Dissonance

First of all, I do like a slow-burn game and sandbox games. I started with sandbox but somehow felt I was doing the same thing over and over again and only once in a while hit an event that progresses the story, so I switched to linear mode. And that's the main problem with this game. Because it basically gives you no choices at all. Sandbox is there just for the sake of it and the points you gather with the characters have no meaning at all. You have to advance events with some characters in order to advance with the characters you want. So if you want to ignore a character and/or focus on a single characters, you're still forced to advance the others. And for the choices in the dialogues? They're basically meaningless, too. Aside from a single choice that ends the game and other choices that basically only stop you from doing the devils tango with some characters, just the moment before it happens. The really meaningful choices, that really define the character you play, you don't get to decide. And I'm really sour about that, because the game started out so good. The premise is nothing creative. You wake up from a coma and suffer from amnesia. This has been done in media over and over again, but from all the AVNs I played it's something new. And it does make sense. How better to introduce a character as a blank slate, giving the player the option to decide, who they want to be? If only the game would actually give you that opportunity. Then the story drifts into the supernatural the further you progress, which I honestly didn't care about. This part became clearer and clearer while I already didn't care anymore and only skipped through the dialogues at that point. Because there is a lot of dialogue. And with a lot I do mean a lot. I said before, I don't care about slow-burn and this includes dialogue, especially if it's well written. From the point the characters talk and behave, some references and jokes, it's really up to my alley and it's what got me hooked. Even though the main storyline doesn't match that. But it's so much that it's basically just a visual novel, without the "adult" part. As others have mentioned, the erotic scenes are short, pretty bad and rare. The game could've just been released without as a regular dating sim VN. So overall, there isn't really much incentive to play. You basically don't shape the story with choices, the sandbox is a farce and the reward, the erotic scenes aren't worth it.

It would be no exaggeration to say this visual novel is one of the main reasons I open this site these days. It's a visual novel that, in my opinion, has earned to stand out apart from its clear inspirations and in some ways even surpassed them. The prologue of this story really asks you to suspend disbelief and let it cook — and it's worth every minute. I'd say that's the main bumpy part of the experience where it either loses you or hooks you in once you've let it finish setting up. I feel like this has been the main criticism of the people who drop this game way too early. It's almost scary how quickly this game crept up on me when it comes to the characters as I ended up liking pretty much all of them. A lot of times playing or reading through these type of experiences you might find it burdensome to read some of the character events but this is one of the few times where I was looking forward to almost all of them, although with favorites of course (Looking at you Chiyo). The more surreal events or circumstances that surround the story are actually spread out so well that it never feels like it insists on itself or overstays its welcome, a problem that some games of this particular type have run into, and instead slowly and gently unravels itself. Naturally, that might change in the future depending on how the story goes but so far its never been anything too grating or eye rolling. Instead, it manages to firmly plant its ideas and setup for the grander worldbuilding as well as the themes. Its there to pry, dissect or ruminate into but doesn't hit you in the face with a hammer, demanding attention or trying to shock you. The humor , similarly, doesn't drag out or force itself, so I've had some genuine moments of amusement, if not outright chuckling. Especially the banter is great and something I always enjoy reading, one of the stronger parts of the writing for sure. The general dialogue of the characters themselves is equally natural or as natural as it can be for this sort of thing. Sometimes some characters might come off as too well-spoken for their age but it's not something that takes away from anything for me, it's more amusing if anything. All of these things apply for the protagonist themselves, as well. Sensei is genuinely fun to be in the headspace of and is flexible enough of a personality that can accommodate for every other character while keeping his new core identity in tact. The most important part is that characters feel or speak distinctly — and that it succeeds. Each girl has her own voice in the story which brings variety and solidifies each characters place as romantic interests . The interpersonal relationships between the girls are also nice and makes it feel like they actually exist on their own rather than just being the Sensei's or players playthings (though who knows). The H-Scenes are great and well placed so they've never felt out of line or rushed. They last a good while to ease you into it and pay off greatly, something I can't say about a lot of games where the supposed reward scenes are painfully short. I also don't think it's a requirement to have them animated and it lets the creator compose them even more carefully with still shots. Will take it over boring default Koikatsu animations any day. Rarely have I found myself this invested into erotic scenes, as they further improve characterization while perfectly fitting each girl and greatly gratifying while doing so. They play out so well and so naturally that you never feel taken aback and instead are slowly but surely lulled into its eroticism. I do hope that over the time the girls will sort of develop their own '' flavors '' or erotic identities to further differentiate them/give them their own niches, especially because you don't want to feel like once you've seen one girls h-scenes then you've seen all of the rest (so far it's been a great success). Erotic scenes can further bring surprises or cement personalities and traits — so I find them equally as important as other pivotal scenes. It's a moment to have fun and explore other sides of a character, if not just to deepen intimacy or to have more varied erotic content. A personal wish or nitpick of mine is wanting for characters to move slightly more in scenes. On average, they mostly only change facial expressions which does make them feel a bit too static or stiff at times (some events are more expressive though). The renders themselves have been good, though, as there have been plenty of shots that I've stopped to ogle or appreciate more. They are plenty dynamic with clear direction and purpose, often highlighting the particular charms or quirks of the characters. Another thing is that some girls do seem to pace better or faster than the others, so I do feel for the potential people whose favorites aren't coming along as fast as they'd like. I kinda lucked out in that my favorites seem to be favored in this so I am getting plenty spoiled for now (keep it that way for Chiyo and Niwa gang), though I imagine a part of this is caused by me mostly playing on Linear mode where I can't engineer the screentime of characters. I doubt it's much better there anyways with how much extra mindless clicking sandboxes add and the unlock requirements locking you out. Spoiler: Personal gushing, might include spoilers The Niwa h-scene had me over the moon — it was everything I was hoping for and more. insane pay off. I don't think I've felt this invested into an h-scene before. Some have come close but this might be a first for me. Just like the characters involved, I never wanted the scene to end. I didn't want to keep clicking near the end as to not let it go away. All the build up from before these events, the event chain itself playing out and the lines being crossed, the afterglow and flashbacks ending into resolution and conviction sprinkled with the usual banter you've come to expect and love. It was the most heartwarming stuff ever. It's safe to say that scene is what cemented and transcended this game from a ''I am enjoying this A LOT'' to a ''I have profound love for this''. Chiyo might as well be up there among my favorite characters ever. She hits all of my chords and is the exact kind of person I love and adore. I love her initial aromantic nature, her unique whimsy and assertiveness, her strong identity, how tiny and cute she which contrasts how much more developed or matured she is among her peers. She even looks a bit like Laplus who just so happens to be my favorite idol. Minami might have awakened a thing for glasses girl for me, a type I normally never cared for much/felt neutral for but she's so cute, with her personal quirk amplifying that even further. I just wanna pick her up and spin her around. Her choice of Halloween costume also knocked me out For Nadeko I loved the gap moe between her almost being a mesugaki that made the quickest sexual advances out of all the characters only to turn out to be one of the most bashful ones when push came to shove. Even her h-scenes play out to this playful nature of hers perfectly. Momoe I could spend days with indulging in shared love for eroge, how I wish I could improve that girls self-esteem, though a part of that is her charm and I hope to see more of her braver or bolder side that she sometimes channels when it matters. Her taste is also impeccable (sob emoji). Yoshie is like a drifting cloud that's entirely unbothered and easy to be around. I love anyone that can keep it casual even when things get steamy or serious, it's a very charismatic trait. Suzu, oh my dearest Suzu, how much I love my feisty girls that will clap back. She's a beautiful menace and I hope she's always on our ass because that's the niche and personal dynamic she fulfills that I wouldn't want to see be gone. I hope she never loses her bite and her cosplaying Blue Archive further solidified her as top tier. Her H-scene also got my heart racing and it was a great look into another side of her. Nao is chill as hell and has these subtle sides to her that she can surprise you with, be it mischievous or empathetic. She's a bit of an all-rounder that insists on her own way but not in an overly loud way. It can almost make you forget that she can still be a pretty fiery redhead in her own way. Kyoko at this point I'm convinced has a fetish for humiliation rituals and I love that for her. Her intense burning drive and desire for competition despite her ''proper'' lady-like appearance and loss streaks is always something to admire. Rikka being her foil or matching piece helps the girls round each other off and I almost pray for a shared H-Scene of the two so that they can have a new avenue to compete in. Rikkas someone that kinda just stays in her own lane, very locked in, so I can't share that much about her. I want her to more come into her own thing as right now a lot of the enjoyment of her scenes stems from usually sharing it with other characters, namely Kyoko. Eri being one of the newer additions and the official lolibaba was very welcome. One of the better designs visually so she's walking eyecandy. Unexpectedly reserved or meek at times despite her experience but can be pretty direct or alluring at times, though we've not seen much yet. Protect Sayuri! There's this cruel irony that surrounds her in that she was the closest one to Sensei in the past but now is very much in the back seat. It's almost by design that she lags so much behind the rest of the girls and it's for a good reason as it's later revealed, albeit it was pretty obvious. I hope she becomes more than just her trauma eventually so there's more to love about her. I am also praying for middle schooler action cus I'm a sick fuck (the school literally has them as briefly mentioned but I felt a bit let down that none of them show up so far). The author has all the power to destroy me with whatever they decide to do. A part of me almost invites the potential doom, ruin or destruction despite how invested I am just to fuck me up, but another part of me naturally only wishes for the best and warmest for all of them. Regardless of where it goes, I guess I'm strapped in till the very end.

There’s so much wrong with this story that reading it became exhausting. I’ve never felt this tired while going through a Visual Novel. This is easily the worst amnesia story I’ve ever seen. It’s simply terrible. None of the characters behave in a realistic way, and the reader is expected to just accept everything without question. A few examples make this pretty clear. The MC suffers an accident and develops amnesia. He leaves the hospital barely remembering anything and not even knowing the basics needed to live on his own. Despite that, the very next day he’s promoted to teacher. He has no idea what he’s supposed to teach, but apparently nobody finds that strange. He then walks into the classroom and openly tells the students about his condition. These are students who already knew him, but he doesn’t remember any of them. Even so, he doesn’t think about learning their names, despite the fact that they’re worried about him and he’s supposedly very close to some of them. Right after that, he just leaves the classroom, talks to the principal, and goes home. The timeline somehow makes even less sense: he woke up early to get to school before everyone else, stayed in the classroom for only a few minutes, yet when he leaves the school it’s already nighttime. The story expects the reader to accept this without questioning it. And as expected, the MC repeatedly proves he’s completely incapable of doing his job. Naturally, this is ignored, and once again the reader is expected to just accept it. The girls’ ages are also confusing. Sometimes they’re referred to as middle schoolers, other times as high schoolers. They’re written as mature enough to be somewhat independent, yet at the same time they’re treated as if they’re too young for anything expected from teenagers or young adults. It’s contradictory and confusing. The Koikatsu visuals aren’t exactly bad, but they feel extremely basic. I’ve definitely seen worse, but they’re so simple here that it started to bother me. Honestly, I can’t think of a single positive point in this Visual Novel. I only played the linear mode and didn’t try the sandbox. There’s nothing here that I liked. I don’t even know who the target audience for this is. Still, it’s clear that some effort was put into making it, so giving it just one star feels a bit unfair. I’ll give it two stars, but I didn’t like it and I can’t recommend it.

As someone who genuinely dislikes Lessons in Love, a game clearly inspired by it had me skeptical, but do not be fooled, as this is one of the few times when a work surpasses its inspiration in every way. The author of this game can really write. I don't want to say too much, but this author has managed to write a cast of broken people in a way where they still very much feel like people, shaped by their circumstances yes, but still multifaceted and with personalities of their own, rather than grotesque caricatures. It also isn't just strange and cryptic at times just for the sake of being creepy, each strange moment has clear purpose for the narrative and reveals a little bit more about the world and how this strange reality functions, with a main character who never really asked to be special but rather was forced to peek behind the curtain, and to deal with the consequences. I really enjoyed how well thought out the world building was and how the supernatural in this story clearly has rules and purpose, rather than just being shoehorned in. That does more for this story than any other facet, as eldritch horror these days has a tendency to just tell you its incomprehensible and hit you with a cheep scare that it very much comprehensible, this is different it remembers that the genre itself is really about fear of the unknown. It has purpose, you just don't know what, it has rules, you just don't know them, and it is the not knowing but sensing that something is wrong that gives it that creeping feeling of dread. This nails that creeping feeling of wrongness perfectly, and shows that as our character becomes more aware of this cosmic set of rules and purpose, the less like the people around him he becomes. Perfect writing, as to comprehend the incomprehensible is to forget who you once were. A great story with higher stakes than I was expecting going in, I look forward to seeing where this develops. Also, some of the music slaps more than it has any right.

Review v0.13 ------ WARNING! For those that don't get it. This is a Visual Novel with Adult Depiction. Not a Porn/Hentai Game. The game lets you pick if you want a VN or Sandbox experience. I recommend going with the VN route. Almost Flawless. ------ Take my review with a pinch of salt, because I just finished and feel like I can only sing praises of the game. I don't want to overextend the Review. Let me start: (No spoilers) - The Girls are adorable and each of them has a really defined and interesting personality. Some even have a really "realistic" response through the story about them opening up or drawing a line emotionally with the MC. Each has their own life outside what we see, and it really shows, both in their interactions and attitudes. Can't say that I dislike anyone, nor would I like it if someone ends up excluded (history wise) . (Of course, I also have my favorites). - The MC "Toru Hirai " (or whatever you want to name him) starts with not much of a personality, but that's because of amnesia. It's fun to see him "grow" or at least develop as he interacts with others and battles with his past and head, eventually evolving mentally and personality in a way that I didn't expect. He has a lot of introspection throughout the game, and that's one of the things I Love the most. - The Story is superb . From the very beginning, it only gets better and better. It "clicked" for me really soon and I really enjoyed it throughout. Sometimes the story gets you with a sense of unease, some other times it gets quite fun seeing some banter with the characters or seeing some references here and there. Sometimes it really makes you think and/or makes you remember things said or done before. But the thing that never loses is the mystery and a sense of dread that sticks to you. I will add here that the grammar and writing style are good and also feel good. (Way better than... almost all other novels I've read). - The ambient and music are surprisingly good, way better than expected. On VN it really shows when having the right ambient / music so in this case it's really a Plus . (I found myself listening to the game music from its files while working or doing my things). The only thing I feel capable of criticizing: - The sexual scenes , while they're good storywise and good emotionally with the characters involved, the execution is a bit lacking. While that's okay for me, as enjoying the sex scenes is not my main focus here, I understand if some people are not happy with it. To explain further, there are too few images/frames depicting changes, the scenes feel short and there is too little conversation/thoughts while mid-act. ... I think I'm not forgetting anything. If anything, maybe asking the creator for more , and fast! I won't go as far as to say it's a masterpiece YET , maybe when it's finished, but right now it's excellent , good enough for me to come and make my very first review after years of lurking and giving it 5 * . I really think you'll be losing out if you're not giving this a chance.

Renders / Girls: 4/5 Animations / Scenes: 0/5 Gameplay / Tension Building: 4/5 there is a lot, I mean a lot of text (dialogues) only to get no reward H-scenes are not even 2-frame animated... wasted potential

Version as of review: v0.12p1 TL;DR: One of the slowest slow-burns I've ever read, but absolutely worth the time investment. Easily one of if not THE best game of its genre. Before this game, I was very thoroughly of the opinion that 'sad, scary koikatsu ero games' was a doomed genre that was simply too fundamentally at odds with itself and tonally dissonant (heh) conceptually to ever result in anything better than an 'okay' game that would've likely been much better served without one of it's two primary themes. I can confidently say that this game both proved me incredibly wrong in that regard, but also made me more willing to try and accept games that fuse these ideas, if only slightly. STORY: 9/10 I think I've gone on record many-a-times in various reviews on this site about how I simply don't understand the appeal of games that attempt to blend horror with sexual themes, and I think I can confidently say that I just think I hadn't played a good one yet. How much of that is due to the game's glacial pacing (which is in no way a bad thing, mind you) and it taking it's time to tell a compelling story beyond both the surface level horror and ero themes, or how much of it is due to having a genuinely compelling protagonist, main cast, side cast, and world in general, is up for you to decide. What I can say for certain is that there's almost nothing I could complain about that wouldn't be a superficial nitpick, such as the dev often using similar writing styles for each character, so much so that it can often be hard to differentiate very specific personality traits at it's absolute worst, but even then the character's are all developed strongly enough that you can almost always take a good guess at how they'd react to a given scenario, and most times your guess would line up fairly well. Similarly, this is cosmic horror done right. No (or very few, can't recall) cheap scares or anything similar, nor does the game beat you over the head about how incomprehensible it's horrors are, or any of the tropey and tired staples that haunt these sorts of games. Just the looming, creeping feeling of dread, and the sinking feeling that no good moment is ever more than a single click away from things going horribly wrong, both for the MC or for the people around him. I wasn't ever scared of a loud noise and a flashing jpg of a spooky face, just of the consequences of the actions of the universe so far beyond my grasp I could never hope to begin to fathom them. Good stuff. All in all, definitely one of the best stories of any game on here, though I can imagine a good portion of that comes from just how much of the game is its story and how sparse (but still well-done) its ero scenes are. GAMEPLAY: 10/10 This point's pretty short, and it's kind of depressing I even feel the need to point this out, but huzzah, this game does NOT have that incessant grinding and sandbox 'random day on a randome time' gameplay loop that has made sure to ruin plenty of perfectly good games on this site before and likely will continue to do so until we as a species collectively realise how fucking stupid it is. If I remember correctly it does let you choose between a proper linear "VN" mode or a sandbox mode, and while I appreciate the dev having both for the sickos who prefer the latter, I'm just glad I can enjoy the game without feeling like the dev is spitefully making the game more arduous to play for literally no benefit. CHARACTERS: 9/10 One of the most universally enjoyable cast of characters I've had the pleasure of whacking off to. In these games I've come to expect to really like one or two of the cast and be thoroughly "meh" about the rest, but to my surprise there isn't a single miss, here. Even the character who actively antagonises the protag at every single point is still likeable and quite cute, and that's before they fuck. Even my least favorite characters in this game would top the charts of most other games of this ilk I've played, and that's only due to lacking the strong "lovability" factor that some of the others can have. Even if you can't find yourself getting invested (which is genuinely difficult seeing as you are here for a minimum of 8 hours before you see a single tit let alone get your dick wet), there's no one here who will ever take you out of the story, or make you mad at their decisions, or anything of the sort. Even the MC, who is almost inevitably the weakest link of these sorts of games, has a charm to him that made me genuinely excited to see what he'd say in any given scenario, and not even once did I find myself upset or even annoyed at a decision he made, as even if I didn't personally agree with it, it was still entirely understandable and completely reasonable. The only, and I mean only complaint I could make about the cast is just the uh. . . let's call it "body types" of all the girls. While I'm definitely not going to pretend like I'm some kind of saint that cares even a bit about the percieved age of the fictional women in his erotic visual novels, just personally I'd have liked a bit more variety in there somewhere. While there are attempts made here and there and it is understandable given the "body types" we're working with here, I'd have been alright with a bit more meat on a couple of the girls at the expense of a bit of realism, though I'm entirely willing to accept that it's just the dev's preference, and hey if that's what led to the game being half as good as it is then fair enough. ART: 10/10 Jeez I've already typed a lot, no way anyone's reading all of this. Anyways, the art's good, as I'm sure you could tell from the preview images. The character designs are great, there's good variety, and the renders themselves can range from 'great' to 'gorgeous'. There's a pleasant haziness to everything in the game that both matches the tone and themes and is just nice to look at. The game even managed to make the horror segments an odd but compelling mix of eerie and beautiful, the shattered sky in the [redacted for spoilers lol] being a personal favourite. Genuinely, zero complaints here. ERO CONTENT: 8/10 Just as well-done as everything else in the game, if you can imagine. The only reason I'd say it's an eight versus a nine or ten is simply due to the relative lack of it compared to the total game length. While yes, I did already say that the game's pacing is great and that I don't personally mind it at all, I would also never say no to more sex lmao. But no, the renders look great, the animations are good, and it's likely made even more compelling by how long you have to interact with a character before you reach that point (sans one), and again, if you can get past the "body types" of the main cast (though let's be real here if you actually download the game you likely don't care any more than I don't) then it's great stuff. Final Thoughts: Idk what else to say, really. Just play it. It's good. Also Yoshie is the best girl and I'll fistfight anyone who disagrees.

Some really captivating writing in this game. At times it feels like the game is pretty blatantly taking from Lessons in Love's style, but I actually think this game pulls off the tone and concept in a much more convincing/realistic manner. If I have one piece of advice for the author/dev, it would be to stop abusing phrases like "bingo" or "more or less". Once you notice how much characters say those phrases you won't be able to stop noticing it. Excited to see where this one goes.

This game is a real Visual NOVEL. Expect to read, expect not a lot of cut scenes, because this is how Visual NOVELs were originally. The characters are distinct and have good chemistry, MC is proactive, grammar and writing style is good. One complaint I have is we have a lot of questions but don't yet have answers. But I can look over this because the game is incomplete and we are just getting there. Graphics are great, nice lighting, framing, and what not, it has it's own stlye. Above average for sure. Sex scenes, not what this game is about, I do wish they were written better and a bit longer but if you wanted to fap, this ain't the game for that. TLDR, good game if you aren't a complete ADHD gooner.

This is a short review. The story in the beginning is amazing and it's pulls you in, but after a long time with no box to choose it's got boring for me. I tried to skip the content until the next box comes, but it took so long that I could look a short video on youtube and it's still just text. I played many games like this with slow burn that takes much longer until you could have sex but their story was good how you build up your relationship with the girls. This on takes too long with no choices in between. It's more a kinetic novel with some choices sprinkled at sometime that doesn't change the story much. [Warning! I didn't play it to the end of this Version. I just played until get to school and then I skipped for a long time and even then I got bored.]

So incredibly boring and an exercise in excessive clicking. After I noticed the extreme number of clicks required to get through a conversation, I couldn’t help but count…. One of the ‘shorter’ ones was about 240 mouse clicks….(and only 1 choice which didn’t matter) Another, with the left-middle-right group chats in class… 600 clicks and 0 choices. The last one I quit counting and deleted it after 130 clicks and 0 choices! (These were just conversations...standing there talking with someone, no action.) So boring…. I mean, it’s a harmless story so far with nice looking characters and colors. The mc looks a little too much like sonic the hedgehog and the images are a bit dated or grainy, not sure which. The excessive clicking, though…. Maybe it’s just my pet peeve but having so many 2 and 3 word sentences to click through is really annoying and poor design. It has the sandbox tag but I can’t imagine what parts would be sandbox. There are so few choices so far, and they don’t seem to matter. One certainly won't forget the mc has amnesia....it's mentioned in every 2 or 3 sentences which gets old.... Probably should be 2 star, but it’s harmless and boring not necessarily incompetent. Even if you get wrapped up in the story, it would still be pretty boring in it’s presentation. The dev warns about the slow burn but wow!

I've played through all the content so far, and .. While I actually do like it, the pace is just .. Kind of off . Too slow, with nothing really happening. I'll be comparing this game to a certain other popular game. I'm aware of the rules, but it's essentially impossible to not compare them, considering .. Well.. This is obviously inspired by that other Koikatsu game. One thing these "clones" can't really copy is the writing, and despite the amount of (unwarranted) criticism thrown at Selly, he's just a much better writer than he's given credit for. His characters come alive, and I feel for all the characters involved in his game. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that his game has some of the best characters I've ever experienced. Now .. Dissonance is a good game in its own right. Its biggest problem lies in the fact that it's clearly inspired by that other game, and it just doesn't come close. I'm just not that invested in any of the characters yet . Toru is a fine MC, but overall, nothing special. I actually do like that he, unlike another Sensei, seems to be a good guy. Or is he? Because unlike another Sensei, he doesn't seem to have much of any opinion about anything, except a few random thoughts, here and there. Something LiL does so, so well, at all times, is making sure the reader knows that what is going on is bad . Dissonance kind of skips over this, and doesn't really make a big deal of it. Sure, Toru acknowledges he shouldn't, but apart from that, he doesn't seem to really care all that much. All in all, it just lacks weight, and emotion. Now, I've given this 3/5 which is just "average". I think it has the potential to reach 4/5, but that really does require the developer of Dissonance to up his writing a bit, and speed up the plot of the game. Because as it stands, it's just too slow. It's already kind of "long", but I still don't feel that anything has really happened for any of the characters. Again, even if I'm only giving 3/5, I'll be watching this game, and really do hope they'll improve in the next couple of updates. If they don't, however, I might just forget I even started playing.

I tried to like it but i played for 5ish hours and nothing happened plot wise(except for 1 instance of supernatural) or porn wise. Its extremely slow, which may be the point, but it's not for me personally. Usually slow burns have a hook to make you want to continue but even the events that have happened aren't particularly interesting, just they work here or are at this place at this time then have a disjointed convo whe you meet or find them there. The Mc is fine but he doesn't even know who he is, which is fine but it means he doesn't really have a relatable character. The girls are fine, not super tropey but i see no reason why they would fall for the MC, which is maybe why it takes so long for things to actually progress. I cant realy comment on the plot as nothing has happened other than MC being talked to by ghost/mythtical beings. who just told him advice for anxiety? But it was actually supernatural not his pyschee as time moved forward.

As a story, its really good, clearly has that denpa style and feels like a true VN where there is a true story being told, MC doesn't act like a douchebag and seeing what is happening in his head is interesting, alongside some cute moments with the others and a nice story overall with some good relationships building, maybe a bit slow on the story front, and I would expect that, art is fairly nice too even if it is from Koikatsu, I think the soft aesthetic fits fairly well and the variance in looks, expressions and such is good enough From the erotic side though it really does feel a little monotonous and drags on, you will spend a pretty long while before encountering much that leans into that aspect - from one side that is absolutely understandable for a story like this, but on the other side, I think there are better ways to balance that rather than leaning 100% on the story and painstakingly pushing tiny things through, so there is an aspect to that, apart from that I like the writing, some 4th walling here and there with jokes and such, but really not overbearing at all and otherwise a nice story, though the lack of options does make me worry that this will end up being a game where you have to go through every single LI no matter what, not that I want them to be cut out completely from the story and still be friendly with MC, but there should be an option as to whether we want to pursue further with someone, and currently that isn't coming up, so I'm unsure. UI is fairly good with the character menu system, but the text box itself is a little bland and takes up a lot of the screen, so could potentially be tweaked And ultimately, this game screamed VN to me from the moment I started playing linear mode, I do not get why sandbox mode exists, unless this is the dev's way of trying to give choice (which I don't think is the way for this, it should be branching story like normal for a VN) and just seems like a potential development time sink Apart from that, fairly good game so long as you are here for a nice story and are happy to wait for the erotic side to some extent.

I did kinda like the story part of this one but it is supposed to be an AVN notice the A meaning adult and man does it fail on that part, it blows my mind how this can have such a high rating when theres just nothing there what so ever? it means absolutly no sense..... I dont mind a good slow burn but this......this goes waaaaaay past being a slow burn, theres a handjob, a kiss, a grind....thats all..not a single sex scene with anyone what so ever. It feels more like this is ment to be a none sexual game. Girls are cute and i like the builds as well, there is a bit of diversity in builds to but mostly aimed for smols which is fine by me since im not into big tits. Its not animated either not that there would be anything to animate.... Music is standard background stuff. As for choices there are barely any, you can try holding down skip from start to finish and you might see i dunno 5 choices in total, so game does feel very kinetic. As for the sandbox theres just no reason for it other then wasting more of your time doing it that way, no clue why it was ever put into the game.

It's really amazing how much the MC can mix up a formula. Like him or hate him, Tohru is a character he's got thoughts, feelings, and most importantly goals. He's driven (to a reasonable degree), so when things occur as a result of his actions they feel earned and help to make him alot more interesting. It does reduce his ability to function of an expy or surrogate for the player though, and certainly reduces the denpa-ish elements of the game to more of a supernatural adversary, which at this point is a breath of fresh air in this space. Game feels fairly uplifting with an air of mystery, visuals are pretty great, particularly lighting and eyes, characters are expressive in a non-tropey way and I love that. Pacing's a bit slow as advertised, but comfortable; cliffhanger-drama doesnt appear to be a major element atm so it's fine. Also Linear Mode is a godsend, never thought I'd be so grateful for standard VN mechanics. 4.5/5 at time of writing.

The only way to describe this VN is using every synonym of the words slow and boring. This isn't a slow burn, this is continental drift levels of speed of progress. Every event is duller than the other, the characters are either not engaging or outright annoying, the very first one you meet is a nurse that should never be allowed near patients due to how she acts. The "sandbox" has no reason to exist, its presence only wastes even more time, better spent staring at the wall. Visually, I don't know the range of facial expression custom maid can output, but it's definitely more than the three used here, everyone constantly has semi tired smug smile on them, regardless of circumstance. And most importantly, no sexual content, so don't expect to even bust a nut. Horrifying waste of time, wish I could get those hours back.

Installed @ update 0.8 Still nowhere near finished so at the "slow burn" phase of the game. So far, it's interesting to say the least. I'm definitely curious about the whole time Spoiler time stop/skip event but I'm sure I'll get more answers about that soon. Bit of mixed opinions about the MC's attitude in general. One of the girl's on her first event mentioned that she was interested in knowing the MC was doing naughty stuff with other girls and the guy just acted like it was the most normal thing in the world and didn't even reply to it but then there's no lewd scenes (up until prior to the festival at least) and it's already been a year since release. Haven't been around for long but can already tell the updates come out rather slowly. While I do hope they pick up, I'd rather get quality content instead so for the time being, beggars can't be choosers. Here's hoping that this game does picks up. Slow burn is good but when it's a little too slow , that's when people start dropping out. More and different music would also be nice, don't feel like the current BGM fits the game that well to the point where I sometimes just have other songs (including from different games) running instead of the game's music

v0.8 This is one of the top games in regards to story telling here. The main aspect of this game is the story first and foremost, all the other things are secondary. In addition to having one of the best stories, this game also has a plethora of cute and unique LI's. The only thing which everyone playing this should mind is that don't come into this game expecting to see lewd scenes in the current version, cause there is literally only 1 scene which I found. I guess there is only that one scene for now in this game. The Dev did say in the future there would be lewd scenes with the LI's but that is not a big drawback for me since the story more than enough makes up for that. Even though this game has a dark supernatural undertone, the interactions and events with all the LI's are heartwarming and well made. If you are really in need of a good read and have time to spend, play this for sure. A future Master Piece for sure.

You can turn off sandbox mode. That shit is the single greatest thing on this site, and that feature alone deserves 5 stars. (seriously fuck sandboxes if your story can be told linearly.) Story is slow, like many others have pointed out, but shit's good, with competent writing. It's got that typical mystery element that most Denpa-like games have, but it's mostly in the background and focuses much more on the main cast. The main character being a decent, normal guy instead of some psychopath or pervert is also a plus for me.