This DLC was so sweet! (Which is, of course, very on-brand for Our Life, but worth noting nonetheless.) I loved getting to know Derek better. I swear, all the LIs in this game are so delightful and lovable. It's neat how both Derek and Cove are such sweethearts--and are similar in ways where it makes sense how they'd become friends--but Derek's story also highlights their differences, and really gives you a feel for his life and his role in his family.
And asdkljsadl, his family! I adore them. His parents are wonderful, and the little bros are precious (both as kiddos and as bigger-but-still-kiddos-to-me). As a biggest sibling myself, I can relate to both Derek's desire to take care of them and the way he gets frustrated with them at times. And seeing them (almost) grown up and how they've developed as people over the years is so cool--seeing characters grow up, change yet stay the same, is something I really enjoy in OL. (Enjoyed seeing some other familiar faces in this DLC, too! Little Baxter is adorable and I'll of course get his DLC once it's ready.) I'm adopting them as my new little siblings, and nobody can stop me.
(Speaking of, Elizabeth and Jorge's friendship was such a wonderful surprise! Their dynamic is so much fun, and I love that for both of them.)
I can't count the number of times that I caught myself smiling so hard that my face hurt while playing, and OL is definitely one of those games that I've come back to replay many times and I'll continue to do so. It's a perfect "comfort game."
Just wanted to let you all know how much I enjoyed this game! I love the characters (X has my heart, but all the LIs are A++ and so lovable), and the voice actors who brought them to life all did a great job! Also... the fact that every route has at least one appearance from an adorable animal is unfair (read: I liked that a lot). Shoutout to the prettiest bird and all-around menace to society, Chai. And also, really enjoyed the ace rep and the possibility for the player character to say they're ace, as well!
Tbh, it'd be easier for me if I just listed the things I *didn't* like instead: ..........
^That's about it, lol
I've had a lot of fun playing your games recently! They're very distinct from each other, but both quite compelling. I especially enjoy your unreliable narrators. Though I like your other characters, as well! (I want to give Kai a hug. Thank god for Ending 1 letting the kiddos be happy. Realistically so--you don't just plaster a smiley face sticker over the trauma and pretend everything's perfect, which I appreciate, but it's a hopeful end and I enjoyed it after playing all the others first.)
I'm proud of myself for picking up on the twist this time a bit quicker than I did with SV. Which isn't to say it was too obvious--I'm just good at picking up on twists because I consume too much media, lol. You did a really good job with laying the groundwork without making it too glaringly obvious until it was supposed to be. And nice job with the meaning of Amerta's name!
Also, you have no idea how much my eyes lit up at the KagePro reference. (Also Ending 3. I lost my shit.)
Just played the game, and I really enjoyed it! I'm a sucker for a good time loop story. All the characters are delightful (and I look forward to seeing what you do with Invar's route someday). Thanks for sharing it with us!
Also, I love the bird theme naming for the characters! Little details like that are so fun and show the thought that went into your work.
sdkljadsdskjl so I binged this entire game on my day off, and wow. I'd heard good things so I expected to enjoy it, but I didn't expect I'd enjoy it as much as I did! There's so much love and effort that clearly went into the telling of this story--in all aspects--and I wanted to thank everybody involved in bringing it to life.
First, just... the method of telling the story, mostly through Discord-like channels and video chats? It's a cool idea, and it was done so well!
The art was lovely, too! I love all the characters' designs, with an art style I really enjoyed. And on top of that, so much cute fanart from so many artists? So. Cool. It's fun to see the same set of characters in so many different styles. Like, I know Bloomic is a story-within-a-story, but I'm a fan!
I know less about music than about writing or art, so I don't have as much to say about it, but it was good! I don't always play games with my headphones on, but this one, I did and I'm glad I did.
Speaking of sound--the voice acting!!!! Asklfjslk. Another thing I'm very hit-or-miss about in games, but it was so good here!! Kudos to the voice actors for making the characters feel even more real!
And the writing! Asdlkjfdsfklj. Again, so much care went into it and it shows. The characters felt very real. Quite human... even [spoilers], in a way. Even the more minor characters had a lot of personality and I never got mixed up about who was who (after the first 2 minutes, lol). I love how they had their own distinct ways of writing, too--from more casual to more formal/grammar-conscious (onion) to salo's adorable old man way of typing. I would absolutely play a route for each and every one of them--aside from SocietyBoy, obv--platonic friendship routes for some of them, ofc.
Speaking of routes... I legitimately can't pick a favorite. I'm having trouble trying to rank them at all. Every one of them made me grin like an idiot, and every single one of them had moments that gave me bigtime dokis. Every LI is a delightful, nuanced character with flaws and strengths and so much charm. 10/10, would marry all of them. I love these characters SO much and I don't even know any of their names, lol
...I guess if I *HAD* to pick a favorite character out of everybody.......... Cat. Obviously. I mean, for starters, they're a cat, and therefore start with a +1000 affection points bonus with me.
But anyway, I really enjoyed the themes of this story, too. From making meaningful friendships on line, to the fear of life changes. The latter one actually hit home pretty hard rn--I think I played this game at the perfect time. I've been thinking a lot about my job situation--wanting to make a change that will make me happier in the long run, but paralyzed by fear of change. So your game was like a comforting hug. Thanks for that. I hope that wasn't TMI, but just wanted to let you know you had a good impact on somebody.
Sooo, um, tl;dr: game good, everybody should play it. Gonna go start shilling for it to my friends like Toasty shills for FFXIV, lmao
Ahh, this game is so fun! I love the Prohibition era setting, and the characters, and the storybook segments! Also... the implication that Giacomo is trans? Kinda made my day? I love both the LIs, but I just have a soft spot for angry boys, lol
And Fia is wonderful! I love that, on one hand, she's thrown into a situation she's never been prepared for, but on the other hand, in an odd way, her previous experiences did prepare her for this. She's badass and I love her.
Though the pig is my favorite character. I named her Hamlet, just for pun ^_^
I had so much fun playing this game! I'd planned on binging it before work, but then I had to stop partway through, and you can imagine exactly how much spacing out I did during my shift. I feel like these characters are just gonna live rent-free in my head forever, and honestly? I'm okay with that. (And hey, not making them pay rent--hopefully, they're okay with that, too. lol)
I would usually want to talk about favorite characters here, but I cannot pick a favorite . Robin is such a delightful protagonist. I love her personality so much. She's clever and funny, yet vulnerable and flawed, and just... it's a joy to spend time in her head. And both the love interests are wonderful too! I can't even pick a favorite there! I love how Wren is both cunning af and adorably shy at times. I love how Jay is all ~cool and protective~ but then he's also a softie. I love them all (and I heard there's a sequel planned? so I have my fingers crossed for an OT3 route because I ship them in ALL the iterations)
And the other characters were good, too. (*except Mr. Gardener and Chadwell. In this house, we do NOT appreciate Mr. G and Chadwell, lmao) I have a huge soft spot for the elegant woman, even if I don't even know her name. And I love how all the characters got a unique portrait, even if they were really minor! It's little touches like that which I really appreciate.
Speaking of art, the CGs were cute af. And I loved the extra art you can unlock after getting the good endings. Like I was laughing so hard at a few of them. This entire game is a delight. (Same with your other games, too!) I look forward to seeing what you create in the future!
This game is beautiful and sweet and comforting, and I've already played it so many times, and I feel like that pattern is going to continue (possibly forever). There's just so much warmth and thoughtfulness in it, and I always catch myself with a big, goofy smile on my face. The characters are all wonderful.
Plus, as a queer, demi, trans, autistic person... it's really nice to see all those facets represented in a game, in a non-stereotypical way. (I actually cheered out loud when it was confirmed that Cove's autistic. I'd headcanoned that based on earlier-game content, but I wasn't sure if I was just reading too much into things or projecting, lol. Downside is, I was playing in the middle of the night and the neighbors might not have enjoyed the sudden "woo!" they heard through the wall. My bad.)
This has become one of my go-to comfort games for when I'm having a bad day after work or for any other reason. And from there, I started looking into your other games, as well, and enjoying those. I can't wait to see what you do next. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with us. <3
This is probably the first VN I've played that wasn't freeware, but as soon as I played the demo, I was hooked and I knew I'd end up buying the full version. And I'm so glad I did! This game was wonderful. The art (and the gorgeous clothes!!!!), the music, atmosphere, themes, and especially the characters--I adore it all. Tbh, if the price of the game had been my soul, I still wouldn't have regretted buying it.
First of all, I love the personality options! I love games that do that so much, but they're so hard to find! (And I understand why--and I definitely appreciate the extra effort it must have taken to do that.) My personal favorite personality build is strong, cunning hellion. So much fun.
Usually, in a game with so many romance options, there's usually at least one love interest that I'm not a big fan of. With so many characters, it's almost inevitable. But no, even in this, TRoS didn't disappoint! I loved every single route and was always able to find something compelling and relatable in each of the romance options.
Actually, all the characters in general were compelling. Even the ones who didn't get a lot of screen time were still interesting. It's pretty hard to pick a favorite character. ...Okay, that's a lie--Frederique is the light of my life, and I always looked forward to seeing him in a scene, because it was usually an indicator of Fun Shenanigans to come. His mischievous personality was delightful (the boat scene, omg), but it's twice as great when it's paired with the depth of his loyalty to his Minette, on every single route. (His part in Sofia's route in particular made me cry. Especially now that I've played all the routes. He's so good, and he loves her for who she is, and he just wants her to be happy. Omfg, more tears.)
...I mean, by this point, I suspect you've deduced my favorite route. Tbh, just when I first played the demo before the full version came out, I shipped it way too hard, and then I felt really bad for shipping it because "there's no way this is going to be a canon route. I shouldn't get my hopes up." And then the full version came out and I actually didn't know there was a secret route until I saw a couple comments here, and then I took a moment to compose myself after freaking out and then opened up the game again. Note: there were several more moments during this time when I had to compose myself as well. Like, all the CG moments, and.... okay, basically every single scene in the whole thing. It's not my fault you nailed all my personal fav tropes, okay??
(I-I'm a good person. But also, thank you so much, it was great. Just.... such a great character and a well-written arc that's totally sympathetic and sweet and also, tbh, feels like such a True Route and, okay, I'm biased as all hell.)
...I told myself I WASN'T going to ramble for paragraphs on end about that. I'm so sorry. Anyway, in conclusion (I say as if this is an essay or something), this game was the best and I'm definitely going to end up replaying it many times in the future, because everything about it was my cup of (possibly whiskey-laced) tea. To everyone who worked on this game, you did great! And I'll definitely keep an eye out for anything you release in the future. :)
