takano
It's not terrible, it's just a yuri omegaverse setting which is something really underexplored so it's mostly a shallow attempt at tapping an untapped market. I'm not gonna pretend I know much about omegaverse. Because of its BL focus as a genre I'm just not knowledgeable about it. I read one fanfic with a lesbian pairing I liked in this kind of setting and from then on I've solely enjoyed omegaverse within the confines of my own fantasies. I don't know what the standard agreed upon premises are with it for the most part. But long story short, I really love the idea of lesbian omegaverse. There's just not a lot of it.
However this game didn't really satisfy my itch for it unfortunately. The large problem was that I couldn't download the patch for the R18 scenes, which is a major bummer since like always Steam has a dick up its ass about ero yuri. There were reviews mentioning the patch contains a trojan, and while I did my research and am 90% sure it's a false positive, it wasn't a risk I was taking. So as you can imagine an omegaverse without smut is kind of.... losing the entire appeal. There's also some aspects of omegaverse that I enjoy and aren't touched upon in this game but the Backloggd review section doesn't need to hear about my kinks so that's all I'll say.
And that's all I really can say about this game. I'm not entrenched within the omegaverse fandom or subculture or what have you, and I wasn't able to experience the complete game as intended. It's certainly not a masterpiece but it doesn't come off as abysmal to me either. But since I have a very skewed perception of the game, average is where the rating and my feelings will stay.
However this game didn't really satisfy my itch for it unfortunately. The large problem was that I couldn't download the patch for the R18 scenes, which is a major bummer since like always Steam has a dick up its ass about ero yuri. There were reviews mentioning the patch contains a trojan, and while I did my research and am 90% sure it's a false positive, it wasn't a risk I was taking. So as you can imagine an omegaverse without smut is kind of.... losing the entire appeal. There's also some aspects of omegaverse that I enjoy and aren't touched upon in this game but the Backloggd review section doesn't need to hear about my kinks so that's all I'll say.
And that's all I really can say about this game. I'm not entrenched within the omegaverse fandom or subculture or what have you, and I wasn't able to experience the complete game as intended. It's certainly not a masterpiece but it doesn't come off as abysmal to me either. But since I have a very skewed perception of the game, average is where the rating and my feelings will stay.
This review contains spoilers
[not finished with game]
Hinamizawa Bus Stop
Very interesting to finally see the prototype that inspired what became one of the most iconic VN's of all time. It certainly wasn't stellar, I think the shorter nature of a stageplay didn't allow for the twists to hit right, and I'm sure that's probably a reason that Ryuukishi's entry of this to whatever theater company was rejected. But a lot of the key points were retained in Higurashi which I find really enlightening into exactly how Ryuukishi writes and what he goes about prioritizing when he's planning something. Definitely a worthwhile read if you're at all interested in that aspect.
Also it was pleasantly gay.
[2.5/5]
Outbreak
This adaptation of the anime-original arc glossed over a lot of the details of said anime, which was a bit disappointing to me. As a Higurashi's-political-subplot enjoyer, this scenario and its extremely serious implications on both Hinamizawa and Higurashi's world at large is fascinating to me, so I would have liked a bit more fleshing out of the scenario in general, not massive cuts. We'll see how the next arc which is a sequel plays out, though I think I've heard not to expect much.
[3/5]
Hinamizawa Bus Stop
Very interesting to finally see the prototype that inspired what became one of the most iconic VN's of all time. It certainly wasn't stellar, I think the shorter nature of a stageplay didn't allow for the twists to hit right, and I'm sure that's probably a reason that Ryuukishi's entry of this to whatever theater company was rejected. But a lot of the key points were retained in Higurashi which I find really enlightening into exactly how Ryuukishi writes and what he goes about prioritizing when he's planning something. Definitely a worthwhile read if you're at all interested in that aspect.
Also it was pleasantly gay.
[2.5/5]
Outbreak
This adaptation of the anime-original arc glossed over a lot of the details of said anime, which was a bit disappointing to me. As a Higurashi's-political-subplot enjoyer, this scenario and its extremely serious implications on both Hinamizawa and Higurashi's world at large is fascinating to me, so I would have liked a bit more fleshing out of the scenario in general, not massive cuts. We'll see how the next arc which is a sequel plays out, though I think I've heard not to expect much.
[3/5]
This review contains spoilers
2021
Good introduction to the series, but like Higurashi's Onikakushi, I'm sure it will pale in comparison to other arcs.
2023
Still a really fantastic opening to the series. Revisiting it knowing everything and with a keener eye for how the characters are was a really fun experience, and it's quite funny/interesting seeing exactly how much is revealed blatantly but passed off as just some silly side comment.
Revisiting scenes with my favorite characters in particular was so much fun, I can't wait to do way more of it in the other Question arc rereads. And even revisiting scenes with characters I didn't or still don't like was kind of eye opening in a way.
I hope to keep trying to understand the story even deeper as I keep going (and maybe not take 9 months per reread).
Good introduction to the series, but like Higurashi's Onikakushi, I'm sure it will pale in comparison to other arcs.
2023
Still a really fantastic opening to the series. Revisiting it knowing everything and with a keener eye for how the characters are was a really fun experience, and it's quite funny/interesting seeing exactly how much is revealed blatantly but passed off as just some silly side comment.
Revisiting scenes with my favorite characters in particular was so much fun, I can't wait to do way more of it in the other Question arc rereads. And even revisiting scenes with characters I didn't or still don't like was kind of eye opening in a way.
I hope to keep trying to understand the story even deeper as I keep going (and maybe not take 9 months per reread).
A game I had been meaning to get to for a while due to many people's rave reviews of it. I wouldn't say I found it lacking per say, I had a good or decent time with it, but I'm definitely not as fanatic with it as many other people seem to be.
The main thing that held it back were the routes. I played blindly and my route order went Iris > Ota > Mizuki. It seems that many people recommend Mizuki route first and I completely understand why. The other two routes just don't hold water at all to the suspense that hers has. Iris's route did not feel like a good one to start on, and Ota is just.... I question why he even exists as a character, because everyone else had some major relevancy to the plot while he's mostly a simp for Iris and not much more. I wouldn't go so far as to say his route was a waste of time but I certainly don't understand why he was written in as a main character. There are several characters, even minor ones, who I could see being a little more pivotal to deserve their own route.
Furthermore, the routes end up converging into a weird.... I wouldn't say plot twist per say, but just a strange detail that isn't really explained all too well. I've been told it somehow relates to Uchikoshi's Zero Escape series, or is tangentially similar to it, but I haven't played those games so I can't really say one way or another what he was trying to get at.
As far as gameplay goes, it was okay? I wasn't too much of a fan of the Somnium stages, usually dreading whenever one was about to start. I definitely had fun with most of them though once they actually started, but some of them felt a little too arbitrary with their solutions, and some of the map designs were just a slog to deal with.
Voice acting was pretty good in both English and Japanese, I switched back and forth as my whims dictated and was content with each. Though I forgot how bad English dub pronunciations are for Japanese names... Atrocious, I cringed every time I had to hear me-zoo-key.
Despite this review being largely complaints I did have a decent time with this. Maybe not particularly memorable, I can't see this sticking with me for more than a few months from now, but fine for the experience it was. None of my over 30 hours with it felt like too much of a slog except for when I was making myself check every bit of flavor text (I think I cut that out after Iris route). I really like what they did with the flavor text in this game, it was just too much to be constantly rechecking.
I'm not really sure if I'm going to check out the sequel. I don't feel compelled enough by this game to drop the money on it. If my friend who bought me this one gets to it and recommends it, maybe I will. Otherwise probably not.
The main thing that held it back were the routes. I played blindly and my route order went Iris > Ota > Mizuki. It seems that many people recommend Mizuki route first and I completely understand why. The other two routes just don't hold water at all to the suspense that hers has. Iris's route did not feel like a good one to start on, and Ota is just.... I question why he even exists as a character, because everyone else had some major relevancy to the plot while he's mostly a simp for Iris and not much more. I wouldn't go so far as to say his route was a waste of time but I certainly don't understand why he was written in as a main character. There are several characters, even minor ones, who I could see being a little more pivotal to deserve their own route.
Furthermore, the routes end up converging into a weird.... I wouldn't say plot twist per say, but just a strange detail that isn't really explained all too well. I've been told it somehow relates to Uchikoshi's Zero Escape series, or is tangentially similar to it, but I haven't played those games so I can't really say one way or another what he was trying to get at.
As far as gameplay goes, it was okay? I wasn't too much of a fan of the Somnium stages, usually dreading whenever one was about to start. I definitely had fun with most of them though once they actually started, but some of them felt a little too arbitrary with their solutions, and some of the map designs were just a slog to deal with.
Voice acting was pretty good in both English and Japanese, I switched back and forth as my whims dictated and was content with each. Though I forgot how bad English dub pronunciations are for Japanese names... Atrocious, I cringed every time I had to hear me-zoo-key.
Despite this review being largely complaints I did have a decent time with this. Maybe not particularly memorable, I can't see this sticking with me for more than a few months from now, but fine for the experience it was. None of my over 30 hours with it felt like too much of a slog except for when I was making myself check every bit of flavor text (I think I cut that out after Iris route). I really like what they did with the flavor text in this game, it was just too much to be constantly rechecking.
I'm not really sure if I'm going to check out the sequel. I don't feel compelled enough by this game to drop the money on it. If my friend who bought me this one gets to it and recommends it, maybe I will. Otherwise probably not.
That was.... really bad. I mean it's not like offensively awful if you just want a quick yuri fix I guess? But I'm pretty picky with writing and this whole story felt rushed and too low stakes. Interspersing horror and comedy is fine and can work, but this VN felt like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be serious or not.
The art is generic moeblob but not bad. The art in the CG's is pretty appealing usually; there was one NSFW scene though where I had to really stare to tell what was going on. The NSFW scenes themselves are pretty bad, but I expect that from VN's.
Last achievement also isn't unlocking for me, even though I checked against a guide and now I should have gotten it. Oh well.
I think the best I can say is I got it for like 80 cents on a sale.
The art is generic moeblob but not bad. The art in the CG's is pretty appealing usually; there was one NSFW scene though where I had to really stare to tell what was going on. The NSFW scenes themselves are pretty bad, but I expect that from VN's.
Last achievement also isn't unlocking for me, even though I checked against a guide and now I should have gotten it. Oh well.
I think the best I can say is I got it for like 80 cents on a sale.
Don't really know what to think of this quite frankly.
Visuals are real cute and nice.
Game as a whole feels kind of... edgy? And it's not an unrealistic portrayal of internet-addicted mentally ill teenage girls, not at all. It's shockingly realistic in that sense, even the comments on KAngel's streams and Twitter are.
But I think the game goes by so quickly and the endings are - with only one exception - so brief that the impact to me is dulled. I don't think this is inherently a bad game, I can see why people enjoy it? But personally it felt like a lot of work to get all (most of) those endings (I gave up for the ones that needed 1m followers) that don't amount to.... anything.
Visuals are real cute and nice.
Game as a whole feels kind of... edgy? And it's not an unrealistic portrayal of internet-addicted mentally ill teenage girls, not at all. It's shockingly realistic in that sense, even the comments on KAngel's streams and Twitter are.
But I think the game goes by so quickly and the endings are - with only one exception - so brief that the impact to me is dulled. I don't think this is inherently a bad game, I can see why people enjoy it? But personally it felt like a lot of work to get all (most of) those endings (I gave up for the ones that needed 1m followers) that don't amount to.... anything.
2016
My first Key visual novel. I don't know anything about their works except that they're tearjerkers, and yeah the feelings hit me pretty hard on this one. Short, sweet, and emotional.
2018
Picking this up again. A lot has changed since I last tried.
Maybe I'll finally go for those ridiculous DLC, but we'll see if it grabs me longer than a few weeks first.
Maybe I'll finally go for those ridiculous DLC, but we'll see if it grabs me longer than a few weeks first.
Black Battler is cringe as everliving fuck. Jessica's story was fun though.
The atmosphere in this game is pretty amazing. The art is appealing and the whole vibe is tense. I'm bad with horror games, but this was just the right level of scary for me to be able to adjust to it and not piss my pants too hard while playing.
The lack of direction is a weak point. While at first I enjoyed wandering aimlessly, by some point it just gets frustrating when there's no clear direction as to where to go. The town is too big and death too easy to come across for that.
The lack of direction is a weak point. While at first I enjoyed wandering aimlessly, by some point it just gets frustrating when there's no clear direction as to where to go. The town is too big and death too easy to come across for that.
2018
Pro tip: if a VN is boring you so much you decide to put the last route on hold to get back to it after playing some other games, you're never finishing it.
A better Bandori than Bandori.
Been a few weeks since I've kept with it, so I think my fixation on this game is over for the time being.
It's the first mobile rhythm game I've played where I did actually start to care a little bit about the characters and try to keep up with their stories. But unfortunately, the mobile and gacha format just inevitably make me lose interest. I don't enjoy feeling pressured to constantly keep up or fall behind on things.
Been a few weeks since I've kept with it, so I think my fixation on this game is over for the time being.
It's the first mobile rhythm game I've played where I did actually start to care a little bit about the characters and try to keep up with their stories. But unfortunately, the mobile and gacha format just inevitably make me lose interest. I don't enjoy feeling pressured to constantly keep up or fall behind on things.
I really felt like what I got from what I was missing from the first half in this one. Maybe Ryuukishi was burnt out from Umineko while writing the first one, and by the time this one started, he was back in the swing of things. Or maybe it was intentional pacing. Not sure.
Regardless, these stories felt a lot less bleak and were written with more hope in them than a lot of the stories in the first half felt they had. "Reaper of the Thirteenth Step" in particular was by and far the best story of this half and the game as a whole. I also personally really enjoyed "The Boys' Portrait" and "My Best Friend."
Regardless, these stories felt a lot less bleak and were written with more hope in them than a lot of the stories in the first half felt they had. "Reaper of the Thirteenth Step" in particular was by and far the best story of this half and the game as a whole. I also personally really enjoyed "The Boys' Portrait" and "My Best Friend."
Definitely not Ryuukishi's best work by any meaning of the word, but I enjoyed it for what it is, for the most part.
There are definitely parts that felt a bit edgy or unnecessary, but I think overall I generally liked the stories enough to overlook it.
I did find myself wishing at some points that the stories were longer, or a bit more interconnected, so that the themes could be explored a bit deeper and less bluntly. But I also know this was Ryuukishi's cool-down project after Umineko (I thought for the longest time it was his first work), so it is what it is.
I think the best chapter was Utopia, and The Princess's Lie was enjoyable. Mesomeso-san was also quite good and focused on my favourite aspect of Ryuukishi's writing (relationships between abuser and abused).
There are definitely parts that felt a bit edgy or unnecessary, but I think overall I generally liked the stories enough to overlook it.
I did find myself wishing at some points that the stories were longer, or a bit more interconnected, so that the themes could be explored a bit deeper and less bluntly. But I also know this was Ryuukishi's cool-down project after Umineko (I thought for the longest time it was his first work), so it is what it is.
I think the best chapter was Utopia, and The Princess's Lie was enjoyable. Mesomeso-san was also quite good and focused on my favourite aspect of Ryuukishi's writing (relationships between abuser and abused).
Ryuukishi has improved a hell of a lot since Umineko. The man finally learned how to stop padding story with as much annoying pointless filler, and the battle special effects are actual animations now instead of seizure-inducing powerpoints. Bravo.
The story is definitely a much larger scale than Higurashi and Umineko, and I hope that he won't be biting off more than he can chew (which I slightly felt about Umineko). I'll have faith in him, though, if we ever get the second phase. And goddamn I can't wait to see the characters develop, his characters are why I always come back.
The story is definitely a much larger scale than Higurashi and Umineko, and I hope that he won't be biting off more than he can chew (which I slightly felt about Umineko). I'll have faith in him, though, if we ever get the second phase. And goddamn I can't wait to see the characters develop, his characters are why I always come back.