pretty awesome conceptually and in what it says about the arts, and specifically the RPGMaker culture existing at the time. better to make something shit and unique than something fine that's lacking originality.

however, playing it through to completion was kind of a slog. its super short, but the abrasive visuals and trivial combat system combine together to make something simultaneously overwhelming and kinda boring to play?

the soundtrack is incredible, the story and themes are pretty great, but its a game that's more fun to think about than it is to actually play i fear

the most violently mediocre indie rpg ive played in a while. as everyone else says the visuals are very strong, the combat is okay (i hate turn based combat and only started to burn out on this system around the 9 hour mark, which is HIGH praise from me), but the story is so soulless that i shelved the game out of sheer boredom with the paint-by-numbers narrative.

it even has some fun stuff. the town with the tavern where everyone lives in denial of their grim fate and you aren't allowed to speak the truth is an interesting premise for a thematic exploration of living in denial of ugly truths, but you spend like 5 total minutes in that space. the pirate that breaks the 4th wall constantly isn't awful in theory, but she and the rest of them are all so irritating with their dumb poses and catchphrases that its impossible to like them. every single character is so generic that its not physically possible to feel a single emotion in response to anything they do.

sucks that the games weakest element is so weak that it makes the rest of the experience a genuine slog