Reviews from

in the past


-tbh found the way this game understands when to be quiet and sullen and reflexive rlly compelling. like epi2 has a lot of these just silent moments and it rlly builds off of how loud and aggressive that first ep is
-love the way this game handles language if that makes sense. like it’s def it’s own world w it’s own vocab which makes it feel all the more abstract and diff from our own world. like I rlly liked that although the game is about religious fanatics and church organizations there’s a very pointed spelling of christmas as xmas and w that comes its own implications for the characters and the world. there’s also a ton of typos here which could mean anything from the fact that most dialogue is said by children or the idea that most religious fanatics and zealots are commonly seen as less educated but tbh I don’t think that’s the case and rlly hope it isn’t as that’s kind of rooted in classism. or idk maybe it’s a deliberate choice to make the world feel more alien and less like our own or that the writer just accidentally put it through w some typos
-think the wordplay w nb nonbeliever enby is genuinely rlly smart cheeky commentary. all of the writing is rlly clever in regards to how it handles both gender and sexuality and it’s mostly esp subtle which is rlly nice bc I feel like the worst thing about queer art is how much it feels like it’s beating u over the head. this never does except in one moment where the camera focuses in on the word GAY in a paper written about twigs, even that I find ridiculously charming and almost funny. rlly nails down the way that adults speculate on childrens’ orientations and gender expression in a rlly gross way and how that can make ppl feel, enough of the game is about how from the moment ppl see u they’re drawing their own conclusions and perceptions about/around u.
-love the animation here, middle ground between mid 90s early cgi shorts from animation studios that would become established in the coming decades and the video art horror boom of the early 2010s. equal parts cutesy and comfy and creepy. rlly amazed w the cutscenes in epi 2 and how well they’re directed and overall in terms of staging and shooting the scenes and what a step up that is. there’s like a zoom in on the main characters faces in the opening segment of that episode that’s actually so cool and pretty. got the style of like rando mtv oddities frl. the live action moments r so beautiful…
-think it’s cool what and who they do and don’t show. like it’s very much so a point to never show the parents or grandmother, same w the fathers friend during the poker game segment. reminds me a lot of how adults are shown in peanuts, almost like non entities, npc’s if u will. the fact that the only adults we see are the lovecorp employees who look and behave alien and otherworldly but also mostly completely ageless and ethereal.
-one of the only pieces of media to rlly get down the feeling of disassociation. idk spent basically the entirety of my teenage years disassociated and disconnected from my conversations and interactions w other ppl. like Ik I had friends and I talked w them and occasionally talked to my family but I can’t rlly remember what we talked about or what we did bc I was so checked out back then. not even bc I was necessarily uncomfortable w myself but more so bc I was uncomfortable around others and w how my life was panning out. love the scenes of twigs driving w her mother and how checked out she is in those conversations. I one day won’t be able to remember conversations at all or even how ppl that were once kinda close to me looked but I’ll always remember how the roads looked.
-the bonnie coded marcie coded girls r doing yuri/yaoi again

i loved this idk why the og download got taken down it makes me sad tho cuz now the only way i can recommend this to friends is by directly sharing the files

probably the best thing i've ever read/played/seen. in love with the artstyle

Spoiled child simulator lmao. Also the creator took the game off the internet? I have no idea, but all I can say is it was the right decision if so.

(S01E02: FRIDAY)

I don't think I've ever been moved by a game as deeply as this moved me, save maybe KR0 and Nier. Opening section captures that overwhelming feeling of gratitude and relief upon meeting a friend in a dream, like seeing a friendly familiar face in a city you've never visited before, like no other piece of art I can recall. I'm all the way the fuck in on this even if it's likely to break my heart in half.


writing on the 2 of 4 eps that are out so far: i like this a whole lot! direction is just excellent throughout, often frightening and depressing but uniquely sly at times too. a v specific kind of ex-cult christian (or just christian, you COULD take the church in this as a christian church if you wanted) menhera in this; the way religious indoctrination psychologically constricts children, whose trauma then gets internally contextualized through the mythology. also the early 2000s visual influences--drawing from more than just games obviously but love the lines that can be drawn btwn the 3d in this and stuff like sengoku turb or okage or stretch panic--just makes me feel like this is a spiritual successor to hypnospace outlaw in a certain kind of sense that im not gonna elaborate on. cannot wait to see how the next 2 episodes are handled.

EP1:
dled this a while back because i recognized the dev from their music under /f and only got around to playing it when i found out how stacked the rest of the soundtrack was (shoutout jalen #fuknina #tunaclan)
first impressions: this is insanely well directed for what seems like their first game, the overall visual direction is impeccable and it takes advantage of the vn format in rly inventive ways that add a lot to the offbeat denpa atmosphere
the story is rly compelling so far too, this setup has so much potential and i cant wait to see where it ends up (if the remake ever gets finished i hope)

It doesn't make sense but in a way that makes sense, if that makes sense? The overly cutesy, childish stream of consciousness of Twig and the unusual art style take a second to get used to but if you can accept them on their terms then they really suck you into the world. Beneath the act there's a shrewd intelligence and some almost painful honesty; the writing is super sharp and a lot of the visuals are quite haunting.

The creator has talked about how they have mixed feelings on the first two installments but I love them so much and I'm incredibly hyped for the next episode.

i love trooncrap. im trooncraps top guy

(S01E01+S01E02)
i don't even know how to review it in a way that would do it justice.. this vn has such a personal almost spiritual effect on me, hit me in a hidden place nothing ever really has, and it's sincerely my favorite vn.. one of my favorite things ever really...

everything I could've said has been said better by other reviewers ~

(S01E01)

The decision to couch what appears to be an examination/critique of evangelical-adjacent/non-denominational Protestant Christian culture/environments in a fictionalized scientology-esque cult is one I'm not entirely convinced doesn't dilute some of what this appears to be attempting to do (or won't in the long run if it sticks with it) but it also doesn't prevent this first episode from hitting a lot of v familiar dynamics with painful accuracy - I had variations of the convo between Twigs and her mom abt associating with non-believers with my own mom growing up and even as a young adult once I started dating lol. Not to reduce this solely to that of course - this a refreshingly ambitious and sharply observed piece of work even if its component parts are all things I've encountered before elsewhere, and the presentation is phenomenal accross the board - terrific soundtrack, character designs that strongly invoke Shigeru Goto's design work on Okage: Shadow King, the believably typo-ridden text itself as expression of its teenage protagonist's processing of the world and her own thoughts (which also reminded me of the writing and speaking style of a very dear friend of mine - if I had to imagine what kind of kid they were at this age Twigs isn't too far off lol), the Anno-esque editing, etc. Also those FMV sequences have a genuine sense of scale and mood sorely lacking in games today, especially on the indie scene, the one capping off episode 1 was genuinely breathtaking. Anyway big fucking vibe, looking forward to seeing how this unfolds!