kaeruk
2020
Beautiful, sad; real. For no good reason, I think I was anticipating something more fluffy and light-hearted, but it was a good experience, and a more valuable one to me in this way. It feels at once heavy and inspirational.
I want to cling. I don't want to cling.
When I can help it, I want to ride the waves, and will do so with grace at times, and clumsiness at other times. I'll resist, and then I'll lovingly embrace my self who wants to resist, whose hands will open slowly, and clumsily embrace my gracefulness, and gracefully embrace my clumsiness.
I want to cling. I don't want to cling.
When I can help it, I want to ride the waves, and will do so with grace at times, and clumsiness at other times. I'll resist, and then I'll lovingly embrace my self who wants to resist, whose hands will open slowly, and clumsily embrace my gracefulness, and gracefully embrace my clumsiness.
2021
A fun introduction to these characters with entertaining dialogue, cool pixel art, and snazzy-ass music. I certainly will check out the subsequent games in this series.
Why is no one playing this?
The visual art is the first thing that got my attention, with super stylish character artwork and very neat use of color (very trans pride flag environments). The somewhat minimalistic backgrounds draw the players' attention where it's wanted, with perspective and dramatic shading that don't lack in eeriness, and evoke feelings of discomfort. The atmosphere is thick! The music also sets the mood well, although it's mostly lacking in melody and so is not memorable.
The English translation is plenty good. There are typos and missing words here and there (which were generally just amusing), but nothing is unclear, and the writing has personality. While there isn't anything very profound or emotional to be experienced here, the story is suspenseful and curious, unraveling at a steady pace that never bored me. The horror level is just right for me — it's there and relevant, but not overwhelming, so it didn't detract from my enjoyment.
This is my first exposure to Lovecraftian fiction, so the degree to which Lunatic Whispers is derivative isn't something I can really judge.
The gameplay isn't really difficult, especially after one has played through it once and knows what the goals are.
It's somewhat on the short side, but well worth the price for me. There are seven endings, which are easy to get with a guide, but I recommend going through your first playthrough without a guide and rolling with your mostly inevitable failures (failing can be fun). There is something you can interact with toward the end of a playthrough that makes subsequent playthroughs a total cinch, and it is miss-able, so either be thorough in your examination of the environments, or perhaps check out a guide for the very ending.
I do wish that the endings (at least the "best" one) were longer, or that there were some bonus short stories, as I like the characters and wish I could see them more! The endings are fun but quite short.
There is also a button for speeding through text, which is a boon when going for all endings, but must be used with caution, as it skips through not only previously read text, but all text. There is a text log though, so one can check what one might have missed.
Lunatic Whispers getting so little attention honestly made me hesitate to play it, so I'm very glad I gave it a go!
Disclaimer: I played with good company, so my experience did benefit from that!
(Functions well on Steam Deck. Played docked with a controller.)
The visual art is the first thing that got my attention, with super stylish character artwork and very neat use of color (very trans pride flag environments). The somewhat minimalistic backgrounds draw the players' attention where it's wanted, with perspective and dramatic shading that don't lack in eeriness, and evoke feelings of discomfort. The atmosphere is thick! The music also sets the mood well, although it's mostly lacking in melody and so is not memorable.
The English translation is plenty good. There are typos and missing words here and there (which were generally just amusing), but nothing is unclear, and the writing has personality. While there isn't anything very profound or emotional to be experienced here, the story is suspenseful and curious, unraveling at a steady pace that never bored me. The horror level is just right for me — it's there and relevant, but not overwhelming, so it didn't detract from my enjoyment.
This is my first exposure to Lovecraftian fiction, so the degree to which Lunatic Whispers is derivative isn't something I can really judge.
The gameplay isn't really difficult, especially after one has played through it once and knows what the goals are.
It's somewhat on the short side, but well worth the price for me. There are seven endings, which are easy to get with a guide, but I recommend going through your first playthrough without a guide and rolling with your mostly inevitable failures (failing can be fun). There is something you can interact with toward the end of a playthrough that makes subsequent playthroughs a total cinch, and it is miss-able, so either be thorough in your examination of the environments, or perhaps check out a guide for the very ending.
I do wish that the endings (at least the "best" one) were longer, or that there were some bonus short stories, as I like the characters and wish I could see them more! The endings are fun but quite short.
There is also a button for speeding through text, which is a boon when going for all endings, but must be used with caution, as it skips through not only previously read text, but all text. There is a text log though, so one can check what one might have missed.
Lunatic Whispers getting so little attention honestly made me hesitate to play it, so I'm very glad I gave it a go!
Disclaimer: I played with good company, so my experience did benefit from that!
(Functions well on Steam Deck. Played docked with a controller.)
2023
Really freaking neat, philosophical, and poetic: true art. I spent roughly half of the time feeling confused, which wasn't necessarily bad, but was a little tiring, and I felt that I'm not a diver skilled enough to swim to its depths. Frequently, though, I was just uncertain about which character's thoughts I was reading, and I'm unsure whether this ambiguity was intentional.
Nothing, Somewhere feels easily worth experiencing again, and I intend to do so in the future.
Nothing, Somewhere feels easily worth experiencing again, and I intend to do so in the future.
2019
This was very touching, and worth reading through, accompanied by its pleasant pianoforte music. I only wish that there were a few save files to make it easier to see all of the endings.
2019
I excitedly began playing this on November 15th, 2019, the day it released. It started out fun enough — the beginning is cinematic, has some nice music and pretty locations... Exploring the Wild Area was novel and enjoyable for me at the time. I spent a lot of time there, actually, squeezing every bit of enjoyment I could out of that place; camping with my Pokémon as they became inadvertently over-leveled, hoarding items I would mostly never use... until I wound up dropping the game for a few years. Over the course of those years, I saw some of the criticism that this game received, and I didn't really get it. Everything seemed fine to the point that I'd played. Oh well, Pokémon fans can be pretty critical at times.
I picked it back up more recently, and pushed ahead with the main story. From there, it just went downhill. Lower, and lower. This sucked. If I weren't so loyal to the Pokémon main series of games, I probably wouldn't have pushed to complete it, especially with how much of a drag the final parts of the game were, wherein an utter lack of content gave way to anticlimactic repetitiveness.
The main thing I have to say is that everything about this game is so surface-level when compared to the other main-series Pokémon games. They tried putting a coat of pretty paint on stuff, but there's nothing of substance behind it. It might fool you for a bit, but it can't keep it up for long at all. It shows in things like the lack of flavor text after leaving the first town, for objects you'd be able to examine in other games (except Scarlet and Violet, which is similar and even worse in that regard), and the inability to enter the majority of buildings. (Of the structures that can be entered, many look near identical to each other, with the exception of buildings one is required to be in for story scenes. They wouldn't want you to miss the few locations they put any effort into designing, after all.) Where new towns in other games often promised crannies to peek into, small discoveries to be made, or unique features... this game largely presents the facade of new towns, where all you can do is pass through them.
In other Pokémon games, there are optional activities to participate in, some of which have a lot of depth to them! TV/radio programs, contests and performances/musicals, underground mining and secret bases, riding Pokémon, flying through the sky from location to location, the Safari Zone, Trick House, little side quests,gambling, photography, an entire second region to journey through (HGSS was just WOW), optional Legendary Pokémon to pursue, Entralink, the ability to pet or walk with one's party members — I could go on and on. There are no such treasure troves of optional content, locations, and features in this game. The most there is to mention here is like, Max Raid Battles and making curry. And you can play fetch with your Pokémon. (I believe it goes without saying, but I'm judging this game based on the $60 USD full game, not based on paid DLC.)
Once you're done in the Wild Area, I felt there's no real incentive to return — it's all behind you — and everything from there is a straight shot from one Gym to the next, broken up only ever so slightly by bits of an absolutely mediocre plot that had so little thought and care put into it. Pokémon games aren't known for their high quality story telling, but this is a new low. I can't even say that it seemed to me like the writers were trying. It felt so lazy, stingy, and stale, and not once did it touch me emotionally. It's devoid of the adventurous magic I've found to varying degrees in the games that came before it, as well as the more recent Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet. The story lacks imagination... They tried going for some plot twists, but they fell completely flat. Most of the characters have so little personality, you could copy the words spoken by one of them and paste them on another character's text box and it might not be apparent at all that you'd done so. There were a couple of main characters who could have been interesting, but the writers just didn't... really do anything with them.
There are a few nice music tracks, but not much I enjoyed relative to most Pokémon game soundtracks.
Overall, this game is an empty disappointment.
I picked it back up more recently, and pushed ahead with the main story. From there, it just went downhill. Lower, and lower. This sucked. If I weren't so loyal to the Pokémon main series of games, I probably wouldn't have pushed to complete it, especially with how much of a drag the final parts of the game were, wherein an utter lack of content gave way to anticlimactic repetitiveness.
The main thing I have to say is that everything about this game is so surface-level when compared to the other main-series Pokémon games. They tried putting a coat of pretty paint on stuff, but there's nothing of substance behind it. It might fool you for a bit, but it can't keep it up for long at all. It shows in things like the lack of flavor text after leaving the first town, for objects you'd be able to examine in other games (except Scarlet and Violet, which is similar and even worse in that regard), and the inability to enter the majority of buildings. (Of the structures that can be entered, many look near identical to each other, with the exception of buildings one is required to be in for story scenes. They wouldn't want you to miss the few locations they put any effort into designing, after all.) Where new towns in other games often promised crannies to peek into, small discoveries to be made, or unique features... this game largely presents the facade of new towns, where all you can do is pass through them.
In other Pokémon games, there are optional activities to participate in, some of which have a lot of depth to them! TV/radio programs, contests and performances/musicals, underground mining and secret bases, riding Pokémon, flying through the sky from location to location, the Safari Zone, Trick House, little side quests,
Once you're done in the Wild Area, I felt there's no real incentive to return — it's all behind you — and everything from there is a straight shot from one Gym to the next, broken up only ever so slightly by bits of an absolutely mediocre plot that had so little thought and care put into it. Pokémon games aren't known for their high quality story telling, but this is a new low. I can't even say that it seemed to me like the writers were trying. It felt so lazy, stingy, and stale, and not once did it touch me emotionally. It's devoid of the adventurous magic I've found to varying degrees in the games that came before it, as well as the more recent Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet. The story lacks imagination... They tried going for some plot twists, but they fell completely flat. Most of the characters have so little personality, you could copy the words spoken by one of them and paste them on another character's text box and it might not be apparent at all that you'd done so. There were a couple of main characters who could have been interesting, but the writers just didn't... really do anything with them.
There are a few nice music tracks, but not much I enjoyed relative to most Pokémon game soundtracks.
Overall, this game is an empty disappointment.
A sweet little point-n-click mystery VN with nice presentation and lovely music. I hope to make something like this someday!
2006
A life of luxury spent observing the fake gato...
They really let me spend 14 in-game days with my cat before they gave me the epilogue. I was expecting something open-ended where I can take care of my chosen cat for as long as I want to, as in some other games from this series. That's just the game set-up — they want to have the player raise other cat breeds, but they make the player start over for every cat without the abilities, money, and items acquired in the last playthrough.
It's cute, but pretty bare bones, like you'd expect from a GBA pet sim. I liked the events inside and outside the house and the little scraps of social sim. It would have been nice if there were more of these, but there's only enough unique events to last for one short playthrough (although perhaps some are unique to the breed or are based on the cat's stats. Having played a little of a second playthrough, it's all the same so far). It grows boring after seeing all of them.
The music tracks with the synth meows were fun, and also the worst music I've had stuck in my head in a while.
I grabbed a $4 copy of this from a used game store, which was entirely unnecessary. But if you enjoy trying out different pet simulators, I think this is worth emulating for a couple of hours~
Also, they make you pick "boy or girl" for the player character, and then never gender the player character---
They really let me spend 14 in-game days with my cat before they gave me the epilogue. I was expecting something open-ended where I can take care of my chosen cat for as long as I want to, as in some other games from this series. That's just the game set-up — they want to have the player raise other cat breeds, but they make the player start over for every cat without the abilities, money, and items acquired in the last playthrough.
It's cute, but pretty bare bones, like you'd expect from a GBA pet sim. I liked the events inside and outside the house and the little scraps of social sim. It would have been nice if there were more of these, but there's only enough unique events to last for one short playthrough (although perhaps some are unique to the breed or are based on the cat's stats. Having played a little of a second playthrough, it's all the same so far). It grows boring after seeing all of them.
The music tracks with the synth meows were fun, and also the worst music I've had stuck in my head in a while.
I grabbed a $4 copy of this from a used game store, which was entirely unnecessary. But if you enjoy trying out different pet simulators, I think this is worth emulating for a couple of hours~
Also, they make you pick "boy or girl" for the player character, and then never gender the player character---
2016
Nothing very engaging in gameplay or story, but features neat art and some lovely, expressive music.
2016
No one asked to be able to drink mayonnaise. Thousands have asked for the option to make the playable character non-binary.
Well, at least we can now drink mayonnaise. Thanks, Eric.
Well, at least we can now drink mayonnaise. Thanks, Eric.
2023
This review contains spoilers
OK, spent over an hour on this. Why?
Kept missing one particular anomaly due to misinterpretation of the guidance sign saying to not turn back. Thought it meant to not even look behind oneself unless an anomaly had been observed. Whoops! IYKYK. Was at my wits' end with how many times I saw that EXIT 0 sign.
Also wish I'd learnt how to run sooner! LOL
Kept missing one particular anomaly due to misinterpretation of the guidance sign saying to not turn back. Thought it meant to not even look behind oneself unless an anomaly had been observed. Whoops! IYKYK. Was at my wits' end with how many times I saw that EXIT 0 sign.
Also wish I'd learnt how to run sooner! LOL
A small, cute, queer, simple text adventure. Sweet li'l ending.
"Princexx", though? My enby ass will be having none of that!
"Princexx", though? My enby ass will be having none of that!
2022
What? This is so sweet...
At least within the culture in which I've been raised, humans really aren't taught how to empathize with and talk to people about subjects like chronic illness and death. We stumble a lot, and don't give people who have chronic or terminal illness enough space to speak for themselves and openly share what only they understand. Usually we try to avoid it altogether, because it feels uncomfortable and we don't want to think about it or accept reality — and we expect those afflicted to do the same. Even when it comes from a place of deep compassion, it can have an effect opposite what we wish for. I would love to see attitudes around this shift in a big way — for people to get more comfortable talking about these matters, and to get more comfortable listening. I want to learn how to relate better when it comes to this, too. I believe Astra's Garden handled this really nicely, for such a short story, and it was pretty relaxing.
At least within the culture in which I've been raised, humans really aren't taught how to empathize with and talk to people about subjects like chronic illness and death. We stumble a lot, and don't give people who have chronic or terminal illness enough space to speak for themselves and openly share what only they understand. Usually we try to avoid it altogether, because it feels uncomfortable and we don't want to think about it or accept reality — and we expect those afflicted to do the same. Even when it comes from a place of deep compassion, it can have an effect opposite what we wish for. I would love to see attitudes around this shift in a big way — for people to get more comfortable talking about these matters, and to get more comfortable listening. I want to learn how to relate better when it comes to this, too. I believe Astra's Garden handled this really nicely, for such a short story, and it was pretty relaxing.
2021
A short, inspirational point-and-click adventure game with some important things to say.
Many problems seem (and are) too big to be influenced and fixed when we are isolated. One may feel it's all they can manage, only to fend for themself or their family. When we get involved with and build our community, we create a supportive network that's there when any of us needs it. The same problems that are too much in isolation can suddenly become surmountable. And I mean, it simply feels better, doesn't it?
Many problems seem (and are) too big to be influenced and fixed when we are isolated. One may feel it's all they can manage, only to fend for themself or their family. When we get involved with and build our community, we create a supportive network that's there when any of us needs it. The same problems that are too much in isolation can suddenly become surmountable. And I mean, it simply feels better, doesn't it?
Hana Awase -Mizuchi Volume- is comprised of approximately 40% suffering, 25% characters being disgustingly horny for the protagonist, 15% card battles, 15% romance, and 5% school drama. Sound good? Keep reading~
It's worth noting that, although this is a full-length VN, it is barely a complete story. It definitely is meant to be followed by the subsequent volumes. I would say that the full price is quite high for that.
I love the artwork — sharp and stylish, and mostly consistent, with fairly plentiful CGs and lots of different expressions for the character portraits. The music is fantastic. I liked the traditional Japanese aesthetic, the poems, the vibes of the setting, and the presentation.
I came into this experience expecting the hana utsushi card battles to be the biggest hurdle in my enjoyment. At first I didn't like them, but after a while they were a little relaxing, even. There is a notable amount of grinding required, though.
The translation is mostly good, but there was the occasional questionable choice of totally altered meaning for no reason, and the typos or words missing here and there were not hard to come by (and sometimes cheapened an emotional moment in the story haha). It was still comprehendible.
Maybe I didn't play in the most efficient way, but I had to do a lot of skipping through the same previously read portions of the game a lot of times in order to reach all of the endings. There is a "skip to next choice or chapter" function, but having tested it a lot, I can say that it's kind of broken. It very rarely took me as far as the next choice or chapter, and sometimes even took me a bit backwards!
The LIs are all pretty different in personality, but... this first volume didn't give me reason to like two of the four presented here. I was not neutral on those two. I actively disliked them. A lot. Wow. Is it just me? Or did the game want me to dislike them? Unknown.
If you're someone who enjoys extensive "bad endings", you might really like this! Excluding the route for the main love interest of this volume, the routes are all basically relatively well developed, lengthy bad endings.
I have to say that it's really pretty grim, though. There is a lot of physical violence and death. The protagonist gets assaulted a lot, and experiences many threats of sexual violence and otherwise unwanted advances.
There are some flaws I wasn't able to overlook. The emphasis on roles based on sex, the unchecked misogyny of some of the characters, the hetero-normativity... The fact that I couldn't romance Momotose!!!
There is a bizarre significance placed on the concept of virginity (why?), specifically for characters bearing vaginas (a very strict double standard). The protagonist's psychic powers will deteriorated if they lose these mystical "qualifications"! The attitude toward this felt very victim-blaming, which was... disturbing.
Someone reviewed this game in the comments section of a YouTube video. They claimed that "guys thirst after u while are encouraged to f u in the same time u have to remain virgin". I thought they were exaggerating, but it is, sadly, true. The demo cuts off immediately before all the weird horny behavior starts. Who knew!? LOL
In the end, I did this for Momotose. And for Momotose, I will do it again.
It's worth noting that, although this is a full-length VN, it is barely a complete story. It definitely is meant to be followed by the subsequent volumes. I would say that the full price is quite high for that.
I love the artwork — sharp and stylish, and mostly consistent, with fairly plentiful CGs and lots of different expressions for the character portraits. The music is fantastic. I liked the traditional Japanese aesthetic, the poems, the vibes of the setting, and the presentation.
I came into this experience expecting the hana utsushi card battles to be the biggest hurdle in my enjoyment. At first I didn't like them, but after a while they were a little relaxing, even. There is a notable amount of grinding required, though.
The translation is mostly good, but there was the occasional questionable choice of totally altered meaning for no reason, and the typos or words missing here and there were not hard to come by (and sometimes cheapened an emotional moment in the story haha). It was still comprehendible.
Maybe I didn't play in the most efficient way, but I had to do a lot of skipping through the same previously read portions of the game a lot of times in order to reach all of the endings. There is a "skip to next choice or chapter" function, but having tested it a lot, I can say that it's kind of broken. It very rarely took me as far as the next choice or chapter, and sometimes even took me a bit backwards!
The LIs are all pretty different in personality, but... this first volume didn't give me reason to like two of the four presented here. I was not neutral on those two. I actively disliked them. A lot. Wow. Is it just me? Or did the game want me to dislike them? Unknown.
If you're someone who enjoys extensive "bad endings", you might really like this! Excluding the route for the main love interest of this volume, the routes are all basically relatively well developed, lengthy bad endings.
I have to say that it's really pretty grim, though. There is a lot of physical violence and death. The protagonist gets assaulted a lot, and experiences many threats of sexual violence and otherwise unwanted advances.
There are some flaws I wasn't able to overlook. The emphasis on roles based on sex, the unchecked misogyny of some of the characters, the hetero-normativity... The fact that I couldn't romance Momotose!!!
There is a bizarre significance placed on the concept of virginity (why?), specifically for characters bearing vaginas (a very strict double standard). The protagonist's psychic powers will deteriorated if they lose these mystical "qualifications"! The attitude toward this felt very victim-blaming, which was... disturbing.
Someone reviewed this game in the comments section of a YouTube video. They claimed that "guys thirst after u while are encouraged to f u in the same time u have to remain virgin". I thought they were exaggerating, but it is, sadly, true. The demo cuts off immediately before all the weird horny behavior starts. Who knew!? LOL
In the end, I did this for Momotose. And for Momotose, I will do it again.