Books of Shadows isn't necessarily bad. When it sheds light on extra portions of the story or dives further into some alternative scenarios, it's actually a very good visual novel. In fact, if they removes the weird gameplay element where you have to actually move around the school and avoid being "darkened", it would be an even better visual novel.
I think the part that hurts Book of Shadows the most is the abnormal attempt at fanservice (?) via the slice of life-esque scenes, like the semi-romantic relationships between Naho and the new character Sayaka in chapter 4. There are a few other segments like these, but they go on for a bit too long and sometimes overstay their welcome.
This game really does play out more like a dark visual novel than a horror game...and that's all it really is. This is likely made for the more hardcore audience, making it a bit too difficult for anyone else to enjoy.
I think the part that hurts Book of Shadows the most is the abnormal attempt at fanservice (?) via the slice of life-esque scenes, like the semi-romantic relationships between Naho and the new character Sayaka in chapter 4. There are a few other segments like these, but they go on for a bit too long and sometimes overstay their welcome.
This game really does play out more like a dark visual novel than a horror game...and that's all it really is. This is likely made for the more hardcore audience, making it a bit too difficult for anyone else to enjoy.
3 Comments
@HaloBlues Hmm...rereading what I wrote here I guess it sounds way worse than it actually is. There were just parts I wasn't as interested in. The entire first scenario is based around an alternate version of the first chapter, mostly leaning into how close the two are. Most of it actually is pretty good but there's just a bunch of pre-heavenly host fluff that encompasses the intro. Chapter 4 spends a lot of time giving backstory to Sayaka, which again takes place before the actual events of Corpse Party, making the first portion of the chapter feel much more slice of life than horror (much more here than in ch1), making it really stick out. It's not the relationships themselves that were uninteresting, it's just the way they chose to go about discussing them, as I remember a few of the scenes feeling more intrusive than immersive. I do like the romantic interest Seiko has in Naomi and their chapter overall was very good. Sayaka...not so much. But that's just personal preference, Naho was always unlikable to me and Sayaka didn't necessarily interest me very much.
HaloBlues
4 months ago