Recente recensies door Quincy Quinn

This game is a culmination of the To The Moon/Sigmund Corp series, meant (as far as I know) as one part of the finale planned for this franchise. Unlike the other games, it is too interconnected to play this as a standalone and fully enjoy what it has to offer. If you want to start the series and need it laid out for you, here is the play order:

To The Moon (+ free minisode installments) - you may remember this one going absolutely viral on YouTube Let's Plays more than 10 years ago.
A Bird Story - not a full sequel, but a lead-in to the next one
Finding Paradise - second full game
Impostor Factory - third full game
They also released the Alternate Universe Playbook as a free program to tinker around with. It features characters from this series, as well as some other indie titles, but is otherwise unrelated.

And then we are here with the current game, and after this there is still The Last Hour of an Epic To The Moon RPG to be released. They apparently both play a part as a finale to this series.

As for the game itself... this was a delightful time. For the most part, just spending time and catching up with characters we have already grown to love. Please, don't think too hard about it...

For an already pretty short game, I'd say like 90-95% is pure fun and funny. But that last bit? Oh, if you've followed this series, you already know. It wouldn't be this series if they didn't break your heart a little by the end.

I'll be curious if The Last Hour of an Epic To The Moon RPG continues from here, or if it's like a branching path with an alternate take.

Cute game, beautiful (actually breathtaking) artwork. Wish I had more people to play it with.

I actually own the collector's edition as well as being sent a digital copy previously - I just figured it was worth another few dollars to have the download files available elsewhere on here too. For those who are interested and able, being able to play this game is a treat.

I enjoy the webseries and respect that this game is no longer up because of the creator's wishes, but I'll admit there was more effort and endings in here than I expected, even if it was still a 20min adventure when you use a guide to explore everything. As a fan effort, I found this tribute pretty respectful. It's unfortunate that it was confused as the "original" against the webseries though. Even I was confused first looking into it, and of course ghosttundra derserves as many eyes on her webseries itself as possible. Sorry that they couldn't coexist without this game stepping on the original's toes.

Ah, a classic horror from my days in high school, and I now return older than the teacher character... how cruel time can be...

So yes, I've loved this series for a very long time, for better or for worse. But the best of the best is no doubt its first entry, which already had a different iteration on Steam, I'll get into later. Corpse Party, for most of its entries, are a masterclass in combining text, sound, and voice acting to truly paint horrific scenarios in your head, even more so here for its first entry where there are pixel sprites. And the quality of what's depicted in the CGs feels so unique and iconic to look back on it now.

And some newcomers may be put off by some mutterings of fanservice and yes, I must say... that is a weakness in this series, especially in that the bloody horror genre doesn't lend itself well to random panty shots weirdly placed in otherwise disturbing CGs. And it's much worse the further you go, especially by the time you get to Blood Drive, but that game is another matter entirely. For the here-and-now with this game, you can rest assured it honestly isn't too bad. If you're not looking for it or focusing on it for more than a second, then what you're left with is really solid horror that spun off into a whole franchise for a reason.

Now between the two, Corpse Party and Corpse Party (2021) can mostly be differentiated by the art used, including character halfbody sprites and CGs. This alone, in my eyes, makes this version (as well as just about any other port) the superior version, and being the most recent iteration as of now means that it also has the most to offer in terms of EX chapters. Not to say that someone couldn't enter into the story just as well as from the old version, but this feels like the far more definitive entry point that I would recommend to anyone.

Good for achievement hunters too! Very straightforward goals. Literally just "get every ending (including Wrong Ends)" and "pick up all the collectibles". Don't even have to work to unlock every single CG for the gallery like I remember doing for my PSP version! Goals that feel good to achieve, not too frustrating overall.

Having not yet had the pleasure to play through the 3DS "Back to School" edition (which is a shame because those little Seiko & Naomi figures that came with them are SO CUTE), there is a series of EX Chapters I enjoyed that, technically, are old news. However, with each edition they add more. There is a new EX chapter set in 2020 that feels like a loveletter to the fans, even if they had more fart fetish and Blood Drive connections in there than I would like. And another one that secretly follows a character's Wrong End, in which I was thrilled it took me by surprise after I mentally tried to place the timeline for the chapter before the heartwarming reveal. The added content is good content.

And to any newcomers who see all the Corpse Party titles on Steam and need someone to break down a play order and how they related to each other, here it be:

Corpse Party or Corpse Party (2021) - these are the first entries that cover the same story. For the reasons listed above, I recommend this 2021 version, but both are available and would largely convey the same thing. The change in art style moving on from the first Steam Corpse Party will be pretty wild though.

Corpse Party: Book of Shadows - The prologue and epilogue are canon and will lead into the opening of the more traditional sequel, Corpse Party: Blood Drive. The Chapters in-between, however, will either act as prequels and/or AU short stories based off of a very important Wrong End from the first game. Very non-linear, but still great horror and really goes into detail on the lives of certain characters and how certain events of the first game came to be.

Corpse Party: Sweet Sachiko's Hysteric Birthday Bash - largely non-canon comedic and often fanservicey fluff that lets the horror take a backseat while you kind of chill with the characters in wild scenarios. Obviously people might have gripes about making a comedy out of a horror series, but imo if you go in knowing what it's supposed to be it's actually an amazing time and even until this point Corpse Party still hasn't missed. Weirdly also ties into Corpse Party: Blood Drive.

Corpse Party: Blood Drive - We actually hit the first full canonical sequel, wow. And it's uhhhh.... Ok, yeah, don't recommend it, but it's there. NOW Corpse Party officially missed. Yeah, this is pretty much "leave the fandom" bad, but I'm still locked in. You can read my review or others for more detail, but yeah that's what comes next.

And then we now have warring concepts for a Corpse Party 2 on Steam.

Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient - as far as I and others are concerned, this was an incomplete demo for where they wanted to go after the "Heavenly Host" arc of Corpse Party. New scenarios, new characters, new location. The story didn't seem bad at all as far as I could tell, but mechanically it needed some work. Pick it up or don't. This was the last word we had, aside from the occasional port, about Corpse Party UNTIL

Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion - That will apparently exist. As of writing right now, it's not out yet, store page isn't even up yet, but it's happening. Physical "Ayame's Mercy" Collector's Edition looks sweet. Looks like they finally ditched the Blood Drive chibis. I'm guessing this is what the development for Dead Patient eventually lead to? It does still seem to take place in a hospital. So we'll see?

Closing thoughts: this fandom needs a resurgence; please play it

An excellent freebie I was able to find through the Discovery Queue this year. Between this and Grimm's Hollow, I'm getting my childhood grim reaper fantasies filled. Now if only there was a proper big rpg with the concept...

Anyway yeah, what it says on the tin: you get to date death! Very cute interactions over messaging and video calls mostly, as your grim reaper grows more and more frustrated that you just won't die already. Apparently, "nature was supposed to take its course with you YEARS ago"! And you're that stubborn soul that's making the grim reaper's job a pain.

There are good and bad ends, depending on the choices you make. And yeah, one of them managed to make me cry too. Which I used to think was a rarity, but after crying for Emily is Away <3, I'm starting to think maybe I'm more of a softie than I thought, or that I at the very least have very powerful skills in imagination and putting myself the the shoes of the characters. So yeah, tears may vary.

It's also really good on the customization too. Not just the options in creating your character (which include gender, pronouns, and masc/fem-leaning all as separate options + a decent array of cosmetics), but in your dialogue options and some variety in your pet and decorating your room as well. I do wish I was able to goth up my room a bit more to my liking, and/or maybe have some customization in what pet I owned too beyond what species I like, buuuut tbh they already put in plenty for a free game so I can't really complain.

There is also a paid DLC I'll be wanting to pick up when I can, which I know adds not just more customization options for your character, but also new dialogue and a new ending. So yeah, add hat to the pile with Witches x Warlocks for free dating sims that are actually pretty good that have paid DLC I actually want to see the outcome of. It hasn't happened a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice, right?

100% worth your time if dating death is at all a concept that appeals to you.

So this lil birthday gift to me is a part of a series that never fails to make me cry by the end.

Now, it's been a hot minute since I've played Emily is Away Too, but I definitely recall enough to make a comparison in gameplay I think. I remember distinctly that a bigger kind of gimmick in the second game compared to the first was that you balanced your relationship between two ladies, one section of which almost guarantees you to drop the ball with someone because everyone wants you to respond within seconds. Despite having more character interaction in this third entry, I appreciate that that wasn't a mechanic that was brought back.

Instead, you move from AIM to Facebook, as it is now 2008, a high schooler in the 08-09 Senior Year. (Which really gives me flashbacks now as that's only a few years off from my actual graduation year, lil trippy.) And yeah, it simulates relationships very effectively. Mat is an absolute bro, no matter what you do, the homie...

Though I'd be lying if I didn't say that Emily is Away <3 didn't have some gameplay aspects I found questionable as it played out. Now I'm not opposed to your first ending being guaranteed a bad ending, but the multiple endings system is distinct depending on which "save slot"'s timeline you're working in, which is weird in and of itself that, say, Endings 1-3 are in saveslot 1 and Endings 4-5 are in saveslot 2, exclusively.

And while you're getting all these endings, it becomes more and more apparent that Emily and Evelyn have effectively the same personality and dialogue, distinguished only by music taste, choice of party, and how much alcohol they like. Otherwise, despite being functionally two distinct characters within the story, if at any point you explore your options by getting endings for both girls, it really is just playing through the same options all over again for the most part.

But hey, a lot of the time I wasn't thinking about that. I was in it. Even when choosing the purposefully jerkish options for all the endings, I felt like I was being treated in some ways unfairly by my chosen girl. Like as an example, "sure, I chose the 'manipulation' ending this route, but also does this character really think these two situations are similar enough to be compared? And when their partner expresses so much discomfort about one of their friends, it still feels so dismissive to say that they're worried about nothing" as some thoughts I'd be having while playing. Not to say that's all a fault in the writing at all, but it's definitely doing a good job at getting tensions to flare on the sly and really suck you in. Just like the first Emily is Away, it's a text adventure social media sim designed to make you FEEL.

More interesting extras, for those who have already journeyed through the entirety of the Higurashi worlds thus far.

2 larger segments of this game, Outbreak and its sequel Kamikashimashi, apparently began as a short story originally included in the Higurashi Daybreak Original Soundtrack. This story follows yet another alternate universe, in which it begins with an entire village under intense quarantine and spirals into a disease-ridden apocalypse scenario, bringing in lore we're already familiar with in regards to a certain syndrome and how it spreads, and mixing it with new information regarding Hanyuu's possible origins and beings like her. Like most other main stories for these multi-segment releases, I feel that that this initial storyline more than justifies the overall purchase, if someone is already invested in the Higurashi universes. Keep in mind though that the ending is pretty weird with loli goddesses being humiliated in skimpy outfits... and while that wasn't enough to ruin it for me and the mood change and overall conclusion was appreciated, that was still pretty uncomfortable to sit through.

The next major story chunk is Hinamizawa Bus Stop, a stage play translated into the visual novel format that apparently is the original work that branched out into... everything. Like an unaired pilot episode for a series, you'll see familiar elements of a story you've seen mixed with differences that didn't make the cut by the time Chapter 1 - Onikakushi came around. A relatively short and interesting read to compare to what we've already gotten.

Then we have the deliberately-fanservice segment, Mehagashi (originally released as an extra for a Higurashi: When They Cry- GOU BluRay collection), in which Rika pulls some mysterious swimsuits from the ritual warehouse, which makes all the ladies charming but also dooms the universe because said swimsuits are from another world and reality cannot exist with them in it! And so, with all of the ladies out of Hanyuu's reach, it's up to Keiichi to strip them all of their swimsuits to save the universe! Yeah... you know the kind of ecchi comedy schlock you're getting with this one. You enjoy it or you don't. Personally I had a great time. Again having a couple lolis in the mix makes it pretty weird, but the overall strategy of this section itself was pretty fun and don't go thinking Keiichi doesn't go without his fair share of humiliation too. My golden rule of sexualization: gender equality. And this segment is pretty fair imo.

It's more Higurashi for your buck.

happy holidays

here's a quick dose of merry serotonin for all the good boys and girls

This is a very acclaimed horror game for its unique format, solving a mystery remotely through a victim's cell phone. And for that I was very interested! And those elements I was looking for, it delivered.

I do have other issues, though. While I feel like this is creepy and atmospheric set-up that would lend itself well to horror scenarios like a serial killer or modern hauntings, I wasn't as grabbed by the big bad revealed in the climax what with the more SciFi twist with commentary on a modern person's internet persona vs their true selves, especially since there seemed to be at least some vague supernatural ability given to this system that is never expanded upon. Though, with the very apparent and similar themes to this series' free-to-play title Simulacra: Pipe Dreams which I have completed previously, I'm not sure what else I expected.

These games are cheap enough, with gimmicky-enough gameplay and good enough atmosphere that doesn't overstay its welcome with a pretty short playtime that I overall still really like it. The way the live action footage is used to weave a narrative was iconic for the time, after all, to where upon release I saw people playing this everywhere. I'd say I'm just happy enough to say that not only did I enjoy this game but I'm interested in what became of the next couple of games.

But note: I also couldn't get this game working for the longest time - I bought it forever ago and just got it to work on the day I'm writing this. It was missing some kind of runtime package that another game's install eventually provided. So keep that in mind. That was a pain.

TIL "Fumblecore" is how you describe the annoying QWOP/Octodad mechanics, according to the store page.
Says it's about five minutes, but I spent half an hour fumbling.
It free.