Because We're Here - Act I

Every route is extremely well done, I've played this in full over ten times and still think it's fantastic. I love the time setting, the MC is relatable and the words are fun to read. Yes there tragic moments and a few graphic scenes but that's kind of par for the course in a wartime VN. This is my favourite visual novel. Give it a go if you're a fan of the genre! :)

Wow it's been a while since I played a romance visual novels or otome games with dark elements like this and how absorbed I was in it. I wanted to pace it but nope ended up playing in one go but definitely don't regret that. I like the story setting to this game. I can see how much the creator is invested in this game. All the characters were pretty nice and solid and the twist at the end....hahaha some shockers. Downside is how short act 1 was and because of that certain characters didn't seem fully developed. But it's definitely worth it. I hope more people play this game!

This was... wow. I love this VN. I hate that I'm loving it. It's great, wonderful, and horrible at the same time. Because We're Here is cruel, yet fascinating, sad, yet incredibly heartwarming. I got attached way to fast, and I regretted it. Not because this VN isn't good - as a matter of fact, it's absolutely stunning. It's well written, the characters really bring the story to life, and you're drawn to (almost) everyone of them the day you meet them. The CG's aren't that professional, but honestly, I play these games because of the story, not because of the artwork. It improves in Act II, but is still lovely drawn in Act I, don't get me wrong. So, the game is wonderful. BUT. It is cruel at the same time, as I wrote earlier. I mean, it is set during war, so there's not much room for a story that focuses only on a romance arc. The romance is more a companion than the main aspect, and honestly, that goes perfectly well with the theme. I mean, I got attached to three guys that I loved to pieces, [spoiler]and all three of them died. Like, literally, one died, I started to pursue the other, and he died as well. And after Horsts death in Act II, I cried. Like, a lot.[/spoiler] Every death in this game is crushing and brings you to tears, especially when you're on a route. If you want to know the reason: [spoiler]Some of the routes you can pursue will end tragically. I already mentionend Horst, because he crushed me the most. But there are some others as well. So picking one Love interests doesn't garantee that he's going to survive.[/spoiler] And now, I finished this VN, and I'm still thinking about it. The music is wonderfully picked, and I would highly recommend playing it with sounds on. I'm still listening to the music to preverse the feeling I got while reading this VN. It's stunning, and it is one of the best VNs I've ever read. Maybe I just like to suffer, but I will read it again some time and I will impatiently wait for Act III.

Wow, what a fantastic start to a game! The writing flows very well, has great moments of levity to balance out the darker moments, and the characters are all compelling and unique. I especially appreciate that the story remains the same regardless of what route you’re on, with the route presenting as side moments within the story. Your being on someone’s route might change their personal arc (I can’t speak beyond part 1), but it doesn’t change what ultimately happens to some characters. The sprite artwork is gorgeous and emotive, and the backgrounds, while a little messy, help set the tone and mood wonderfully. My only critique is that the art style for the CGs is very obviously done by a different artist, and the style unfortunately clashes hard with the style of the sprites we see for the rest of the game. It is by no means a dealbreaker, it’s just rather jarring. Overall, a fantastic little game that I can’t wait to see the rest of.

Oh god! No really. I... really haven't read a vn so far that can get bleak? Like wow. I do miss reading good stories that are capable of doing that (except for a few that I, for sure erased out of my mind;;;). Anyways. The witt battles, that was pretty interesting! But a pain for reruns with skipping since if you pick a response, you can't change it unless you saved before. But I can forgive that cos that's just cheatin' yo. It's an interesting move that you can switch "routes" or see just a scene with a character at that time. [spoiler] I usually don't deviate from one guy unless I have to. Ha. ...... it still hurts. Is it worse when you know what happens when you play other routes? Hm. Actually. Yes it is. [/spoiler] Also bonus points for the music room, I rarely see those! The art, I definitely like the sprites more than the cg's, esp at times. Oops. But that's okay! I love the work put into the writing, the visuals and the interface as well! I'll be waiting for future instalments and await for my next emotional beating. Thanks. I'll be looking around for a tragedy sometime, I don't know. But uh, after I recovered, I just want to have *more* of that now, y'know?

This is a war romance story that doesn't pull punches! The narration is very well done with a lot of character. The characters themself are realistic and are not perfect from our modern perspective. So it's very fun, but also sad to read. Everything felt very realistic to me, from the setting to the plot developments to the character's actions. I see no reason to not recommend this visual novel!

An amazingly well written visual novel that I couldn't stop playing. I was immediately drawn into the story and became invested in the storyline (I already absolutely love Elfriede) Played through act 1 in around 2.5 hours and have immediately purchased act 2.

Great visual novel, i haven't played act 2 yet but i plan to. The world war 1 inspired setting is well made and original; in a short time you get invested hard into the characters.

All of it hurt, but like the good way. Seriously could not enjoy a good and fluffy scene without thinking "but what's gonna go wrong now?" and that is pretty hard for me to feel that way. I super recommend this and I'm anticipating the further pain I'll go through in the rest of the acts.

First off, I definitely recommend this game. I just finished Act 1 and immediately bought Act 2. I think that Studio Elfriede has really created something worth playing here. [h1]GENERAL THOUGHTS[/h1] [list] [*] This was surprisingly humorous so far. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of serious, tragic, and downright awful stuff. But throughout it all the dialogue and Elfriede's inner monologue often made me chuckle or at least smile. [*] Speaking of Elfriede's inner monologue, her little interjections, clarifications, and ramblings are a delight. It really gives a feeling for her thoughts and personality and makes it clear that she's not just a blank slate. Even when I had barely gotten into the game I already loved her character and that has persisted. [*] I both really really love and really really hate the fact that Elfriede’s choice of route will not change anyone’s fate. (I also appreciate how upfront the game is about that.) I love it because it’s realistic, it’s a fantastic story device to drive in the fact that anyone could die and Elfriede can’t make that much of a difference, and it creates a genuine emotional reaction in the player, not just the character. (Anxiety. That reaction is anxiety.) I hate it because of the aforementioned anxiety it’s giving me. [*] On that note, this game is a lot more stressful than I anticipated. I anticipated tragedy, and horror, and bad things, but I did not guess that it would genuinely stress me out this much. Definitely would not recommend as a relaxing, wind yourself down kind of game. [*] I don't like all of the characters, but I do feel that they're all realistic. A lot of the reason I feel that way is [i]because[/i] I kind of dislike some of them. Don't get confused, this is definitely a pro, not a con, here. I really appreciate how clearly different they all are from one another. [*] There's also quite a lot of love interests just in Act 1 and apparently there will be more introduced in later acts. Based on [i]certain events[/i] in Act 1 I fully believe it's because [spoiler] the game will brutally kill off a whole bunch more of them [/spoiler] but it does give a whole lot of options. [*] I think the battle of wits system is really neat and clever, but I definitely recommend saving at the beginning of each. The coup de grace means that you can make it through the whole battle of wits perfectly and then screw it all up with one wrong answer on the last question. I consider that to be a good feature, but others might not. [/list] [h1]UI[/h1] [list] [*] Overall, the UI hasn't caught my attention much, but I consider that a good thing. The text was all readable, the colors fit well, and the battle of wits screen especially seems well designed. [*] I like the way it grays out to show when Elfriede is thinking, not speaking. I think I prefer that to the standard italics that I normally see used. [/list] [h1]Art[/h1] [list] [*] The art style of all of the sprites does generally make them look very young, which may or may not actually be a deliberate choice given the themes of the work. Regardless, it seems like an artistic choice about style and overall I very much like the sprites. [*] The CGs... Look I feel mean for saying it, but there’s something off about a lot of them, especially in the face and head proportions, that makes the characters look like children and it seems amateurish rather than a deliberate choice of style. Some of them are better or worse than others, but overall, that’s been my gut reaction to the majority. [*] Don't take this too much to heart though, everything else about the game has such quality that honestly a few less than perfect CGs can easily be looked past. [/list] [h1]Sound Design[/h1] [list] [*] Amazing! I was not expecting the music and sound design to be this great, but from the very beginning of the game they blew me away. [*] I especially want to mention the train noises. The train sounds just made me take out my earbuds because the click-clack sounded like it was coming from a distance about 4 feet back and to my right. It was actually a little uncanny. [/list] In summary, buy the game! It's six bucks and [i]well[/i] worth it. (I really like the choice to release later acts as DLC for the same price, allowing you to try Act 1 for cheap and then decide if you want to keep going. It means the price you pay directly scales with the amount of content you're getting.)