Ezrebeth

Ezrebeth is a point-and-click visual novel that is told in text, projected against mostly static backgrounds. The characters are hand-drawn and, other than changing positions in a scene, remain static as well. The game is broken into three separate chapters that have connecting threads. Ezrebeth is part of a series of games by Tymedust that take place in the Purgatoryverse and present a vision of the afterlife. According to Catholic tradition, purgatory is a cosmic waiting room between life and the hereafter… a place where souls can be “cleansed” prior to going to heaven. The game builds on this premise and seems to affirm that healing is possible after death. However, the representation of God and his/her minions vectors off in an unusual direction. The narrative consists of seemingly endless dialogue between a handful of characters. The scene changes occasionally and you click, ad infinitum, as you read conversation after conversation. There are no voice-overs, and the background music is subtle. The good news is that you can click through the dialog as fast as you can read. The entire experience took me around 5 hours to finish and earn all achievements. Ezrebeth uses a manual save system that includes multiple slots. If you are a completionist, I would advise saving often to reduce replay if you need to circle back for a missed achievement. The first chapter focuses on a mean-spirited elderly woman. She is hateful to her family, and it is painful to spend time with her. Her story plays in a time loop where you repeat the same scene until you have discovered every detail. In each loop, the description of an object or a snippet of dialog changes. So, you must click through it all to find the difference. The second chapter continues the story of Ezrebeth while introducing a man who is carrying guilt about a past decision. Again, dialog and more dialog between a half-dozen characters. The final chapter focuses on a young woman desperate for validation. She falls into the hands of a seemingly benevolent teacher who soon declares he is “Master” and begins to show a darker side. I found myself growing weary of clicking and it was a struggle for me to finish the game. God (with a capital “G”) is depicted as a manipulative, capricious young woman with the linguistic skills of a Valley Girl (for those too young to remember, this is a 1982 song by Frank Zappa). It was excruciating to read conversations with phrases like “Lil’ brotheeeer… are you heeere?” and “If I were to say yeeees.. what would ya doooo?” Aside from dialog that made me cringe, the game takes a serious poke at Christianity. Ezrebeth wears a cross but lives a life that is the antithesis of a Christian. A lamb metaphor is used in conjunction with the not-so-good Master, and “I am The Way” is the final statement of the young woman who claims to be “God.” I welcome diverse viewpoints, but I could not figure out where this was headed. There is nothing inherently bad about Ezrebeth. It is obvious that the game was created with great care and attention to detail. As a result, I cannot give it a thumbs down, even though I did not enjoy it. I still remain puzzled by the message the story is attempting to deliver and I could not relate to the characters. However, it is likely that my age and world view are not the demographic that the developer was aiming for. If you are a fan of this style of visual novel and don’t mind some verbal and theological acrobatics, then a virtual visit to purgatory might be just the vacation you need. You also might consider playing the demo before jumping into Ezrebeth. [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow [b]IndieGems[/b] if you enjoyed this review and want to see more like it.[/url][/quote]

[h1]Déjà vu :o[/h1] [h2]Introduction[/h2] [i]Ezrebeth[/i] is a point-and-click, mystery (with slightly horror elements) visual novel developed and published by Tymedust Games. It consists of three episodes, and in the first episode, you take on the role of Ezrebeth, an old woman living by herself in a cottage, wishing to be alone, even during the holidays. However, she has a good reason for this in that she wishes to distance people from being affected by her psychic powers. Despite her living circumstances, Ezrebeth ends up getting numerous visits from family members, ranging from her younger sister to her husband. However, it turns out that she's reliving the same day over and over, and Ezrebeth has to figure out what's going on and how to get this time loop to end. In the second episode, you play as Sophus, a shadow assigned to work for Remm (a.k.a. God) and who has no memory of how he died. He follows Remm as they look into Ezrebeth's past, and along the way, Sophus may end up discovering bits about his past leading up to his death. In the final episode, you take on the role of Iridiana (Irri for short), a young woman who ran away from home because she wants to pursue her dream as an artist while her parents want her to have a more academically focused career. Irri ends up in Axia's garden, and Axia is supposedly an artist who wants to take Irri under his wing and cultivate her talents, which she agrees to. While Irri is fascinated with Axia, she later suspects that there's something off about him, as he doesn't act quite human. All the episodes are tied together, and yes, Ezrebeth is the key. When you initially start up the game, you only have access to episode 1 in which Ezrebeth has to solve the time loop mystery. Then episode 2 will be unlocked, and episode 3 will be unlocked after completing episode 2. You have the usual choices that reveal important information and can help further your progress in the episodes. Also, point-and-click elements are present in which you can obtain information about various objects or whatnot. (Even clicking on a particular item in episode 2 can lead to a fun, slightly thought-provoking mini-puzzle. XD) The information you obtain is recorded in a characters/clues section, which you can access almost whenever you wish. Plenty of CGs are present as well as a varied soundtrack although no voice acting. In addition, there are Steam achievements, but they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game". [h2]Review[/h2] Being a fan of [i]Pitstop in Purgatory[/i] and [i]Guidelicious[/i] (both of which I reviewed), I was very excited for [i]Ezrebeth[/i]. The wonderful people over at Tymedust Games were very kind to send over a review key, so I can have a chance to try it out and share my thoughts. ^^ Unlike the previous games I mentioned, I enjoyed how the first episode of [i]Ezrebeth[/i] starts off differently, with the main character being Ezrebeth, who just wants to have quiet time during the holidays. Although she may come off as bitter and such, there is justification for her behavior. I love how this episode plays, as there's a darker, behind-the-scenes reveal about why Ezrebeth is experiencing déjà vu. For those who are familiar with certain events in [i]Pitstop in Purgatory[/i], it might be obvious that a recurring character whom people would think is good is actually something else. :o Ezrebeth experiences quite a tragedy, so it's best not to hope for a happily ever after. With episode 2, I like that you take on the role of Sophus, and he gets the chance to interact with Remm and other characters who appeared in episode 1. Even though the main focus is on learning about Ezrebeth's past, which Remm is very interested in (wanting to understand humans more), Sophus does slowly regain bits of his past, and yup, it's very tragic and horrible. Also, it ends up explaining how he became a Shadow since those who are shadows end up in that state due to certain actions when they were alive. Finally, with episode 3, you get to learn about Remm's backstory, and I like the introduction of Irri. Irri is a special human whom Axia (before he became Remm but is still God lol) has a fascination with. I like the dynamic between Irri and Axia, and I especially liked seeing Irri's character growth when she realizes that Axia isn't whom he appears to be and that maybe she didn't have it so bad. However, as you might surmise from these stories, Irri's story doesn't end up in a happily ever after. I've probably been rambling way too long, but I'll just say that I enjoyed the various characters and their personalities and especially, the various narrated stories, leading up to major reveals. As for the gameplay, I enjoyed the point-and-click elements a lot. You get valuable information that helps you progress in the episode, and talking to various characters leads to obtaining information as well as getting to know them more. Although I enjoyed all of the episodes, I'd say that episode 1 is my favorite in terms of gameplay. I loved being a detective, obtaining information for Ezrebeth to get herself out of her time loop. It requires quite a bit of thinking, and I like that Ezrebeth can draw conclusions afterwards. As for achievements, I had no problems obtaining all of them. Even without too many detailed descriptions, it's pretty obvious which achievements are tied to which episodes, especially after playing each episode once. With the art, I like that the same artist was on board again for this game. The style stands out, with slightly blurry lines, and yet, there's just enough detail to make out the sprites and backgrounds. The colors feel soft and fit with the various story moods. Of course, the CGs are especially done well, and they're such a joy to look at. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3452160175 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3452160488 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3452160733 In regards to the music, the tracks are all instrumental, and a lot of them have this relaxing feel to make both the main character and the player feel comfortable in the environment. However, there are a few tracks that are more on the horror side as well, and they present themselves at just the right moment, which really helps a lot with the narration of these stories. [h2]Conclusion[/h2] Would I recommend [i]Ezrebeth[/i]? If you're a visual novel fan who enjoys point-and-click elements, loves solving mysteries, doesn't mind a bit of horror, and/or wants to get those Steam achievements, then it's certainly worth checking out. Although it helps to have played [i]Pitstop in Purgatory[/i] for certain character references, [i]Ezrebeth[/i] is very much a standalone game. For the asking price, it's definitely worth getting, as you get three interconnected episodes. Finally, I want to give a major thank you to Tymedust Games for the review key. What a journey it was to follow Ezrebeth, Sophus, and Irri as I got to discover their stories and discover more about otherworldly beings who are struggling to learn what it is to be human. I'm looking forward to more future games. ^^ [quote]For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]

My copy was provided by the developer Like the first game the 'Pitstop in Purgatory', the game will continuously recontextualize the narrative between the episodes, changing its perspective, how you view the characters, and the story as a whole. You may feel like the tone of the game alternates between episodes 1, 2 and 3, almost like you playing a completely different visual novel, having some grounded melodrama, dark comedy, horror, and even some romance as well. That being said, I thought all the different angles to the plot were coherent, it's not always a good thing to have too many ideas, but generally I thought it was paced really well. You can finish the game around 4 to 5 hours, I thought the characters had good depth to them, especially REMM, I really like that background you gave for that self-indulgent attitude. The game didn't have too many art panels, but I do think you generally doing a good job with what you have, sometimes adding a few gimmicks like the dialogue based investigation, as well as various dialogue based puzzles, making a static game feel a bit less, static. You also playing around with the pacing of the text panels to highlight the character reactions, it's something that I often try to encourage devs to do because it makes the emotional feedback more genuine, but I don't have to tell you that because you already doing it really well, especially in the third episode which was my favorite, I thought there were a couple of moments in the game with good tension. Something I keep seeing with your visual novels specifically is that you putting a little bit of extra effort into presentation like the edges of UI, title screen and just not having that generic VN look. While it may not be super important, for me immersion starts from the main menu, and I like when everything has a consistent theme to it. I assume this is another original OST? This time around there were no mismatched songs, I thought all of the tracks were a good match for the mood and how you used them. [h1] Pros: [/h1] (+) I liked how you navigated those different tones in the narrative, the game has so many different flavors to it, at least 3 characters that feel very compelling, as well as just a lot of different feels and tension across the game (+) For the most part the perspective changes, or those moments where you recontextualize the characters worked really well for me, the game has many enjoyable twists to it, adding more depth to your original interpretation (+) Always appreciate that extra effort with the panel/UI presentation, keep doing it. You already doing a lot of the text/pacing tricks, so I don't have to tell you that, it helps a lot to highlight the emotion in the dialogue (+) The songs were a good match this time, didn't notice any unusually upbeat tracks like in the first game [h1] Feedback: [/h1] - one small thing that kinda felt odd to me, we start the game mainly with the conflict between the girls right, and that is something that echoes across the game, but in the purgatory I don't think there were any art panels or even much dialogue to bring that conflict to a proper closure, instead we go back to Remm, but I felt maybe the ending wasn't very satisfying because most of the emotional weight was not with RT at that point, it was still with the girls - even though you gave context that she is just a person that has a tendency to curse, some of the writing in the first episode felt a little forced to me, I still feel some of that cursing is more for the reader, not because the character was really compelled to curse at that moment - personally I want a little more background progression in VN games, but I guess technically you have an excuse not to have that progress with the loop and the transitional locations. The game looked good overall, although the individual panels and backgrounds were not super interesting to look at [b] Overall Thoughts: 8/10 [/b] The original game was really good, and this one I feel is just a little better, I felt the mood and the pacing were handled with more care. I probably enjoyed 90% of the writing, very rarely I felt there were a few lines that were forced, but overall, I think you created some compelling arcs for the characters. Not sure how I feel about the ending, I think because we started with the conflict between the girls, maybe that resolution needed more art panels for some cozy feels, I kinda feel like you went past it, if that makes sense. Still, better than most VN games, had some good emotional progression to it. On a personal side note, I find it very cute that you creating the 'purgatory cinematic universe' lol. [code]Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]

I got a review copy sent to my curator Peaceful Adventures and Stories which has the description "for sensitive souls and chilling out". It seems like a decent game but honestly, why did you send this to me? It started out gritty but ok for me personally. I actually found the first part of chapter 1 quite refreshing. It's not often we get to see an older woman portrayed as fiercely independent, NOT loving her family, and generous with "bad" words. She's not a nice person, but she's aware of that and we get to understand how she ended up that way. I appreciated that part of the story. I also quite enjoyed the whole mystery part. Towards the end of chapter 1, it gets pretty creepy and firmly into "informational" territory for the purposes of my curator. For chapter 2, I'd like to put a big question mark behind the "light" in "light psychological horror" from the game description. I don't want to spoil things for those who'll be fine, but the psychological/emotional abuse gets severe, there's a [spoiler]manipulative and tyrannical entity[/spoiler], implied violence, someone we'd have grown to care about is [spoiler]basically tortured and neglected to death[/spoiler], and then your character ends up being [spoiler]effectively killed after a dramatic scene[/spoiler]. Oh, and there's a sort of surprise reveal involving the [spoiler]killing of a baby[/spoiler]. Good times! FWIW there are no visuals of the violent parts, only some creepiness. It's all pretty static in fact, and it also seemed completely linear to me during the first two chapters. It's mainly a LOT of clicking with no auto read function that I was aware of, and switching of backgrounds and character positions as I guess is usual for VNs. Heads up that there are some "glitchy" text effects and I didn't find an option to turn them off. I don't think I'm going to check out chapter 3. There may be some good and insightful dialogue between awful things again, but I'd rather play something nicer. It also seemed to descend even further into stuff that's not mentioned on the store page and that only people who've played other titles by the same dev might expect. Basically, the game description seems to be entirely about the first chapter, with 2 and 3 mentioned as some sort of bonus. But honestly chapter 1 by itself didn't give me any sense of closure. Recommended for those who are actually in the target group. * * * If you like chill and story-driven games, check out my curator [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35872486]Peaceful Adventures and Stories[/url]. You're also welcome to join the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/chilladventures]group[/url].

[i] Disclaimer: Although the developer sent me this copy via my curator page, I honestly would have bought it anyway, as I liked most of their previous visual novels. [/i] I'll start by saying that although Ezrebeth is part of the same universe as other Tymedust Games titles, its story is independent, apart from the involvement of some old acquaintances. The story is divided into three episodes, each told by a different character, starting with the main character who gives the game its name: a very rude old lady who wants her family to leave her alone during the winter holidays. From there, the story takes unexpected turns that I won't spoil for you. Overall, the quality is more than decent; I'd say it's above the typical visual novels made in Ren'py, with art characteristic of this developer, as well as an extremely polished and beautiful interface, complete with details such as music and interactive segments. But what I liked the most, without a doubt, was the writing: I really enjoyed reading, paying close attention to the words, which are accompanied by small effects and details that greatly enhance immersion. In short, I think it's an excellent piece of work that brought me to tears on more than one occasion and had me applauding during the credits. A demo is available if I haven't convinced you.

Oh, how much I like Ezrebeth, both the game and the character. For context, I played the first episode of this when it was free after discovering the world it belongs to (Pitstop in Purgatory, Guidelicious, etc.) and it became my favourite entry of the series immediately. This revamped version basically doubles the content by adding two new episodes and it's *still* my favourite entry and an all-around great visual novel even if one makes abstraction of the verse it belongs to. The "expanded" edition that's on Steam manages to both answer some verse-relevant questions and ask others, but it also doesn't forget about Ezrebeth herself, who is the beating heart and strong suit of this game. I realised when playing this that even in progressive indie game circles, players are rarely given the opportunity to play as an elderly person, which is a pity, especially since narratively it allows for so many great opportunities. The titular character here is what one would derogatorily call an old bat: she's abrasive, disappointed with life, and a recluse who hates her family and wants nothing to do with them. Unravelling the whys of this is the core of the game's first/main episode, in what is part supernatural mystery and part family drama. I don't really want to say too much about the other episodes, except that they are all linked to the first, and that I thought the last one was great as a small-scale tragedy you can see coming from a mile away. You know the car is about to crash, yet cannot look away. It's fantastic. Overall, if you're looking for a relatively quick to complete VN with multiple layers, I recommend Ezrebeth. It's got colourful characters, lots of good drama, and a very dreamy atmosphere that's enhanced by the art and music. It might feel deceitfully simple when you play it, but stays with you a long time. And if you like it, definitely check out the dev's other work!

To be very honest I don't know why this game (and the other ones from Tymedust) doesn't have more visibility, more sells, more reviews, it's one of the most complex visual novels I ever see, the art, the gui, the programming behind it, the universe for these histories. Really well done. I just finished chapter 1, and I thought it was the end of the game, but no, there's more! I mean, I already played for 3 hours! How this game costs so few?

I was looking for point and click games and this one popped out to me. The art style looked cool so I bought it along with the previous game A Pitstop in Purgatory from the developers. I'm an old fart so I grew up with Lucasarts games. That's point and click to me. This pointing and clicking isn't like that, this is more like a book you play if that makes sense. You can click things but it's more about the story and pushing it along. I'm unfamiliar with that and was a bit skeptical at first because I like solving puzzles. But I have to say this really won me over. Played and completed the whole thing in one long sitting. Four hours I think. And that's a good sign I think. It's interesting how the developers seem to pull from many different worlds. The artstyle looks smudgy and well "artsy". In a good way don't get me wrong. And the writing shifts from posh speak between rich people and the personal diary entries of what I assume to be an older teenager. There are a lot of ideas and tonal mixes around. I think it added to the game's identity. It hooked me and drew me in. I can't say I've ever played a story quite like this one. At least not one with all those different flairs. It's funny sometimes, and also a bit scary. Very interesting. One harrowing part in the second episode reminded me of the show MASH which I loved as a kid. Can't say more than that though but. Yeah. This was more of a story than a game, I think. But a damn good one. Check it out.

I played the first episode of the game. It's not terrible, but there's very little to no player agency. The gameplay consists of clicking on everything so the story gets revealed. The story itself is not particularly deep or intriguing and the writing is kind of stilted.

do you support women's wrongs. alternately, do you think it's charming when gods are a little bit stupid about humans. or, have you previously played other tymedust games in the purgatory series. if you answered yes to any of these queries you will add ezrebeth to cart immediately. go go go go go go go go go the writing on this thing is Great and the art is as charming as ever. ezrebeth as a piece has an amazing ability to shift between scenes that are profoundly touching and moments of deep ontological horror and discomfort and it Rules So Much. in short, i <3 my mean grandma. remm is still horrible (fond) (derogatory) (adoring) and i love her even more deeply after having part of "why is remm" explored onscreen. like genuinely i cannot wait to see more of this godawful gang in more adventures through time and space being divas and refusing to learn anything/dragged kicking and screaming into character development that goes on to Make Things Worse, Somehow. truly great entertainment if you love heartfelt art about gross emotions and/or the horrors. 10/10 stuff, Will shill to my friends And my neighbors