What can I say except "holy shit, this was really fucking good." I love the different use of typography!! It made the experience more unsettling and really set the eerieness. The one choice that you have really changes the perspective in how it plays out. Really, such a good game.
Aaaah, thank you!! I had fun experimenting with the texts and the ambiance to tell this story! And I wanted the choice to be very impactful indeed! Thank you for sharing such your gentle and nice feedback!!
I expected the twist … and then there was another twist, well done!
I really liked the use of the text effects, they oozed with emotion, especially the ones on the black screens (though occasionally I accidentally clicked before they had finished, and didn’t actually see what they said).
Only one bug. Turning off the typing animation didn’t stop the typing animation …
Hi, thanks for the kind words! I thought the first twist was a bit obvious (although apparently most players expected a “you stay a submissive wife” outcome from this option), so the second one was mandatory, haha (but I hope it still makes sense with how the game is written when you replay it)!
For the text you missed, you can click on the back arrow in the GUI to read it again!
And thanks for pointing it out the issue, I’ll fix the bug later in the day!
Sorry, second answer regarding the bug: the feature isn't bugged, if you're talking about the typewriter effect?
If you still hear it while hovering menu items, it's normal, but turning it off gets indeed rid of the effect when the characters speak (so it works as intended).
Now, you use the word "animation" rather than "sound effect", so, if you're talking about the pace at which the text appears (since the text doesn't immediately appear), you can change the text speed (and putting it at the maximum gets rid of the typing animation).
I thought “typewriter effect” was related to speed of the text appearing character by character, but I see it was to do with the accompanying sound effect. So I actually needed to turn off the effect and put the speed to maximum. Makes sense
I don't actually expect that. I know there would be a problem in their relationship but *gasp* anyway it was good. the concept is a bit heavy, but your choices are so impactful toward their ending(s).
Ah, thanks! I wanted to challenge a bit my writing and the players' expectations, and, of course, to make the choice very impactful, as it is a game made for the single choice jam, so I'm happy you appreciated it!
Ohh, this was quite a fun one! I really liked this wholesome take on an estranged couple reigniting their love! I loved putting sparkles in Oleander's eyes during the good ending~ (jokes aside real review down below).
I thought that the game was really well-done overall! The sunset hued background and sprite are beautiful with a little bit of a foreboding quality, and I loved all of the different text effects. They conveyed the emotion of the scene well and added so much dynamicism to the visuals. the sprite is beautifully rendered (putting the personality of the character aside), and the writing is on-point, as always!
**********
SPOILERS
***********
I knew this guy was a douche-canoe the minute I saw him strutting around his house in his underwear LOL (okay that might be a generalization, but truly, I don't understand how people do that...) I like the choice of his name - a poisonous shrub is very fitting for such a man! When I was reading, Oleander DID give me VERY strong Lara vibes!
The characterization of Oleander and Orlena is built up well over the course of the story, really driving home Oleander's abusive nature - his jabs at Orlena's weight, his criticisms, his double standards, his shallow and dismissive attitude. By the end you really do sympathize with whatever decision "Orlena" chooses.
The hints towards the second plot twist were also well-done! I didn't see the twist coming on the first play, but on a second playthrough I picked up on quite a few of the hints: Oleander mentioning that Orlena's hair looks different, and noting that her butt looks less flabby than normal, for example. I also thought it was strange that Orlena continuously mentioned that she "saw" the scars and bruises in a very detached way, but by the end it made complete sense - because Venessa only saw the bruises, she never experienced the abuse. So it makes sense that she continuously mentions "seeing" the evidence of the abuse, rather than living through it.
Overall this was an excellent bit of psychological horror, and really unexpected from you! I'm looking forward to nuit blanche ;)
I’m glad you loved this little story of mine! Oleander isn’t a bad guy, he just needs to be understood and I’m glad you get to fix him in the good ending <3
And thanks, I decided to go like “head empty kinetic text tags” so that’s why they’re so present here, haha! But in the end, I was happy with the result!
********
SPOILERS
********
Honestly, I’m just being judgemental and it’s no big deal of course, BUT I HATE WHEN PEOPLE WALK AROUND IN UNDERWEAR, EVEN AT THEIR OWN PLACE. That’s literally the reason I put him in underwear and no it’s not even a joke rftghtrf
Ha ha, yes! And Venessa is named like that because of the alliteration with Venomous, and Orlena means golden, as someone valuable (both meanings: Orlena should realise her own value, and she is precious to her twin). And yes, Oleander is an incarnation of Laradorf!!!
Portraying the toxic relationship wasn’t the hardest part, as I did it in the past, but I’m really happy with how it appears here!
I’m glad you didn’t see the second plot twist come at first and yet caught some of the weird details on your second playthrough! I wonder in what order you play those now, although I suppose you first started with breaking the plate, from what I get from your comment?
Overall, I’m glad you enjoyed my take on a whole new genre, haha, I wasn’t sure of the result! And gosh, nuit blanche Is a wild ride for sure!
alright, lesson learned DONT simp for characters without playing the game first lmfaoooo- YOU GOT ME
Spoilers starting now
okay I hate him, I knew going in thanks to the warnings that this wasn’t going to be a simple cute little dinner between a ‘troubled’ couple.
The second he started acting out I was like, alright only one choice- we have to poison the chimichurri steak. Dude is THE WORST, he made Matthieu look sympathetic jfc.
but it was a good strategy to make him look appealing! Monsters are all among us, they look like beautiful people but can be wolfs and sheep’s clothing.
There was no other choice in my mind but to break the plate, honestly she’s better than me because I had Murder on my mind lolol. But this is better, he can live with the humiliation and never be seen as some victim.
Personal stuff for a second, my horrible father was also a domestic abuser so I think I react very strongly to this material in the first place. The ending lines are my favorite- that she always had the strength in her! She just suppressed it versus the usual- she was weak and just one day snapped. Thank you for portraying it this way!
I liked this game a lot despite having a sinking feeling the whole time lol! I’m off to read the devlog parts I didn’t want to read due to spoilers 🏃♀️ great work as always Chime!
P.S you must have been CACKLING at me over Twitter lmfaooooo a pretty face and my head is GONE 😫
LMAOOOOOO at least don't when it's from me efrgtbhbgv
SPOILERS
LMAOOOO NOT YOU ALREADY DECIDING TO MURDER HIM RIGHT ON THE SPOT, but yes, he really is my worst character, worse than any other I have ever written edfvgbferz it was so funny to see everyone simp for him while my only wish was to PLUNGE HIS FACE IN A BUCKET OF ACID (or something). But yes, monsters can take many shapes and forms, and even pretty one... But sometimes, even pretty guys can drink the life out of you (and now remember the whole incubus discussion dertrgf).
Yes, that is the message of the first ending, to show that things can change! Albeit, a bit unrealistically here (but the reasons for Orlena suddenly being able to immobilise him are in the other one) but yes, I still wanted it to be kinda empowering for those who would play this one first, and to feel satisfying to those who played the other first as they would have gotten the bigger picture? And thanks for sharing your experience!
(lmaooo this game is honestly one of my hardest released so far, a first taste of what nuit blanche will be like actually frtrbyt')
P.S.: I was cackling like the evil witch in the Wizard of Oz, I was living my best villain moment edfrgtrfd
I am always rendered to tears at the end of your games????
I feel like I always read through the last through lines barely able to see the screen....
My gosh though. [SOME SPOILERS PROBABLY BECAUSE I WILL LIKELY RAMBLE] This was utterly gut-wrenching and mind-breaking in a million and one ways. Everything you did. Every single choice you made for every piece of formatting, every effect with the text, every use of darkening and blurring and pausing and... and just... EVERYTHING... it all worked together to create this overwhelming experience that rattled me to the core.
As someone who's never been in quite this kind of intense situation but who's still been in relationships where I've felt "scared" to act a certain way out of fear that the other person will blow up, even if the blowing up doesn't lead to violence but still leads to me being hurt emotionally, I could put myself immediately in Orly's shoes and the fear packed into her thoughts and words and interactions really hit hard with me. Then the build-up leading towards the end... my god... it was so brilliantly and beautifully and intensely done. Like. That moment after the choice. Honestly felt like my heart stopped for just a moment. Seeing Orly's thoughts warp and build and turn into strength that she'd never had before. The use of the text effects here especially was stunning and really served to make every single line etch its way deep into the grooves of your heart and mind so you could feel every syllable.
The music choice was excellent. The main track playing throughout the game is really reminiscent to me of Thomas Newman and his stuff from The Shawshank Redemption, which added a double layer of emotional kick to me as his music literally already makes me weep. Then the second song I got a mild jumpscare on because I recognized it as a song I had once downloaded in a list of "Possible Songs for the Future" LDKJFALKDSF It's such a good one. So emotional. And really set the tone for that final scene.
GOD.
I feel like I'm running out of things to actually talk about in a cohesive way because mostly right now I'm just a wibbling pile of emotions after this lakdjfalsdf Just an absolutely fantastic, emotional piece that brings with it a glimmer of hope at the end. A hope for a fresh start. Something better. An escape. One that maybe not all of us can find. But one that we're all hoping for no matter what kind of situation we feel completely stuck within in our life, where it feels like we have no way out. But we do. Sometimes we just need to find the strength hidden inside of us. That can only be brought out by a chimichurri steak.
Thank you for making this (and for all of your games, let's be real) alsdkjfalds. With every single one of them, I'm sent down an absolute torrent of emotions.
(Also I had no idea what chimichurri steak is before this??? LDKFJAD)
Ha ha, I love how this comment section is basically you slowly discovering the plot twists frgt
Per usual, I'm sorry you cried and were left broken with what you played... again????
(SPOILERS BELOW)
And thanks! I really overhthought the "staging" of this game as it really was what I wanted to explore most, haha!
I'm glad you enjoyed this first ending! Admittedly, I found it a bit unrealistic that Orlena has the skill to immobilise him. It would be realistic for her to fight back, but not to prevent Oleander from hurting her... But well, the other ending reveals this character is actually Venessa and that's why, haha! But I'm glad you found it well done!
I wanted the choices to be impactful and to be intense since, hey, this whole game is built around this very one choice (hence the Single Choice Jam submission).
FRFRTG SAME sometimes I play games and realise we used the same track, which is very fun, hehe (God bless Dova-syndrome efgh)!
"A hope for a fresh start. Something better. An escape. One that maybe not all of us can find. But one that we're all hoping for no matter what kind of situation we feel completely stuck within in our life, where it feels like we have no way out. But we do. Sometimes we just need to find the strength hidden inside of us. That can only be brought out by a chimichurri steak." -> I love how you phrased it so beautifully, so wonderfully only for me to have the second ending ready to let my steak bring even more stuff zedefbt
"Thank you for making this (and for all of your games, let's be real)" YOU CANNOT SAY THAT AND NOT EXPECT ME TO CRY OKAY FINE THIS IS EXCELLENT REVENGE CARROT ERFGTRFTRFVDFV THANK YOU SO MUCH
"I love the complete dichotomy between these two endings MY GOD???? I AM AT A LOSS." -> YES!!!! I know it won't happen to all players, but I really do hope they play it in the same order as you, as I think it really conveys the story better edfgh (at least, that's how you get the two goals I had: the hopeful message about breaking free from abuse (although it's far from being that easy in real-life), and then the plot-twisty intense edgy thing rgtrfvg
(I didn't know either, I was just thinking of a meal involving meat that could be poisoned and when I saw that this one had "Chim" in it, I was sold dzefgt)
Wow, that was very impactful for such a short game. ;A;
Great job on setting up the atmosphere of abuse and neglect, with the wife having to walk on eggshells in fear of upsetting the husband. You made me resent Oleander in just a few sentences. 😣
I spoiled myself reading the devlog (😅) so the conclusion wasn't as shocking as it could've been but I still liked it and thought it was satisfying. (both choices were good, not sure which would be better long-term) (i also think the hints were well-placed and not super obvious, so props for that 👌)
I almost want to say it was a feel-good game with how it ends (since you get a sense of justice when Oleander gets what he deserves) but the topic is so heavy it feels kind of wrong. Because what gets me the most about this is that the wife's situation is a grim reality to way too many people. And more often than not, they don't have an easy way out or decide to stay in hopes that things will get better (and they never do). So it's just something to think about.
Thanks for the kind words, Hiro! My main goal with this game was to set up a suffocating mood from which one would desperately want to escape! And yes, haha, you have no idea how much I hate Oleander! And I’m happy you found the reveals not that obvious despite getting spoiled by the devlog, haha!
If I definitely wouldn’t call it a feel-good game, I have to agree with you: everyone isn’t lucky enough to be saved by their stronger twin. The first VN I wrote for (La Vie en Rose by the Abyss Team) is actually about domestic abuse, so I’m kinda accustomed to the harsh reality of it! And that’s actually why I didn’t go the usual Chim’ treatment (here, it would have been to have the option to poison him, although it would have been harder to explain how a normal person would own aconite; and to stay trapped in Oleander’s web), I wanted to explore new genres and to give the two options of the choice heavy and dramatic consequences! So yeah, definitely not representative of the reality!
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
What can I say except "holy shit, this was really fucking good." I love the different use of typography!! It made the experience more unsettling and really set the eerieness. The one choice that you have really changes the perspective in how it plays out. Really, such a good game.
Aaaah, thank you!! I had fun experimenting with the texts and the ambiance to tell this story! And I wanted the choice to be very impactful indeed! Thank you for sharing such your gentle and nice feedback!!
I expected the twist … and then there was another twist, well done!
I really liked the use of the text effects, they oozed with emotion, especially the ones on the black screens (though occasionally I accidentally clicked before they had finished, and didn’t actually see what they said).
Only one bug. Turning off the typing animation didn’t stop the typing animation …
Hi, thanks for the kind words! I thought the first twist was a bit obvious (although apparently most players expected a “you stay a submissive wife” outcome from this option), so the second one was mandatory, haha (but I hope it still makes sense with how the game is written when you replay it)!
For the text you missed, you can click on the back arrow in the GUI to read it again!
And thanks for pointing it out the issue, I’ll fix the bug later in the day!
Sorry, second answer regarding the bug: the feature isn't bugged, if you're talking about the typewriter effect?
If you still hear it while hovering menu items, it's normal, but turning it off gets indeed rid of the effect when the characters speak (so it works as intended).
Now, you use the word "animation" rather than "sound effect", so, if you're talking about the pace at which the text appears (since the text doesn't immediately appear), you can change the text speed (and putting it at the maximum gets rid of the typing animation).
Ahh!
I thought “typewriter effect” was related to speed of the text appearing character by character, but I see it was to do with the accompanying sound effect. So I actually needed to turn off the effect and put the speed to maximum. Makes sense
I don't actually expect that. I know there would be a problem in their relationship but *gasp* anyway it was good. the concept is a bit heavy, but your choices are so impactful toward their ending(s).
Ah, thanks! I wanted to challenge a bit my writing and the players' expectations, and, of course, to make the choice very impactful, as it is a game made for the single choice jam, so I'm happy you appreciated it!
Ohh, this was quite a fun one! I really liked this wholesome take on an estranged couple reigniting their love! I loved putting sparkles in Oleander's eyes during the good ending~ (jokes aside real review down below).
I thought that the game was really well-done overall! The sunset hued background and sprite are beautiful with a little bit of a foreboding quality, and I loved all of the different text effects. They conveyed the emotion of the scene well and added so much dynamicism to the visuals. the sprite is beautifully rendered (putting the personality of the character aside), and the writing is on-point, as always!
**********
SPOILERS
***********
I knew this guy was a douche-canoe the minute I saw him strutting around his house in his underwear LOL (okay that might be a generalization, but truly, I don't understand how people do that...) I like the choice of his name - a poisonous shrub is very fitting for such a man! When I was reading, Oleander DID give me VERY strong Lara vibes!
The characterization of Oleander and Orlena is built up well over the course of the story, really driving home Oleander's abusive nature - his jabs at Orlena's weight, his criticisms, his double standards, his shallow and dismissive attitude. By the end you really do sympathize with whatever decision "Orlena" chooses.
The hints towards the second plot twist were also well-done! I didn't see the twist coming on the first play, but on a second playthrough I picked up on quite a few of the hints: Oleander mentioning that Orlena's hair looks different, and noting that her butt looks less flabby than normal, for example. I also thought it was strange that Orlena continuously mentioned that she "saw" the scars and bruises in a very detached way, but by the end it made complete sense - because Venessa only saw the bruises, she never experienced the abuse. So it makes sense that she continuously mentions "seeing" the evidence of the abuse, rather than living through it.
Overall this was an excellent bit of psychological horror, and really unexpected from you! I'm looking forward to nuit blanche ;)
I’m glad you loved this little story of mine! Oleander isn’t a bad guy, he just needs to be understood and I’m glad you get to fix him in the good ending <3
And thanks, I decided to go like “head empty kinetic text tags” so that’s why they’re so present here, haha! But in the end, I was happy with the result!
********
SPOILERS
********
Honestly, I’m just being judgemental and it’s no big deal of course, BUT I HATE WHEN PEOPLE WALK AROUND IN UNDERWEAR, EVEN AT THEIR OWN PLACE. That’s literally the reason I put him in underwear and no it’s not even a joke rftghtrf
Ha ha, yes! And Venessa is named like that because of the alliteration with Venomous, and Orlena means golden, as someone valuable (both meanings: Orlena should realise her own value, and she is precious to her twin). And yes, Oleander is an incarnation of Laradorf!!!
Portraying the toxic relationship wasn’t the hardest part, as I did it in the past, but I’m really happy with how it appears here!
I’m glad you didn’t see the second plot twist come at first and yet caught some of the weird details on your second playthrough! I wonder in what order you play those now, although I suppose you first started with breaking the plate, from what I get from your comment?
Overall, I’m glad you enjoyed my take on a whole new genre, haha, I wasn’t sure of the result! And gosh, nuit blanche Is a wild ride for sure!
alright, lesson learned DONT simp for characters without playing the game first lmfaoooo- YOU GOT ME
Spoilers starting now
okay I hate him, I knew going in thanks to the warnings that this wasn’t going to be a simple cute little dinner between a ‘troubled’ couple.
The second he started acting out I was like, alright only one choice- we have to poison the chimichurri steak. Dude is THE WORST, he made Matthieu look sympathetic jfc.
but it was a good strategy to make him look appealing! Monsters are all among us, they look like beautiful people but can be wolfs and sheep’s clothing.
There was no other choice in my mind but to break the plate, honestly she’s better than me because I had Murder on my mind lolol. But this is better, he can live with the humiliation and never be seen as some victim.
Personal stuff for a second, my horrible father was also a domestic abuser so I think I react very strongly to this material in the first place. The ending lines are my favorite- that she always had the strength in her! She just suppressed it versus the usual- she was weak and just one day snapped. Thank you for portraying it this way!
I liked this game a lot despite having a sinking feeling the whole time lol! I’m off to read the devlog parts I didn’t want to read due to spoilers 🏃♀️ great work as always Chime!
P.S you must have been CACKLING at me over Twitter lmfaooooo a pretty face and my head is GONE 😫
LMAOOOOOO at least don't when it's from me efrgtbhbgv
SPOILERS
LMAOOOO NOT YOU ALREADY DECIDING TO MURDER HIM RIGHT ON THE SPOT, but yes, he really is my worst character, worse than any other I have ever written edfvgbferz it was so funny to see everyone simp for him while my only wish was to PLUNGE HIS FACE IN A BUCKET OF ACID (or something). But yes, monsters can take many shapes and forms, and even pretty one... But sometimes, even pretty guys can drink the life out of you (and now remember the whole incubus discussion dertrgf).
Yes, that is the message of the first ending, to show that things can change! Albeit, a bit unrealistically here (but the reasons for Orlena suddenly being able to immobilise him are in the other one) but yes, I still wanted it to be kinda empowering for those who would play this one first, and to feel satisfying to those who played the other first as they would have gotten the bigger picture? And thanks for sharing your experience!
(lmaooo this game is honestly one of my hardest released so far, a first taste of what nuit blanche will be like actually frtrbyt')
P.S.: I was cackling like the evil witch in the Wizard of Oz, I was living my best villain moment edfrgtrfd
Why must you always do this to me...........
I am always rendered to tears at the end of your games????
I feel like I always read through the last through lines barely able to see the screen....
My gosh though. [SOME SPOILERS PROBABLY BECAUSE I WILL LIKELY RAMBLE] This was utterly gut-wrenching and mind-breaking in a million and one ways. Everything you did. Every single choice you made for every piece of formatting, every effect with the text, every use of darkening and blurring and pausing and... and just... EVERYTHING... it all worked together to create this overwhelming experience that rattled me to the core.
As someone who's never been in quite this kind of intense situation but who's still been in relationships where I've felt "scared" to act a certain way out of fear that the other person will blow up, even if the blowing up doesn't lead to violence but still leads to me being hurt emotionally, I could put myself immediately in Orly's shoes and the fear packed into her thoughts and words and interactions really hit hard with me. Then the build-up leading towards the end... my god... it was so brilliantly and beautifully and intensely done. Like. That moment after the choice. Honestly felt like my heart stopped for just a moment. Seeing Orly's thoughts warp and build and turn into strength that she'd never had before. The use of the text effects here especially was stunning and really served to make every single line etch its way deep into the grooves of your heart and mind so you could feel every syllable.
The music choice was excellent. The main track playing throughout the game is really reminiscent to me of Thomas Newman and his stuff from The Shawshank Redemption, which added a double layer of emotional kick to me as his music literally already makes me weep. Then the second song I got a mild jumpscare on because I recognized it as a song I had once downloaded in a list of "Possible Songs for the Future" LDKJFALKDSF It's such a good one. So emotional. And really set the tone for that final scene.
GOD.
I feel like I'm running out of things to actually talk about in a cohesive way because mostly right now I'm just a wibbling pile of emotions after this lakdjfalsdf Just an absolutely fantastic, emotional piece that brings with it a glimmer of hope at the end. A hope for a fresh start. Something better. An escape. One that maybe not all of us can find. But one that we're all hoping for no matter what kind of situation we feel completely stuck within in our life, where it feels like we have no way out. But we do. Sometimes we just need to find the strength hidden inside of us. That can only be brought out by a chimichurri steak.
Thank you for making this (and for all of your games, let's be real) alsdkjfalds. With every single one of them, I'm sent down an absolute torrent of emotions.
(Also I had no idea what chimichurri steak is before this??? LDKFJAD)
FORGOT TO MENTION IN ALL THAT RAMBLING THAT I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU MADE THIS IN ONLY 3 DAYS WTF??????
WAIT I NEED TO PLAY THE OTHER ENDING TOO I JUST READ THE DEVLOG HELP
Ok I have now played the other ending LMAOOOOO
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
NOW I'M EVEN MORE BLOWN AWAY.
I love the complete dichotomy between these two endings MY GOD???? I AM AT A LOSS.
A brilliant job.
I couldn't bring myself to bring the plate originally as I was just so uncomfortable LAKSDJFLAKDSJFA
But gosh, what an ending!!
Ha ha, I love how this comment section is basically you slowly discovering the plot twists frgt
Per usual, I'm sorry you cried and were left broken with what you played... again????
(SPOILERS BELOW)
And thanks! I really overhthought the "staging" of this game as it really was what I wanted to explore most, haha!
I'm glad you enjoyed this first ending! Admittedly, I found it a bit unrealistic that Orlena has the skill to immobilise him. It would be realistic for her to fight back, but not to prevent Oleander from hurting her... But well, the other ending reveals this character is actually Venessa and that's why, haha! But I'm glad you found it well done!
I wanted the choices to be impactful and to be intense since, hey, this whole game is built around this very one choice (hence the Single Choice Jam submission).
FRFRTG SAME sometimes I play games and realise we used the same track, which is very fun, hehe (God bless Dova-syndrome efgh)!
"A hope for a fresh start. Something better. An escape. One that maybe not all of us can find. But one that we're all hoping for no matter what kind of situation we feel completely stuck within in our life, where it feels like we have no way out. But we do. Sometimes we just need to find the strength hidden inside of us. That can only be brought out by a chimichurri steak." -> I love how you phrased it so beautifully, so wonderfully only for me to have the second ending ready to let my steak bring even more stuff zedefbt
"Thank you for making this (and for all of your games, let's be real)" YOU CANNOT SAY THAT AND NOT EXPECT ME TO CRY OKAY FINE THIS IS EXCELLENT REVENGE CARROT ERFGTRFTRFVDFV THANK YOU SO MUCH
"I love the complete dichotomy between these two endings MY GOD???? I AM AT A LOSS." -> YES!!!! I know it won't happen to all players, but I really do hope they play it in the same order as you, as I think it really conveys the story better edfgh (at least, that's how you get the two goals I had: the hopeful message about breaking free from abuse (although it's far from being that easy in real-life), and then the plot-twisty intense edgy thing rgtrfvg
(I didn't know either, I was just thinking of a meal involving meat that could be poisoned and when I saw that this one had "Chim" in it, I was sold dzefgt)
[Mild spoilers below]
Wow, that was very impactful for such a short game. ;A;
Great job on setting up the atmosphere of abuse and neglect, with the wife having to walk on eggshells in fear of upsetting the husband. You made me resent Oleander in just a few sentences. 😣
I spoiled myself reading the devlog (😅) so the conclusion wasn't as shocking as it could've been but I still liked it and thought it was satisfying. (both choices were good, not sure which would be better long-term) (i also think the hints were well-placed and not super obvious, so props for that 👌)
I almost want to say it was a feel-good game with how it ends (since you get a sense of justice when Oleander gets what he deserves) but the topic is so heavy it feels kind of wrong. Because what gets me the most about this is that the wife's situation is a grim reality to way too many people. And more often than not, they don't have an easy way out or decide to stay in hopes that things will get better (and they never do). So it's just something to think about.
(Spoilers in reply)
Thanks for the kind words, Hiro! My main goal with this game was to set up a suffocating mood from which one would desperately want to escape! And yes, haha, you have no idea how much I hate Oleander! And I’m happy you found the reveals not that obvious despite getting spoiled by the devlog, haha!
If I definitely wouldn’t call it a feel-good game, I have to agree with you: everyone isn’t lucky enough to be saved by their stronger twin. The first VN I wrote for (La Vie en Rose by the Abyss Team) is actually about domestic abuse, so I’m kinda accustomed to the harsh reality of it! And that’s actually why I didn’t go the usual Chim’ treatment (here, it would have been to have the option to poison him, although it would have been harder to explain how a normal person would own aconite; and to stay trapped in Oleander’s web), I wanted to explore new genres and to give the two options of the choice heavy and dramatic consequences! So yeah, definitely not representative of the reality!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I knew that I would kinda want to punch him (for need of personal space) but not that it would be so soon!
(Spoiler-ish content below????)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
You have no idea how seeing everyone calling him "cute" and wanting to date on twitter him made me diabolically laugh fergtbrvrcvb
I KNEW IT- VILLIAN YOU ARE A VILLAIN I’LL GET YOU FOR THIS CHIME 🤣 also curse you for making such a good pun title name…I’m a sucker for it…
I spent time thinking of the title as it was very hard, but I'm glad I made a pun!!!!