effect that plays when something is supposed to be "emotional." character motivations are confusing and actively contradict things they say before. a majority of the cast is trope-y and hard to care about. i feel as though characters (especially side characters) we were meant to care about get one small blurb about their backstory and nothing much to tie it back to their present self, which is an important part of development. if backstories were presented, they were mentioned in some easily forgettable monologue. character growth, while visible, is limited because there is just no way of knowing what they are growing FROM. dialogue was repetitive and oftentimes broke immersion. there are loose references to what should be significant cornerstones of a character's personality, and even those cornerstones are vague and lack elaboration. by the end of it, i was spamming the confirm key just to get the story over with. if zack weren't such a goofy character i likely would have dropped the game. in fact, he may be the best written character in the entire game. his illiteracy was well utilized as a concept, both in terms of story and within gameplay. i wish it had been used more in gameplay, as it would have enhanced some mystery within the story.
also, this game does not like to tie up loose ends; many plot holes were left.
i feel this kind of relationship would have been so interesting to explore. a dynamic where one is dependent on being killed by the other is a fascinating concept, but it felt like none of it was planned out. perhaps it would have improved if one could have seen more internal dialogue from both of our main characters, but the game lacks such self-introspection. why does zack feel the way he does about rachel? why does rachel need to be killed specifically by zack? and my biggest question is what makes them care about each other at all? there is so little foundation for what could have been an intriguing dynamic that everything else afterwards leaves nothing for me to care about.
i am just shocked that this developer also created forest of drizzling rain. the characters in that game were very well thought out, and the story ties itself up rather well. angels of death was simply so flat and hard to care for when everything is a contradiction or something that is overpowered by zack's inhuman physique. i could name so many other rpgmakers that deserved an anime much more than this game.
moschidae
1 year ago