Recent reviews by Nerp

Cute characters, simple rules, fun yet simple gameplay, well-thought out story. Daresay, relatable.

Review Summary

Story completion: 12.5 hrs, first run.

Soundtrack: 10/10
Character design: 8/10
World design: 9/10
Story: 6/10
Pacing: 4/10
Controls: 9/10

--SPOILER: My analysis on the story--
The game's demo peaked my interest well enough to buy the full game. While I do appreciate the designs of the world and most of its characters, as well as the soundtrack and dialogue, I was a bit disappointed by how the story was written and how the events were paced. Also, I have noticed that the run control doesn't work when going upwards (perhaps a limit with how the controls were coded/binded). I apologize in advance if some of my points are discredited by things I have missed or overlooked.

Now into the nitty gritty, the story never explained how most of the romantic relationships developed over time (i.e. Riley and Michael, Dary and Rufus). The former part of the story led us to believe that MC has an interest with Corsic, given the interactions with the hugs and how Corsic reacts to MC in general. But lo and behold, MC finds himself suddenly in love with Riley - who, at the start, was already mildly annoyed by Michael. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers trope - and I would appreciate Riley and Michael as a couple more if their story together was more fleshed out. Then we have Dary and Rufus - the couple who popped out of nowhere. Perhaps its meant to be just a little treat that doesn't affect the story, but their relationship seems unnecessary.

Which leads me to Rufus' existence, I believe if we parallel this to Undertale, he would be like Sans - a wildcard who seems to know everything but pretends to be the supporting background character. Personally, it is better if they have emphasize the importance of making Rufus the way that he is. How is it necessary to the story that he can do all of those things? was he just that way for the fun of it? There was also Froga, another supporting character who seemed significant to the story at the beginning - given that she is Riley's main source of relief from the incurable sickness her bloodline experiences. How does she know what type of antidote to use for Riley's illness? Is she just a drug maker who happened to stumble upon a temporary antidote? They could have better expanded on how Froga gained her knowledge in curing Riley. Then the King who was a huge contributor to why Dargratt was what it was when Michael first found it - in ruin and in a state of calamity. His absence at the latter half of the story sets aside one of the main conflicts in the story. It simply vanished after Michael had procured the antidote from Melemo. Was he still leading Dargratt? How did he react when Riley was suddenly cured? As a neglectful king, how was he reprimanded after everything? The repercussions of his rule was never really resolved. And what of his relationship to his daughter? Lastly, the new Melemo. They mentioned that the world Dargratt was based in was dying. How was that piece of the plot significant to the main storyline? Was it a bridge to a sequel game? Was it to make players bothered by the fact that after getting the antidote, it would never even matter because in the larger scale everything would die anyway? Aside from these, why was it so easy for them to just give in to Michael after he explains that he needed the potion to cure the one he loves? Melemo mentions several times that they do not care for their world or their princess - that everything in the world of Dargratt should never be disturbed and that she didn't care for them. It made it seem that Melemo was this uncaring godlike entity that would not just give in to wishes of insignificant creatures. This behavior should have been more enforced, and would have made the story much deeper than just your "saving the damsel in distress, convince the all powerful character to help, and happily ever after" stereotype. Additionally, what was the point of bringing Dary along in the underground? I understand that she was the one who renovated the tower and was Michael's ex, but these were never really uncovered. Why did she repair the tower? How was being exes significant to the plot and how Michael behaves towards the world and to love in particular? She did not do anything to progress or add on to the story aside from just being Rufus' current lover. And a bit about Corsic - he was nothing other than a character that basically becomes your butler despite being Riley's childhood friend. It would have been great (but now this part is just nitpicky) if he was a significant role in the story. The overworld and its residents also felt like they were suppose to have a role, but were set aside for the underworld characters. The ability to go back up and down gave me a false sense idea that interactions would be different as I start to learn more about the underworld. It made me think that they held no bearing to MC as a person and the world. Which makes them unnecessary. Then I think of the origin of the underworld characters, an interesting concept - which I would not dive in given my laziness - but could use more impact of the grand scheme of the world.

The story itself was full of holes and felt incomplete, as shown by the points I made with the King and the characters' relationships. The pacing felt rushed as I went through multiple chapters filled with stories that didn't seem to transition well into one another. And perhaps the timeskips made the story feel that way.

I want to love this game, I really do. But for now, I am not recommending it. Maybe if I try another run, my opinion would change for the better. Who knows?

Harvey from Stardew Valley exists.

PROS:
- great sprites and character design
- great but simple gameplay
- abilities are unique for each character
- air hockey
- no text chat, no toxicity
- no commitments, just play when u feel like it

CONS:
- queuing may take a while (by my standards)
- reporting players are hard when they left early
- X players keep beating the sht outta me (stop pls I will cry-)

Story, Art style, Gameplay

10/10

Moral of the game: Add hats to your cats, no need for further explanation.

Like/s:
•It has humour
•It has a nice narration (props to the narrator)
•Its story does not go in one direction
•It has lots of creative choices
•It adds modern references to a classic novel
•It is educational in a fun way
•Its artsyle is cute and commendable

Dislike/s:
•The narration does not sync with the text at times
•auto-clicking and manually clicking gets done simultaneously and ends up going to the next part
•The narration starts from the very beginning and does not stop if you go back to read previous texts
•Expect it to be text-oriented

Obviously, the likes overweighs the dislikes so I recommend this game.

I've also yet to see any endings to this game so this review might change.

I'm picky when it comes to buying games- mainly because I'm broke as heck and I want to waste my money on a game worth while. So I'm glad I enjoyed this game. Cheers to the development team.

i'm hooked!

hopefully I can afford this by the time it comes out fully.

Based on my personal experience of the game:

PROs
-character and art design is nice
-4th wall-ish
-story heavy (which I like)
-it's creepy when it wants to be
-funny at the right moments
-long, luscious legs (haha)

CONs
-at times, you don't know what to do next
-story can get confusing (especially if you skip dialogue and don't pay attention)

Overall, I recommend it. I would most probably play it again for the achievements and to understand the lore of the story more :)

At first, I had second thoughts of buying this game because I thought it wouldn't really impress me- but it did and it actually went above my expectations.

Choices do matter in this game. It also makes you question about your own morality and the decisions you make as you go through the whole process. The game is also relatable in a way that it covers the developing technological stage of humanity and shows conflicting ideas and beliefs regarding emotions and outlook- which is what I believe the game is trying to presenting to its players. You wouldn't really know if the choice or act that you made is the right one or if it is for the good of the society.

On the other hand, I was having a really hard time with the last part of the game. Took me some time to make a decision and I also got lost in some parts.

PS. Damn my bois :( and I wonder how long it took you guys to make this game