At a glance:
Released on: 1/12/22
Reviews: 42, net positive, as of 7/2023
English Reviews: 15
Localized in: English/Russian
Had Publisher: Diada Novels
Majority of reviews:
Russian ~60%
English ~ 32%
Portugese ~4%
Price: $1.99
Review report: Main issues were with the game being short, but even then the overwhelming majority of reviews were positive in this regard, they wanted more
Gameplay
No choices appeared in the game besides those at the main menu
Fairly static VN
Music
Music is disturbing, matches the grungy, dark aspect of the game
Sad music plays as shadow MC kills himself
Sounds
MC has some form of VA, sounds like garbled words over a radio
Horror character also makes some noises when speaking
Art
Artstyle was done well albeit a bit dark
Reflects the haze and confusion when in a ‘dream state’
Writing
Game offers a preferred narration style, very interesting
Chose Serious style first
Game states the the ‘serious’ version was so creepy it had to be cut, was not expecting that
Both options lead to a joke that takes the player back to the main menu
Game begins after both options are selected
MC and ‘horned dude’ have convo about fears and the MC being a ‘sacrifice candidate’
MC wakes up but is paralyzed and begins to hallucinate
Ghost women appear and torment the MC, ripping out an organ
Also defiles MC corpse with necrophilia
MC breaks free of the paralysis with a finger move, then it’s over
Fear lingered that it would happen again
Immediately turned on all lights and browsed computer for ingo
Months later it happens again, and MC is looking for signs of the previous event (Ghost ladies)
In between the incidents no details are delved into, no story except for a hospital visit
No job, no routine, no home life, no family
Renpy default image used, intentionally as a cosmic horror event
Introduces itself as a character, trust the cow, something to remember
The entity reveals that the ghost women saved MC from inoperable lung cancer when they took out his organ
Could’ve just been a subconscious attempt at logically explaining the first incident
MC is recruited to be a ‘Watcher’, given a blanket that allows extra vision
Tasked with killing his physical self
Spiritual blanket self can move around
Recruited by a talking brain
Happy birthday song plays over a newspaper clipping, MC actually died of asphyxiation
Or not, game continues
MC is now in limbo with another part of his soul
Wants him dead, if he gets majority stake of the ‘souls’ he can leave the place
Cow noises while running in the limbo, echoes
MC remembered cow so we don’t have to
Game ends with a cliffhanger and meeting a girl in the tundra
Scare Factor
In a dark limbo with a monster right in front of us, tongue falling out, shoulder covered in trypophobic holes
I wouldn’t say anything in the game was truly scary, but it was a very interesting look into something many people have experienced
Extra
Made with Renpy, appears to be about sleep paralysis judging from ‘about’ section info
Overall
Only half of all players beat the game (according to achievement data ~7/2023)
For whatever reason, this horror novel didn’t take off
Premise was unique, but perhaps uninteresting to people looking for a scare
What audience is there for horror novels? What are they looking for?
Game was a nice, short experience (Dev bias, for me the shorter the better)
Russian populace still appears more interested in horror in general than anyone else, but possibly to a lesser extent than if the game was a walking sim.
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