wanted to balance a not recommended review i left for a different game with a recommended one.
firstly of course the aesthetics are Everything, i adore the old school romance anime look and all the colors just Pop. every environment is breathtaking and the ui is also very unique, this is definitely one of the most beautiful looking games i have ever played and the soundtrack is fantastic as well! the characters animations are also very smooth, i love elise's little twirl after she finds the shoes.
speaking of, i love elise as a character. she has so much spunk and depth it's honestly refreshing to see someone like her as a protagonist. and the way that the story explores themes of lesbian alienation and compulsory heterosexuality, i don't think i've seen something depict these as well since like, utena. i really really do not want to spoil anything plot-wise but the character details and the time period being set during witch hunts when coupled with these themes are absolute genius to me.

however this isn't to say there aren't some downs, for instance i Am convinced that anyone who can actually get an S rank on the minigames is a witch. and the gameplay can, as noted by many others, be frustrating during the witching hour segments. a lot of it is just trial and error (the crow and serpent levels especially!!!) and just hoping that you make it. personally i would just sleep on it if i was truly irritated but this aspect can for sure be a turn off for many people.
as much as i think it makes sense for this to be in the game, i never found myself worrying about the suspicion meter either. it's hard to imagine anyone raising that too high unless it's intentionally for the achievement. managing sanity was never a real issue either, but i'm honestly not sure why it's here, it feels tacked on. i also felt sometimes that the dialogue choices (mainly during the dates) were strangely vague and it lead to a couple of moments where i was like "wait, that's totally different to what i selected!" and had to reload, which can suck if you haven't saved in a while.

overall though i do feel this is a wonderful love letter to old pixel/rpgmaker horror games and a very welcome addition to the genre, and i highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys those!!

What a fantastic game. The "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam is entirely warranted. All one needs is to like the aesthetics, and the demo's right there to help you with that.

+ Fantastic 11/10 visuals.
+ Genuinely great writing.
+ A perfect little soundtrack, masterfully composed, performed, and recorded. Truly a chef's kiss.
+ A nice mix of genres: adventure, minigames, resource management, and puzzler. The studio's roots are in RPGMaker, so it makes sense. No RPG elements or combat though.

~ Lesser endings can be underwhelming or obviously "not what really happened".
~ The ability to quickly reload and try out different choices diminishes the value of those choices.

- The puzzles during the first snake night were annoying.
- There should have been an autosave feature.
- I chat with a girlfrend and die of hunger at sunset—that's just silly.

By the way, you thought it was Japanese, didn't you? RPGMaker horror roots, Square-Enix, 90s anime aesthetics, Japanese VAs. Well, the lead artist's name is Antonio Lopes and the writer is Patricia Silva. The rest of the folk have English, Russian, and other Western-sounding names. The studio is Portuguese. There does seem to be a Japanese voice actress and the composer has a Japanese nickname. Well, well, well.

If you like traditional fairy tales with horror themes and unique art, it's the game for you!