another instant favourite. i adored the very empathetic, human exploration of varying personal impacts and experiences with capitalism, colonialism, and some of the displacement, dissatisfaction, and need for community as a means to survive that all accompanies these systems.

the haunting surrealism was more grounded in everyday reality than many other things i've encountered in media. i doubt there is anything truly like this game, visual novel, interactive fiction... however you'd like to describe it, the story feels incredibly intimate and it's worth your time. (as long as you, too, are happy to immerse in its meditative and dreamlike atmosphere)

honestly, my review of citizen sleeper, my now very much loved second favourite, fits here too. although, i feel the two games are quite different - kentucky route zero is far more gentle and consistent in its delivery yet left a deeper, yet more mundane, emotional impact on me because of its grounding in everyday life and loneliness. the review:

'the sort of game that leaves a deep ache in your chest; incredibly human and embodied, heartbreaking, woven with hope and compassion - the sort of writing i will never forget'

kentucky route zero left me with tears in my eyes and the reminder of how deeply i love being alive and having the possibility to build beautiful things with others

<3

I love slow paced games, but the loading screen times and the walking speeds were slow enough to break my immersion. I also don't enjoy the way they suddenly show you the map when something new happens!

Overall it's an interesting enough story with enjoyable music and a really chill, creepy, and unique vibe. ...The vibe is mostly what kept me playing. It didn't hit any emotional notes for me, however I'll definitely pick up the second one whenever it goes on sale as I'm also curious how they'll expand on the usage of radios in gameplay.

"I was surprised to walk away from a story about struggling in an impoverished gig economy surveillance capitalist hell state feeling rejuvenated and alive." (IGN, Rebekah Valentine)

that's exactly it, making this game an absolute favourite. a simple but engaging gameplay loop while being the sort of game that leaves a deep ache in your chest; incredibly human and embodied, heartbreaking, woven with hope and compassion - the sort of writing i will never forget

(played through once w two endings)

picked this up due to hype and i wanted something anime and mindless as a quick palate cleanser between disco elysium and baldur's gate 3. i was too successful??

doki doki literature club did feel exactly like a palate cleanser - it mainly served to get me stoked for the next thing. not too engaging, v predictable in a way i personally didn't vibe with, and it also just has little tact in its approach to mental health as a supposed shock factor.

i don't know if i'll finish it or not. maybe my rating will change if i do? anyway. this vn is parsley to me

i've written this review multiple times and each time I've somehow lost my writing... it has been a few months spent enamored with baldurs gate three and audio dramas, but let's try a third time!!

a very cute little game with unexpectedly emotional moments! i quickly came to love (and worry for) its unique and entertaining characters. plus it was all wonderfully queer! it was fun to vibe with.

seeing the slight differences in the loops also felt satisfying. the effectiveness of timeloop repetition surprised me - while at times it felt a bit boring or frustrating, it puts you directly into sif's experience... so i think it still did what it set out to do. it's a cool way to emulate lived experience and there's an understanding of mental health that i didn't anticipate. it was well worth the four hour playthrough.

i don't know if i will pick up the full game, however. the short playtime felt perfectly suited to its message and i think repeating dungeons and dialogue for much longer would eventually lose my attention. ...i do have adhd, though. others might really enjoy it!

gnosia! i had a fantastic time with this game. while admittedly wary of the gameplay loop at first, i found it to be engaging and exciting. learning everyone's personalities was fun (although i could do without some of the creepier comments from one character, but at least that was acknowledged) and getting significantly better at the game with each new loop was satisfying.

i did look up a guide to not spend too much time looping, so a heads up for that. that didn't detract from my experience, necessarily, as i was pretty stoked for each new part of the story to be revealed as things went along. it's also worth looking up how to get the true ending.

additionally, gnosia's nonbinary representation largely strayed from stereotypes - a breath of fresh air in media, especially as a nonbinary person. setsu, the main character aside from the player, unexpectedly really resonated with me. the dreamy art and music on top of it all? definitely a treat.

lastly, it was wonderful to experience a story landing in my lap at just the right time. this visual novel's ending aligned perfectly with both a beloved text-based roleplay game i just wrapped up with some online friends (my OC's epilogue was released today...) as well as another writing/roleplaying project i just started working on. with that in mind, gnosia nudged me further into my emotions in just the way i needed. so. this review is probably rather biased from that alone... but gnosia has indeed earned a place in my heart!

I have absolutely no idea how to rate this one. Will I pick up season two? Yes. Would I recommend this to others? I don't know??

The art and music are lovely. All the dark blues and the snowy backdrop, the soft character art, cute music... Dreamy and engaging! The core cast of characters is interesting and distinct, each growing as the story unfolds, and perfectly at home in a uniquely surreal setting. The main character, Sayoko, is a cool choice by the author and is very much a figure in natural and intentional opposition to oppressive, dominant social narratives as well - primarily the church, which this story centres around. She's queer, racialized, can mostly see through and stands up against systemic oppression, etc.

Sometimes the writing is a bit clunky or redundant (it tries hard to drive its points home, relying too much on exposition imo), but it's still enjoyable and has a straightforward honesty. The main character is largely not sympathetic, but her struggles with mental health and bitterness feel candid and sometimes relatable. I would have adored this story in high school.

My main struggle with Ghostpia is that it's jarring because of it's contradictory and inconsistent tone. It's dark and melancholic bits were often beautiful, slowing down to reflect on different lessons or aspects of what death, memory, and companionship mean. Most media I love explores grief or loneliness, so I loved that! Sayoko's dark and dry humour is also great.

But. It would follow this up with bathroom humour. So much bathroom humour. And then suddenly hop to a scene that felt like something from a Saturday morning cartoon battle, making things impossible to take seriously when the tone shifted back to emotional. It might do this to appeal to a broader audience, softening its darker tones on purpose. To me, it was just disorienting.

There is also a villain that falls into an ableist trope. They're a strong character, yeah, but it'd be pretty nice if we could stop with those tropes. Although! Most of the glitchy and flashing screen effects in Ghostpia can be turned off! That accessibility feature let me play the game, so I'm appreciative.

Aaaand Clara. She's a warm hearted and eager child in training to be a nun, who the core cast hates and abuses because she is kind and loved by all. She's berated and physically harmed and manipulated as a running gag by characters way older than her. It's kind of fucked up and confusing?

I think she's supposed to be a metaphor for the perceived innocence of the church. Characters react strongly because they know the church is their oppressor even when it is kind... But without that being made apparent, it just feels uncomfortable. The reader is also given no real reason to hate her or see her as more than a sweet kid.

The overall violence people speak of, Clara aside, didn't bother me. In this world if you are killed you simply revive, so there's only so much weight! That was cool to explore in the story. Besides, it's a lot of cops and similarly corrupt figures being stood up against, so, you know. Stand your ground.

Ghostpia is an inconsistent visual novel at odds with itself enough to lose me a few times, but stylistically it's beautiful with compelling concepts!! I'll pick up the second season as I want to know the answers to its mysteries, am curious about the characters, and really wonder where they're taking its themes.

I've knocked a half star off for the six times a glitch caused me to have to reopen the game within three hours and for the two story aspects that required having to do things in a particular order with no indication that this was the case, but otherwise this game is absolutely charming!!!

It's such a love letter to the past, soft and nostalgic and overflowing with care. It got straight to my heart. I also couldn't help but smile when one of the characters spoke of where my Scottish ancestors also came from. 💙

Slow, sleepy, full of heart. Some people didn't like it for its themes are quite in your face, but these honest reflections did nothing but make me appreciate how candid the whole game feels! It's definitely worth a play through.

this visual novel has such stunning music, animation, and art!! it's truly beautiful and i appreciate how innovative and playful the creators were with this whole thing. it has a gentleness to it i really enjoyed.

the story is very queer (like me!), and anyone who also loves stories about seeking found family or feeling like an outsider will likely enjoy this sweet irish story.

the eraser mechanic is sometimes a bit annoying... occasionally it would erase things it shouldn't have, dialogue suddenly disappearing before i had the chance to read. otherwise, i had a wonderful experience.