Recent reviews by Blythe

Another home run, just like game number 1. Builds on game 1 but is also its own unique thing. Neat NPCs (personally I love Moros and Odysseus the most), but there's a little something for everyone here. I like a lot of the updated designs for Olympians from game 1 (Aphrodite!!!).

It's got the same TLC shown to it during early access that Hades 1 did. (Note: Dash is different in game 2, and casts are WAY more of a viable strategy in game 2)

Lots of content even for a game that (at the time of this review) isn't complete yet. 54 hours and not having run out of things to do is an excellent gaming experience considering the amount I paid!

My only pet peeve is I don't really like the Skull weapon you can get, but that might just be a playstyle issue on my end. But the Skulls are a bit clunky/clumsy.

Soundtrack is an absolute delight. It's amazing so far. Incredibly worth the $9.99 I spent on it.

Honestly, so far it's engaging. The art style is...different. I think it's not everyone's cup of tea but...I actually like it. There's something kinda messed up but satisfying about something drawn to give off airy/sweet childish vibes turning out to be sinister that really gets me.

The characters are all interesting--much like other 'survival / death contest' type visual novels, we see the emergence of strong personality types meant to fill various niches. Alex is the intellectual, William is the arrogant leader, Maggie is our kind/ordinary protagonist, Rain is the 'rebel,' but a few characters don't quite 'fit' niches easily, like Mason and Calvin, who both seem to fit the 'goofy madman' role.

I don't think I've played far enough in to get to the especially 'bad' parts. But because of that, I can tell you that I see the foreshadowing--I can tell the game will get dark, because it's laying good groundwork. There's fractures/betrayals over 'small' stuff at the very beginning, which is interesting.

I would need to play through a new playthrough to know whether or not it will have replayability. I do get the sense that there's going to be major differences in routes depending on some choices (not quite a spoiler but for example: the 'power plant' game where a character will encourage you to 'push' someone. I will simply say you don't HAVE to do this necessarily, so my guess is that the route can change here. If it doesn't I'd be so disappointed!)

My only real criticism so far is the damn boating game. God, I was never good at Dance Dance Revolution as a dancer or on a keyboard. That was kind of a nightmare.

I think this game is a bit of a slow burn. I can see how certain characters are being built up (Patrick, Rain, and Mason got the most development early on, in my opinion, given the choices I made), but some of them aren't as clear-cut (Mackenzie, for sure.). I'm interested enough to keep playing.

Given the art style, I think the closest comparison might be games more like The Zodiac Trial or Head AS Code rather than the bigger 'known' ones like Danganronpa. Anyway my ratings breakdown:

Art: 3/5 (Simple, but it gets the job done! It's not bad, it's just not...polished. I think some of this art would be easy to improve, like the 'town' background menu or certain character faces)
Story: 5/5 (Ropes me in. I'm super interested. I can see where it's gonna get weird/messed up)
Characters: 4/5 (one of the weaknesses of games like this is that the cast is so large that we inevitably are just not going to get to 'see' everyone properly)
Minigames: 2/5 (the 'matching' game is ok to me, I felt like there was enough characterization to easily guess clues. The boating game is so frustrating I considered not playing anymore though)
Replayability: ???/5 (I have yet to replay, but if I do, I'll update my review. But if this game doesn't have good branching routes I will be so upset)
Price: 5/5. This is a good deal for the $5.00 I bought it at.

Overall: Currently this game sits at 3.8/5 for me, but I think once I replay it or get further into the route I am, this may change. This review was made during Early Access so please keep in mind that not only is the game not finished, it's got a ways to go, so my review does reflect that. I think this game is going to polish up nicely and become at least a solid 4 that's worth playing. I'm happy with what I paid and I feel I have been entertained so far. I think that's the main takeaway I'd like people to see. The game isn't perfect but it is definitely satisfying that 'survival / death game' itch I get sometimes. An enjoyable affordable experience.

Just purchased. Having a lot of fun so far.

One of my party members got turned into a hawk and decided to abandon us.

Cursed items are wrecking my party because most of them turned into snakes and ran away.

10/10, intend to play again.

I quite like this a lot so far. Caveat: I'm only an hour in, but the writing's actually pretty nice. I think it's a bit of a slow burn (but the exciting start scene helps mitigate it a bit), but I appreciate the game since it radiates southern town vibes. I think if you like Night Road you might like this, too.

Character customization was pretty nice; you have the option to hit an advanced panel at one point to allot your Skills rather than have it be more backgroundy, which is coolio.

There's some LGBTQA representation for folks that value that (I do). I think that the support characters (like Adam) are pretty well-written so far. I do feel unlike Night Road that I seem to have more 'options' with my main character, both in terms of backgrounds and in terms of stats. My only gentle criticism is that I feel like spending EXP is a little odd; thus far it feels a bit unpredictable when you get to spend it, though there seems to be at least 1 opportunity per chapter.

Overall, it's a solid representation of a Choice of Games game and a reasonable addition to the VtM franchise. I'm a bit of a VtM superfan so I wasn't sure I'd like a more hunter-based tale but I'm pleasantly pleased so far.

The character art is quite nice; there seems to be more of it so far in comparison to Night Road.

Note: my review may be updated when I finish the game. There's a lot to read in this game, so it could take a little bit. I nabbed this while it was $7.99 though, and I can say so far I'm not disappointed in that price.

EDIT: I have finished my first playthrough and have some commentary!
1) Small complaint. A choice I made seems to be contradicted later in the text. I was having my character relate an event about sneaking into Bleakrest during his youth and later when in a character romance with Adam, my romantic partner claims I never went in the house when we were young!
2) I like that there were clearly several routes I could have taken in the game; it looks like this should have some replayability!
3) A few events I picked never did seem to resolve...I'm suspecting I must not have found the right options to finish 'em out, like the arrangement you can do with Dr. Lobo about the blood. I was able to start it, but my character apparently never got any money for this despite following through with it.
4) Adam is best boy. BEST.
5) Makayla is a bit...much. A lot of talk for very little action. Or maybe I just never did pick the right options involving her to let her shine; she felt very 'tacked on' towards the end of the story, though she was helpful at first.
6) I enjoy the different factions, game endings aside. I particularly enjoyed the decision paralysis I got trying to figure out what NPCs I wanted to help/kill/mitigate. Ethically, all routes feel like moral gray areas at best, and this is a big part of why I enjoy the World of Darkness or VtM, and this game does deliver on that.

If you like games like Danganronpa, the Zero Escape/Nonary Games, or YTTD, then you'd almost assuredly like this one.

The best pro is the variety of endings! Characters are interesting, and the 'enemies' change depending on routes!

Cons? UI is not the friendliest and I do think it can be a bit of a trial to replay to get endings...but it's worth it! I feel like it was worth the full price I paid for it!

Very fun. I played Dem3, and this is a nice build-up/improvement on it so far. Good replay value. Managed to lose like four elections, but somehow on my fifth one I won by a 9&% majority vote, ha!

Honestly the largest challenge in this game for me was managing my cabinet members effectively; I feel like once I can do that, I'll do a lot better at this game. But I have fun even when I lose, so there's that. :)

Like Crusader Kings II but without the headache of all the DLC, at least at the time of this review. Good game.

Absolutely beautiful game.

It's Stardew with platforming elements & a more mature/adult set of topics.

PROs:
- Can save frequently
- Lovely visuals
- Easy to learn gameplay
- Thus far, all the minigames for resource gathering have been genuinely enjoyable
- Blissful calm atmosphere that helps me relax
- Easy controls

CONs:
- Honestly, so far I don't have any cons. It's surprising, but for me, thus far this game has had no downsides.

Great game. The RNG of acquiring cards grants reasonable replayability, but there's also a lot of room for strategy within that randomness. Runs nice and smooth, simple but pleasing game aesthetic, but the game itself is also extremely challenging.

HIghly recommended if you like card and turn-based strategy games with a little hint of rogue-lite thrown in.