[h1]When you're on the precipice and you feel like there's no way out...[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]Farewell, we see each other for the last time.....[/i] is an emotionally dark, slightly horror, slightly otome (I'll get to that part later in my review) visual novel developed by Drimmar and published by VNka. You take on the role of Lena, a teenager who's recently transferred schools, having been expelled at her previous school. Despite that she'd rather be alone and not make nice with the teachers or students, one student, Marin, wants to get closer to her, feeling as though he can empathize with her. As Lena falls deeper in her pain, can Marin save her?
As for the gameplay, there are a few choices and depending on the ones made, they can lead to one of six endings: "I Am Happy", "No Way Out", "Please, Stop Me", "I (Don't) Want to Live", "Irreparable Mistake", or "My Guilt". I should note that only one of these endings is a happy one while the others lead to tragic endings. The game is entirely comprised of CGs, and a few tracks are present but no voice acting. At the time of this review, no Steam achievements are available, and the game won't count towards a user's global total until it's out of "Steam is learning about this game".
[h2]Review[/h2]
I admit that I enjoy darker stories although I can only take them in bits and pieces. Also, I like keeping up with VNka's VN releases, so thanks to the publisher for the early review copy, I got to try out [i]Farewell, we see each other for the last time.....[/i] and share my thoughts.
[h3]Story and Writing[/h3]
After being introduced to Lena, I quickly found out that she's a very depressed girl. She mentions that she doesn't have parents, which may contribute to her emotional state. Her story is quite disturbing, as she has mean thoughts about her teachers and classmates. However, all her anger is a front for the pain she has, which leads her to suicidal thoughts. So yup, putting it out there, but if you find such topics hard to stomach, it may be best to skip on this VN. :o Then there's Marin, who finds himself drawn to Lena. He's pretty much the opposite of Lena in that he has perfect grades and looks put together. However, if you learn more about him, you find out that he had a troubling past, which is part of the reason that he feels this kinship toward Lena. These two make quite a pair, and I liked seeing the relationship dynamic between them. As for how the story flows and the endings, most of the endings are tragic. There's only one that is a bit happier although it's quite emotional at the same time.
[h3]Now is this otome?[/h3]
I was debating whether to classify this VN as otome, even making it a point to look it up on various VN sites. Although there are no romantic scenes between Lena and Marin, Marin does state at one point that he's attracted to this girl and he says enough to imply that it could be Lena although Lena is clueless about this. [b]Based on the interactions between the two, I'd conclude that it can be considered otome although it's very light on the otome aspect.[/b] It's more about Lena's troubles and how Marin's actions affect Lena.
Briefly going over the writing, it's paced well. The story length is on the short side, but I've found this to be the norm for VNka's VNs by now. The mood leans a lot toward the emotionally dark side, so only readers who can handle such topics like I've mentioned up to now should read this. I believe that Russian was the original language, so I read the English version. The translation was well done, and I didn't notice any sentences that felt off.
[h3]Art and Music[/h3]
As for the art, the sprites are drawn and colored in the typical anime style. The backgrounds are defined enough so that you can tell where Lena and/or Marin are. What I like about the art, especially, is that all of the story is comprised of CGs, which is very rarely the case in VNs. However, like in VNka's other VNs, I couldn't take screenshots, so if you want a visual reference, you'll need to look on the store page. (It'd probably be a good idea to find a way to enable screenshots or change game engines at some point. :o)
With the music, the tracks lean heavily on the darker theme. They feel very fitting for the story's overall tone and whatnot. All the tracks are instrumental in nature. In addition, no voice acting is present, but that's usually the case with VNka's releases.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]Farewell, we see each other for the last time.....[/i]? It depends on whether you're looking more for story or romance. For me personally, I favor story more, which is heavily present, so I'd give it a thumbs up. However, the romance is extremely subtle, so I'd suggest skipping out on this if you're looking for more of that side. At any rate, if you're on the fence about this, there is a free demo that you can download and play.
Finally, I'd like to thank VNka for the review copy. I'm looking forward to seeing what other VNs may be in store for the future, and I like that quite a variety of stories have been made available with previous releases. ^^
[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url] and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7593237/]Otome Rakuen[/url] team up to give readers highly detailed, thorough reviews of hot romance games.[/quote]
