Entropic Float: This World Will Decay And Disappear

I started this game initially because I thought it was funny given my username, and was surprised how quickly I got invested in it. With a varied cast of fourteen characters (with a mix of who's interacting with who at any given time), it makes for some really fascinating group dynamics. The game is unafraid to confront and breakdown various stereotypes, and go in-depth when discussing aspects of identity, which at times is a source of solidarity between characters, and at other times a source of conflict. The game is based around various time loops, and each loop is both a chance to learn more about the bigger picture, but also to see how this particular set of characters get along, and how they might behave differently this time around. No character is absolutely perfect nor entirely terrible. They all have reasons, if not really justifications for their actions and personalities. Each one divulges different facets of their identity or backstory depending on who they're talking to, and what has come before. It means that every character is really interesting, and all of them feel important. The mood is well-balanced within each loop. It's filled with humorous moments, but also vulnerable ones, and at times frightening ones. Characters are shown both at their best, middling, and absolute worst, yet their actions never feel unreasonable given their personalities and the situation they've been placed in. Overall, it's a really interesting story with a fascinating idea of time loops, and definitely worth playing!

[i]Entropic Float: This World Will Decay and Disappear[/i] is a visual novel developed by Nico H and published by Starfield Gaming. You take on the role of an unnamed MC and play the story as one of three characters: Amelie, Kanatsun, or Rashmi. As you look into the eyes of one of these characters, you find yourself trapped along with six other people (essentially, strangers). You and the others have no idea how or why you're trapped, but you know that you have to find a way to escape. To do so, you have to go through a series of puzzles. Solve them successfully, and perhaps you'll gain knowledge of events that led to their predicament. Make too many wrong choices, and Entropy will take over the time loop. (I should mention that the events take place in the morning, noon, or evening, initially depending on when you first start up the game.) If Entropy takes over, tragedy happens and everyone except you forgets the events that transpired in that loop. I'll end my story synopsis here to avoid spoilers and all that. As for the gameplay, [i]Entropic Float[/i] has multiple choices that are presented as you play one of the three characters and progress through the designated time loop. There are a total of 9 routes with 18 normal endings. Once you unlock all of the normal endings, then you'll get access to the true ending (and yes, there's even a bad ending that you can get early on in the true ending route). Once you unlock a normal ending, you can access a summary of it on the main menu. Also, there are profiles of all of the characters. Numerous CGs are present although there's no way to view them in a CG gallery. In addition, there's a varied soundtrack and partial English voice acting. Finally, there are lots of Steam achievements although they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game." Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my critique. [i]Entropic Float[/i] caught my interest upon its release since I enjoy a good mystery and I got certain vibes influenced from other prominent VNs. Upon first playing, I liked how we get introduced and the narrator makes it a point to say that even though we can play as Amelie, Kanatsun, or Rashmi, we're not that actual character. (There is a very good reason that this point is made although I'd be going into spoiler territory to reveal that.) I enjoyed getting to meet the other characters and learning tidbits about them. Even though there are a total of 14 characters (but we're introduced as the 15th character), each normal route/loop only has 7 characters present at once (with the exception of one loop). There is a reason for that, which gets revealed way later on. I liked getting to solve the puzzles (which simply require making a choice) and how certain choices can lead either to the Non-Entropy or Entropy ending. Although you want to get all of the normal endings to unlock the true ending, the Non-Entropy ending is the less tragic one (but it might still have some tragedy lol). (I should give a heads up that some of the content may be disturbing in nature. For example, topics like discrimination, drinking, etc., are brought up.) In regards to the characters, there's a wide range of personalities along with ages, sexual preferences, and so forth. It goes without saying that some characters will end up being more likable than others. Also, before I forget, there isn't any romance in this visual novel although the story does allude to a possible romance that never comes to fruition. As for the writing, I found it pretty well-paced for the usual routes. In regards to the route for the true ending, it can get pretty lengthy although the reason for that has to do with getting to know all of the characters' backstory and whatnot. There were occasional typos in the text but not to the point where the story wasn't enjoyable. As for the gameplay, I didn't find any technical issues. Although you're initially locked into a particular time loop depending on when you first play through the story (according to your computer clock), after unlocking a few normal endings, you then have the freedom to choose the time slot. I liked how this gives off the feeling that time is a factor when it comes to the story, as it becomes the main theme, especially when you play through the true ending route. In regards to the art, I liked the design of the sprites. They're pretty much in an anime style but they have some uniqueness. Backgrounds are on the simple design style, but this is a free visual novel and they're done pretty well. I liked the use of colors, and there's a lot of guest art shown, especially during the true ending route. Thus, you may notice a few different art styles. Finally, I found the soundtrack to be varied. Each track was placed well in the scene it was in, and the tracks capture various moods from mystery to tragedy. As I mentioned earlier, there is partial voice acting, which I found to be a nice touch. I felt like the voices matched well with the characters and their personalities. Overall, would I recommend [i]Entropic Float: This World Will Decay and Disappear[/i]? If you enjoy a good mystery and don't mind going through lots of tragedy (and keep in mind that even in the true ending route, there might not be a [spoiler]totally happy ending[/spoiler]), then you should give this a try. I could tell that this VN is inspired from other well-known VNs like [i]Higurashi[/i], [i]Umineko[/i], and [i]Danganronpa[/i]. Also, it is a free VN so it doesn't hurt to give it a try. I'm excited for [spoiler][i]Entropic Float 2[/i], since the game's ending alludes to it[/spoiler]. ^^ [quote]Flying free and writing reviews solely for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url].[/quote]

文本充实、人物多、9条线、18个结局。 但篇幅长的神秘故事总是开端吸引人，后期则会很乏味。 [u]给三百个免费游戏写评测255篇[/u]

⠀

Entropic Float is an interesting, if rough around the edges, VN about a group of characters learning about each other's struggles while trapped in a mysterious time loop and an even more mysterious building. The setting is largely modern day, however with a small but powerful amount of magic sprinkled in, the details of which are part of the story and mystery so I will refrain from saying much more than that. I'll admit that I was a bit nervous at first regarding how almost every member of the cast identifies somewhere under the queer umbrella, but as I learned more about them the nervousness dissolved and it became easier to see them as their own individual characters rather than needing to play representative of their respective flags. The presence of multiple characters in most categories also serves to take the edge off in that regard, and the traumatic pasts the characters carry feel wholly their own. The game does contain a gimmick of following 3 different characters at 3 different periods of time: Morning, Noon, and Night. The game recommends starting with the routes based on your current system time, but I think it could have benefited from a structure where one particular route was "the first" route, so that it could establish certain basic rules about the time loop from the outset. I was actually lucky enough to start on the route that I think does the best job of that, [spoiler] Amelie's Noon route [/spoiler] for those who want a spoiler, and I'm not entirely sure how good my first impression of the story would have been if I happened to start on certain other routes instead. Overall I found myself quite enthralled with the story, but I do have to acknowledge some concerns. The voice acting, what little there is to emphasize certain character moments, is....inconsistent at best, and just plain bad at worst. The mixing is kind of all over the place, with most of the characters sounding quieter than the background music by default, and one character in particular being much louder than the others. The quality of the audio recordings also isn't consistent. Ultimately this is a free game and one is left to assume that the VAs were recording from their own setups rather than a professional studio, and it's the aspect of the game where it's indie status most clearly shines through. Given that this is available for free, I'd hardly call it a dealbreaker, but it bore mentioning. Another factor is the art featured in the game. Several different styles are present, most commonly you'll be seeing portraits of the 3D models for each character, but some scenes shift to a 2D image instead. Many of these are...messy to say the least, which wouldn't even be that much of an issue except that there are other times that much higher quality art is featured instead. I assume that many of the CGs were commissioned from different artists and the inconsistency shows. Again: Free game, not a deal-breaker, but worth mentioning. Overall, I quite enjoyed my time with the game, and at 20 hours according to Steam it's hard to say I didn't get my money's worth from it. There's also a mention at the end that the creator is planning to make a sequel game, I am quite curious and eager to see what happens with it.

Хорошая игра мне понравилась

Beautiful VN

I have only completed about... a fourth of the endings so far, and I can't NOT say this. Firstly, when it begins you're told about there being a full content warning list in the main menu. I did not expect it to be an entire faq with explanations detailed enough to be warned and prepared, but vague enough to not spoil anything. Absolutely beautiful. Secondly, the sarcastic banter and just... the dialogue and the story and everything, it's amazing I'm just addicted, I've been constantly telling my friends about this game. I have never in my life found a game where I was like "this is meant for me, I'm part of the target audience for this" BUT THIS??? yes. I'm sorry but one of the characters literally says "brain go brr" at one point these are my people. TL;DR Amazing game, highly recommended.

[if you can't tell by my large number of achievements for this game, I played this fully through itch. pay no mind to the playtime here.] [b] POSITIVE: [/b] while obviously the work of an inexperienced developer, this game has so much heart to it that it endeared me early on. at least some of the inspirations are obvious (when they cry, zero escape, and GNOSIA), but entropic float doesn't feel like it's trying to copy any of them or ride their popularity. it's its own thing with a genuine appreciation of other things shining through. (definitely laughed at that "need 4 arms to play billiards" joke.) at least from my limited perspective as a trans man (with multiple other things this game involves I'd rather not put in a steam review), every character is quite different, and their identities and disorders are portrayed with a great amount of empathy. I feel like I could understand certain things a bit more, not limited to a preference for rotating pronouns. it reads like a lot of research went into it. it has a great atmosphere sometimes, too. I love horror, and the midnight's cold requiem ending was legitimately spooky to me. I've played a lot of free games, and I wondered at first why I didn't recognize any of the music they usually get from free use sources. the credits surprised me; all of it was either made by the dev or commissioned just for the game? that's going above and beyond many indie OELVNs, let alone a free one. the cost that did go into this game shocks me. the mild creativity in the user interface, such as the profile selection screen, is also cute. [b] NEGATIVE?: [/b] the graphics can be jarring to look at at first, and the 3D models of the characters often have some collision problems with their clothes. the art is not exactly the highest production value, falling back on the inexperienced developer fact. but as an indie, free work — the models quickly grew on me, and the emotion in the various 2D CGs is clear. better that than stiff but extremely experienced work in a story that doesn't want to push through any comfort zones. I must also say that (vague post-18 endings spoilers?) [spoiler] the memories segment is very intense and noticeably slows things down. personally, I think the less ultimate ending-exposing memories could have been slipped into the main loops so it doesn't all happen at once. this section did actually affect me very strongly, in a good way, so I would never suggest it wasn't worth it as it was. [/spoiler] [b] ULTIMATELY: [/b] it's a good game. it's a free game. it's got characters that may seem silly at first, but have a sometimes painful depth to them. it makes an effort to include identities that games and stories of all kinds often pretend don't even exist. it's well worth a shot for a whole $0 and more, and I look forward to seeing what this dev can offer in the future.