I loved it, too much seriously, although it would be even better if I could get revenge on that damn bitch Twyla, and that everything went according to plan, but oh well, hopefully in the future there will be an opportunity :"3
Wow! I came here after finishing because I wanted to gush about it but I'm astonished by how toxic these comments are, for 1) an awesome game that 2) was clearly a labor of love updated painstakingly over years with 3) a lot of emotional investment and clever writing and 4) intentional cool representation choices and 5) IS FREE. IS FREE. IS FREE. YOU PLAY IT AND IT'S HOURS OF CONTENT AND IT'S FREE.
Anyway....
No I didn't see the ending coming (and am VERY glad I didn't check out the comments first) but having played it all in the course of a couple days, I really admire how the game starts out very much like there is something wrong, horrror or SOMEthing is present in the background, but the episodic character focused chapters lull you into a false sense of security. I thought maybe the backstory of a Murder Occuring was a loose thread, and the character being self-aware in their manipulation was more of a genre parody, before the game whacks you in the face. The title screen change was very much a rousing YOOO!! LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! moment.
The character routes being linear and with obvious and immediate failstates has me feeling some type of way. When you don't get it on your first or second go, it's annoying, because you feel like you have to "game" the character's reaction instead of getting to know them - which is itself a really neat self-aware critique of dating games I think, and a cool way to address the inherant completionism that comes alongside it. It does also make me proud and a little extra attached to the ones whose routes I got on the first go. Or to the ones I failed but for reasons that, in real life, I would find really reasonable. (Theodore, I'm not a snitch. Even if in high school I was way more of a Jaxter type. Gunter, I'm 100% with you dude - I'm not well off but I have just enough money that I feel like a bad friend if I don't offer other people whatever I've got. And Mary... Mary, I'm neither bi nor ace in terms of how I ID right now, but I've never met a more relatable character in my life.)
Speaking of representation, I really appreciate the choices to incorporate pride flags into character designs. I don't think that would work for EVERY game but it works for this one. I'm scrolling back through chapters and I'm seeing ones I didn't notice during actual play, again mostly thanks to Mary. Jaxter running around in a pan flag all night every night but (from what I remember...) switching to just blue for the dance makes me sad for him ahahaa. In a way that hints at some character beats if you squint. Speaking of, yoo, the psychosexual melodrama of high school girl crushes going on between Netina and Mary. I don't even know. Also being on the spectrum, there is probably enough in that topic I don't want to even get into for fear of discovering some kind of big bummer about my own high school memories lmao.
So much to still be said post-ending. Are we actually able to move on like we expect to? Do we have enough of a disconnect between our plans vs our actual friendships to miss what we had? We already missed Acanthibar so much that I'm skeptical that our connections are as easily severed as we want them to be. (Not to belabor the "good foreshadowing" point, but the cafeteria question that Twyla asked....!!!)
I don't think I ever got that secret chapter though... and now I'm especially curious since we had to do so much savescumming to get just to the endgame.
Edit - Oh!! I also wanted to mention the eerieness of the setting sort of wearing at you. Not in the design of the actual locations but in how the POV character keeps periodically noticing how the weather is always perfect, and how the classes are always just interesting enough to be challenging but not discouraging, how obfuscated the school's reasoning is for selecting students.
Edit- ALSO MARY'S SPRITES!! I almost forgot Mary's frogs emoting for her being the greatest thing since sliced bread
Edit - I do also still prefer Dark Evil Messed Up and Wicked music lmao, because I have an actual grandfather chime clock I got to keep my sense of time in line, so having an hour chime get in your head is so chronologically confusing hahah. Although speaking of the audio, having a text to speech option coded into the game is SO cool
I would check out my games like Cemetery Mary or Blackout Hospital! They feature many of the characters featured here. Cemetery Mary is especially good if you'd like to see Theo.
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I loved it, too much seriously, although it would be even better if I could get revenge on that damn bitch Twyla, and that everything went according to plan, but oh well, hopefully in the future there will be an opportunity :"3
Really loved this game!!! Adored the art for it too :3 (the rest of the videos will be coming out soon!)
I love this game but omg,
I'm trying to find a guide to get the other endings (if there is any) T.T, pls help me people of itchio
There is only one ending!
okay thank you! I was so worried on getting another ending now I can sleep peacefully ^^
Gunter'z 100% based on Gonta.
Even their namez sound similar.
The 3 genderz. short hair, long hair, & Miku hair.
Wow! I came here after finishing because I wanted to gush about it but I'm astonished by how toxic these comments are, for 1) an awesome game that 2) was clearly a labor of love updated painstakingly over years with 3) a lot of emotional investment and clever writing and 4) intentional cool representation choices and 5) IS FREE. IS FREE. IS FREE. YOU PLAY IT AND IT'S HOURS OF CONTENT AND IT'S FREE.
Anyway....
No I didn't see the ending coming (and am VERY glad I didn't check out the comments first) but having played it all in the course of a couple days, I really admire how the game starts out very much like there is something wrong, horrror or SOMEthing is present in the background, but the episodic character focused chapters lull you into a false sense of security. I thought maybe the backstory of a Murder Occuring was a loose thread, and the character being self-aware in their manipulation was more of a genre parody, before the game whacks you in the face. The title screen change was very much a rousing YOOO!! LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! moment.
The character routes being linear and with obvious and immediate failstates has me feeling some type of way. When you don't get it on your first or second go, it's annoying, because you feel like you have to "game" the character's reaction instead of getting to know them - which is itself a really neat self-aware critique of dating games I think, and a cool way to address the inherant completionism that comes alongside it. It does also make me proud and a little extra attached to the ones whose routes I got on the first go. Or to the ones I failed but for reasons that, in real life, I would find really reasonable. (Theodore, I'm not a snitch. Even if in high school I was way more of a Jaxter type. Gunter, I'm 100% with you dude - I'm not well off but I have just enough money that I feel like a bad friend if I don't offer other people whatever I've got. And Mary... Mary, I'm neither bi nor ace in terms of how I ID right now, but I've never met a more relatable character in my life.)
Speaking of representation, I really appreciate the choices to incorporate pride flags into character designs. I don't think that would work for EVERY game but it works for this one. I'm scrolling back through chapters and I'm seeing ones I didn't notice during actual play, again mostly thanks to Mary. Jaxter running around in a pan flag all night every night but (from what I remember...) switching to just blue for the dance makes me sad for him ahahaa. In a way that hints at some character beats if you squint. Speaking of, yoo, the psychosexual melodrama of high school girl crushes going on between Netina and Mary. I don't even know. Also being on the spectrum, there is probably enough in that topic I don't want to even get into for fear of discovering some kind of big bummer about my own high school memories lmao.
So much to still be said post-ending. Are we actually able to move on like we expect to? Do we have enough of a disconnect between our plans vs our actual friendships to miss what we had? We already missed Acanthibar so much that I'm skeptical that our connections are as easily severed as we want them to be. (Not to belabor the "good foreshadowing" point, but the cafeteria question that Twyla asked....!!!)
I don't think I ever got that secret chapter though... and now I'm especially curious since we had to do so much savescumming to get just to the endgame.
Edit - Oh!! I also wanted to mention the eerieness of the setting sort of wearing at you. Not in the design of the actual locations but in how the POV character keeps periodically noticing how the weather is always perfect, and how the classes are always just interesting enough to be challenging but not discouraging, how obfuscated the school's reasoning is for selecting students.
Edit- ALSO MARY'S SPRITES!! I almost forgot Mary's frogs emoting for her being the greatest thing since sliced bread
Edit - I do also still prefer Dark Evil Messed Up and Wicked music lmao, because I have an actual grandfather chime clock I got to keep my sense of time in line, so having an hour chime get in your head is so chronologically confusing hahah. Although speaking of the audio, having a text to speech option coded into the game is SO cool
I l;ove this! And i wish there were full games about so,me or all of these people, like theo :33
I would check out my games like Cemetery Mary or Blackout Hospital! They feature many of the characters featured here. Cemetery Mary is especially good if you'd like to see Theo.
Yee thank you :3333 I already downloaded it but i havent found the time to play yet DD:
personally, this is boring