8.5/10 Honestly I think this game is overhated, I think it works pretty well as a unique rpgmaker game with some horror aspects. I understand that the main issue people have is with the premise and the suggestive death screens but that isn't really an issue to me, I can easily ignore those parts but since they are so prevalent I can understand someone being put off by them. To me, the inclusion of the fetishistic aspects in this is no different to their inclusion in a Tarantino film, being just a quirk of the creator, but I acknowledge I'm likely wrong on this.

I think the story is fun and the character's are cute, I think the highlight of the game is the bond the player builds with the companian character Puro over the course of the game, having several opportunities to spend time with him and him being the solution to a few of the games puzzles, It makes me think of Ico and the bond built with Yorda, albeit less carefully done than in Ico and with much more reliance on dialogue over forming a bond over the course of the game. The dialogue does still make Puro come off as very cute and earnest, though.

The gameplay is poorly thought out in alot of sections, being mostly trial and error to get past enemies or even just luck if they're some of the randomised enemies. alot of the puzzles without enemies I ended up using a guide for because the solutions are mostly too obscure like the moon puzzle. The save points are given out pretty often to balance out the trial and error but there are a few sections with a big gap between them. One issue is that it's pretty easy to lock yourself into a bad ending if you overwrite your old save but the game is pretty short so that isn't too big an issue.

The soundtrack is great, Puro's theme is a very fun song to listen to and the sneaking theme is cute. The art style is cute and fun to look at, and the death screens are fairly detailed. The dialogue portraits for Puro are also pretty expressive.

I think this game gets too much hate for what it is, if you ignore the game over screens and similar scenes you have a fun, simple and charming puzzle game about humanity and friendship that while frustrating at times is honestly a pretty good time. I’d say if you’re interested, wait for the Special edition the dev is releasing with a rebalanced and graphically updated base game and multiple sections added on top of those. Again, I understand the hate, and maybe I’m just a degen furry for liking the game, but I honestly think for the price of the game it’s a pretty fun experience.

I'm a massive coward when it comes to horror so I didn't think I'd be able to finish this game but I did after a few weeks and it was a great time, the way to get the best ending is a little obtuse for my liking but the gameplay is very satisfying, the sounds of weapons hitting monsters and the slight stunning of the monsters is very fun. The sound design in general is great, certain rooms play chase music to put you on end and have nothing there at all purely to fuck with you. The radio static that plays near monsters is very good at building tension aswell. The bosses are pretty boring, especially the final one, but they're over quickly enough to not be a problem. The game itself is extremely scary for me, with the dead silence for most of the game allowing the player time to think about what could be around the corner, I found the ps1 visuals to be very effective in spite of their limited detail, although the music certainly helped. The music in general is fantastic with "Not Tomorrow" which plays over the best scene in the game, being a particular highlight. The Puzzles were pretty difficult but not too hard to require a guide. Overall I'd say the game is definetely worth playing if you're able to.