Contra Spem Spero

Not sure if it's an insult or a complement, but I thought the art in the game was so photo realistic, I thought it was generated, but doing a bit of research, it seems that is just how the dev finishes his drawings, doing realistic shading, and then putting a distorted pixel filter at the end (I left a link below if you want to check it yourself). Not something I see a lot done manually outside of AI games, so very impressive skills, almost uncanny how good it is, like actually looks so good, I thought it was fake. [b] Discord link to dev's drawing process, if you need some evidence in the defense of the art: [/b] https://discord.com/channels/1304083463577800714/1304219945235910688/1338196592553099364 So it's a "text adventure", and yet it feels like the most complex text game you will ever play, there is constant backtracking, resource management, optional and hidden events, cryptic puzzles, just overall packed with content and odd ideas. The narrative is pretty decently made, it c...

An impressive debut! Strong visuals and decent writing, a great fit once the spooky season arrives. It's not as much scarry, as it is uncomfortable and, for the most part, oppressive, and as the game oozes with style, you can easily figure out if it's something you'd enjoy. My main issue is tied to to somewhat misguided bits of immersive UI. The "travel" button is more of an annoying leftover of an older design, than a method of convenient communication, especially when the cutscenes oftentimes don't use it, and it's not always clear when you reach an end of a cutscene, or a moment you are meant to flip the page. The last third of the game gets a bit grindy, weirdly enough for a horror tale, pushing you to keep flipping between the areas with exclamation marks to see if you missed anything, to gather resources, and to complete rather jarring puzzles inspired by the hidden object genre. But it does work well with the oneiric vibe of the main story. Very cool to experience it.

The devs weren’t kidding—it’s different. It’s not a typical text game or visual novel, you never really know what you’re playing, but I liked it. The [b]atmosphere[/b], forest ambience and nature sounds are amazing. The [b]visuals[/b] surprised me too, there are way more than I expected for a text-heavy game. And the characters all share that inhuman stare straight into your soul—love the style. Talking about the [b]characters[/b]: none feel like clear good or bad types, they’re actually hard to choose between. Slim’s probably my favorite just for the mystery (well, aside from Moth). [b]Writing[/b] balances dialogue and exploration without drowning you in communication like some VNs. The story's packed with references (to literally anything), hidden meanings, lore hints, and mixes horror and humor really well. Sentences can run long, but overall it’s very easy to read. [b]Puzzles[/b] are a fun change of pace, and mostly optional, which I appreciated. T...

This game definitely makes me feel things. IDK where to even start... First off, this game is dripping with atmosphere; everything from the UI, the sound design, and the illustrations cohesively set a particular mood that is as depressing as it is mysteriously enticing. While there are many characters, events, and location that urge the player to give up, the game also stokes curiosity with unique interactions and a vague sense of progress. The English translation can feel a bit, uh, verbose? At times? But never totally beyond understanding (and it kind of adds to the dream-like, surreal nature of a lot of the scenarios tbh). This game rewards the nosy, the experimental, and the stubborn. Possible spoilers: As a warning to future players, try to focus on ONE, maybe two character quest lines at a time. I ran into an issue where I had completed several quest lines, but I was only allowed to see one resolved for that playthrough - and, once an ending is reached, that playthrough is gone...

Amazing story. Not your average click-through visual novel, here you need to pay attention to everything that’s said. The more you notice, the more of the lore you understand. And I like that it can be interpreted in many ways.