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Lucid9: Inciting Incident

Lucid9 – Inciting Incident really is a gem amongst OELVNs, and I believe it has a chance to stand alongside some other big-name visual novels currently available in English, should the future parts of the story keep the quality that this entry does.
Lucid9: Inciting Incident Game Cover
91%Game Brain Score
story, music
gameplay, grinding
92% User Score Based on 886 reviews
Critic Score 90%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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Lucid9: Inciting Incident Game Cover

About

Lucid9: Inciting Incident is a single player casual simulation game with romance, drama, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by Fallen Snow Studios and was released on April 14, 2016. It received positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

Lucid9 is a visual novel focused on a web of intricate mysteries set in the fictional 2018 metropolis of Isamu. Lucid9: Inciting Incident is the first part of the story, focused on a string of disappearances that occur at a prestigious, uppity boarding academy.

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92%
Audience ScoreBased on 886 reviews
story262 positive mentions
grinding7 negative mentions

  • Engaging and well-written story that keeps players hooked from start to finish.
  • Well-developed characters with unique personalities that players can relate to.
  • High-quality art and music that enhance the overall experience.
  • Pacing can be slow, especially in the beginning, which may deter some players.
  • Choices often feel inconsequential, with only one true ending available.
  • The ending can be emotionally distressing, leaving players wanting more closure.
  • story
    696 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Lucid9: Inciting Incident" is a complex and engaging narrative that blends elements of mystery, psychological thriller, and character-driven drama. While the initial pacing is slow, focusing on character development and everyday interactions, the plot intensifies with unexpected twists and emotional depth as it progresses, leaving players eager for the sequel. Despite some criticisms regarding pacing and unresolved plot points, many reviewers praise the well-crafted storytelling, character arcs, and immersive atmosphere, making it a standout free visual novel experience.

    • “The story is captivating and the music alongside it makes it even more powerful as you continue.”
    • “The story is rich, the characters are deep and well defined, and the ending is... well, you'll have to find out for yourself!”
    • “This game truly is a masterpiece when it comes to the story and character development, and the artwork is stunning.”
    • “To play through this entire story for hours only to have it end in such an unsatisfying way makes me wonder why I even needed to play this in the first place.”
    • “Even after playing the epilogue content, the message is kind of clear for what the story is trying to tell you, but in my opinion, it just feels like I wasted my time.”
    • “The main problems are the length of it and the fact that the story doesn't have a proper conclusion.”
  • music
    197 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the atmosphere and emotional depth of the story, with many users praising the soundtrack as exceptional and fitting for various scenes. While some noted occasional repetitiveness, the overall quality and variety of tracks, including character themes, were highlighted as standout features that significantly contribute to the immersive experience. Many players expressed a desire for a downloadable music pack, indicating the soundtrack's lasting impact beyond gameplay.

    • “The music is absolutely brilliant, each song just fits in like a puzzle piece, creating a fitting atmosphere for the story to take place.”
    • “The soundtrack was definitely my favorite aspect of the game; all of the music, ranging from catchy, upbeat tunes to dark and foreboding ambient tracks really pull you into the protagonist's head, making the immersion all that much better.”
    • “The music is perfect and fitting to the situations.”
    • “Music got really on my nerves too.”
    • “Not fun, a drag and terrible music.”
    • “However, the music is okay in places but sometimes it's completely off.”
  • graphics
    95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the overall art style and atmospheric effects, while some criticize inconsistencies in character designs and a lack of detailed CG artwork. Overall, the visuals are described as beautiful and engaging, contributing positively to the immersive storytelling experience, despite occasional amateurish elements. Players appreciate the combination of good artwork and sound design, which enhances the emotional depth of the narrative.

    • “The visuals in this game are amazing.”
    • “With fantastic artwork and obvious effort put into it, I would recommend this game to anyone who is seeking a brilliant visual novel.”
    • “The artwork is fantastic and consistent.”
    • “The art style differs between male and female characters, which is really disturbing: the females look like preschoolers (even the one that is 25+) while the males are clearly teenagers.”
    • “There were little to no memorable fun scenes, and the 'interesting' ones were too difficult to imagine; the 'visual' part in this means no voice characters, not many visuals of their actions or backgrounds explored.”
    • “Lucid9's artwork has a vaguely amateur feel to it.”
  • emotional
    86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is described as a profound and intense experience, often likened to an emotional rollercoaster that elicits a wide range of feelings, from joy to heartbreak. Players report forming deep attachments to well-developed characters and being moved to tears multiple times due to the impactful storytelling and dramatic plot twists. However, the game also contains dark themes and traumatic content, making it a potentially overwhelming experience for those sensitive to such material.

    • “This game is brutal if you're one that gets emotional while playing games.”
    • “It was expertly crafted, thematically relevant, and so emotionally powerful that it actually helped me turn my life around in more ways than one.”
    • “This was literally the most fantastic and the most emotional rollercoaster experience I've ever had.”
  • humor
    77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever writing, engaging dialogue, and well-timed comedic moments that balance the darker themes of the story. Players appreciate the quirky character interactions and pop culture references, which contribute to a fun and entertaining experience. While some found the humor juvenile or inconsistent, many agree that it effectively enhances the overall narrative, making the game both enjoyable and memorable.

    • “First of all, all the texts and dialogues in this game are really great, funny, and engaging.”
    • “Lucid9 alternates between constantly humorous slice-of-life and increasingly terrifying murder mystery, which means you may end up laughing out loud and anxiously gnashing your teeth within the space of ten minutes.”
    • “The verbal exchange of words and the endless witty remarks are absolutely hilarious and entertaining.”
  • character development
    35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, character development in the game is praised for its depth and significance, with many players noting well-written characters and engaging backstories that enhance the narrative. While some reviews mention pacing issues and uneven development among characters, the majority highlight the emotional connections formed with the main character and the impactful storytelling. The combination of strong character arcs and quality writing contributes to a rich and immersive experience, making it a standout aspect of the game.

    • “Marvelous storytelling and character development.”
    • “The story is rich, the character development is exceptional, and the artwork is beautiful.”
    • “This game truly is a masterpiece when it comes to the story and character development, and the artwork?”
    • “But I feel like his character development 'sneaked' past me.”
    • “When I first played this game, I felt as if it went a little too slow with the dialogue and character development, but as the story continued I started to enjoy the game a lot more.”
    • “Only Yama and Elizabeth had any character development.”
  • gameplay
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in this visual novel is largely criticized for its lack of meaningful interaction and poorly written dialogue, with players often feeling that choices have little impact on the story. Many reviewers noted that the pacing is slow, with long stretches of text and minimal engagement, leading to frustration over the lack of progression towards the main plot. While some appreciated the detective elements and branching paths, the overall consensus is that the gameplay experience is underwhelming and fails to deliver a compelling narrative.

    • “This game features several interesting ways of gameplay.”
    • “The 'gameplay' where you must select the correct answers to questions was thrilling; I felt a sense of achievement and like I was an actual detective as the story progressed.”
    • “Lucid9 is a visual novel and comes with the sort of gameplay (or whatever you choose to call it) one would expect from the genre.”
    • “As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay; it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which presents the question, 'how did something this badly written end up on Steam?'”
    • “I much as I enjoyed the characters and their daily life, I only got one choice pop up within that hour of gameplay for what the main character should do in his free time and nothing to do with his interactions with the characters around him.”
    • “The first 10 minutes offer literally zero gameplay and no chance of interaction whatsoever; you have to click through a never-ending, badly translated anime monologue.”
  • atmosphere
    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive quality, effectively combining well-crafted artwork, brilliant music, and strong character development to evoke a range of emotions, from tension to warmth. Reviewers note that the soundtrack complements the narrative beautifully, enhancing the overall experience and creating a heavy, suspenseful ambiance. Despite some minor criticisms of the artwork, the game's ability to build atmosphere through dialogue and pacing is consistently highlighted as a standout feature.

    • “The atmosphere is so well-crafted that you feel the tension and fear alongside Yama.”
    • “The music is absolutely brilliant, each song just fits in like a puzzle piece, creating a fitting atmosphere for the story to take place.”
    • “The writing is on point; plot, character development, setting, atmosphere, and scripting are all done at a very intelligent level, such that there's never a lull in the story's tension and every detail is woven together perfectly.”
    • “It takes a lot of time and patience to build up some atmosphere.”
    • “However, this one takes out some of the mystery and adds more to the creepiness and atmosphere.”
    • “The heavy, oppressive atmosphere... suspense abounds in this visual novel.”
  • grinding
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is excessively tedious, requiring significant time investment and often feeling like a chore rather than an engaging experience. Players express frustration with the slow pacing and repetitive nature of the gameplay, likening it to a drawn-out reading experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment. Despite these criticisms, some players find value in the story and characters, suggesting that the narrative may still resonate despite the grinding.

    • “The bad endings are very enjoyable, if not tedious, and the amount of tears you will create while reading/playing is unbelievable.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The game is a bundle of clichés that seems to hate its own existence, but not enough to fix any of the tedious writing or stereotypical characters.”
    • “Based on the beginning, where you don't get to make any real choices for a while, I thought this would be dull and tedious at best.”
  • replayability
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers significant replayability through multiple endings, player choices, and achievements, enhancing the overall experience. While it is relatively short, the engaging story and well-developed characters encourage players to explore different routes, making it a standout in the visual novel genre.

    • “It's got lots of endings, so good replay value, and all of the characters are pretty well-written too.”
    • “It's a short game, but there's quite a bit of replayability through different routes.”
    • “You get heaping doses of your feels, suspense to keep things interesting and keep you guessing, choices to make along the way to both give you some control over your situation as well as creating replay value, and the humor is really well done.”
    • “It has save features, replayability through the achievements and the much loved skip mode!”
  • optimization
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received high praise, with users noting its smooth performance, quick loading times, and impressive graphics across platforms, including Ubuntu. Reviewers express satisfaction with the overall execution, highlighting that the game runs flawlessly without any noticeable issues.

    • “The game is simply astonishing; it is so perfect you can't really find any downside. I really mean it—the graphics, character optimization, sounds, everything is in place.”
    • “I would have totally paid for this game, and a great thanks to the devs for their awesome optimization. I played it on Ubuntu, and unlike other games, I can't see anything wrong with how fast it runs and how fast it loads. All so awesome.”
    • “Amazing game, graphics run smoothly, images are well done, and best of all, it is free.”
    • “The game is simply astonishing; it is so perfect you can't really find any downside. I really mean it, the graphics, characters, optimization, sounds—everything is in place. Then there is the ending: can someone give me a piece of something hard to slap the devs because of the cruelty in them?”
  • stability
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its writing but criticized for significant stability issues, being described as a buggy and unfinished experience with no updates in three years.

    • “A very well written visual novel that's a buggy, unfinished mess that has received no updates for 3 years.”
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16h Median play time
16h Average play time
10-27h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 7 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Lucid9: Inciting Incident is a casual simulation game with romance, drama, mystery and thriller themes.

Lucid9: Inciting Incident is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 16 hours playing Lucid9: Inciting Incident.

Lucid9: Inciting Incident was released on April 14, 2016.

Lucid9: Inciting Incident was developed by Fallen Snow Studios.

Lucid9: Inciting Incident has received positive reviews from players and positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Lucid9: Inciting Incident is a single player game.

Similar games include Everlasting Summer, One Thousand Lies, Sepia Tears, The Letter, Kill or Love and others.