Aspiring Light

TL;DR, if you want to kill 4-8 hours with a free VN, this one is perfectly serviceable. However, it isn't anything special. I'm going to make this review much shorter than my usual ones, because I'm not doing this professionally, so I don't need to. The good things: -the dialogue was really fun, for one playthrough -the plot execution was decent -the backgrounds look like they were hand-drawn -The semi-meta nature of a semi-kinetic novel is cool -switching perspectives is really cool the meh things: -the music was okay -the characters were okay -the conflict was okay -for a short story, the plot was okay the bad things -I did not like the character designs -the plot felt forced and rushed, and it's message hollow -- and not a good message either -Aiden is an idiot; [spoiler] his plan to run away is not thought out at all [/spoiler] -Kaira is confusing -Damien barely effects the story, [spoiler] and dies before he can [/spoiler] -every character is one-dimensional, and does not grow outside of realising they are an idiot -I hated how they give you over a dozen choices, but they don't change a damn thing! At the very least, do what DDLC did, and have previous choices effect the outcomes of the next ones! by trying to avoid Kaira, I got a continuity error, because Aiden references an event that hasn't happened in that playthrough. By actively talking to Kaira, I got a confusing statement about her thinking i was avoiding her. At least in DDLC, you can get new dialogue with different combinations of events in the first part, that then combine into two different timelines, then back to one timeline. conclusion: it's okay, for a free, 4-8 hour kinetic novel. Don't expect great characters, or a great story. Don't expect the choices to connect to each-other, because they don't. I tried to play it a second time, and i gave up before Aiden leaves Damien's house, because I knew all that would change was a couple of dialogue boxes, and we'd be back to the same uninteresting story. 6/10, WTF was Aidens plan?

I decided to play this game in a few short sittings just because I wasn't sure how long it'd be, and I COULD say a progress bar or separating the game by chapters could help with that in a practical sense, but I actually kinda liked not knowing when the end was. After all, that's kinda what this game's about. And today was the shortest out of all of them; I went from my last save to the end of the game in like ten minutes, so I was kind of taken aback by how quickly the story was moving, but I guess that's how life works sometimes, too. Overall, I really did enjoy playing through this. I really like the artwork, and I'll probably buy the soundtrack later. It was a really nice, kinda comforting game that helped me get away from sources of stress at points. Thank you.

Cute, simple, short (but in a good way!) Nothing profound, but it's not flat either, and it feels nice. Grades suck, kids run away, that's it [i](well, and a side-plot with Damien that shows the town without them but goes nowhere, and something weird about the grades that we also never hear more of?)[/i] Somehow I really like the art, even the characters! Choices, except the two [spoiler]"romance"[/spoiler] ones, have 0 impact, but they don't feel too forced. (and they're like, five, so that helps)

WHY DO I HAVE TO DO MATH IN THIS GAME!? [spoiler]There should be a prize for getting the question right, though. New dialogue, y'know? That would've been funny.[/spoiler] Oh my, this was such a good experience. I loved the SFX and soundtracks played throughout the game. I personally really enjoyed the change of pace with the perspective swaps alongside the story, specially how dynamic it was, making everything more interesting to read. Also, this story gives me a feeling of nostalgia that I don't seem to find very often while reading. I don't know why though, it might be just a me thing, but the plot felt really relatable. Not only this, but I loved how it kept going. Most stories just go to a certain point then just sums what happens after. This actually shows you, it's SO interesting, I loved the interactions between the characters, felt so much real and wholesome, while sometimes intense. This was such a fresh experience, I wasn't expecting a free visual novel to be this good. Almost made me want to buy the gold edition, I mean... it's gold, what can I say. It's not perfect by any means, there are a few typing mistakes along the game plus the absolute lack of save slots [spoiler]for the amount of choices that we have[/spoiler], but in the end I would definitely recommend playing this, regardless. By the way, [spoiler]THEY'RE SO ADORABLE TOGETHER OMG, I wished the ending told us more about their future and more about Damien, but I guess it's also nice to keep it as a mistery... although I have to say, as someone that explored every single part of the game, I just wished the choices were a bit more important (even though you can actually lose to Kaira in that space game).[/spoiler]

Игра 'Aspiring Light' — это настоящий подарок для всех любителей пиксельных метроидваний. С первого взгляда она подкупает своим чарующим визуальным стилем: каждая локация проработана с любовью к деталям, а анимация персонажей плавная и выразительная. Но за этой красотой скрывается глубокий и интригующий мир, полный тайн и опасностей. Геймплей здесь — это идеальный баланс между исследованием, сражениями и решением головоломок. Управление отзывчивое, а набор способностей, который постепенно открывается, позволяет комбинировать атаки и уклонения, создавая по-настоящему зрелищные боевые сцены. Враги разнообразны, каждый со своим паттерном поведения, и битвы с боссами — это настоящее испытание, требующее не только ловкости, но и стратегического мышления. Сюжет, хоть и подается постепенно, увлекает своей атмосферой и неоднозначностью. Персонажи хорошо прописаны, и за их судьбами действительно интересно следить. Музыкальное сопровождение идеально дополняет игровой процесс, создавая то напряженную, то меланхоличную атмосферу. 'Aspiring Light' — это игра, которая затягивает с головой и не отпускает до самого финала, оставляя после себя приятное послевкусие. Однозначно рекомендуется к ознакомлению.

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