Gloom and Doom

I was never really a fan of visual novels, the only one I've actually enjoyed being Doki Doki Literature Club. However, Gloom and Doom doesn't really adhere to what I always assumed were the standard cliches of that genre that Doki Doki is satirising. It forgoes the standard dating sim tropes and instead tells a story far more along the lines of a 90s slacker comedy (as it says in the description, so that's accurate!). In fact, the game is set around the turn of the millennium, and is obsessed with 90s culture and references. Video stores (remember those? I do, I worked in one for years), old school game consoles, action movies. It's a game seeped in nostalgia but it also feels kind of fresh, because it's endlessly self-aware of what it's doing. Like Doki Doki, it breaks the fourth wall on occasion though not to the same extent. This is a fully formed narrative that doesn't pull the rug out from under you. The fourth wall stuff is more like a Kevin Smith wink at the camera than anything else. It also oscillates between serious conversations about depression and ♥♥♥♥ jokes. Mostly it navigates those two things pretty successfully and doesn't insert it's ♥♥♥♥ jokes where they're not welcome. Consent is important, and Gloom and Doom respects the moment MOST of the time. The art is pretty as well, and has a fair few specialised screens for important events and reactions, rather than just literally two or three character portraits that are reused from beginning to end. The music also is varied and every main character has a theme that suits their personality and the tone of their scenes. Sorry to compare to Doki Doki again, as it's my only point of comparison, but the repetition of the same music in that game drove me kind of crazy. Here, it actually enhances the dialogue and mood (the skate park music is the best), instead of making you want to switch it off after an hour or so. The UI is pretty basic, but it does the job. It does allow you to just run backwards and forwards even after making decisions, so there's no need to ponder too long I guess if you wanted to just quickly change your mind. Depends on whether you consider that cheating or not, but most choices you can't really know immediately if its the 'right' one or not anyway. It reminded me of Life is Strange a bit in that way, in that you could always go back, but the long term repercussions weren't so easy to predict. I've only played one ending, but there are apparently others, and I can definitely see how some of the later changes especially would drastically alter the outcome, even if the earlier ones are a bit more minor. I'm sure there's a lot going on under the hood that affects what options were even offered to me later but it doesn't wear that on its sleeve so it's hard to say after only one playthrough. Overall, I was impressed and enjoyed this 90s throwback quite a lot. A lot of whether you're going to like it depends on your sense of humour, as it manages to be quite lowbrow with its jokes whilst being highbrow with its overall themes. And then of course, there's badass angels and demons fighting each other in a comic book world, so you could just enjoy it on that level as well.

It has a very well realized 90s aesthetic with an art style, consisting of that super edgy 90s comic book art style with a bit of text adventure game sprinkled in here and there. The subversive take on Christian Mythology such as fratboy Michael and punk girl Lucifer also fit in with the aesthetic. It even extends to the dialogue and humor which has that trying too hard feel though in a tongue in cheek sort of way. The basic plot here is a grumpy old man and the depressed but kind teen team up to achieve something and end up helping each other heal and discover themselves in the process. Grumpy and old here meaning a millennia old wraith who’s been exiled from heaven the last 400 years, depressed meaning ‘attempted suicide multiple times’ and achieve something meaning ‘killing her for good to stop the apocalypse.’ but that’s just window dressing. Generally I’d say there were 3 parts to the VN; Scenes which were the protagonists discussing their circumstances and struggles, such their suicidal ideation and efforts to be a good person, with another in a philosophical yet somber and down to earth sort of way, which managed to be pretty effective and touching. These were interspersed with scenes which were basically trying to make as many pop culture references as possible which was cute at first but quickly got tedious due to the excessive amount of them; characters essentially just listing out movies and game is not actual conversation. There’s also the plot/action that mostly made up the last fifth of the VN which was disappointingly mediocre. It does some unique things which counts for a lot in my book but there’s enough mediocre/cringy scenes that I 'd only put this as a tentative rec.

Eternity is a really long time, and something tells me the 400 years Gloom, an ancient wraith, has spent killing demons is starting to feels like such - a neverending story as it were. One might ponder exactly what made him embark on this rampage, and the answer is surprisingly simple: to be permitted a return to Heaven. His final task, to kill Wynona, a troubled young girl convinced she'll bring about the end of days, shouldn't overly difficult. Except Wynona has an uncanny ability to escape death, no matter the cause. What's everyone's favorite ghastly green ghoul of Gloom and Doom fame, to do, then? A whole lot, as it turns out, over the course of this choice-driven tale that blends 90s humor and pop culture references with more than a little fourth-wall-breaking, and... well, there's no ignoring the fact that the story does get rather dark at times. We are after all dealing with a demon-slaying being tasked with ending the life of a girl who's barely begun living, just so he can get back into Heaven. What a selfish punk. Or that's how I would describe Gloom, if not for the fact that - wait, did I mention how he absolutely loves Genesis? No, not the band. The console. Actually, probably the band too. He's been kicking demonic you-know-what for several centuries after all, and music did come up several times before the credits rolled. Anyway, given his affection for 16-bit classics, surely he can't be genuinely bad, right? Yeah... maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. Yes, I'm being intentionally vague here, so as to not spoil more than absolutely necessary, because this is definitely an experience best enjoyed with as little prior knowledge as possible. Even more so given its choice-driven nature, complete with no less than seven different endings. It took me around five hours to wrap up my first journey with Gloom and Wynona, and once this review is published, I'm definitely going back to explore every other possible outcome. What can I say? Sometimes, a bit of Gloom and Doom is just what the doctor ordered. But I'm getting ahead of myself, for Gloom is only one half of the main cast, and believe it or not, Wynona is actually almost more depressing than him at times. Then again, if you were haunted by a looming sensation that you'd eventually bring an end to life as we know it, becoming the Doom Bringer, chances are your outlook on life would also be more than a little... gloom. An indescribably heavy burden for one so young to bear and in Wynona's case, sadly, it's far from the first time fate has dealt her an awful hand. So what's a girl to do? How does one go about preventing a prophecy from coming true, when it involves oneself wreaking havoc and creating a literal apocalypse? Unsurprisingly, this is where the content warning for Gloom and Doom rears its ugly head (because of the topics/themes far more so than their implementation in the visual novel). In case you hadn't already guessed it from my mention of Wynona's ability to escape death, well, she's determined to cancel the end of days by ensuring she doesn't live to make it happen. Obviously not the ideal solution, but desperate measures and all that, you know? No. There's no way that'd fly, and while the story does cover topics like self-harm and suicide, thankfully, it never veers too far in that direction so as to avoid becoming a depressing nightmare (akin to those Wynona's been experiencing). The frequent sprinkles of humor and witty banter between not only Gloom and Wynona but also every other character - of which there are surprisingly many, each getting plenty screentime too - helps maintain a steady balance of light and darkness; much like the story itself, actually. That said... if you don't enjoy or at least remember the late 80s/early 90s, a lot of the jokes are going to fall flat. That's just how it is. As someone fortunate (yes, really) enough to be a teenager in the 90s and a crazy old coot who still thinks the 80s is the best decade for music - closely followed by the 70s - needless to say, I had an absolute blast with these. Even the handful of obscure lyrical references that I doubt many my age would get made me smile. Doubly so because of their timing, often coming crashing through the dialogue box at just the right moment, reminding the player that it doesn't matter who or what you are - demon, angel, human, cat, dog, old, young, male, fema-- you get the point - music is a universal language. Apparently, that also goes for English, as everyone speaks it here. Oh, stop rolling your eyes at the screen - I am joking, obviously. I know perfectly well that the angels and demons have their own ancient language and my brain simply interpreted it as I read each line of dialogue. But seriously, getting back to the story for a moment: have you ever wondered whether there is in fact more between Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy? Reading (or trying to, rather) Shakespeare didn't put such thoughts in my head, and neither did playing through Gloom and Doom. So why bring it up? Well, in a few ways, this particular tale of how the needs of the many just might outweigh the needs of a few (or one, in this case) did give me some food for thought, and in no small part because of its supernatural (and/or religious) elements, angels and demons clashing and such. So there, Heaven, Earth, in-between. Wynona's troubled life is after all one I'd wager many can relate to, even if only in a small way, and the level of determination Gloom shows in his attempt to atone for his sins is also quite relatable. We've all made at least one bad decision in the past after all. Comes with being human. We're a flawed race. Unlike Gloom, however, we don't exactly have immortality on our side, giving us only a limited amount of time to hopefully make things right again. Because of this, every moment carries significantly more value than someone for whom time has all but lost its meaning. Wynona, on the other hand, is almost too human: fragile and driven by emotions with a limited lifespan. Throw an unhealthy chunk of depression on top along with, you know, that aforementioned prophecy... and you've got a truly broken soul. This most certainly begs the question: is Gloom - a wraith who mostly kills demons, plays video games, and enjoys more than a few old movies - really what Wynona needs in her life right now? Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. One way to find out. What? No, I don't mean 'by having me spoil the whole thing in this final paragraph'. Sheesh! That's not how reviews work. Ah, speaking of which, this is where I'd normally put the tl;dr version for those who fancy skipping all but the final paragraph. Sorry, not this time. My opinion of Gloom and Doom, like the game itself, is best experienced without skipping ahead, and so it shall be. I have spoken. Originally published on [url=https://www.wraithkal.com/gloom-and-doom-review/]my blog.[/url]

Interesting story with great characters and a 90's-ish theme. Light-hearted even though it has themes of suicide. Generally very enjoyable. No action scenes wedged in. (which is good for most visual novels)

A game that I wish I got to play while I was stuck in my angsty teenage years. It was fun and thought provoking, and I'm excited to unlock all the other endings! Love the music and all the 90s pop culture references!

A real gem of a game for those that enjoy great storytelling and nail-biting suspense. Excellent artwork, beautiful layout and well paced. Three thumbs up!

If you love 90's pop culture be it movies or music, you gonna love this game! I had so much fun playing this and I would highly recommend Gloom and Doom!

Really enjoyed the storytelling and flow of the game! It's an awesome experience playing through the game, especially all the 90s references which really brought a smile to my face. The story focuses on the mental aspects of people in placed in different situations, which I found really relatable and lead me to reflect on myself. Would highly recommend it to people looking to trying something that's slow placed and to enjoy the story. Great work for a solo development as well!

Super enjoyable visual novel ... The characters are quirky and the narrative has a ton of 90s references, with occasional expletives! Really enjoy the wholesome messages in the story line, and the writing is witty and cheeky. Appreciate the visual style too ... can see each character is painstakingly drawn. Kudos to this one-man-show game dev!

This VN is just amazing. It's long enough to really feel the character development but not too long that you start feeling "OH MY GOD HURRY UPPPP". The story and its themes are definitely of a serious matter but the delivery makes it accessible. This isn't a game to click mindlessly, but rather a thought provoking take on a real topic with a message of hope. The disclaimer is not for no reason. The litany of characters are engaging and the detail in the designs make each character extremely memorable. Although a different type of style from the usual VN, it fits the writing and time period of the game perfectly. Hard to imagine it any other way. The dialogue and banter between the characters will legit make you laugh out loud. Even the parts that start to get uncomfortable are handled in a way where you get right to the edge before pulling you back in. I mean... you'll get the tone of the game from just the intro. The game makes tons of references to the 90s, so being you know... old but not that old, I think I got most of them, but I am sure people of that generation will find the nostalgia in it. Enjoy the wild ride!