Limbus Company: Canto X - The Gaze Bearing

Canto 10: Part 1

September 17, 2026

THIS WAS REALLY FUN. THE MAP DESIGNS ARE SO CHARMING! I loved each area. It felt like I was back in middle/high school playing my favorite RPGMaker horror games. The Grand Magasin/Sisyphe feels super reminiscent of both Ib as well as Fear & Hunger. The Floor Managers also all had very fun designs that added to mix the motif of fashion & horror. Annette & Palette are my favorites since they're based off scissors & paint. I also liked L'Inamovible, Felt/Flannel & the Sous Chef as well. I really adore the aesthetics so far.

It was soooo much fun seeing the League of Nine again. Heathcliff trying to attack Nelly because he felt hurt that she betrayed him a second time by forgetting Cathy and stealing the Golden Bough to give to Hermann... The drama & angst is so sweet.

I ADORE JEANNE! (Apparently her name was changed from Marie due to "The Stranger" not being public domain yet, so now shes named after Jeanne-Marie Lanvin, a French haute couture fashion designer, which is cutely clever.) She's so adorable, her banter with the Sinners is really funny. It's also hilarious to me they outright confirmed she and Meursault were lovers, but I'm glad.
It's kinda been said already that it feels like Project Moon shies away from any blatant sexual topics outside of innuendo/sexually-charged dialogue. I do think sometimes the "implication" is stronger than the "explicit", but IMO didn't make sense for certain stories such as Heathcliff & Cathy's romance. Tbf, they didn't have a physical relationship in the original Wuthering Heights novel either, which was supposed to be the point of their dynamic. It also caused a lot of debate about Rien & Shiomi Yoru's relationship, but they're Ryoshu's biological parents meaning they obviously did have sex (whether it was consensual or not was another huge point of debate. But, like... It's pretty obvious from Shiomi Yoru's behavior & dialogue throughout Canto 9....)

Ok anyways, I bring this up to say I'm glad they stopped shying away about talking about this stuff and actually described them as lovers. I liked how they reminisced on dates they would go on to help us figure out some of the puzzles, as well as how we got to see Jeanne's feelings about their relationship & her role as a Giant. I adored the scene of them in the movie theater together eating Canned Experience while Jeanne was expressing her fears. It's intriguing that the I expected the Giants to be "evil" by reveling in the suffering of the Grand Magasin prisoners they monitored, so the reveal that they're chosen as Giants because they're afraid of the awful things they see there is interesting.

Kromer having a big sister is actually really funny to me. It was also fun to see Frau Eva! I'm assuming she came to help Meursault & Sinclair by extension following their dynamic in the original Demian novel, so I can't wait to find out more about her.

I'm also very intrigued by what we've seen so far of Meursault's mother. My theory based on her dialogue is that the reason she asked Meursault to kill her was because she was about to Distort, and seeing what becomes of the Distortions suffering in the Grand Magasin, she didn't want to end up as one of them.

I really liked the themes of existentialism & religion we've seen in the Grand Magasin so far. The violent "rivalry" between the Rouges & Noirs was super interesting. The implication the Crimson God created by the Rouges was meant to simulate Meursault's mother, meaning he effectively killed her a second time is so miserable.

Also good god, the ending scene of Part 1. I missed Carmen so much. Her speech to Dante mixed with the cutscene of the Grand Magasin falling apart was really fun. I also loved how they called back to the three main endings of Lobotomy Corporation.

(Side Tangent: I also eagerly screenshotted every Araya mention throughout Part 1. This was my favorite moment, though. Her and Ryoshu are so adorable.)

I think that's it from me. I can't wait for Part 2 next week.

Canto 10: Part 2

September 24, 2026

I had fun doing the Rouge Route! Pwie is adorable to me, they remind me of Deltarune's Aqua but if they were fused with the Girl from Fear and Hunger. Pwie's design when they evolved into Buffet & Carmen's narration at the end was super fun. I find it fascinating that both the Rouges and the Noirs were acting out of the fear of death, both with varying consequences because of their ideals. In the Noir ending, the Grand Magasin was essentially "frozen in time", trapping the Sinners there forever. In the Rouge ending, Pwie ends up devouring everything instead, not even wanting to ascend higher up the Grand Magasin and instead choosing to be stagnant.

I adore Pwie's interactions with the Sinners. I love that the minute Ryoshu saw Pwie she went to a corner to snub out her cigarette, vaguely remembering Araya lecturing her about how smoke is bad for children. I say "vaguely" because it also adds a sting when you remember that Ryoshu went back to smoking by the end of Canto 9 because she lost most of her memories of Araya. I've already said my piece about that plot point though. I am happy Araya is around and gets to interact with the story in little ways through her scabbard. (Araya scolding Dante was super cute.)

I think my favorite moment was when we see Carmen initially trying to communicate with Meursault in the past to get him to Distort, but he just misses her cues entirely and is like "why is the Sun talking so damn much?" He's extremely funny to me. I also missed Carmen so so much. I love that she comes off as menacing but isn't actually "evil" for the sake of it. She genuinely believes shes acting on the desire to help humanity change themselves. The denizens of the Grand Magasin Distorting because of their fear of death is a very fun take on her mindset and abilities.

I'm assuming Part 3 is going to be about Meursault making his own choices to get them out of the Grand Magasin. I really hope we see more of his mother considering the reason he got sent here was because she asked him to kill her for currently unknown reasons. I've been having fun, so I don't fully mind most of the Canto taking part in the Grand Magasin. I think the map designs are very gorgeous, and the NPCs are fun.

However, if I do have to agree with some of the criticisms, I do feel that despite Canto 10 taking obvious inspiration from RPGMaker horror games, it does have a lot of fetch quests and not enough actual puzzles that said RPGMaker games had to balance it. I don't even know if I can count the Alriune battle as a "puzzle", since that felt more like a chase scene combined with a QTE, due to having to stop during the 'chase' before you got killed by Alriune's petals. There's a "twinkling" audio cue to alert you when you're about to be attacked which really helped. But idk, that whole sequence got tedious for me.

Tangent Incoming (w/General Content Warning)

More like additional thoughts that I have and want to sort aloud but didn't know where to put them.

While I adore Jeanne and I agree with her monologue about her feelings on sexuality & violence, and how the visceral reaction given to both sparks censorship regarding those topics, I think this is a little funny coming from Project Moon, when, as I've mentioned in my Part 1 review, they very much shied away from discussions of sexual topics in Canto 9, to the point it became a heated topic of discourse among players regarding Rien and Shiomi Yoru's relationship, or even Rien's behavior towards the women in his life in general. Mind you, I like Rien as a character. I like all of the Spider's House members, and Project Moon's characters in general, *because* they're awful and fascinating in their awfulness. But there's only so many times I can see friends and complete strangers get called "creeps" or other names for daring to discuss these topics in fiction.

People very much do have a visceral reaction to topics of sex, and when you combine the topic of violence with it, it gets treated as something you should never discuss or else you'd corrupt minds. Being rhetorical, but I don't understand why people love to talk about how their blorbo kills people or is a criminal but they still adore them, but the minute the topic in question turns to sexual violence it gets shut down, and that's when they choose to express disgust.

So I think it's a bit odd for the Project Moon writers to suddenly be vocal about these thoughts when they were extremely vague about things like the circumstances of Ryoshu's birth, to the point players got yelled at by other "fans" for using reading comprehension and pointing out the subtext.

I'm glad that Jeanne is open and unashamed about having a sexual relationship with Meursault, but I wish the writers were this "blatant/bold" when it came to Canto 9's themes. I don't know.

But I'll get off my soapbox now lmao.

All that being said, I really am having fun this Canto, and I can't wait for the final boss fight. I really hope the Mili song wows me. "Tian Tian" has remained my favorite with "Hero" and "Compass" as close seconds. Cassie Wei is always amazing though, so I'm excited regardless.

Canto 10: Part 3

October 1, 2026

I really liked the ending. Meursault & Jeanne's relationship is really sweet to me. I also unfortunately relate to the nausea she feels when reminded of her own existence, which was a prevalent feeling I had when I accepted I wasn't religious anymore. Its fun that she and Meursault initially bonded over their existentialism, and that's why she feels hes the only one in the world who could understand her and wanted to keep him trapped in the Sisyphe. I think at the end of the day their core conflict was that while they both understood and didn't judge each other's existentialist nausea and disgust with the world, they both still couldn't come to a complete understanding of each other, but still love each other regardless. The waltz CG was freaking adorable to me.

The design of her Distorted form and background setting for her battle was super pretty. I love that you have to clash with her dance moves using Meursault while they both twirl around the battlefield. It was cute. Mili also killed it with the song this time which I'm very happy about, since I was unfortunately very whelmed by SAIKAI as a final boss theme even though I adore the lyrics. Tian Tian is still my favorite though gvjhbs.

ALSO: WE FINALLY GOT A NEW CARMEN SPRITE! She was so funny this Canto. I genuinely missed her so much. I really liked her conversation with Dante and how she tried to encourage them to help Meursault. I like that everytime one of the other characters question if she's a deity or supernatural being, she denies it and reaffirms that she still thinks of herself as a regular human, and still has the same fears and anxieties as one.

She acts on the concept of allowing others to have free will which is why she never outwardly "forced" anyone to Distort, which you can see with Meursault's mother when she had a mental breakdown. I do like that she stated she'll still try to stop anyone who tries to permanently erase the light she and the Sephirah worked to create. Which I can understand because they all literally died for their plan to come to fruition lol. I think she was a very fun prescence this Canto.

I think the League of Nine helping out the Sinners so they could start another Smoke War and take control was super funny. It was a popular theory for a while so it was fun to see it come to fruition here. Unfortunately this probably won't mean anything good for Outis and Gregor lmao.

I think as a story it was really entertaining and introspective. My main gripes were about the gameplay which I've already said. The battle against Pwie/Buffet was miserable and I won't sugarcoat it. They really need to add more mass healing EGOs like Faust's "Fluid Sac". It's been years now and it's very hard to keep up with healing when its relegated to one or two EGO attacks. I personally think a dedicated healer Identity would be extremely helpful.

I'm hoping this was a learning experience for Project Moon. I am extremely excited for Outis' Intervallo and Canto!

HSR 4.6:

September 30, 2026

(I don't think criticism should be apologized for, but more like this is a warning that these are my raw unfiltered thoughts so this isn't an eloquent "review" and more of a vent.)

I'll start this off positively by saying that I still adore Pearl & Evanesia. They're still both very cute characters in their own rights.

But that aside. I'll be honest, I've been very disappointed by the direction Planarcadia went. An interesting setup that was both an homage to "Fate Stay Night" and also delved into lore aspects of the path of Elation quickly got uninteresting on both of those fronts.

Despite the initial premise being that the Phantasmoon Games would have its participants battle each other for the "crown" of Elation, we barely see battles or any antagonism at all between most of the playable characters. We only battle Sparxie in her patch, and she ends up siding with Trailblazer almost immediately after anyways. Then after Sparxie, Fulwish acts as the antagonist until Asat Pramad finally shows up. We don't fight any of the actual playable units besides her. It's just very underwhelming and a waste of the concept of a "Battle Royale".

I thought we were going to finally see the IPC act as our rival, with Pearl siding with Ashveil in the Phantasmoon Games and both acting as an opponent to the protagonist. I also definitely expected Yaoguang to have more friction with the cast, even if the Xianzhou and IPC are "allies" with the Astral Express, they're not even at least competitive on a friendly level.

Each participant is fighting for their own wish, all of which are severely important to them: Like Yaoguang wanting Aha's help to stop Yaoshi, and Ashveil wanting to peacefully die in his own bed since he's been denied that for centuries due to his powers effectively making him immortal. Yet they barely have any friction between them, even before they realize someone is pulling strings behind the scenes to ruin the Games. It's just such wasted potential for exploring fun character dynamics.

Honestly though, that pales in comparison to my biggest source of disappointment: I cannot believe how underwhelming they made both the Path of Elation and Aha as a character. There is no gravitas or the sense that this is the human form of a literal god.

The Aeons are all cosmic beings of immense power and literally inscrutable in their behaviors, to the point characters have been told countless times throughout the game's story that trying to ascribe human morals to Aeons is pointless. Aha has been noted as being one of the most inscrutable Aeons among them, their main motivation to sow chaos whereever they go. We see glimpses of human-like traits when we find out they cared deeply for Akivili, the missing Aeon of the Trailblaze. And throughout Planarcadia's plotline it's been hinted at that Aha is purposely giving up their Godhood both because of their grief for Akivili and because they are losing touch with their primary motivation of chaos.

You would think with a description like that they'd make Aha's "human form" more interesting, but Nihilux's design once they drop the disguise is so underwhelming & uninspired. Someone had said that Nihilux "looked like Zero Two with a Queens of Heart motif", and another person mentioned that they have 1:1 design elements as Navia from Genshin Impact, and I genuinely haven't been able to look at her design any other way.

Nihilux's animations are fun on a surface-level, but are no different from most of the flashy battle animations that most of the cast gets now. It's nothing new that isn't the usual planet-destroying moves or meme references which has been 99% of Planarcadia's "comedy". Aha doesn't do anything cool that would show they're an Aeon like play around with the game's UI or break the 4th Wall, like Alice did in her character intro. The only UI change they do get is only available if you shill money to unlock the sixth Eidolon, and is only available on that one screen. There is no sense of gravitas for her whatsoever.

This part is a nitpick, but it also very much rubs me the wrong way that the writers stopped using gender-neutral pronouns for the Aeons and straight-up use she/her for Aha and he/him only for both Nanook and Akivili. The latter bothers me the most because throughout the game they repeatedly imply that Trailblazer is Akivili or has part of them inside, and as I just said earlier, Aha cared deeply for Akivili. So you can guess why they suddenly decided to start gendering the Aeons. We can't have our waifubait for the protag be gender ambigious. All this tells me is that they very much will "gender" the rest of the Aeons as well to attempt to make them more "human", which again removes the fact that they're supposed to be cosmic gods.

It's also very funny to me that Hoyoverse made an entire infograph of Nihilux explaining away aspects of the plot to the reader. They answer questions about Akivili's fate and Aha saving Himeko when she was younger, but it's all done in a way that reminds you that Hoyo 100% doesn't trust their own readers. To be fair, when you have a playerbase that openly brags about skipping dialogue and lore, I can understand this, but it really just is a reminder of how disorganized Planarcadia has been as a story.

I'm just very disappointed with the direction the story has went. I've already had qualms about Star Rail's writing and worldbuilding in general, such as the fact that despite the premise being a "space odyssey", most of the Planets we have visited so far have been modern, and have no real diversity in their species. Having foxpeople and elves in a game where it's sister games already have foxes and elves isn't unique. It makes Star Rail's universe feel less interesting if I could find most of these settings & characters in Genshin or Zenless with very little needed changes to differentiate between them.

I was extremely excited for Amphoreus when it was first revealed, then it quickly devolved in quality towards the end for similar reasons Planarcadia did. I am well aware that there were political reasons behind why Planarcadia was delayed and essentially changed in certain aspects, but I can't help but express disappointment that they didn't learn their lesson in regards to the writing after Amphoreus.
The story is likely heading to Melustanin next, but seeing what they've done to Aha as a character and erased any gravitas that they had as a cosmic prescence, I'm not even sure if I even want new lore on Idrila and the Stellarons anymore.

I'm likely going to take a break from Star Rail after this patch. If I do get nosy about any new story stuff I'll probably just watch it on Youtube as background audio. I don't know yet. But thank you if you've read my incoherent rambling to the end.

ZZZ Ver 3.2: Their Secret Histories

September 9, 2026

This patch was alright. Claret & Roxy are very cute together. I think I'm just kinda whelmed because I figured out the Sunbringers were Enchainers already, so I wasn't really shocked by the confirmation like the characters were. Phoenix is adorably funny though so I can't wait to see more of her, especially because I really like the Krampus Agents.

Reverse: 1999

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Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave

I made a dedicated page to talk about the Routes Here➚

Scarlet Hollow

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Deltarune Chapter 5

June 26, 2026

Spoilers ahead, obviously

What a fucking Chapter. I had a lot of fun, honestly.

There is so much to chew on with character dynamics and plot, especially since I'm also playing the Weird Route.

First off, I absolutely adore the Flower Family. Personally, their dynamic and Chapter plotline as a whole felt reminiscent of the Bloodfiend Family of La Manchaland, but inverted since they're brought together by their love for Asgore rather than resentment like with Father Don Quixote.
Outside from Flowery, who I quickly came to adore for many reasons, I think my favorite Flowers are Green and Blue. Blue's manner of speech is very romantic and eloquent, and I always like characters like those. Green is very cute too.
Flowery's position as 'leader' of the group sees him act as a caretaker and friend to the other Flowers. I thought it was really sweet that the boss battle flavor text for him and Orange called her his 'little sister'. I love the group's dynamic in general and how they all genuinely bond over their desire to be a "human family" for Asgore.

Speaking of Asgore, this was a really good plotline for him. After he lost everything, he was driven by his obsession to prove his "innocence", even at the cost of his children and the family the Flowers tried to be for him. After Kris gets hurt during the final battle with the Flowers, Asgore finally comes to his senses and realizes he still had everyone he loved around him.
While I get players are frustrated that Asgore (and by extension the story) was still being vague about the events that caused Asgore to lose his police career, I think this was a very poignant for him and Kris, as well as Flowery, and I don't think the vagueness overshadows how well-written that scene was.
Undertale fans saw how far Asgore was willing to go for his 'ideals', but now in Deltarune we see him grow (pun intended) as he realizes his obsession was drifting him apart from his loved ones, and he needed to let that go.

I have to preface with the fact I've been playing the Weird Route version of Deltarune, so I didn't get to see all the festival stuff with Noelle and Susie. Weird Route opens on Kris missing the festival and absolutely refusing to get out of bed, due to last night's events when we make them equip the ThornRing on Noelle, to the point that the Player actively has to buttonmash for like 2 minutes to force them out of their bedroom. The scene with Noelle at the lake was absolutely fucking haunting. I loved everything about it, from the lighting to the music to the creepy sound effects that play when you descend further into the lake. The ending shot with the CRT screen was so good. We have no idea what this entails yet, but it made me eerily excited.

However, I did end up watching my sibling play the Normal route, so I think part of it does recontextualize aspects of the Weird Route as well. While I initially didn't understand why Gerson said Chapter 5 was going to be an "inferno of jealousy", I quickly understood what he meant after I played through it. I think he wasn't referring to Asgore, but rather multiple people, namely Kris and Ralsei and Susie to some extent.

Whether you interpret this as romantic infatuation or platonic, Kris obviously has a very big attachment to Susie. Watching the girl you just made close friends with slowly fall for your childhood friend that you're not longer very close to due to past traumatic events, is obviously something that emotionally pains Kris. I think the most noticeable moment of this was when Kris and Susie sit down at the hotsprings and Susie starts inquiring about Kris' past love life (or lack thereof). I chose the option to remain silent, causing Susie to start assuming that Kris and Noelle had previous romantic tension. Choosing the option to tell Susie "not to get in Kris & Noelle's way" will cause Kris to throw themselves into the pool just to avoid saying this.
I think it's funny that Susie assumes she's the thirdwheel, when that's basically how Kris feels in regards to their two friends, one of which they have unrequited feelings for, getting together and leaving Kris out in the cold. Kris even looks right at Susie when she asks them what their type is, but she misinterprets it as Kris being shy. Like come on girl.
With the added Weird Route context of the narrative effectively 'forcing' Kris and Noelle together for some currently unknown purpose, it just makes this love triangle even more sad.

In my interpretation, the other "inferno of jealousy" was referring to Ralsei. This was a really fucking good Chapter for Ralsei, easily my favorite apart from Chapter 4. His animosity towards Flowery doesn't make much sense to the Player at the start, but as we progress it starts becoming clear that Flowery and his family's free spirit and lack of concern for the same rules Ralsei abides by bothers him.
This is something that even Flowery points out before the boss battle, causing Ralsei to flip out and scream that his concern for the rules is because lack of self-control would lead to awful consequences. Combined by the revelation that Ralsei knows powerful flame magic (I just call it Firaga), it's pretty easy to guess what he meant about what consequences would occur if he decided to stop practicing self-discipline.
I have even seen people theorize that because of Ralsei's scared reaction and Susie's faux nonchalant reaction to the Prophecy in Chapter 4, that this may imply the Prophecy had suggsted that Ralsei may kill Susie or Kris with his flame magic to save the worlds, which is very interesting to me.

The ending scene of Chapter 5 felt really, depressing? For the obvious reasons, like Asgore being another person kidnapped by the Roaring Knight and Flowery's death. But I also mean the ending shot of Susie asking Kris to walk her home, only for us to realize she was taking Kris to the school, which she confirms after walking into the half-open closet door and closing it to go back to the Castletown Darkworld. The implication that she effectively ran away from home is really sad, since we know the Darkworlds aren't likely eternal, but Susie is slowly getting attached to them and the Darkners she befriends.
There's a sense of dread in me knowing how kindhearted Susie has become, and how that may end up being the very thing that hurts her in Chapter 6, especially since I personally do not think Noelle is going to take kindly to the revelation of the Darkworlds being real and not just a bad dream. What with her dad's illness getting worse and effectively being on his deathbed, many players, including me believe that Noelle will end up opening a Darkworld herself in Chapter 6.

Chapter 5 as a whole felt bittersweet, and ends with a sense of looming dread over what's coming next. I very much enjoyed it, but I'm always a sucker for bittersweet stories so lol. I am so so excited for what the next Chapter has in store for us.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

I made a Compilation Page for all of my screenshots. Linked Here

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

Date

Babylon, Ohio

Chambersoft

August 17, 2026

Holy shit this was amazing. I really adored Sunshine Backwards and this really feels like a step above both visually and writing-wise. I loooooved the opening cinematic, it was so well-directed.

Nadja and Marie are really good characters. Getting inside both of their heads its easy to see why they ended up this way both because of their personalities and the environments that shaped them (things like family, school, being a child in America). The prose was very well-written and somber, and both the wonderful music and the art elevates it with the muted tones. I could go on and on but I loved reading this.

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Leslie (2025)

Kastelpls

August 1, 2026

This was truly a dark comedy, morbid yet funny in its prose. (The Queen Elizabeth scene and Eizen's lines when he presented Leslie with the award made me laugh so hard). A lot of the morbidity came from my own personal feelings in regards to growing up as a non-white child watching (typically white) American tv shows like iCarly. Finally getting to hear the real experiences from these child actors in stuff like the "Quiet on Set" documentary or Jeannette McCurdy's book really opened my eyes to a topic I was ignorant to as a bright-eyed child who idolized Hollywood and the kids who got to be in it.

My point of all this is that I feel like this visual novel captured that environment well. It hurts how Leslie is essentially trapped by his roles, both as a child actor and as a Chinese-Malaysian kid in America who acted out of filial piety, and how both turn into this pit that he's stuck in. It hurts even more that Rita and his mother and his "adoring" fans don't understand how he feels or even try to understand because all they see is the role he fills for them, whether that's being the dutiful child or the token Asian character or a best friend/co-star.

The ending was a hellish nightmare for Leslie, but it amplified the horror of never having your actions or words be "yours" because you have to "represent X for Y" with no regards to the original context or how Leslie really feels. This was really freaking well-written and an amazing use of metafiction.

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Eighth Heaven

Threetare

August 1, 2026

I love (pun intended) stories about the nature of love. How it can change us for better or worse, or what it's like to have it and lose it, or never experience it at all. All this to say I really freaking adore the themes of Eighth Heaven.

Galia's treatment of Nita being a prominent aspect of how she ended up behaving this way in (what I assume to be) the future. Their relationship while having moments of softness felt tense at the same time. Nita is a lovely character and the exploration of her personality and desire to obtain love, no matter what she had to do for it, was beautifully-written. I could also relate to aspects of Galia, namely her fear of the future and how she took out those anxieties on Nita.

The character designs & art are so charming. They reminded me of anime made in the early to late 2000s (to be honest thats the feeling the whole VN evokes for me personally, although I'm not sure how much of that was intentional so forgive me if I was just assuming haha). The music was beautiful as well. There's so many more paragraphs I could say, but this was a wonderful story about love, grief, and the mixture of both. I absolutely loved playing through this.

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Inside is Outside

Mer-Mer

July 31, 2026

I loved the eerie atmosphere throughout the novel. The character sprites and backgrounds are charmingly gorgeous, and the interactions between the Insider & Outsider were well-written. I loved the symbolism of rotting & becoming one with the forest, it a concept that always fascinates me. This was a beautiful VN!

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Fairy Chess

Ebicon (63choux, Greenie, ALTER)

July 31, 2026

Holy shit that ending got me good. Another comment already mentioned it but this didn't feel like a VN but rather an intense film. The art is absolutely stunning Bluzo you fucking killed it. The UI is gorgeous as well, and to compliment the programming I feel that the scene transitions, or pacing(?), enhances the feeling of Fairy Chess being a movie.

The prose was intense and complicated. Despite my love of reading and big words, even I had to open up the Dictionary for some of the story lol.
I'm not well-versed in chess (outside of like, Fire Emblem if that counts), but the way Algie's & Panz's emotions were described, as well as the stakes the game had for them both made the whole scene feel incredibly tense.

I love the sense of catharsis in that despite how much Katurian infantilizes the fairies, her underestimating Algie's resolve is what did her in.
Again, I said it at the start but the ending hit like a punch. I was genuinely shocked. This was amazing to read, I loved it.

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Sweet, Sweet Indigo

Truantstudentunion

July 31, 2026

It did hurt to read. This was a wonderful job. Ari and Indi were both messed up by their childhood abuse but turned out different because of it. The way Ari still talks to her mom despite everything really hurts, but I could still understand the feeling.
The ending felt very bitter but in the good way(?). I ended up adoring both of them by the end, even if they hurt each other, they're still all the other has. This was fun to play.

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Tantalus Prism

Bawdybrews

July 30, 2026

This was gorgeous to look at and wonderful to read. The artwork is absolutely stunning and fits well with the prose. Cecily and Agnes are both so messed up in their own ways, but that makes them very endearing to me. Same goes for Queen Avelina, to be honest, haha.
Just speculation, but I have to wonder if despite her "disgust" towards Cecily, she still felt gratification towards abusing her and that's part of the real reason she "let" Agnes keep Cecily around.

With that being said I loved reading this! The work is absolutely stunning.

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2-4 '94

Kazehai & Ppilotco

July 30, 2026

The prose was amazingly written in the way it feels like a classic literature novel, and the visuals don't just add to the story but genuinely wouldn't feel the “same” without it. I think Kazehai and Pilot are really good at intertwining the two, and thats how a “Visual Novel” should feel imo.

I didn't realize until after I read the Postmortem about the AIDs quilt, and I had no idea about the pinup references regarding the sprites, but both were a really beautiful touch.

I love the way Yamos' and Ys' pasts in relation to their queerness, specifically Ys being hurt by the cruelty of the lesbians she knew in regards to the AIDs crisis and their lack of empathy about it, a nd Yamos being abused by her mother, is why they end up hurting each other both emotionally and physically on Yamos' end.

I think as team Kazehai & Pilot are very skilled at creating characters who end up barbing each other due to their upbringings and the world around them coloring their personalities if that makes sense (the use of color palettes, the sprites, and the embroidery all enhancing this).
Basically i think they're very good at making women who can be awful yet still sympathetic. I felt for both Ys and Yamos even if they both said and did things that felt callous or even cruel, because both of their traumas and interactions with the world as lesbian women showed me why they say and act the way they do.

Their final phone-call felt really bitter, and yet also an inevitability. But despite that, I still want better for the both of them. I loved the whole thing.

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Pica Complex

Sepulturegirl

July 29, 2026

This was disturbing to read yet also poignant in the ways it highlights Rory's and Ms. Breton's upbringings in relation to experiencing child abuse and how that colors (pun semi-intended) their personalities and the people they have become.

The use of colors was beautiful. I love that they mixed together to become violet and how Rory loses her colors/becomes more dull towards the end because of Alexandria. The crossed wires Rory has become of her mom and how that contextualizes her dynamic with wanting a better mother than what she had was so good.

This was wonderfully written and the use of color palettes as well as the symbolism of Rory's "hunger" (literal and figuratively) really elevates the visual novel!

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Mother, You and I Are Not Bernadette Mayer

Bitekiosk

July 15, 2026

49K words of absolutely poignant literature. This was beautiful and poignant and tragic and brought me to tears.
I love the use of visuals throughout the story, both the watercolor-like illustrations and sprites themselves, but also the use of colors for the text. It not only made the NVL-style format of the dialogue easy to read/understand who was speaking, but also to me highlighted the emotions of the characters. The way Rose's scarlet-red turned softer and more pink when she was being intimate with Cori and turning dark-red again whenever she was being critical of it, and Cori's dark green turning a lighter shade and back again depending on the situation she was in.

The prose was absolutely amazing. The way you wrote the characters' emotions, the physical sensations, it was all really well-done. You can feel how intertwined Cori and Rose were and how much they clung to each other despite the awful things she did. But there were good moments too, and the story didn't downplay or shy away from how much Cori loved Rose.
The final scene hit me like a punch, and the letters did especially. I read all of them and cried.

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A Lady's Pyre

uraalice

July 15, 2026

A VISUAL NOVEL WITH REFERENCES TO HELL SCREEN??? Amazingly perfect bait for me. I mainly assumed because of the opening quote and because I've obsessively read Hell Screen a bunch of times, but I love how Yoru acts as the "Yoshihide" of the story while Airi acts as the lord who burns Yoshihide's daughter alive, yet Airi always comes across as genuinely caring for Yoru despite the awful things he does. The scene where Yoru opens Airi's room (both the first and second time) was genuinely well-done and made me super tense.
The prose and atmosphere were beautifully written, I love all three of them as characters and I think the ending capped nicely on the circle of hell (pun intended) that Airi puts Yoru in.

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The Angel Factory

Gravity House

July 15, 2026

I loved this so so so much. The prose appeals so much to my own personal taste in "messy" dynamics and the weird tense atmosphere between the girls is so intriguingly-written.
All three of them have immense issues colored by their upbringings in a strict Korean family. It stuck out to me that Jenny and Han-byeol being punished growing up caused some wires to be crossed in their psyches in terms of finding pleasure from the pain. Ga-yeong specifically is so so awful in a way that kinda makes sense due to her immense desire to escape her "normalcy" that she feels herself and her family has been complacent with, and I adore her for it.
These girls are all very fucked up but in a fun way.

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Corpse Eater

ablob

July 14, 2026

An amazing use of atmospheric horror. I love stories that take place in settings like these. Isolated from most of civilization where anything could happen. I love the tense feeling I got after Willow finds the corpse, and the clay model used for her was really well-done.
I also loved the commentary on farming development. "The same fear of the impure fuels people's disgust towards vaccines and HRT" was a really good line.
I loved the ending scene and the CG so much. This was pleasantly haunting and sad. The omake was super cute too.

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Matriphagy

hexlin

July 14 2026

This was beautifully written. I loved the dynamic between both Locket and her original mother and the clone, and how the two effectively swap places towards the end. Having a replica that fails to please you no matter what she does is a very intriguing concept that this VN executed well.
I loved how 2 of the 3 endings dealt with the concept of thirst in different ways, with the clone Esther wanting to drain Locket's blood and Locket feeding from her in another ending.

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Kokorobako

gnocchibabu

July 14, 2026

First off the UI and artwork is absolutely gorgeous, it really reminds me of the 2000s growing up, as well as all the random Nightcore videos I used to watch on Youtube lol.
The character dynamics were really good as well. The way Miyuu and Chinatsu keep pushing each other way was really tense but in a way thats intriguing to watch. The ending was really good, especially because you're not entirely sure if they're actually going to change after this or if its just empty reassurance said in the heat of the moment.

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C•ko•fn•ta•C (Sychophantasy)

Madocactus

July 14, 2026

Absolutely upsetting in the ways it reminded me of how I used to behave like Sunny, and cathartic in the ways that I hope that I am not that person anymore. But I know I still have a ways to go in improving myself and trying to be a kinder person, which I think is very much needed in fandom spaces and the internet in general with all the hostility.

I think it's so easy to be a Sunny, especially since behavior like hers feeds on the hyper-vigilance in online spaces where if u say one wrong thing or support the wrong artist or like the wrong movie/book/game, your reputation and your relationships would be in jeopardy. Anita's line about "I don't want to be unsafe to love" contrasted with Sunny's repeated promises that she'll make Anita a 'normal' person who doesn't "support such nasty things" was so so good. It's so easy to fall into the type of mindset Sunny has where its more important to defend the 'sanctity and morals' of fiction over caring about real people. Its harder to learn how to leave that mindset behind.

I couldn't fault Anita for not wanting to release the game at the end, because Sunny and her abuse (both the literal and online mistreatment) always lingered.

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Veil of Mammillaria

Ophanimkei

July 13, 2026

Very chilling yet lovely to read! Another amazing story from Malaika, I'm in awe at how she's so good at setting eerie atmospheres. It perfectly encapsulates the feeling of something “encroaching”, which ends up becoming a physical thing for Daizy when the flowers literally encroach upon her house and her life.

I adore Daizy as I do all of Mala's protags haha. The way her relationship with her Mamma colorizes her relationship with Anisia and Mammillaria is very good, that “seven years” line her Mamma says hit me like a punch and let me piece together what happened to Daizy. It's all very sad but in an intriguing way that makes you feel for her. Same with Anisia, the way she treats Daizy is obviously not healthy, but you still feel for her and try to understand her behavior.

The relationship between these three was a very inevitable(??) trainwreck, which made this an amazing read!

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Toxic Shock Syndrome

gg8473, nxcromantik, Nanacka

July 13, 2026

I adore Emma to bits. Shes so awful but in a way I find very charming. The lovely opening poem at the start and then the CG of Emma in the trash 5 minutes later was a really fun contrast. Also speaking of contrast, I also love the way Emma's eyes are colored compared to Béibhinn's. Hers are all sparkly and cute while Emma's has like no light in them lol.
I love how so much of Emma's personality can be gleamed from her upbringing, specially her relationship with her mom and Béibhinn compared to her relationship with Mrs. O'Leary. When you're seen as the "lesser sister" and your sister takes everything from you but the thought of her leaving you is...
The endings were both really good and felt like the catharsis of mentally letting out an anxious breath I'd been holding in as I was reading. I liked the Béibhinn one a lot. Bad Endings are the best.

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Two Kinds of People

Lacunova

July 10, 2026

Very eerie and lovely to read! I was super excited to read this after "A Dialect for Two". I love the strange and off-putting vibes the story exudes, kind of like a "Denpa" if that makes sense (albeit I know the term has changed from its original meaning, but this is the only way I could describe how reading this made me feel haha). That first CG threw me for a loop, and brought this uneasy sense of dread because I didn't know where this story would lead. A very fun "slice-of-life horror" story.

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My Friend Snowy

Oscar Pepperbloom

July 08, 2026

Was very much looking forward to reading this after enjoying "Orangepeel Onionskin", and Oscar Pepperbloom did not disappoint me at all!! This was an interesting take on the toxic yuri concept and also a very sad look into how much GenAI is not only affecting us in the present but also the generations coming up after us. The snippets of screenshots showing aspects of Dani's life did a very good job of showing us the person she ended up becoming in the future.
Dani's over-reliance on Snowy to the point she actively seems to forgoes human interactions over spending time with Snowy, but also makes Snowy the target of her wrath because of her only job is to keep Dani happy is sad to witness, which I get is the point thats meant to convey. This was amazingly-written and a very tense and fun read.

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Letty

Dimension11

July 8, 2026

This has genuinely become one of my favorite entries. I'm such a sucker for stories like these, and the prose, art, and music all come together in such a poignant way. The "redness" of the color scheme perfectly reflects Scarlet's name, and the music enhances everything by inviting a feeling of "softness" or a feeling of dread throughout (I love the OST that plays when Scarlet is at school and how it represents the anxiety she has about being there). The story was beautifully-written, the way Letty and Blanche's monologues highlighted the very complicated and deep-seated feelings they have for one another was brilliant. I absolutely loved the line "Hot then frigid then hot again, fresh shame reigniting from the white-cold ash of Storge that I burnt into cardiac-crimson Eros". The later half of the story made me so tense but in a good way. This was wonderfully-written...

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no mirame, cuando lloro

Bran (pupn1k)

July 7, 2026

The sprites and CGs are beautiful, and the writing was so captivating as well along with the OST! I love the butterfly and moth metaphors mentioned throughout the story. Marisol and Rose are very cute... I liked the scene when Marisol got her gift, it was very poignant to me.

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helleborine

tabbiedearest

July 7, 2026

Helleborine was so wonderfully written and beautifully drawn. The CGs are gorgeous and fit the tone of Hellen's stories well (even with the added context by the end). I loved the feeling of dread that creeps up at you as they continue with their meetings and as Stephanie reads Hellen's stories. The way they both choose to "remember" Chrys both before and during the sex scene was really well-done. They're both awful in different ways but it's in a way that's mesmerizing.

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almost nearly borderline PERFECT

May 2, 2026

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Glow of Honeydew

April 17, 2026

Malaika is a master at writing the experiences of "weird girls". Glow of Honeydew starts off eccentric and keeps that same energy the entire game in a way that draws you in. The ending was very bittersweet, which again, Malaika is really skilled at evoking. This game was a very fun read.

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95 Theses

by 红中 (hongchun8)

March 22, 2026

Copy-Pasted from my Itch.io review.

Someone else in the comments below described this as "perfectly targeted at the self-flagellation that (white) folks tend to do online", and I have to fully agree. To preface, I am not East-Asian, but being a Black queer girl who has been constantly "othered" in White queer spaces, I could relate to what this Visual Novel was saying.

The fetishization of the racial "Other" by people who presume that because you both share the identity of being "queer" that no further introspection on their own beliefs and values have to be done, is unfortunately a common story among every queer person of color that I have known or spoken to in general. I wish it wasn't. The reveal of the churchgoers dying their hair to look "oriental" was a really good touch. I love that 红中 chose to name the girl "The Outsider", because that is exactly what is feels like. You are an outsider to these spaces. Even if those spaces are meant to be "inclusive", as Mary also tried to tell The Outsider about the Church.
It's why I could relate, because I have not felt "included" in the spaces I was told I should feel are safe and comfortable. It always ended with me prioritizing the comfort of the group majority (usually white), or else risk being labelled as "the one ruining everyone's fun".

I don't have anything further insightful to say about 95 Theses that hasn't been said already in the very good analysis written by A_Y_BING.

I think everyone should read it.

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Plastic Coquina

Jan 11, 2026

One of the cutest dollmakers I have ever played. Everything from the doll's designs to the UI to the story and writing are all super charming!

Here is the first doll I made!

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WISHBLEED

Feb 25, 2026

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ATTACHMENTDOLL

Jan 28, 2026

Very existentially heartwrenching & poignant. Helped me understand why people are devoted to their dolls and the different relationships they have with them. Bellmer and Alyosha's relationship is wild to say the least, but very endearing.

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Limbus Company Canto 9

Easily my favorite Canto now. Sigmund Freud would have had a field day analyzing the Spider's House members.

I wrote a blog post about Araya's Oedipus Complex. Spoiler warning for The Hundred Line, though, since I also talk about the character Nozomi Kirifuji as well.

Analysis

Limbus Company: Intervallo 9.5 - Twinning Threads

April 16, 2026

I love Araya & Ryoshu so much ಥ_ಥ

I had fun with this Intervallo! While I knew that Ryoshu wasn't going to get her memory back, it was fun to see her interact with the House of Spiders itself and remember fragments about Araya. I fucking love that because of Araya's E.G.O becoming Ryoshu's scabbard that she's basically inside the sword and interacts with the cast through the scabbard throughout the Intervallo. I love the scene where Araya makes the sword hit Sinclair because she wanted him to stop translating Ryoshu's Sangria acronyms because Araya felt that was enabling her.

I liked how Heathcliff is genuinely concerned for Ryoshu due to his own trauma regarding Cathy erasing herself from existence (despite my criticisms of Canto 6) and actively tries to stop Ryoshu from using the Sword so she wouldn't lose any more memories of Araya. It's fun that they get to have a dynamic due to their "My Loved One Erased Herself" traumabonding (even if Ryoshu doesn't fully remember said trauma on her end lmao).

Gregor's scenes were also fun to watch. I didn't expect him to immediately come back to the party during this Intervallo and thought they were waiting for the next one, but I was fine with it. I enjoyed his convos with Moses and Hong Lu and him referring back to his tense relationship (or lack thereof) with Outis as Smoke War vets/survivors. I think it is extremely funny that Hong Lu is like "You're scared of hurting us with your bioweaponized arm aww." and Gregor is like "actually I didn't give a shit about accidentally hurting you guys at the beginning of the story." and Hong Lu acts somewhat hurt. The scene where they use the Corridors to teleport to the office of his previous job was funny as well. Wagie Gregor is cute...

I also loved getting to see Ryoshu and Kira interact. The scene at the end when Kira says bye to Ryoshu using Sangria is so. God.
The way their feelings about Matthias and the Spider's House members in general somewhat juxtapose each other is interesting. For Kira, she only talks about fun memories (or at least not as traumatizing as Ryoshu's) of her time at the House during the Intervallo, which contrasted with the flashbacks we saw in Canto 9 of the abuse Ryoshu endured there. Which I can get why, since Matthias sheltered Kira from the things Ryoshu specifically suffered from the other Nursefathers. She never had to deal with Valencina's abuse, unlike Ryoshu and Lucio.

I think this is the most easy-to-understand take I have seen on Matthias and essentially similar thoughts I had about his personality.

I can get why she still clings to her feelings for Matthias despite his selfish personality, which even Lucio himself points out when he compares it to his own love for Valencina despite the physical abuse she puts him through and his desire to kill her for it one day. Which he never does. He died fighting for her, despite Kira herself saying she genuinely thought he would've defected to Limbus Company's side. It's really sad and I adore him and Valencina both for their dynamic.

In general I really love both the Nursefathers and their dynamics with Ryoshu and their Apprentices. They were horrible parental figures/mentors/whatever you consider them to be, but they each did 'love' in their own way. Even if it was nonsensical and extremely dysfunctional. It's very interesting to look at and dissect, and I wish more people were willing to do so that isn't just "whose the morally worst of the bunch." I have always made my feelings about this clear, but I could always care less about engaging with "Morality Olympics" regarding a fictional character. They are not real. They can't make Youtube apologies for whatever wrongdoings they did. That mentality is just a very fast way to rot your mind. To quote that one meme: 'It's not about who's a good person, its about who is your favorite war criminal'.

Anyways, if I had one main gripe with the story itself, I think Shiomi Yoru should've gotten an actual flashback scene. It really sucks that she didn't and it sucks we didn't get any more info about the Araya cloning project that was literally commissioned by the Thumb. Although, Valencina and Rien only got one scene as well, and this Intervallo was mainly about Ryoshu as a Ring Protege and Kira as a Middle Apprentice so I guess I can't get too mad about the screentime disparities between the five of them.

At the end of the day, I did have fun with it. Spider's House Nursefathers and Apprentices, I adore you for the Freudian Nightmares that you all were. You will forever be missed♥

Limbus Company: Intervallo 9.5 - Mnestic Experience

June 11, 2026

I had fun! I'll be honest, I didn't care much for Bamboo-Hatted Kim prior to this, as I found most of the jokes/memes about him to be overdone & frankly unfunny, but finding out that hes a layabout was very gap moe imo. I like his banter with Aeng-Du, they're funny and cute together.

It was interesting learning about how Canned Experiences work. I was very fascinated with the scene of Don Quixote asking why they were so harmful, and it being explained to her that manufactured dreams aren't the same as chasing a "real dream". It's just a short-term dopamine rush. I liked seeing Meursault's subtle changes in expression from his usual aloof demeanor as they discussed all this, and how Dante tries to understand & navigate his (very obvious) autism.

And, obviously the ending scene. Meursault getting arrested was super funny, I'm sorry. I joked once that Canto 10 might be a court trial for Meursault ala Ace Attorney, but me being proven right is fun. I'm wondering how the New League of Nine is going to play into this. Will Hermann and the others help or hinder the trial? I honestly can't wait to see them again. I also really hope Nelly and Ahab get new EGO outfits! I missed my girls...

HSR 4.0: No Aha at Full Moon

A really fun introduction patch and storyline for Sparkle. She was already one of my most favorite Star Rail characters, especially with how Reina Ueda elevates her with her voice acting, but getting to see a more vulnerable/emotional side to Sparkle's personality in relation to her dynamic with Sparxie was very fun.

HSR 4.1: Unraveled for Daybreak

April 3, 2026

This was a crazy lore patch. Finding out about Ashveil's relationship to the Voracity and Evanescia's relationship to the Abundance was really fun.

Keep in mind that part of this requires having knowledge of Fate Stay Night, since obviously the Phantasmoon Games takes a lot of inspiration from the Holy Grail War. But my running theory in regards to Evanescia's origins is that she was planted there by Yaoshi in order to keep the Voracity in check, which is being 'sealed' in Planarcadia via the Phantasmoon Games. Other people have theorized that the purpose of the games is because Aha wants to bring Akivili back, which is also a fun interpretation!

Also. I love love love Pearl so much. I was playing the Korean dub for this patch since her VA is Yeo Yoon-Mi, who is the same VA as Araya and Shiomi Yoru, but she does such an amazing job voicing her.

Her relationship to Ashveil also quickly endeared me despite their factions inherently being enemies. I don't mean this in the "Romeo and Juliet" way or anything like that, but rather "Our Factions are ideologically opposed to each other, but we're teaming up for this battle for our own reasonings. So how will this affect our dynamic/relationship."

Pearl promising to give Ashveil a peaceful death if they win the games, as well as Ashveil's dialogue to Pearl about how her brushstrokes when using her Cornerstone to help the people of Planarcadia were just as "authentic" and just as important as Graphia's works was soooo good. I really adore their dynamic.

I really like the buildup this patch is creating with the development of the Phantasmoon Games. I'm definitely excited to learn more about Ashveil and Evanescia.

HSR 4.2: So Laughed the Masses

April 22, 2026

This was a fun patch. Fulwish is such an awesome villain that I absolutely adore her.

Her trauma from surviving the Herald of Death Massacre being exploited by television producers, causing her mental health to degress further. Her rejection of facing herself leading to her weakened powers as a Masked Fool. Her insistence on still smiling and mimicking a warped version of 'happiness'. God, it's so good. To be honest, going into Planarcadia I wasn't expecting an antagonist like her, but she was so fascinating. Her death scene was really good, and I actually felt for her.

BLADE!!! He had so many little fun moments this patch, the Fulwish battle cutscene was amazing. Blade and Dan Heng fighting together was so cute. Silver Wolf trying to protect him from Yao Guang also made me smile. I don't care about 'Found Family' tropes for various reasons, but I adore the Stellaron Hunters. I don't think Bladie is gonna die for real next patch, but I'm super excited to see where the Shuhu stuff goes.

BUT. MOST IMPORTANTLY: SHIRTLESS YINGXING.

Evanescia and Yao Guang were also very fun this patch. I love their dynamic. It's very fun to see a Pathstrider of the Abundance and the Hunt get along for once instead of fighting. I loved the lore reveal that Evanescia was basically stolen from Yaoshi's garden by Aha, who taught her the joys of 'Elation' and planted her in Planarcadia to protect the planet from the sealed Oroboros by watching over the Phantasmoon Games. Can we talk about how fucking crazy it is that they sealed the Aeon of Voracity under a regular planet where people are going to school and have regular jobs?? It's so fun.

Speaking of that, I really liked the scene where Evanescia gets upset at Yao Guang calling the people cursed by the Happiness Surgery 'Abonimations of Abundance', telling her that they're just normal people trying to survive and minimize their daily suffering. I think that was a poignant moment for both of them, especially since they're both long-lived beings who have different life experiences from a regular human struggling to deal with working a 9-5 or being in academia.

To tie in to that further, I adore Sunday's character development. Considering gachas' nature of having characters not really change in major ways (with exceptions, of course), I do enjoy that he quite literally does the antithesis of what he tried to do as the new 'Ena' in Penacony, by using his powers of Harmony to, in his words "Protect the [people of Planarcadia's] right to suffer". His line about feeling like he is finally walking on the ground with the others instead of flying alone was sweet.

I will say that I don't enjoy how Evanescia and especially Silver Wolf kind of got shafted from the spotlight this patch. It definitely feels like stuff was rewritten or shifted during development. Hopefully they'll have bigger moments in the upcoming patches, though.

To end on a positive note though, I am definitely excited to see more of Asat Pramad. I wanna know why he hates Aha so much. I adored Lygus as the main antagonist of Amphoreus, so I hope Asat continues the writing momentum.

HSR 4.3: The Lethe Below the Living

June 1, 2026

Blade patch... this is all I've ever wanted...

First off, I love Blade's character development. Him going from threathening to kill TB to asking them if they've eaten breakfast is so fucking moe it hurts me. He genuinely cares so much for the Stellaron Hunters, and they love him just as much in return. Watching Silver Wolf be so heartbroken about letting Blade go to his death by sealing Shuhu was so sweet.

Also. Himeko. Poor Himeko. Her being an imaginary friend of the original Himeko brought to life so she wouldn't be lonely since she was effectively an orphan... The writers really understand what I like. Finding out Ryusuke had been dead all these years and Asat was pretending to be her father was awful yea, but I found it super sweet that he said he still cares about her and actually had fun being her father.

This patch was so so fun. I'm lowkey mad that it ended in such an abrupt way. I wanted to see more drama.

HSR 4.4: In Ravages Does the Whistle Sound

July 15, 2026

Asat Pramad they will never make me hate you. I wasn't too sure I was gonna like him as much as Lygus, but he really did earn his spot in my top 3 villains list. I love his relationship with Himeko. He genuinely cares for her as his daughter despite him only roleplaying as Ryusuke after killing him, and he seems the most human-like of the Lord Ravagers which also serves as his hubris. I loved how he revealed that he was going to strike down the Astral Express when it had awoken 15 years ago, but never did for reasons even Asat himself couldn't fathom. That range of emotions he expresses throughout the story was really fun.

I liked the Himeko backstory portions. While I think it is silly that it ended up being Motoko who sacrificed herself instead of the original Himeko, I do assume they didn't want to do the exact same plot twist as Cyrene and Philia from the Amphoreus arc. I'm semi-fine with it because I'm always a sucker for stories about sharing identities. These CGs were really really good and I loved the song they played for Himeko during the boss battle.

My main complaint (outside of going "what the hell" at the abrupt cliffhanger), is that I feel like Evanescia has kind of been shafted these few patches? She has a similar background to Blade and even has voicelines with him, but she doesn't show up for his story patch. And then in 4.4 she gets like one CG and then disappears for the rest of the story because she expended her physical form holding the Voracity back. I just wish she had more screentime.
But other than that I had fun this patch!

HSR 4.5: To Roll the Stars in Astropolis

August 26, 2026

I'm not gonna lie, the First half of the patch felt very underwhelming? I do like that Trailblazer was more assertive/aggressive while trying to negoiate with the IPC to help save Planarcadia. Getting to hear from Louis Fleming and the other IPC higher-ups was also fun. But outside of that this story quest felt too short? Idk.

ZZZ Ver 2.6: Encore for an Old Dream

Feb 7, 2026

This patch was such a breath of fresh air after how underwhelming most of Season 2 was. The Waifei Peninsula arc as a storyline had so much potential that they pretty much wasted.

It was so fun seeing all the characters from season 1 again, interacting with the Angel's story in their own little ways, like when the Sons of Calydon help Sunna gain the confidence to perform.
It felt so much more meaningful watching Aria sort out her struggles with the help of her actual friends, rather than the narrative placing all of that responsibility on the MC that she has known for less time like they did with Ye Shunguang for the sake of player pandering.

Aria is such a charming and cute character, and her English VA Rebecca Wang did an amazing job with the performance. I loved learning her backstory and how she's trying to put the pain she suffered behind her and move forward with her bandmates and friends. They love each other so much, and it was very cute to watch.

THE MUSIC WAS SOO GOOD TOO. I was so shocked when they started playing Sunna's song with the English VAs, so I'm really excited to replay in the other voice languages to hear what the songs sound like.

This was a very cute patch, and it reminded me that Zenless can be fun when they put in the effort.

ZZZ Ver 2.7: Champions Never Fall to the Past

April 6, 2026

The patch felt short and sweet. Romeul is extremely sexy and his English VA did a phenomenal job voicing him. I like the setup they have with Ramiel and I'm very interested to learn more about her and her goals, especially since she looks exactly like the Elysia expy Void Hunter (also Timido Cute but)

Cissia endeared herself to me soooo hard. She's so silly and a fake crybaby but I love that about her. The scene where she stands up to Promeia to protect Phaeton was genuinely really sweet. Watching their relationship develop into a understanding friendship meant more to me than the weirdly-written, spedran faux 'romance' they tried to create with Shunguang, so maybe the writers learned their lesson a little bit after all?

Anyway, this patch was fun. I definitely have a soft-spot for Cissia now, and I hope I get to see her and the other NEPS members more.

Also, this line was extremely funny.

ZZZ Ver 2.8: New: Eridan Sunset

May 7, 2026

God, I love Remielle so much. She's so charming and her oddness makes her background as a immortal Void Hunter more intriguing. I love that she and Sunbringer are exes who are trying to kill each other now.

Billy was also really cool. I loved the scene of him and Lighter talking about their pasts. I missed him *smiles*. The Phaeton fight was also hella cool. I really adored watching Remielle turn into her angel form to save them by extracting Thaumiel out of their chest. Revolutionary Girl Utena you will always be famous.

ZZZ Ver 3.0: A Sleepwalker's Confession

July 11, 2026

I really had fun with this patch. I absolutely adore the Bangboo and easily consider them to be one of, if the not the best part of Zenless, so Roscaelifer's concept being a "City with 60% of its population being Bangboo" was very exciting for me. I love how the Bangboo in Roscaelifer have different jobs and little outfits to match accordingly. Theres a group of Bangboo who sing some of the songs San-Z composed for the game➚, and I wanna explode from cuteness everytime I watch them.

Point is, they're very cute and sweet, which kind of juxtaposes how jarring it was to see some of them "die" during the patch? Watching Norma fight to save them and unveil the culprit behind the Bangboo's (technological) deaths was honestly really well-written? I didn't expect to like her so much, but she came out becoming my favorite in the new Season cast so far, apart from Remielle who I am very excited to see more of. Norma struggling to live up to Sunbringer's legacy as a technological genius, as well as her daughter-like relationship to her coworker Velina, who purposely takes the brunt of disputes over Norma's activites to protect her, was really sweet. (Side Tangent but I didn't notice until looking at Norma's CGs that her and Velina have the exact same eye colors and matching braids. So I'm wondering if the initial concept *was* for them to be related??)

Anyway, this Patch was pretty good all things considered. It really worked to make us warm up to the new characters that Belle and Wise are going to work alongside through this new Season.

These CGs are genuinely so gorgeous and some of my favorites in the entire game now.

ZZZ Ver 3.1: The Long Goodbye

July 29, 2026

This patch was extremely entertaining. It's kind of funny how much better Season 3 has been compared to Season 2 so far (except Spook Shack because their Scooby-Doo adventures were the best parts of Waifei)

Remielle is such a fascinating character to me. Losing her "family" that was the First Gen Void Hunters and forced to sleep for an entire century, waking up in a world that no longer remembers her or knows the truth of what happened to her friends is a really fun storyline for her.
I actually surprisingly enjoy her dynamic with Belle/Wise, their banter is really funny and their relationship development is believable enough to me. They don't play up Remielle as being in love with or emotionally dependant on Phaeton, but rather they both argue and tease and can be vulnerable with each other, and that's more entertaining to me frankly.

Remielle's relationship with the original Void Hunters was super cute as well. She and Beliora definitely are the Elysia/Raiden Mei yuri expies lol. Remielle trying to protect Roscaelifer and Sunbringer's clones/daughters to "protect the gift my friend left behind for the world" is sweet too. She's such a fun character to me, and her VAs 1000% elevate her character, especially Amber.

7th Dragon III Code: VFD -

A game with sasakure.UK's music and Shirow Miwa's character designs was specifically designed to appeal to me.

AI: The Somnium Files

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Bad Faith

An older VN by MadoCactus, but I still think it's very well-written.

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Bravely Default

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Bravely Second

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Butterfly Aeffect - Ebicon

An actual Y2K-nostalgic visual novel that plays on tropes of that era of anime in a way that feels fun and refreshing and horrifying rather than "cheap".
Demian manages to be likably moe and yet insufferable at the same time, as he goes through each route being utterly incapable of reading the room and interjecting himself in the relationship of these college girls.

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Cell of Empireo - Sharktale Factory

One of the best indie RPG games I had the pleasure of playing. The story is a wonderfully tragic look into the slow and very painful downfall of a cult and its members, along with its founder who continuously haunts the entire narrative like a specter.
Each character has their own desires that drives their actions, whether good or bad. Even if I couldn't sympathize with all of it, I could still understand why they are the way they are.

Haruki is a wonderful protagonist and it was really fun uncovering the layers of his character and his past. His personality really meshes well with this kind of story.

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Club Suicide - Leiji Uesugi

A beautifully-written "anti-Otome" about depression and how suicide is a byproduct of society's burdens. The tone feels like a dark comedy but in a way that unravels the darker layers of the male heroes in-between the lighthearted moments.
This game gets graphic at times (mainly the death scenes) so it's hard to recommend, but I genuinely think it's a wonderful story.

Ringo is definitely one of my favorite heroines. She says very questionable things and has a shaky-at-best moral compass, but she never comes off as awful (this goes for the male heroes as well). They're all messed up people, but that's the point.

My only gripe is that the English translation is really janky. There are so many grammatical errors within the game that I had to go back and re-read the log to understand what I was reading. Characters won't be talking but there will be erroneous text displayed implying that they did say something.
It kinda made the game a little frustrating to read, but it's definitely not a deal-breaker.

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Coquette Dragoon - Ivy May

This game has been one of the most poignant VNs and mecha stories that I have played so far.

I genuinely adore the cast, their designs are adorable and their personalities are intriguing to watch, and watching their struggles, especially Xio and Bell's, really resonated with me personally.

The OST is also genuinely so charming that I keep going back just to listen to it. The more darker tracks are really emotional, which contrasts very nicer with the cuter slice-of-life OSTs.

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Cuscuta: A Prayer for Endless Winter - TabbieDearest

A very beautiful VN about two women with painful pasts dancing around their feelings until they slowly grow the desire to dance with each other. Alfafa and Goldthread are both jaded in their own right, but it makes their budding romance more beautiful.

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Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

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Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

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Degrees of Lewdity

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Deltarune

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Digimon Survive

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Eartbound/Mother

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Echo VN

One of my favorite Indie VNs out there. It's a wonderful psychological horror story that delves into the undercurrent of animosity among this group of childhood friends, as well as the eldritch evil that haunts their entire town.

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Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl

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Etrian Odyssey Untold 2: The Fafnir Knight

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Fate/Stay Night

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Fear & Hunger

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Fear & Hunger 2: Termina

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Fields of Mistria

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Flesh, Blood, & Concrete

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Hello Charlotte

One of the most poignant games of my younger years. Charlotte is such a special character to me and very much influenced my current taste in media haha.

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Library of Ruina

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Lobotomy Corporation

(In)Famously known as the "Management Simulator that hates the Player", which I feel is an apt title, but has unfortunately been used as a deterrent to not try the game at all which I think isn't fair.

I think it's a game with charm, and the gameplay 'struggles' feel worth it as it slowly unravels the mysteries behind Lobotomy Corp, as well as its cast.

Marchen Line

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Mouthwashing

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Needy Girl Overdose

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Octopath Traveler

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Of the Devil

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Orangepeel, Onionskin - Vesta Z & Pepperbloom

This was beautiful throughout every moment, both the tender moments and the violent ones. I loved the themes that circulated throughout the story about religion and humanity and love. Being a vessel for a higher being is one of my favorite fictional concepts, and Lave conveys that tragically but also beautifully as well. I adore him and Mona both, and I love their dynamic.

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Pedestal - Uri

I love love love stories about characters who haunt the narrative. Finding more about who they are and how they impacted the characters around them, both in life and in death.
Shiori Natsume's life and death affected all of the people around her, and watching Aoi slowly uncover how deep it went enhances the tragedy.
Pedestal is genuinely a beautiful game.

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Persona 2: Innocent Sin & Eternal Punishment

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Persona 3 + Portable

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Pocket Mirror

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Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

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Pokemon Emerald

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Pokemon HeartGold

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Pokemon Legends: Arceus

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Pokemon Legends: Z-A

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Pokemon Moon

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team

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Pokemon Platinum

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Pokemon White

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Saya no Uta

One of the best horror VNs out there, and personally one of my favorite Urobochi stories outside of Madoka Magica.

Slay the Princess

A beautifully-written horror VN.

Sonic & the Black Knight

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The Caligula Effect 2

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The Gray Garden

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The House in Fata Morgana

My all-time favorite Visual Novel. It's genuine literature and one of the most beautiful stories I ever had the grace of reading.

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy - Too Kyo Games

It's a one-of-a-kind cacophony of strangeness and violence and romance. I have a seperate page/shrine here to discuss my thoughts since theres 100 endings and 21 routes to talk about.

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Undertale

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Wadanohara & the Great Blue Sea

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Walk in the Sun by gg8473

Everything about this VN is sleek and pretty. The use of color palettes. The Y2K-era aesthetic of the UI. The screentones on the sprites. Becky is always amazing with colors and its always a beautiful sight.

The story itself is short but extremely sweet. I'm such a sucker for stories with odd girls who never quite fit in. I'm also a sucker for girls with a dangerous streak, lol.

I love how as the story progresses you get the feeling that something is 'wrong', which only gets stronger as the reader observes Claire's increasingly erratic behavior. Claire's sweating and 'itchiness' and fervent desire to get straight home. Aine's absence from class. The radio's missing person alert. So many little things that gives you the sense of 'oh. something bad probably happened, huh'. The scene with the glovebox was really good, and the scene with Claire's bag was extremely well-timed. I loved it. But I think my absolute favorite was the scene where Jamie is seemingly about to kiss Claire. For obvious reasons.

I like that the story revolves(?) upon Jamie and Claire planning to do something extremely bad--Jamie's glovebox having zipties and rope (although that was likely Claire's guilty conscience maybe). Jamie 'jokingly' asking if Claire would kill for her--but Claire actually goes ahead and does it on her own. Something that out of the two, the reader would assume that Claire would be less capable of doing.

The final scene made me smile. This was such a fun VN all around.

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Your Turn to Die

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Yume Nikki

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