Garenburg Penitence: The Riflebird

It's peak!

orb Edit: Now that I finished I can give an actual review If you have $3 and know how to read this game is for you. If you start it and anything interests you, keep playing because every part of it only gets better with each and every act. While the gameplay isn't perfect, it is fun and it is charming. It can also be really hard if thats your cup of tea. Overall, the gameplay is second to the story, there were moments that were too overwhelming for me to keep going, and just as many that kept me coming back. The writing was so good through the last 2 acts I couldn't put it down. I feel like I have more to say but I dont know how to say it, maybe I'll come back to this after 100%. If you made it this far into my review and didnt buy it already you've got something wrong with you.

Idk what did I just play, 10/10

I've gotten to the end of Chapter 1, I intend to come back to this review after finishing the game- I didn't want to give too many comments on the story until I finished the game, same for the gameplay. But I wanted to give my first impression thoughts, as well as some other thoughts based on viewing other's playthroughs. When it comes to overall value, this game is a steal. It's one of the most unique visual novels I've played, and if you're looking for that unique experience you should definitely give the game a shot. I really am not that big a fan of reading, but the narrative of the first chapter kept me very engaged. It's full of a lot of good character moments so far (no spoilers, sorry!) with some stuff that's pretty relatable to me at least, and I'm really looking forward to how everything evolves. When it comes to accessibility and gameplay, I think that's one of the game's biggest struggles. If you're only looking forward to the story, then levels like the No Miss challenges can really be a dent in your experience, not having a lives system there especially for easier difficulties feels like a big missed opportunity. Outside of speeding up and slowing down, you have no more control over your character. It makes just the base movement of the game feel simple to a fault. I think this game would be significantly better by either giving additional moves, like maybe a charge shot or reverse on the path, or taking more advantage of the already existing flip mechanic through level design. One last thing, this game builds it surreal and disturbing tone very well. From the visuals to the soundtrack especially, I wasn't sold on it at first but nearly everything about the game's art direction is very well executed. Overall I'd highly recommend this game if you're looking forward to the story, gameplay wise it could be better, but it's not a deal breaker for me personally.

the game is really good!! the marbles part gets insanely hard sometimes (i'm not very good), but, even so, i think going through all that is totally worth it for getting to read the story - and the story is awesome! there's a lot of stuff to remember and you're kind of dropped in the middle of everything ever, but it's really intriguing seeing what happens to the characters and what they do as you bash your head against the marble game. there *is* also girls kissing but that has totally not, in way, shape or form, influenced my review. i definitely do not have ulterior motives. i swear.

This game is fun and saddddd

A beautiful and tragic story told through the lenses of multiple characters giving a intriguing look into events that are equally on a large scale and a small scale. A tale that shows the imperfections and frustrations of people. I'm not expert on writing but the way the narrative flows and the repetition of themes and quotes just gave me so many emotions that by the end I was left in tears. Frankly, i don't think a game or story has ever given me such unique levels of emotion, which I think is the perfect word for this game. Unique. And just for that it is worth playing. As for the actual gameplay, I'm not experienced at all with marble games so I absolutely sucked and had to switch to easy by act 6 sadly, but even on easy it's still fun and not just something to blow through without thinking, it still became a much more painless experience. Levels are short and I'm glad for that as the end of each file left me wanting more and more, I don't think there's any file where I wasn't fully engaged in what was being said. A bit rambly of a review but I hope I got my emotions across. Beautifully unique game that made me feel emotions. Awesome. Yuri. Hell yeah.

Imma be real with you, I tried giving this game a real chance. I really love abstract and weird games that offer unique experiences so in that aspect this game seemed right up my alley. The artstyle looks cool and the story seems interesting but the gameplay is just so insanely cumbersome I can't even fathom how anyone would genuinely enjoy it. I don't know if it's just a skill issue on my part or what but I wasn't able to beat even a single stage despite switching to the easiest difficulty. Despite that I wouldn't necessairly call this game *hard*, it's just hectic and hard to control in a way that isn't really fun, imo. I know that 0.3 hours on record doesn't seem like much but every time I tried playing this game I genuinely felt like quitting after minutes, if not seconds. The only reasons why I haven't refunded it are because: 1. I forgor 2. I prefer not refunding games from indie devs.

game is really cool! tho the gameplay is incredibly stressful (atleast to me) and it made me have to stop playing the game sadly, I wish I could have engaged with the story