the lore and worldbuilding is grounded in a hyperreal, new age mysticism that is abstracted away from any real history and esotericism of witchcraft, tarot, etc., presenting an admittedly charming pastiche of these things instead. on the one hand, this produces a wonderful aesthetic, with the character designs being a particular standout. i vibed with it; it was fun and whimsical when not taken too seriously, and the card designer, tarot reading, and canvassing were novel and enjoyable mechanics, although they did feel somewhat underdeveloped.

however, this grounding also lends itself to some mawkish writing and convoluted explain-aways. when it came to points of commentary or emotional depth, the dialogue often became noticeably more awkward, jarring and inconsistent. a decontextualised mysticism is inevitably going to be limited on topics of gender, friendship, politics and power i suppose

has a novel core mechanic that is entertaining throughout and a compelling high concept that sets up the story well. this story did feel like a bit of a slog to get through though, often leaving me in frustrated anticipation of the next puzzle scene—where the game truly excelled. couldn’t help but feel that i would have preferred it to be either a visual novel or a puzzle game, rather than what sometimes felt like a disparate mix of the two. it is very charming though and fits the DS like a glove

the core gameplay isn’t particularly distinct from your run-of-the-mill point-and-click mystery game and does become tedious when playing for awhile. however, the story is super compelling and well-constructed without taking itself too seriously—a whimsical exploration of aristocratic control, desire, paranoia, and ruthlessness borne out by the enigmatic power of the titular idol. there was an incredible moment of clarity between the final level and epilogue that will stay with me long-term. loved the grimey and exaggerated aesthetic too