liminnn how can you make me care so much for fictional characters i've known for less than an hour 😭
(SPOILERS)
out of all the games in this universe, this is definitely one of the most original and daring! i love how the story gets crazier and more intricate as it goes on; from thinking about running away, to knowing the townsfolk want to literally kill valentina, the dream sequence and learning about loren's past, the scuffle with loren's dad at the pyre... the plot keeps building and building, getting more intriguing with each sequence, until it reaches its crescendo in a really natural way. i wanted to know what would happen to these two sooo bad, and the ending was absolutely devastating, but it was very much earned. it might be an odd thing to say about a game with a blood witch as one of its main characters, but it all felt... realistic and grounded. like, if these characters were real, i'd 100% believe this is what would happen to them. the plot and characters have a lot of moments of exaggeration, but it feels like the core of the story –these people going through hardships in an unaccepting world– is never lost.
valentina and loren are amazing protagonists! and they do a great job at carrying the story, especially with how the narration POV changes midway through, which was really cool. val was super charming, and her doubts and questioning at the idea of loren running away with her made her feel realistic. her unease at harming villagers that have treated her like shit is a really interesting trait, and her mild (to put it... well, mildly) distaste for her family of witches was really entertaining lol (i also have the headcanon that when the game's narration gets really passive aggressive, that's her inner unfiltered subconscious lmao). and the witch powers she uses at the end was SO goddamn cool. meanwhile, loren was not only extremely charismatic, but her past and motivation to run away from her home was really compelling. her feeling trapped into a role she didn't fit, finding that valentina was the one person who truly understood her... ahhh so good. the flashback sequence was one of the best parts of the game, no doubt. and with the two together, i really appreciated how their relationship wasn't portrayed as perfect, but their love for each other was still made very much clear. val's doubts about loren's violent side and eagerness to run away from home was a really intriguing point of conflict between the two. but, of course, they cared for one another until the end, represented by the red trees at the park that to this day keeps being as vibrant as ever (the use of the word "lovely" when describing the red is especially poignant). overall this is some of the best character work in this universe, and while we probably won't see these characters again, their story was absolutely enchanting :> (also, it was really cool how the first half of the game being riddled with valentina's doubts kinda made it seem like loren was suspicious in some way, only to subvert it with the dream sequence)
the gameplay elements were extremely creative!! the seed planting sequences were quite fun, i was shocked by how satisfying it was to water and gather berries and flowers haha. i think there could've been a bit more resource management involved, like maybe if you don't grab a fully grown batch fast enough it withers away... or maybe that does happen and i never saw it cuz of my pro gamer skills, who knows. and all the other puzzles felt really original and fun to figure out! the flower paths, the piano & letter, the heart painting... they all felt just right in terms of difficulty; it makes you ponder the solution a bit, but never so much that it breaks the flow of the story. and the variety of their mechanics is also really cool; it makes all the puzzles feel diverse. the gameplay sequences were a really awesome surprise and they give this game an even stronger identity!
THE VISUALS AND MUSIC UGHHHH so so so good. the swaying of grass and bushes caused by the wind, the way water moves in the rivers, the leaves and twinkles that fall throughout the screen, the beautiful color palette at the forest, the different designs of the berries and flowers, the CGs (especially the ones at the climax, those were incredibly pretty), the mirror version of loren, the ENTIRE dream sequence with its abstract purple background, blinking pencil-like eyes, beating hearts whose colors mimic the ones of the flowers... you get the gist, this game is fucking beautiful in every way. and the music!! captures the vibe of every scene masterfully, the game really wouldn't feel the same without it. an especial mention to the dream track, sooo chilling but beautiful at the same time. don't really know what else to say, the visuals and audio are top notch as usual, and it feels like with every game a cool new detail is introduced to the presentation!
when i hit "new game" the first two times, the same glitch happened; at the starting cutscene, the scene suddenly changed to cardinal forest. like, the scene would play out normally, with valentina and loren arguing about running away... but it happened in cardinal forest instead. after it was done, i continued from that point in the game but at the log cutting part, spamming Q wouldn't work (not super relevant cuz the bigger issue is obviously getting taken to this map at the start of the game, but i thought i'd mention it since a few other people commented it and the cause might be this). at the third try of starting a new game, this time everything worked perfectly, and tbf i couldn't manage to replicate the glitch again, so maybe it was a SUPER random thing that we just got really unlucky for haha. still, i wanted to mention it cuz it felt really confusing when starting the game, since i had no idea i wasn't supposed to be there at that point in the game lol.
overall this was fantastic!! a super compelling love story with creative puzzles, gorgeous visuals, and a complex and incredibly poignant plot that grabbed me and didn't let go. now all that's left is for you and chevie to fight in a forest yuri battle to the death :D
Absolutely beautiful game LiminAce! This one was short but it was nice to see a return to the yuri!!! (even if it was doomed...) And a little lore for cardinal park case to top it off!!! I'll keep it short but great job on the art and music and story (fuck farming) and good luck on your next work!
I loved this!! The mood and lighting was beautiful, the writing was funny and clever. The pacing was good. I accidentally skipped more puzzles than I meant to, just by being a fool but I thought the makeup of the puzzles were really clever and well thought out. I'm so blown away by how polished it looked!!! The flower jumping puzzles especially made an impression. The whole dream sequence looked so cool. Always love ur work Limin and sad forest yuri will always reign supreme <3
Very gay. Had me yelling at my screen the whole time. Main issue is that Val has no survival instinct. Why the freak would you go into A BOSS FIGHT AHH KIDNAP AHH CLEARING WITHOUT YOUR BUFF HOT KNIFE WIFE?!?!?! Not sigma. >:(
The first dream puzzle are really cool! I also like the forest theme as they are hard hitting, the planting puzzles gets old a bit fast but it's alright, almost failed the last part lol, the art keeps getting better too. It's been awhile
since you've done a yuri visual novel like Aquatic Grave, I think I love the ost in this one just as much as with AQ! Keep up the great works!
And ofc I made a playthrough, didn't encounter any bug or anything, the only thing that didn't load correctly was my brain.
← Return to Visual Novel
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
liminnn how can you make me care so much for fictional characters i've known for less than an hour 😭
(SPOILERS)
out of all the games in this universe, this is definitely one of the most original and daring! i love how the story gets crazier and more intricate as it goes on; from thinking about running away, to knowing the townsfolk want to literally kill valentina, the dream sequence and learning about loren's past, the scuffle with loren's dad at the pyre... the plot keeps building and building, getting more intriguing with each sequence, until it reaches its crescendo in a really natural way. i wanted to know what would happen to these two sooo bad, and the ending was absolutely devastating, but it was very much earned. it might be an odd thing to say about a game with a blood witch as one of its main characters, but it all felt... realistic and grounded. like, if these characters were real, i'd 100% believe this is what would happen to them. the plot and characters have a lot of moments of exaggeration, but it feels like the core of the story –these people going through hardships in an unaccepting world– is never lost.
valentina and loren are amazing protagonists! and they do a great job at carrying the story, especially with how the narration POV changes midway through, which was really cool. val was super charming, and her doubts and questioning at the idea of loren running away with her made her feel realistic. her unease at harming villagers that have treated her like shit is a really interesting trait, and her mild (to put it... well, mildly) distaste for her family of witches was really entertaining lol (i also have the headcanon that when the game's narration gets really passive aggressive, that's her inner unfiltered subconscious lmao). and the witch powers she uses at the end was SO goddamn cool. meanwhile, loren was not only extremely charismatic, but her past and motivation to run away from her home was really compelling. her feeling trapped into a role she didn't fit, finding that valentina was the one person who truly understood her... ahhh so good. the flashback sequence was one of the best parts of the game, no doubt. and with the two together, i really appreciated how their relationship wasn't portrayed as perfect, but their love for each other was still made very much clear. val's doubts about loren's violent side and eagerness to run away from home was a really intriguing point of conflict between the two. but, of course, they cared for one another until the end, represented by the red trees at the park that to this day keeps being as vibrant as ever (the use of the word "lovely" when describing the red is especially poignant). overall this is some of the best character work in this universe, and while we probably won't see these characters again, their story was absolutely enchanting :> (also, it was really cool how the first half of the game being riddled with valentina's doubts kinda made it seem like loren was suspicious in some way, only to subvert it with the dream sequence)
the gameplay elements were extremely creative!! the seed planting sequences were quite fun, i was shocked by how satisfying it was to water and gather berries and flowers haha. i think there could've been a bit more resource management involved, like maybe if you don't grab a fully grown batch fast enough it withers away... or maybe that does happen and i never saw it cuz of my pro gamer skills, who knows. and all the other puzzles felt really original and fun to figure out! the flower paths, the piano & letter, the heart painting... they all felt just right in terms of difficulty; it makes you ponder the solution a bit, but never so much that it breaks the flow of the story. and the variety of their mechanics is also really cool; it makes all the puzzles feel diverse. the gameplay sequences were a really awesome surprise and they give this game an even stronger identity!
THE VISUALS AND MUSIC UGHHHH so so so good. the swaying of grass and bushes caused by the wind, the way water moves in the rivers, the leaves and twinkles that fall throughout the screen, the beautiful color palette at the forest, the different designs of the berries and flowers, the CGs (especially the ones at the climax, those were incredibly pretty), the mirror version of loren, the ENTIRE dream sequence with its abstract purple background, blinking pencil-like eyes, beating hearts whose colors mimic the ones of the flowers... you get the gist, this game is fucking beautiful in every way. and the music!! captures the vibe of every scene masterfully, the game really wouldn't feel the same without it. an especial mention to the dream track, sooo chilling but beautiful at the same time. don't really know what else to say, the visuals and audio are top notch as usual, and it feels like with every game a cool new detail is introduced to the presentation!
when i hit "new game" the first two times, the same glitch happened; at the starting cutscene, the scene suddenly changed to cardinal forest. like, the scene would play out normally, with valentina and loren arguing about running away... but it happened in cardinal forest instead. after it was done, i continued from that point in the game but at the log cutting part, spamming Q wouldn't work (not super relevant cuz the bigger issue is obviously getting taken to this map at the start of the game, but i thought i'd mention it since a few other people commented it and the cause might be this). at the third try of starting a new game, this time everything worked perfectly, and tbf i couldn't manage to replicate the glitch again, so maybe it was a SUPER random thing that we just got really unlucky for haha. still, i wanted to mention it cuz it felt really confusing when starting the game, since i had no idea i wasn't supposed to be there at that point in the game lol.
overall this was fantastic!! a super compelling love story with creative puzzles, gorgeous visuals, and a complex and incredibly poignant plot that grabbed me and didn't let go. now all that's left is for you and chevie to fight in a forest yuri battle to the death :D
THE ENDING WAS SO SAD. This is the first game of yours I've played and now I really want to try Cardinal Park.
im stuck on the flowers, ive tried sprinting and and clicking what seeds???!?! but very beutiful so far
Could you post a screenshot of where you’re stuck?
When I arrive at the first log, it says to spam Q to destroy the log but nothing happens...it's a bug?
I don’t know what could be causing that to happen. Try resetting the game to see if that fixes it.
yeah that happened to me too
The writing in this game is excellent! I also really like the jokes as well lol! Keep up the fantastic work!
Sooo that's what it meant by "a single doomed ending" I cried. Yay.
Good game
I loved this!! The mood and lighting was beautiful, the writing was funny and clever. The pacing was good. I accidentally skipped more puzzles than I meant to, just by being a fool but I thought the makeup of the puzzles were really clever and well thought out. I'm so blown away by how polished it looked!!! The flower jumping puzzles especially made an impression. The whole dream sequence looked so cool. Always love ur work Limin and sad forest yuri will always reign supreme <3
Very gay. Had me yelling at my screen the whole time. Main issue is that Val has no survival instinct. Why the freak would you go into A BOSS FIGHT AHH KIDNAP AHH CLEARING WITHOUT YOUR BUFF HOT KNIFE WIFE?!?!?! Not sigma. >:(
Wonderful game totally didn't cry for my poor girls at the end no idea what you're talking about
The first dream puzzle are really cool! I also like the forest theme as they are hard hitting, the planting puzzles gets old a bit fast but it's alright, almost failed the last part lol, the art keeps getting better too. It's been awhile
since you've done a yuri visual novel like Aquatic Grave, I think I love the ost in this one just as much as with AQ! Keep up the great works!
And ofc I made a playthrough, didn't encounter any bug or anything, the only thing that didn't load correctly was my brain.
69 CGS, 400000 WORDS
I really enjoyed this game a lot, the story, puzzles, and everything in between. Had a lot of fun playing!