Innocent Gray is known for their amazing character writing, and KnS 3 shows an ascendant, confident Innocent Gray at the zenith of their ability, unsurpassed by anything they’ve done before or after. The prose is concentrated to a lethal potency, so sharp in its polemic critiques and so furious in its assassination of the familiar and the familial that every moment, every line, from the mundanity of nothing-talk to the most principal actions show the writers fully in control to the most granular level of their own creation. It’s literary theatre: the words are the actors, and us the audience.
Indeed, Innocent Gray knew they were cooking up a masterpiece, and that newly found self-confidence so dearly missing from their previous works is imbued and etched into the tapestry of this literary fabric to the point where the seams are beginning to burst. This is a title that defies structure, that defies form. It takes so many creative risks in an otherwise-stagnant genre that had this game been any worse, it likely would have been a disaster.
Luckily, this is Innocent Gray we are talking about. My only regret is the cliff of content warnings any in-depth conversation about this game entails, which prevents me from fully articulating my appreciation for some of the game’s most special moments. While for some, the liberal illustration of horrific events ||from WW2 Japanese war crimes to gore to rape|| borders on the voyeuristic, unlike other games in this genre that depict similarly horrific events ||cough cough Euphoria and Subahibi||, Kara no Shojo 3 treats these situations with such severity that they weigh down over the words — and your subconsciousness — dragging the rest of the narrative with it. These are serious events, not a shallow fix for poor characterization or an underexplained plot-point driver in the absence of a reasonable motivator or a dramatical set piece designed for a moment’s fleeting attention or a perverted and grotesque sex scene.
The writing is considerably more dense than before, and gives up a significant amount of the in-your-face shock for brutal, disquietting yet dazzling prose
there's nowhere near as many disturbing scenes as the first two. There's almost no ero/h-scenes at all. And yet, the game is far more emotionally sharp than any other in the series. This goes to speak of the quality of the characters Innocent Gray has built up for over a decade and the brilliance of their plot.
It's utterly horrifying, and yet, I am unable to let go.
Now, excuse me if I must. I have to get back to crying.
Indeed, Innocent Gray knew they were cooking up a masterpiece, and that newly found self-confidence so dearly missing from their previous works is imbued and etched into the tapestry of this literary fabric to the point where the seams are beginning to burst. This is a title that defies structure, that defies form. It takes so many creative risks in an otherwise-stagnant genre that had this game been any worse, it likely would have been a disaster.
Luckily, this is Innocent Gray we are talking about. My only regret is the cliff of content warnings any in-depth conversation about this game entails, which prevents me from fully articulating my appreciation for some of the game’s most special moments. While for some, the liberal illustration of horrific events ||from WW2 Japanese war crimes to gore to rape|| borders on the voyeuristic, unlike other games in this genre that depict similarly horrific events ||cough cough Euphoria and Subahibi||, Kara no Shojo 3 treats these situations with such severity that they weigh down over the words — and your subconsciousness — dragging the rest of the narrative with it. These are serious events, not a shallow fix for poor characterization or an underexplained plot-point driver in the absence of a reasonable motivator or a dramatical set piece designed for a moment’s fleeting attention or a perverted and grotesque sex scene.
The writing is considerably more dense than before, and gives up a significant amount of the in-your-face shock for brutal, disquietting yet dazzling prose
there's nowhere near as many disturbing scenes as the first two. There's almost no ero/h-scenes at all. And yet, the game is far more emotionally sharp than any other in the series. This goes to speak of the quality of the characters Innocent Gray has built up for over a decade and the brilliance of their plot.
It's utterly horrifying, and yet, I am unable to let go.
Now, excuse me if I must. I have to get back to crying.
Hannibalmick
9 months ago