the sci fi tinge and the recontextualized religious iconography and the gay undertones injected by a true fujo-scholar would imply some sinister christian dystopia metaphor, but even if all that does play into that idea of it somewhat, its ultimately way too simple for describing what its doing. while its perceptibly influenced by other horror (read: often surreal/unsettling in tone more than full on genre horror) rpgmaker games, it honestly surpasses the bulk of these games in the confidence and evocativeness of its writing; its truly open and giving to interpretation in a way these games would often like to be but don't really accomplish. i was surprised and impressed by how this 1-2 hr experience could feel immense thanks to its thematic density, and the spaces within its margins that it allows you to occupy.

my favorite aspect of this game might be how it meters out the "truth" behind its framing device. its the most difficult thing here to talk about but basically, what i like about it is how its less like its /revealed/ as much as the curtain gets just slightly lifted up at points, never fully, and from there it leaves you constantly changing the conclusions you make about it in your head. also love how--with the slightest most nonintrusive touch--its the author commenting on their work and their own characters, tying into the theme of how you process your own narrative, and the creation of your own self-identity from there. the way it pushed me "outside" of the story, looking in, is something i'm always captivated by in games.

this is only one side of twc that im grasping at too, there are many different angles it encourages you to approach it from that its actually daunting to get too into. only real problems with the game i had are a couple bizarre puzzles and the checklist towards getting the noise ending not being as intuitive as it might seem in specific places (reading the stack of papers during the time puzzle is a trigger you NEED to hit, btw), so read a walkthrough closely. i got a lot out of this though, not just as a nostalgia trip from playing rpgmaker games years ago but returning to the medium with an ESPECIALLY great one. will be looking into hello charlotte and mr rainer after my time with this, im officially lavenderpilled

Reviewed on Jun 12, 2021


3 Comments


2 years ago

🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐

2 years ago

Alright you sold me on it

2 years ago

good to hear B)