Recent reviews by falthiere

my secret word was power~
interesting results, definitely not what i was expecting - it does not mesh with my perception of myself but i think that is the point

this game is an extremely mixed bag. i have a lot of thoughts on it and they're hard to structure so here's some important ones in list form:

- the rooms in this game feel far emptier than act 1. there is not a lot to interact with (besides people) in the environment and a lot of the item combination dialogue give very generic "no" responses, which directly contradicts act 1's philosophy of providing witty, helpful, and unique dialogue for every item combination. it makes you not want to try using them, and most of the items in your inventory sit around and fulfill no purpose, except for when they suddenly do.

- this is sort of a continuation of the first, but i feel as if a lot of the charm from act 1 is missing. the lack of item interactions is a huge part. act 2 seems to focus a lot more on interacting with the characters surrounding you, but a lot of them are rather one-note. i personally found act 2 less funny than act 1, but there were some good interactions and it ultimately comes down to personal preference. i think act 1 has the superior writing out of the two, though.

- the interactions between the two main protagonists was by far my favorite part of the game: their dynamic is enjoyable to read and i love reading the conversations they have. it's very wholesome, and it's one of the places where the game really shines. the art is beautiful as well, and i got really excited at seeing all of the cute reactions and expressions everyone has. i know this is only one bullet point, but i have a glowing adoration for both of these elements of the game, and i had a lot of fun moving through the world because of them.

- following that, i also really enjoyed the story, though i admit that is entirely personal preference and i have seen opinions that differed. during the last part of the game especially, without spoilers, i was tense and excited and really interested to see how things would play out.

- the gameplay is rather weak at times: there's a lot of backtracking in the latter half of the game and a lot of players have expressed frustration with the puzzles. the game does not often provide any meaningful guidance that would allow you to think through things yourselves. it usually comes down to a lot of tedious trial-and-error, and i personally never felt very rewarded when i did get a puzzle right.

- there is a part of the game that is an extended ace attorney parody, and it is by far the worst part of the game, story and gameplay wise. the logic and answers are extremely convoluted, and the segment overstays its welcome tenfold. it actively drains the rest of the game's experience and is an enormous black mark on a game that could otherwise be viewed favorably.

- i enjoyed the myriad ways the game can branch off, and i think it's interesting to think about how those may affect future acts. i really love achievement hunting and replaying games, which was a significant draw towards act 2, but the AA part of the game makes that concept far more frustrating, which goes to show how the worst parts of this game brings down the product as a whole.

i would recommend this game if you like homestuck and enjoy the troll call cast, though i would hesitate to extend that same welcome to any wider audience. a lot of people have had very different experiences playing this game! i had fun and i think it's possible for a lot of people to have fun too. it's a decision you need to make for yourself.

lastly, and i think this is probably the most important part, and would be a mistake if it were left out of any review:

fans have had to wait for this game for three years, and to be frank, it is rather buggy at times and feels as if it's been cobbled together and rushed at many points. it has had a complicated development lifecycle involving a lot of bad luck, bad decisions, endless delays, and a lack of transparency, which makes it really hard to trust the developers. furthermore, and this might honestly be one of the worst parts of the game: there is no credits page. none. none of the people who worked on this game are given any sort of acknowledgement for their hard work, which is not only horrible to the contributors, but extremely suspicious. i couldn't truly say why nobody is credited (their response as to why is rather unsatisfying), or why the game has taken so long for a product that is rather disappointing, but something messed up is going on in this game and behind the scenes, and i think that should be considered before you give them your money.

edit: credits have since been added, but their reasoning for not doing so upon launch is extremely flimsy and it's almost certain they lied in their response addressing the situation. i cannot verify if the credits include all of those who have previously made assets for the game but are no longer on the team, but at least some of them are, and further speculation should not really be on a steam review. consider that issue remedied, at least in part