I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the target audience for this game. I'm a trans lesbian whose enjoyment of otome games typically stems from either the bizarre stories or the (often unintentional) exploration of kink, trauma, and relationship dynamics.
That being said, Virche Evermore is fascinating to me. On one hand, it's got a really neat setting, some genuinely likable character writing, and tries to tackle some themes that I rarely see games even acknowledge. On the other hand, it's a fifty-four hour long slog that's filled with a bunch of half-assed story threads, a distinct lack of anything romantically appealing, some of the worst attempts at Sci-Fi that I've ever read, and some genuinely uncomfortable depictions of abuse that are handled really, REALLY poorly.
[i]The TL;DR is that I would recommend Virche Evermore, but only to those players like myself who enjoy playing a lengthy, middling game every now and again. Virche Evermore likely isn't going to change your life, but it will worm its way into your brain and fester there. This game is fascinating, but that doesn't make it good.[/i]
[b]- CW // Mentions of Spousal Abuse, Death, Violence -[/b]
From here on, this is more my stream of consciousness thoughts.
I think that Virche is at it's best when it's simply telling you a story. The story of Arpéchéle, of the people who live there and the history of the setting, is some genuinely solid background. For the first few routes, that was enough to pull me in. The routes that have a narrative focus feel far sharper than the routes that focus on relationships, and while the romance didn't land for me, I think that this narrative-precedence would still affect me even had I fallen for one of the guys. Without spoiling, there's three routes that feel far more important than the rest, and as a result, everything lands so much better for them.
I also appreciate how much of the story revolves around its core themes: that of life and death. Each character interacts with and approaches these issues differently, and while I don't always agree with the conclusions, I like how much variety there is in the LI's thoughts on the subject. It helps to flesh them out, and the world as a whole too.
The characters are...alright? Having gone through all the routes (and most of the bad ends), I have my favorites. But unfortunately, because of the awkward pacing and the (at times) bizarre lead-ins to the third act conflicts, you get very little time to actually get to know them. Hell, most of each character's characterization comes from the common route. Generally for each character, their route is a third fun and cute fluff, and two-thirds drama. That only amounts to an hour or two of romance per LI, and while the true endings give you a bit more, I could see people interested in Virche Evermore's romance being sorely disappointed. The only genuinely interesting character, in my opinion, is Ceres. And even then, she often takes a back seat while plot is dolled out.
This undercuts much of the drama. It's hard to get emotional over character deaths when even side-characters tend to be constrained to a single route. And when there's so many deaths, murders, and suicides in one game, the raw, visceral impact of such gruesome writing evaporates. By the end it starts to get comical, and you'll be counting how many times you see the same alleys and the same bedrooms covered in blood.
This leads into my biggest issue with the game; it seems completely unaware that all of these relationships are - in some shape or form - abusive. I'm not a prude about toxic dynamics, and I enjoy some unhealthy and violent dynamics myself from time-to-time. But Virche Evermore gets under my skin with how uncritically it leads Ceres into terrible situations. Again, I won't be specific, but one of the routes feels eerily similar to real-life abusive relationships that I've witnessed. And in that route, Ceres' determination to love her abusive husband is framed as a genuinely noble and good thing by the game, which feels very...bad.
Beyond that though, most of the routes involve men completely controlling Ceres. Doing things to her against her whim, going to great lengths to control her, controlling her autonomy. There are some instances where this is clearly in service of kink, and I don't mind those cases. But it happens so frequently, and is so unaddressed by the game, that it gets uncomfortable if I think about it for too long. That, combined with every non-Ceres woman in the game being written as a cruel noble or a jealous prostitute, paints a really unflattering picture of those behind this game. Though I don't think this game is actively malicious or anything, just poorly written.
Virche Evermore wants to be a shocking, violent, cruel otome with brilliant sci-fi writing and a pile of plot twists meant to keep players talking for ages. What it is, however, is a confused, floundering mess that is just as charming as it is infuriating. It never delivers on its metaphors, it never even seems aware that it's as complex as it is, and despite all of that, some of it's shots land true. It's like a child swinging at a baseball on a tee. Every miss is infuriating. "You had it! It was right there!" But every so often it manages to hit the ball, and you can't help but smile.
I have a lot to say about this game, far more than I can squeeze into this review. But though I felt frustrated and annoyed most of the time, I'm still glad that I played this game. If you can enjoy bad games - if you love picking through the muck and looking for the pretty stones within - give Virche Evermore a shot. But don't expect a diamond in the rough. Just expect a pretty flower, one that wilts hours after it's plucked.
That being said, Virche Evermore is fascinating to me. On one hand, it's got a really neat setting, some genuinely likable character writing, and tries to tackle some themes that I rarely see games even acknowledge. On the other hand, it's a fifty-four hour long slog that's filled with a bunch of half-assed story threads, a distinct lack of anything romantically appealing, some of the worst attempts at Sci-Fi that I've ever read, and some genuinely uncomfortable depictions of abuse that are handled really, REALLY poorly.
[i]The TL;DR is that I would recommend Virche Evermore, but only to those players like myself who enjoy playing a lengthy, middling game every now and again. Virche Evermore likely isn't going to change your life, but it will worm its way into your brain and fester there. This game is fascinating, but that doesn't make it good.[/i]
[b]- CW // Mentions of Spousal Abuse, Death, Violence -[/b]
From here on, this is more my stream of consciousness thoughts.
I think that Virche is at it's best when it's simply telling you a story. The story of Arpéchéle, of the people who live there and the history of the setting, is some genuinely solid background. For the first few routes, that was enough to pull me in. The routes that have a narrative focus feel far sharper than the routes that focus on relationships, and while the romance didn't land for me, I think that this narrative-precedence would still affect me even had I fallen for one of the guys. Without spoiling, there's three routes that feel far more important than the rest, and as a result, everything lands so much better for them.
I also appreciate how much of the story revolves around its core themes: that of life and death. Each character interacts with and approaches these issues differently, and while I don't always agree with the conclusions, I like how much variety there is in the LI's thoughts on the subject. It helps to flesh them out, and the world as a whole too.
The characters are...alright? Having gone through all the routes (and most of the bad ends), I have my favorites. But unfortunately, because of the awkward pacing and the (at times) bizarre lead-ins to the third act conflicts, you get very little time to actually get to know them. Hell, most of each character's characterization comes from the common route. Generally for each character, their route is a third fun and cute fluff, and two-thirds drama. That only amounts to an hour or two of romance per LI, and while the true endings give you a bit more, I could see people interested in Virche Evermore's romance being sorely disappointed. The only genuinely interesting character, in my opinion, is Ceres. And even then, she often takes a back seat while plot is dolled out.
This undercuts much of the drama. It's hard to get emotional over character deaths when even side-characters tend to be constrained to a single route. And when there's so many deaths, murders, and suicides in one game, the raw, visceral impact of such gruesome writing evaporates. By the end it starts to get comical, and you'll be counting how many times you see the same alleys and the same bedrooms covered in blood.
This leads into my biggest issue with the game; it seems completely unaware that all of these relationships are - in some shape or form - abusive. I'm not a prude about toxic dynamics, and I enjoy some unhealthy and violent dynamics myself from time-to-time. But Virche Evermore gets under my skin with how uncritically it leads Ceres into terrible situations. Again, I won't be specific, but one of the routes feels eerily similar to real-life abusive relationships that I've witnessed. And in that route, Ceres' determination to love her abusive husband is framed as a genuinely noble and good thing by the game, which feels very...bad.
Beyond that though, most of the routes involve men completely controlling Ceres. Doing things to her against her whim, going to great lengths to control her, controlling her autonomy. There are some instances where this is clearly in service of kink, and I don't mind those cases. But it happens so frequently, and is so unaddressed by the game, that it gets uncomfortable if I think about it for too long. That, combined with every non-Ceres woman in the game being written as a cruel noble or a jealous prostitute, paints a really unflattering picture of those behind this game. Though I don't think this game is actively malicious or anything, just poorly written.
Virche Evermore wants to be a shocking, violent, cruel otome with brilliant sci-fi writing and a pile of plot twists meant to keep players talking for ages. What it is, however, is a confused, floundering mess that is just as charming as it is infuriating. It never delivers on its metaphors, it never even seems aware that it's as complex as it is, and despite all of that, some of it's shots land true. It's like a child swinging at a baseball on a tee. Every miss is infuriating. "You had it! It was right there!" But every so often it manages to hit the ball, and you can't help but smile.
I have a lot to say about this game, far more than I can squeeze into this review. But though I felt frustrated and annoyed most of the time, I'm still glad that I played this game. If you can enjoy bad games - if you love picking through the muck and looking for the pretty stones within - give Virche Evermore a shot. But don't expect a diamond in the rough. Just expect a pretty flower, one that wilts hours after it's plucked.