Hello and welcome to my review of They Took My Beloved.
It is strange to say but I did not review many visual novels so far... and I did not give high scores to thebfew I reviewed, even if it's probably due to the that I am not fond of this kind of game and so I am really demanding.

Let's first explain that this is a game made for the Halloween 2021 event, and it's a short but complete adventure.
In this visual novel we play as a girl that was recently involved in a car crash where her boyfriend died. But is this was really happened?
Our protagonist is convinced that someone kidnapped him, since she did not see him after the incident. She also perceive that some people around her aren't human at all, and after finding a weird alien object she start believing that things are not like they appear. Is she delusional or there is really some kind of conspiration going on? Is everything she sees and perceives real or is fantasy?
What really happened to her boyfriend and what do these creatures want?


Y...yes. but you look rather threatening if you wave that cleaver, sir!

The game is a classical visual novel in which we impersonate this girl. The game isn't linear because besides the possibility to change the answers during the dialogues, we also have to navigate some environments collecting useful items and informations to learn what is really going on.

But during the adventure it is also necessary to keep under control the characteristics of sanity, stamina and health displayed on the upper right part of the screen. Under these there is the equipped item, that may be also a map or a weapon. Oh yes this game has combat and also other tasks. These moments are quick time events in which you have a short time to act (a decreasing yellow bar shows this) selecting the correct option, and this in combat means defending or attacking (and it is important observing the enemy behaviour when making this choice). The wrong one may sometimes lead to being weakened or even to a bad ending.

Graphically the game uses Marmalade's drawings (and I liked a lot the style, already seen in the previous games I reviewed) and includes some little animations in some areas. The final result is a believable dark world saw from the eyes of the traumatized protagonist. The inventory is also simple but handy and stylish,
Finally the music: it is used with attention, often it is just a low background sound, but during the dramatic action parts (combat) it is more loud and rythmic, to stress the frenetic sequence and the sensation of danger.


What is going on? Am I watching them or are they watching me?

Final Verdict
They Took My Beloved is an intriguing visual novel. There are eight ending and so far I got just three of them and no one satisfied me, so I am going to reply it once again, because I still have to uncover some important details about the story. This is a dark mystery game with a strong atmosphere, mind that there are also some scenes of gore and violence, and the theme of desperation and depression is clearly a central point of the game.

In the end I found the plot simple but original, the game is immersive and addicting, just do not expect to complete it in just a couple of runs! Combat is also pretty difficult because in some instances there are no perfect choice (we play as a normal girl, not as a battle hardened veteran, so it is expected!), and I also got a couple of instant gameovers in the underground, but the possibility to save anywhere makes it possible to try various options without the need to restart the game from the beginning.
Great story, style and atmosphere, and rather challenging too! I liked it very much, recommended!