Recent reviews by Zeal

they tailor made this guy in a lab to be the EXACT type of tsun I am terminally weak for it is literally SO over for me. I understand every top review for this game on a spiritual level now

the emerald lakeside theme has been stuck in my head all week. please send help I'm going to turn into a frog-girl

(amazing game so far, really enjoying playing it as a duo. does a great job of scratching that xiv raiding itch without me actually having to go back to raiding. also bnuuy ❤)

I have not known peace since I first played this game. the brainworms haunt me every day

a genuine breath of fresh air after the past 3 chapters. a new killer that's super fun to play and doesn't revolve its playstyle around hard-camping a 3 gen and/or isn't so complex as to be unfun and nigh on unplayable for the majority of players - ain't no way!!!

to echo the sentiments of a lot of people in recent reviews - disco elysium is an incredible game, and everyone should play it. however, I cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone part with their cash for ZA/UM after all the ♥♥♥♥ they've pulled recently.

go forth and sail the high seas, comrades! there are other ways to get to experience this game and they aren't difficult to find.

I can't believe persona 5 invented hit game persona 5

the love-hate relationship I have with this game could fill a 5 book epic saga of some kind. and yet I still keep crawling back to it

A wonderful little game I've been waiting a long time for and it didn't disappoint! I couldn't stop playing until I'd 100%'d it. Super relaxing and does a great job of telling a story about someone's life with the bare minimum of text - you learn a lot about her considering you'll only ever get one line snippets of thoughts about the rooms you finish each year in.

(spoiler warning)If the devs read this I just wanted to say thank you for slipping in such casual and heartwarming wlw rep. When I realised I was moving in her girlfriend/partner's stuff in the 2015 scenario it made me so so happy. ♡

If you're gay and have frequent existential crises, this is the game for you

(the venn diagram of these two categories is a circle)

11/10 made me love girls even more

- Length: 25-30 hours (without skipping over dialogue, average reading speed)
- I think you'll enjoy this if you liked: Amnesia: Memories, 7Scarlet
- I think you'll enjoy this game if you're into: Games about grief and catharsis, games that make you think about how we grow as people, VNs with supernatural elements

Black Butterfly is a game that, at its core, is less of an otome and more of an unflinching look at grief, coming to terms with the past, and examining the ugliest parts of ourselves. Even the 'happiest' endings are tinged with sadness and the knowledge that awful things have happened; the happiness comes from the characters resolving to move on in a healthier way, with hope for the future.

It is also somewhat of a mystery game, in a similar way to 7Scarlet. There were a couple of twists that I genuinely didn't see coming, and upon re-reading you see more and more of the small pieces of foreshadowing woven into both the story and the character art, which I found genuinely refreshing. Looking over lines of dialogue again reveals why things were said, and why they felt 'off' on the first playthrough.

The flowchart system is a bit clunky at times but offers a different take on the usual 'play the entire common route again with different choices to receive X ending' formula, and the short stories are drip-fed to you in such a way that you never feel like you're having to drag yourself through the way to each character's route(s).

Overall I definitely recommend this one. It's one of those VNs where I found myself playing for an entire day at one point because I fell down the rabbit hole of wanting to unravel more and more of the overarching story. It is bittersweet, and you shouldn't go in expecting some kind of joyful romance - it will make you cry.

No spoilers, but I strongly recommend the following play order:
Common/Best end -> Kagiha -> Hikage -> Yamato -> Monshiro -> Karasuba -> Happy End