What if....
What if you had one chance to use the secret art of resurrecting the dead?
Yes, if you had the power to bring someone back to life, one time and one time only...!
What would you do?
Paranormasight, while not entirely grasping the reigns on its horror theming, has still grown to be one of my favorite mystery virtual novels behind Ace Attorney. I would like to thank fellow backloggd user Cadensia for encouraging me to play this game, her incredible review is worth the read regardless if youre interested in playing. Paranormasight is most definitley the most ambitious and fresh feeling game I have played in a while, taking several new concepts i have never encountered before and turning them into a distinct style of VN that leaves me desperate to see more of. While i generally feel like some of these concepts had more potential, each and every aspect of this game is thoroughly utilized near constantly. It is a game that never became boring, predictable. Every little thing from the flavor text to the menus was purposeful and smart. It is a thinking game, a very intelligent game that had me on a hook until the very end. The 360° Google Earth-like camera in particular fascinated me, it is an absolutely ingenious idea for both a horror and mystery VN alike. Though, with the horror aspect, i feel my biggest disappointment lies.
I will be honest, this games biggest strength is its intelligent character writing, artwork, and unconventional puzzle solutions. More on the topic of the characters in the next paragraph, but i feel like the scary aspects of this game are left woefully untouched from how tense the opening route was. The 360 camera control was anxiety inducing, having to manually swing your head around to investigate left me feeling incredibly open and vulnerable. Your character has a back, a place they cannot see, and the game takes full advantage of that fact both in terms of puzzle solving and well earned jumpscares. A core part of the game revolves around an object called a curse stone. Each carries its own unique curse with its own requirements to set off, kill enough people with it and you can access the Rite of Resurrection. The first part of this game had such a unique idea, trying to figure out other curse bearer's abilities while also attempting to discard them with your own. Its ingenious, and not to mention that Paranormasight is one of the few games that does 4th wall breaking well, with many of the puzzle solutions being something only the player can access. As the game goes on and new protagonists are introduced with their own curse abilities, i thought the entire game would be centered around the smart use of these stones to aid in storytelling. Deciding if one should or should not use their stone to take someones life seems like a given when it comes to a game with a story chart, though unfortunately once day breaks this entire mechanic is dropped mostly all together along with the outright horror atmosphere (though the game remains very tense). The rest of Paranormasight is not bad by any means, but i do really wish there were more scares set up with the paranormal element.
Yes, if you are interested in this game please know that it shouldnt be solely for a scary time. Paranormasight's largest strength by far is its stellar wriitng and excellent visual direcrion. This is absolutely the most important paragraph in my review, because i just cant underestimate how wonderful this game's writing is. So many games- even ones centered around reading- fail to break the mold in any capacity; not as well written as a book, not interesting as a game. So many character stereotypes rehashed again and again, both in writing and design. Paranormasight's writing takes on a completely new charisma of its own... character dynamics I have never seen depicted before, realized in such a grounded way that feels real and tangible. I was constantly endeared and amazed by it. Its hard to describe, but its almost like a person you might meet in your actual life: there is no defining them or their actions by only a few descriptive traits. Gone are the days where we have such thrilling VN characters such as Girl (crazy mean though attractive) or Girl (shy) or High School Boy Jersey Jacket (jock) and his friend High School Boy Glasses (he is smart).
Paranormasight is where it's at, from a gay private detective to a man who is struggling very much trying to explain his babied wife, it does not leave one wanting for diversity. The premise of the mystery is also consistently present, always leaving you thinking and hanging on each and every word. But more than anything i am deeply thankful and touched by the delivery of the female cast. Its something i dont expect from any video game whatsoever, nonetheless a Square Enix title. Half the characters in this game are women, and theyre all so wonderful. Visually distinct... they all have different features and styles, down to the way their bodies are shaped. They're all nuanced and contained in a way that is exactly equal to writing and positions male charactes recieve. They are interesting, cunning, thinking and endearing. They are shown to me as human people, and this is an incredibly rare thing to behold in any artistic medium. I am very very happy i played this game to see such a thing, once more i can not understate just how thoughtful and interactive the writing is.
Paranormasight a very precious game in the world of virtual novels (my new term) and a very exciting one. I hope this team gets to make more of whatever genre they feel like venturing into with a proper budget, but in my opinion even with limited resources they already shot 99% of horror/mystery VNs out of the water. This game will leave a very large impression on me for a long time. I already miss my gay detective and rugged school girl friends.
What if you had one chance to use the secret art of resurrecting the dead?
Yes, if you had the power to bring someone back to life, one time and one time only...!
What would you do?
Paranormasight, while not entirely grasping the reigns on its horror theming, has still grown to be one of my favorite mystery virtual novels behind Ace Attorney. I would like to thank fellow backloggd user Cadensia for encouraging me to play this game, her incredible review is worth the read regardless if youre interested in playing. Paranormasight is most definitley the most ambitious and fresh feeling game I have played in a while, taking several new concepts i have never encountered before and turning them into a distinct style of VN that leaves me desperate to see more of. While i generally feel like some of these concepts had more potential, each and every aspect of this game is thoroughly utilized near constantly. It is a game that never became boring, predictable. Every little thing from the flavor text to the menus was purposeful and smart. It is a thinking game, a very intelligent game that had me on a hook until the very end. The 360° Google Earth-like camera in particular fascinated me, it is an absolutely ingenious idea for both a horror and mystery VN alike. Though, with the horror aspect, i feel my biggest disappointment lies.
I will be honest, this games biggest strength is its intelligent character writing, artwork, and unconventional puzzle solutions. More on the topic of the characters in the next paragraph, but i feel like the scary aspects of this game are left woefully untouched from how tense the opening route was. The 360 camera control was anxiety inducing, having to manually swing your head around to investigate left me feeling incredibly open and vulnerable. Your character has a back, a place they cannot see, and the game takes full advantage of that fact both in terms of puzzle solving and well earned jumpscares. A core part of the game revolves around an object called a curse stone. Each carries its own unique curse with its own requirements to set off, kill enough people with it and you can access the Rite of Resurrection. The first part of this game had such a unique idea, trying to figure out other curse bearer's abilities while also attempting to discard them with your own. Its ingenious, and not to mention that Paranormasight is one of the few games that does 4th wall breaking well, with many of the puzzle solutions being something only the player can access. As the game goes on and new protagonists are introduced with their own curse abilities, i thought the entire game would be centered around the smart use of these stones to aid in storytelling. Deciding if one should or should not use their stone to take someones life seems like a given when it comes to a game with a story chart, though unfortunately once day breaks this entire mechanic is dropped mostly all together along with the outright horror atmosphere (though the game remains very tense). The rest of Paranormasight is not bad by any means, but i do really wish there were more scares set up with the paranormal element.
Yes, if you are interested in this game please know that it shouldnt be solely for a scary time. Paranormasight's largest strength by far is its stellar wriitng and excellent visual direcrion. This is absolutely the most important paragraph in my review, because i just cant underestimate how wonderful this game's writing is. So many games- even ones centered around reading- fail to break the mold in any capacity; not as well written as a book, not interesting as a game. So many character stereotypes rehashed again and again, both in writing and design. Paranormasight's writing takes on a completely new charisma of its own... character dynamics I have never seen depicted before, realized in such a grounded way that feels real and tangible. I was constantly endeared and amazed by it. Its hard to describe, but its almost like a person you might meet in your actual life: there is no defining them or their actions by only a few descriptive traits. Gone are the days where we have such thrilling VN characters such as Girl (crazy mean though attractive) or Girl (shy) or High School Boy Jersey Jacket (jock) and his friend High School Boy Glasses (he is smart).
Paranormasight is where it's at, from a gay private detective to a man who is struggling very much trying to explain his babied wife, it does not leave one wanting for diversity. The premise of the mystery is also consistently present, always leaving you thinking and hanging on each and every word. But more than anything i am deeply thankful and touched by the delivery of the female cast. Its something i dont expect from any video game whatsoever, nonetheless a Square Enix title. Half the characters in this game are women, and theyre all so wonderful. Visually distinct... they all have different features and styles, down to the way their bodies are shaped. They're all nuanced and contained in a way that is exactly equal to writing and positions male charactes recieve. They are interesting, cunning, thinking and endearing. They are shown to me as human people, and this is an incredibly rare thing to behold in any artistic medium. I am very very happy i played this game to see such a thing, once more i can not understate just how thoughtful and interactive the writing is.
Paranormasight a very precious game in the world of virtual novels (my new term) and a very exciting one. I hope this team gets to make more of whatever genre they feel like venturing into with a proper budget, but in my opinion even with limited resources they already shot 99% of horror/mystery VNs out of the water. This game will leave a very large impression on me for a long time. I already miss my gay detective and rugged school girl friends.
2 Comments
@DeemonAndGames thank u demon, im very happy with this review so it means a lot. its a very good game so i can definitely vouch for it.
DeemonAndGames
5 months ago