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Suprisingly enjoyable and not far off the mark!

I will say it from the start. I don't like anime/manga tropes. The entire thing of Yanderes and what not rubs me the wrong way. But despite all of this I wanted to be fair and give this game a try! And I am rather content that I did. So my preferences aside, let's get started!

The graphics are very nice looking. This game perfectly implements what you can do with some added assets but also a lot of the base ones. The dreadful feeling around the game is really captivating and the mapping has a very good layout, giving an almost claustrophobic feeling to it.

As for the story, I would call it well thought through. Though some of the plot lines and hints dropped might feel a little clichéd it is not something weighting the story down. The only thing I would really have liked to see more of, would be more of who our main character is. It is that one big splinter in my eye as I played. Sure we're given a tiny piece of information at the tutorial but it is not really a fleshed out character. I was a little saddened as I felt that, as I played, I wasn't really a person I was "Main male character" but besides some little trivia in some comments on looking at certain items, the main character was not very full fledged.

High jacking that last point, it is time to speak about the game mechanics. More specifically, exploration! Now this game is built up as a game that encourages exploration, that is how you find notes, that is how you find keys, that is how you find clues. But here is the biggest flaw, in my opinion, of this game. There are tons of insta kills for simply exploring and clicking on the wrong item. Sometimes, rarely, there is a comment if you want to "investigative closer". This can mean one of two things: 1) Important as all heck item located here! or 2) Yeah, we're going to kill you mate! But most of the time when I got instantly killed there was no prompt, no warning. I just happened to click on the wrong item even though there was no indication that this specific item would mean my doom. In a game where exploration is a big part of the experience, don't punish the player for doing the exploring, it leaves a very sour taste since you have to restart once more after a kill that wasn't really your fault to begin with. Give the players a small heads up, I'm not talking a flashing neon sign but something to tell that you might wish to reconsider what you're about to explore.

The other mechanism, though more minor, is chases. I'm a tad split on this one as it is not bad as such but the chases can also come completely out of left field and smack you dead before you even knew what hit you. In fact more than once I ran into an enemy just by exiting a door and it crashed the game. As said, it is not terrible by any means but I personally could have lived with a more scripted feeling rather than a random encounter meter.

Over all, there is a ton of content to be found in this game. Even if the tropes can feel a little tacky and the main character not so fleshed out this game is really good. I'm happy to see a well thought through game like this go up and I hope that most people will be willing to give it a shoot!

Posts

Pages: 1
Kousuke-shii
352
05/14/2016 09:54 PM
I certainly learned a lot from your review.. Really appreciate it dude! I'll try to implement those little improvements on my next games. Thanks for playing!
TheCrimsonValley
830
05/15/2016 09:05 AM
author=Kousuke-shii
I certainly learned a lot from your review.. Really appreciate it dude! I'll try to implement those little improvements on my next games. Thanks for playing!


No problem mate! I'm happy to help and your game was a pleasure to play. Good luck for your future projects.
HikiNeet
155
05/15/2016 10:31 PM
I watched a Let's Play of this game by ManlyBadassHero
Show
He was expecting to get grabbed by a hand under a bed at some point and killed. You know, like the infamous scene in Higurashi where Keiichi manages to escape and is hospitalized but Shion's hiding underneath his bed and kills him?
I have to agree with him and this review that random deaths are bad. At the very least, a game like The Witch's House kills you in different and interesting ways. Here, you just get the image of a green-haired girl reaching out to grab you while a screaming sound is played. It happens so many times that instead of finding it scary, you find it annoying whenever it occurs. Sort of like how it feels to be killed by a animatronic in FNAF series.

author=Kousuke-shii
Interesting characters, each with their own diverse personalities.
Not really. They all pretty much say the same stereotypical Yandere things. The main character himself is bland like the common, plain guy in a harem anime who every girl is after. You know, a generic protag?

Also, I kind of have an issue with all of them being the
Show
"if I can't have you, then NO ONE CAN!" type. Not all Yanderes want to kill their love interest.

I feel like you could have done something like in Mirai Nikki
Show
where Yuno drugs Yuki unconscious and locks him in a basement where he is strapped to a chair and force-fed.

I haven't seen many Yandere series besides Higurashi and Mirai Nikki. As for games, there's Corpse Party, Dear Mariko, Desperate Love Feast, and Charon games (Yanderella, Mix Ore, Shihori Escape, Mikoto Nikki, Makoto Mobius). Charon's games are notable in particular because the yanderes actually try to maintain a semblance of normalcy instead of outright revealing their sinister and twisted personality from the start like the characters in When Yanderes Cry did. It makes it all the more jarring when their happy expression becomes a crazed smile.

For the most part, yanderes don't share unless they're really close friends/siblings. So it was disappointing that
Show
they don't try to kill each other. I mean those two girls in the start kill Mai together but don't turn on each other? And then the remaining two girls (respectively) say "Why are we running? I'll kill them for you." or "This (weapon) is for those who try to get close to you. Like those dumb bitches!"

So I don't get why they wouldn't to, as one Let's Play Youtube comment said, kill each other in a Battle Royale in the ending where they all surround Nishiki.


With so many yanderes in the cast
Show
it makes me wonder what happens after Nishiki gets killed. The heavily devoted ones will commit suicide to be with their loved one in the afterlife. Or maybe the ones in this game will turn their devotion onto a new victim? But now that I think about it, why Nishiki? Why does he just so happen to have four yanderes lusting after him? What makes him so unlucky special that they take notice of him?


As for the mansion's backstory, there was kind of no point to it? In the end, it didn't matter if you knew what happened or not. I suppose it implies that
Show
the random deaths are caused by the ghost of that lady who killed her husband and all the maids? Hence all those gameover screens from interacting with bookshelves in the library and such. The 'sleeping in the chair' thing was badly done by the way. You should have given the player a choice rather than having Nishiki decide to randomly fall asleep in it just by moving onto it. I mean, unless it was magically enchanted to make those who sit in it drowsy, I don't see how anyone could sleep in a situation where girls armed with weapons are out to get you.


Ideas:
Show
A yandere ghost that died several decades ago possesses a girl. It turns out the boy she's infatuated with is the descendant (similar appearance) of the boy she loved when she was still alive.

A yandere kills her loved one and then removes his organs and stuffs him to preserve his body. It's discovered that she has multiple "dolls" of the boys she has killed.

One common trick Yanderes do is drug their romantic interest to sleep. Imagine this: you're having dinner in their house. You've got a nice conversation flowing and at this point the yandere hasn't exhibited any hints of their true self. A few minutes after taking a bite of the food or a drink, suddenly, your vision becomes hazy. Your eyes start to shut but you try to blink them open only for them to drop again. You lose all your strength and blackout, your head falls and thunks against the table. You wake up in a basement all tied up or maybe in a jail cell. The room is soundproof. No one will hear your screams for help; no one will ever find you.


So yeah, if you plan to make another yandere game you should try to build-up interactions so you get to know the yandere while they're acting normal before it's revealed that they're crazy.
Show
Which typically happens when you find incriminating evidence in their room. Things that you thought you misplaced but it turns out they stole. An article of clothing is a popular choice. Finding a TV screen that shows live footage of your room/house being recorded is also disturbing. Maybe they have a photo with your girlfriend's head cut off and replaced with their own?
Kousuke-shii
352
05/16/2016 10:53 AM
author=HikiNeet
I watched a Let's Play of this game by ManlyBadassHero
Show
He was expecting to get grabbed by a hand under a bed at some point and killed. You know, like the infamous scene in Higurashi where Keiichi manages to escape and is hospitalized but Shion's hiding underneath his bed and kills him?
I have to agree with him and this review that random deaths are bad. At the very least, a game like The Witch's House kills you in different and interesting ways. Here, you just get the image of a green-haired girl reaching out to grab you while a screaming sound is played. It happens so many times that instead of finding it scary, you find it annoying whenever it occurs. Sort of like how it feels to be killed by a animatronic in FNAF series.

author=Kousuke-shii
Interesting characters, each with their own diverse personalities.
Not really. They all pretty much say the same stereotypical Yandere things. The main character himself is bland like the common, plain guy in a harem anime who every girl is after. You know, a generic protag?

Also, I kind of have an issue with all of them being the
Show
"if I can't have you, then NO ONE CAN!" type. Not all Yanderes want to kill their love interest.

I feel like you could have done something like in Mirai Nikki
Show
where Yuno drugs Yuki unconscious and locks him in a basement where he is strapped to a chair and force-fed.

I haven't seen many Yandere series besides Higurashi and Mirai Nikki. As for games, there's Corpse Party, Dear Mariko, Desperate Love Feast, and Charon games (Yanderella, Mix Ore, Shihori Escape, Mikoto Nikki, Makoto Mobius). Charon's games are notable in particular because the yanderes actually try to maintain a semblance of normalcy instead of outright revealing their sinister and twisted personality from the start like the characters in When Yanderes Cry did. It makes it all the more jarring when their happy expression becomes a crazed smile.

For the most part, yanderes don't share unless they're really close friends/siblings. So it was disappointing that
Show
they don't try to kill each other. I mean those two girls in the start kill Mai together but don't turn on each other? And then the remaining two girls (respectively) say "Why are we running? I'll kill them for you." or "This (weapon) is for those who try to get close to you. Like those dumb bitches!"

So I don't get why they wouldn't to, as one Let's Play Youtube comment said, kill each other in a Battle Royale in the ending where they all surround Nishiki.


With so many yanderes in the cast
Show
it makes me wonder what happens after Nishiki gets killed. The heavily devoted ones will commit suicide to be with their loved one in the afterlife. Or maybe the ones in this game will turn their devotion onto a new victim? But now that I think about it, why Nishiki? Why does he just so happen to have four yanderes lusting after him? What makes him so unlucky special that they take notice of him?


As for the mansion's backstory, there was kind of no point to it? In the end, it didn't matter if you knew what happened or not. I suppose it implies that
Show
the random deaths are caused by the ghost of that lady who killed her husband and all the maids? Hence all those gameover screens from interacting with bookshelves in the library and such. The 'sleeping in the chair' thing was badly done by the way. You should have given the player a choice rather than having Nishiki decide to randomly fall asleep in it just by moving onto it. I mean, unless it was magically enchanted to make those who sit in it drowsy, I don't see how anyone could sleep in a situation where girls armed with weapons are out to get you.


Ideas:
Show
A yandere ghost that died several decades ago possesses a girl. It turns out the boy she's infatuated with is the descendant (similar appearance) of the boy she loved when she was still alive.

A yandere kills her loved one and then removes his organs and stuffs him to preserve his body. It's discovered that she has multiple "dolls" of the boys she has killed.

One common trick Yanderes do is drug their romantic interest to sleep. Imagine this: you're having dinner in their house. You've got a nice conversation flowing and at this point the yandere hasn't exhibited any hints of their true self. A few minutes after taking a bite of the food or a drink, suddenly, your vision becomes hazy. Your eyes start to shut but you try to blink them open only for them to drop again. You lose all your strength and blackout, your head falls and thunks against the table. You wake up in a basement all tied up or maybe in a jail cell. The room is soundproof. No one will hear your screams for help; no one will ever find you.


So yeah, if you plan to make another yandere game you should try to build-up interactions so you get to know the yandere while they're acting normal before it's revealed that they're crazy.
Show
Which typically happens when you find incriminating evidence in their room. Things that you thought you misplaced but it turns out they stole. An article of clothing is a popular choice. Finding a TV screen that shows live footage of your room/house being recorded is also disturbing. Maybe they have a photo with your girlfriend's head cut off and replaced with their own?
author=HikiNeet
I watched a Let's Play of this game by ManlyBadassHero
Show
He was expecting to get grabbed by a hand under a bed at some point and killed. You know, like the infamous scene in Higurashi where Keiichi manages to escape and is hospitalized but Shion's hiding underneath his bed and kills him?
I have to agree with him and this review that random deaths are bad. At the very least, a game like The Witch's House kills you in different and interesting ways. Here, you just get the image of a green-haired girl reaching out to grab you while a screaming sound is played. It happens so many times that instead of finding it scary, you find it annoying whenever it occurs. Sort of like how it feels to be killed by a animatronic in FNAF series.

author=Kousuke-shii
Interesting characters, each with their own diverse personalities.
Not really. They all pretty much say the same stereotypical Yandere things. The main character himself is bland like the common, plain guy in a harem anime who every girl is after. You know, a generic protag?

Also, I kind of have an issue with all of them being the
Show
"if I can't have you, then NO ONE CAN!" type. Not all Yanderes want to kill their love interest.

I feel like you could have done something like in Mirai Nikki
Show
where Yuno drugs Yuki unconscious and locks him in a basement where he is strapped to a chair and force-fed.

I haven't seen many Yandere series besides Higurashi and Mirai Nikki. As for games, there's Corpse Party, Dear Mariko, Desperate Love Feast, and Charon games (Yanderella, Mix Ore, Shihori Escape, Mikoto Nikki, Makoto Mobius). Charon's games are notable in particular because the yanderes actually try to maintain a semblance of normalcy instead of outright revealing their sinister and twisted personality from the start like the characters in When Yanderes Cry did. It makes it all the more jarring when their happy expression becomes a crazed smile.

For the most part, yanderes don't share unless they're really close friends/siblings. So it was disappointing that
Show
they don't try to kill each other. I mean those two girls in the start kill Mai together but don't turn on each other? And then the remaining two girls (respectively) say "Why are we running? I'll kill them for you." or "This (weapon) is for those who try to get close to you. Like those dumb bitches!"

So I don't get why they wouldn't to, as one Let's Play Youtube comment said, kill each other in a Battle Royale in the ending where they all surround Nishiki.


With so many yanderes in the cast
Show
it makes me wonder what happens after Nishiki gets killed. The heavily devoted ones will commit suicide to be with their loved one in the afterlife. Or maybe the ones in this game will turn their devotion onto a new victim? But now that I think about it, why Nishiki? Why does he just so happen to have four yanderes lusting after him? What makes him so unlucky special that they take notice of him?


As for the mansion's backstory, there was kind of no point to it? In the end, it didn't matter if you knew what happened or not. I suppose it implies that
Show
the random deaths are caused by the ghost of that lady who killed her husband and all the maids? Hence all those gameover screens from interacting with bookshelves in the library and such. The 'sleeping in the chair' thing was badly done by the way. You should have given the player a choice rather than having Nishiki decide to randomly fall asleep in it just by moving onto it. I mean, unless it was magically enchanted to make those who sit in it drowsy, I don't see how anyone could sleep in a situation where girls armed with weapons are out to get you.


Ideas:
Show
A yandere ghost that died several decades ago possesses a girl. It turns out the boy she's infatuated with is the descendant (similar appearance) of the boy she loved when she was still alive.

A yandere kills her loved one and then removes his organs and stuffs him to preserve his body. It's discovered that she has multiple "dolls" of the boys she has killed.

One common trick Yanderes do is drug their romantic interest to sleep. Imagine this: you're having dinner in their house. You've got a nice conversation flowing and at this point the yandere hasn't exhibited any hints of their true self. A few minutes after taking a bite of the food or a drink, suddenly, your vision becomes hazy. Your eyes start to shut but you try to blink them open only for them to drop again. You lose all your strength and blackout, your head falls and thunks against the table. You wake up in a basement all tied up or maybe in a jail cell. The room is soundproof. No one will hear your screams for help; no one will ever find you.


So yeah, if you plan to make another yandere game you should try to build-up interactions so you get to know the yandere while they're acting normal before it's revealed that they're crazy.
Show
Which typically happens when you find incriminating evidence in their room. Things that you thought you misplaced but it turns out they stole. An article of clothing is a popular choice. Finding a TV screen that shows live footage of your room/house being recorded is also disturbing. Maybe they have a photo with your girlfriend's head cut off and replaced with their own?
Yeah I admit I didn't put as much thought on the game as I should have. To be honest. this was just a test game to see if I could actually accomplish a game or not.. Look's like I did. LOL! But that's not an excuse... Be sure to watch out for my next game! It's gonna be light years better than this little project! Although I won't start it until a few months later but I'll put all suggestions and feedbacks into consideration. Thanks man!
Pages: 1