Misericorde: Volume One

Have you heard of this game? If it hadn’t been making the rounds in my social circles, I would have completely missed it. I did not see any coverage for this game at all when it came out. I follow some game journalist / critic folks who usually pick up pretty much everything of interest to me but this game remained completely under the radar. That’s a bummer because Misericorde may actually be one of my favorite visual novels of all time. You play as Hedwig, a nun living in a monastery in 1482 England. Not only has she left society behind to live a secluded life devoted to prayer and servitude, she actually went one step further and chose a life as an anchoress. Day by day, Hedwig sits in a cell reading scripture, copying books and offering religious advice to anyone who seeks it. She lives a completely isolated life, an existence cut off from the outside world. Everything is fine until one day… the door opens, Hedwig’s space is [i]violated[/i] and in comes the mother superior...

A mastery of music and writing. I loved the style and tone this game had through out the entire story. I am super impressed that this was made by one person. Congrats!

An awesome kinetic novel murder mystery that makes the setting of a 15th century monastery feel alive, fascinating, and complicated. Do not be fooled by the matching habits, all of them have tons of character and layers. The mystery is only ramping up so the cast and setup are the meat of volume 1. Luckily the characters, dialogue, and presentation are all very entertaining. I especially like the soundtrack. Drum and bass and nun drama, who know they fit together so well?

The music is probably the best i have heard in a vn, the characters are very interesting and endearing, truly makes you wish that nuns were real

Misericorde is quite interesting, even as a "kinetic" visual novel, meaning there is zero choices and you're just reading the story straight. Hedwig is a character that is just as unstable and unreliable as you would expect of someone who lived in a wall for 20 years. You're meant to feel as uncomfortable as she is at several points, and her droning may not be for everybody but it is crucial. A storm of things get dropped on her at once and it's never something that really goes away from her. This doesn't let her stay as some innocent new girl all the time either; she gets angry and annoyed as often as anybody else would, often involuntarily and indiscriminately as someone with zero social cues whatsoever. It's a good contrast to how all of the other girls are used to gossip and other scandalous acts. The other girls all feel like they have lengths of history between each other, and even before you know their names you already have a good view of their dynamics. You're not wondering...

Very strongly recommend this - story feels very lived in, with plenty of depth to the characters and central mystery. The unique premise, stylised visuals and banging OST also make it stand out. I've only read part 1 so far, and part 3 isn't out yet, so things COULD go downhill, but for now it seems great.

Quirky but charming characters that I really came to care about over time. Interesting mystery and setup. Excellent music and atmosphere also. Volume 2 is also really good, but please release the volume 2 ost.

Must read for all who enjoy fantastic writing, music and style in video games. Had a great time with it and look forward to upcoming episodes. One to remember and to keep an eye out for!