The game features an amazing story with complex characters and a captivating narrative that keeps players engaged.
The art style is stunning, resembling hand-painted oil paintings, which enhances the overall aesthetic experience.
Players appreciate the meaningful choices that significantly impact the story and character development, providing high replay value.
Some players found the voice acting to be lacking in emotion and the overall quality inconsistent.
A few choices in the game do not lead to significant differences in outcomes, which can feel frustrating for players seeking impactful decisions.
The ending felt rushed for some, leaving players wanting more resolution and depth in the conclusion of the story.
story
260 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
57%
1%
The story of the game is widely praised for its captivating narrative, complex characters, and meaningful choices that significantly impact the gameplay experience. Reviewers highlight the well-crafted plot twists and the immersive dark fantasy setting, complemented by beautiful artwork and a compelling soundtrack. Overall, players find the storytelling to be engaging and emotionally resonant, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The story is pretty incredible and the amount of choice effects is substantial.”
“It creates a really interesting stage for a complex, compelling cast of characters, and the story does a great job of pushing and pulling you through a moral quandary, meaning you might end up making a choice at the end in opposition to your thoughts at the beginning of the game.”
“The depth of the story and character development in this novel is one of the best I’ve experienced.”
“That's not even to mention how either buggy, or worse, poorly thought out, the [spoiler] enacting the darkest night [/spoiler] ending currently seems to be, with the big revelation about [spoiler] the identity of the warden [/spoiler] happening seemingly offscreen, or how a major character [spoiler] sylas [/spoiler] is just automatically written out of the story off-screen because they disagree with the protagonist's choice.”
“Once you choose an ending it's pretty linear with basically no choices to make aside from [spoiler] gathering your allies [/spoiler] which i think might be partially based on choices throughout the game, and partially on making a series of correct choices persona 4 style in order to avoid an instant bad ending which i actually found kind of funny, but mostly just frustrating because it exemplified how sudden this robbing of my ability to make choices that influence the story was.”
“As for the critique, I'm not really impressed with how the world building and some of the story flow goes, the world and story are great, but sometimes I got lost in the narrative so I had to scroll down the codex many times to find what I need, even on the later chapters.”
graphics
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
43%
4%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their captivating and beautiful art style, often likened to oil paintings, which enhances the storytelling experience. While some users noted the reuse of artwork in different scenes, significant events feature unique illustrations that elevate key moments. Overall, the visuals are described as stunning and fitting for the narrative, contributing to a rich and immersive atmosphere.
“The art style is so beautiful, everything looks like an oil painting.”
“Wow, what a great story experience, beautiful artwork, and compelling and realistic characters!”
“The artwork is what drew me to this game; the illustration of the characters and the areas is unique.”
“The same artwork seems to be reused for different scenes.”
“Graphics and basically everything in the game are quite simple... all but the story.”
“Unfortunately, what few 'relationship-oriented' interactions there are, they are all rated 'pg'; no real visuals, and vague text.”
music
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
27%
8%
The music in the game is widely praised for its originality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting the pleasing instrumental score and outstanding soundtracks that complement the narrative and atmosphere. While there are no songs, the ambient sounds and character themes are noted for their immersive quality, fitting well within the game's medieval setting. Overall, the music is described as beautiful and integral to the storytelling, contributing significantly to the emotional depth of the visual novel.
“The soundtrack is wonderful as well; I especially love the different character themes.”
“The soundtrack is very well done, not intrusive and fits the atmosphere of the story, which feels mysterious and exotic.”
“Accompanied with a beautiful art style and a pleasing instrumental soundtrack fitting of a classic Bioware RPG; a fairly focused but compelling story is brought to life!”
“There are no songs in the game, but the original music score is quite pleasing.”
“The soundtrack is very well done, not intrusive and fits the atmosphere of the story which feels mysterious and exotic.”
“Accompanied with a beautiful art style (...though there are only a few art CGs), and a pleasing instrumental soundtrack fitting of a classic Bioware RPG; a fairly focused but compelling story is brought to life!”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The gameplay is highly praised for its engaging RPG mechanics, impactful choices, and the ability to shape one's character without altering the overarching narrative. Players appreciate the detailed lore and stunning visuals, with many noting that the game offers a surprisingly lengthy experience, often exceeding 15 hours. The focus on character-driven storytelling, particularly through the prominent roles of female leads, adds depth to the gameplay experience.
“Detailed and intriguing lore, impactful choices, easy and well-done mechanics, stunning visual art.”
“The gameplay is a lot longer than I expected; my first playthrough took me more than 15 hours, and I was entertained every second of it.”
“As a visual novel, the choices the player makes are the most important gameplay aspect.”
“Getting to choose your abilities mixes up the gameplay, opening up different options while closing off others.”
“Especially Marané and Sylas have so much screen time and mainly drive the plot in the first few hours of gameplay, which is a rare thing for female leads and greatly appreciated.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
30%
10%
The game is praised for its high replayability, offering numerous choices and routes that encourage players to revisit it multiple times. Reviewers highlight its solid structure and extensive content, making it a compelling experience for those who enjoy exploring different outcomes.
“It's a solid game with great replay value.”
“This is a fairly long visual novel with lots of replayability.”
“The replay value is very high here, since it has lots of choices and routes.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its lighthearted moments, particularly in the abrupt transitions from flirting to engagement, which some players found amusing. However, many feel that the humor serves more as flavor text rather than significantly impacting gameplay, with a linear progression that limits meaningful choices, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience.
“I just wanted to add how funny I found it that you go from flirting to choosing someone and them saying you're now engaged basically, hahaha.”
“I think it's because of the game timeline, but I found the interaction kind of funny, like wow, at least they're not afraid of commitment.”
“Once you choose an ending, it's pretty linear with basically no choices to make aside from [spoiler] gathering your allies [/spoiler], which I actually found kind of funny, but mostly just frustrating because it exemplified how sudden this robbing of my ability to make choices that influence the story was.”
character development
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The character development in the game is highly praised for its depth and integration into the narrative, allowing for a natural progression of romance and personal growth. The beautiful hand-drawn artwork complements the storytelling, enhancing the overall experience of character evolution. Reviewers consider it one of the best examples of character development in the genre.
“The depth of the story and character development in this novel is one of the best I've experienced.”
“It also makes it feel much more natural if you let the romance choices and scenes seep into the plot one step at a time with room for character development in between.”
“Solid story, beautifully hand-drawn artwork, passionate character development.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive quality, enhanced by a well-crafted soundtrack that complements the mysterious and exotic narrative. Reviewers consistently highlight how the combination of style, sound, and story creates a captivating environment that draws players in.
“The game has such a good atmosphere!”
“The style, the sound, the atmosphere, the story.”
“The soundtrack is very well done, not intrusive and fits the atmosphere of the story, which feels mysterious and exotic.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players are deeply moved by the game's emotionally rich narrative, characterized by a slowly unfolding story and beautifully hand-painted backgrounds. The characters are portrayed with depth, each carrying their own fears and hopes, which captivates players and keeps them engaged long into the night, akin to an engrossing book.
“I became enamored during the first hour, captivated by the slowly unfolding story and the beautiful, touching style of hand-painted backgrounds. The game characters are rich with their own stories, fears, hopes, and feelings. That first evening, I stayed awake well into the night, unable to tear myself away from the narrative, like a book that draws you in and refuses to let you go.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game has been criticized for being buggy and poorly designed, particularly regarding key plot developments that occur offscreen, which detracts from the overall narrative experience. Players have expressed frustration with significant character decisions that feel abrupt and unearned, indicating a lack of coherence in the storytelling.
“That's not even to mention how either buggy, or worse, poorly thought out, the enacting of the darkest night ending currently seems to be, with the big revelation about the identity of the warden happening seemingly offscreen, or how a major character, Sylas, is just automatically written out of the story off-screen because they disagree with the protagonist's choice - like, babe, so do I, but it was literally the only choice that even resembled what should be the consequence to the way I've been playing so far!”