A Mage Reborn

Ok, this story had a pretty good ending, but the build up was a slog and a half. I'm writing this after playing it once, so my opinion may mature with another playthrough or two. I really feel like the build up to the ending felt like a slog because we didn't focus on the characters hard enough. Like, sure, you may have had to write a chapter or two, but it would've actually made me feel something for the characters. I get there's gonna be more, but this book made me feel nothing towards the characters other than sadness at the end thanks to the unavoidable yet disastrous fate that befalls us at their hands due to no fault of their own. If any of them died before the ending, I wouldn't have cared at all. If a character dies and you failed to make me care about them, I will feel nothing, and you will have failed to write a good, engaging character. Now, I will spoil the ending a little when talking about it, so watch out if you actually care for that. It's the only good thing about this, and it's really good. Like, they didn't need to cook so hard at the end. It's like they had one good concept, that was amazing, and then didn't have either the experience or sheer skill required to properly put it to paper. In short, the protag is killed by one of their friends for killing the saintess. He killed them to stop a bunch of other deaths, but he can't say that. He cannot speak about the event that will cause all the deaths. He is killed, while unable to defend himself verbally. It is utterly amazing. The audience and protag know something everyone else doesn't, and the dramatic irony made me actually feel something towards this game. If there wasn't an alternative option, this ending would be a 10/10, propelling this title to a easy 8/10 Unfortunately, the devs ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up. Why in the name of god do your friends rescue you? I don't care if they have some vague feeling, you are ruining the only good thing about this. The concept is good because everyone believes you did something bad, and you can't defend yourself. If you remove the first half, then it doesn't matter. It is ruined. I will choose to semi-ignore it, and take the ending down one score, to a 9/10. Combine this with the rest of the game having a 6/10, the whole game is a 7/10 or 8/10. Is it worth the cost? Yea, definitely. Look, if Scarlet Hollow, peak fiction, is twenty bucks, then a forth of that for good fiction is good price for me. TLDR: Game is 70% slop, expect the end which is good, but fumbles a little.