Head AS Code

Head AS Code is a genuinely well-written visual novel with a branching choice path and a satisfying narrative. Essentially a budget version of the Nonary Games, although this game doesn't actually contain many puzzles (though at some point in development did), so there's a bit of a narrative dissonance when a big popup shows up during the "puzzle room" segments where you actually just click on a bunch of stuff and the protagonist solves the puzzle for you. The characters seemed decently written, with a few odd exceptions, and one key issue I took with the game was its over-use of sexual innuendo, a lot of the time forced too. Some girl gets knocked unconscious and then there's a one-liner about "checking out her body, but not in that way". Just... unnecessary. It reeks of dialogue that was written by someone a bit younger, but luckily there's only a handful of these moments, and they're largely in the beginning of the story. Overall I found myself quite invested in the plot, and there's a good hook for the sequel in this which I'm looking forward to play. I do think it was worth the asking price although I grabbed it on sale. If you enjoy games that shoot for multiple endings that all cumulate into one "True End", you'll probably enjoy this game.

Like others have said as well, this visual novel doesn't have a lot of "game" involved and is moreso just clicking through what's happening. Unlike the ZE games (a very very clear inspiration) I didn't feel like i had a lot of agency playing this one and it took a lot of the suspense out of it. However, I still want to recommend the game because I think it's very cool what was done with the premise and I ended up liking the story a lot more after i had seen it all and the plot was tied together. Definitely a super cool plot! If you are an enfranchised ZE enjoyer I would buy it, if you're new to the genre I would not recommend this as a standalone title though.

Starts off really boring but pays off towards the midpoint. The introduction definitely could use a bit more action or interesting dialogue but I do recommend you power through it as this game starts to get insane once you finish the first ending. It's a slow burn, even after the prologue so do note you're not going to be zooming through the story. Still, while the prologue may at first feel strangely placed, it is not at all unintentional. The only issues I had with this game is the writing in some regards. Sometimes this game will just suddenly gut-punch you with Simon making a joke that is just cringe and not at all charming, way too many references to other media at one time in an active search, or characters engaging too long in a joke that did not at all land. The characters are honestly fine, not exceptional, but are tolerable. The only characters I felt were great were Ray (honestly shocked me), A, and E. The rest are fine but I feel they're a bit underdeveloped and not very unique characters, as they more rely on the plot developments to characterize them. They lack more obvious distinctions in their personality traits and aren't as memorable as the characters I listed before. They still do get interesting backstories and while that didn't make me that much more inclined to them, it was definitely better than nothing. The story starts off slow but then becomes this timeline jumping exciting experience of trying to piece things together to solve the missing parts of other timelines. It's pretty much a puzzle and since everyone is CONSTANTLY LEAVING INSTEAD OF STICKING TOGETHER, as you progress the story, you'll have moments in which you suddenly realize who could have been where, who could have done what, the true meaning behind the events of the game, whats really happening in the station. You're constantly having theories checked, denied, or accepted and then moving to the next bit to further figure things out and I loved it! It gives the game this constant intrigue and excites you to play more and more to figure out what happened and what's going on. The story for me was the best thing HAS had to offer. Finally, the sprite art-style is a bit odd but I got used to it pretty fast, although as much as this might be rude I really think the CG style should have been used for sprites instead. I'm unsure if it's the same artist, but characters like Ray have terrible sprite art and the CGs make this problem even more apparent as you're seeing a more desirable version of these characters that the sprite work is not at all delivering on. Most of them are close enough but Ray's is just so distracting after you get to that one CG. The CG art was phenomenal and I honestly wish there were more CGs as I find that style to be very satisfying. Overall, starts off slow but picks up rapidly and becomes a very fun and entertaining mystery VN where you're just constantly wondering "What the ♥♥♥♥ is happening"

Boy I loved this game. Obviously inspired by 999 which is one of my favorite games ever, it expands on the themes and questions brought by the incredible series. The characters are likable, the dialogue is fun, and the story and endings are really well thought out. Great game!

I'm planing on potentially making a full video on this game, and it would be posted in the comments of this review, but i sadly came into this game knowing that this wasn't going to be as good as Birth ME code. I don't hate this game though, it is a first game after all, and if this was the dev's first game ever, then i'm impressed with doing a long game like this. SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT Firstly, the story is relatively good, the mystery aspect is pretty well done, and there were some good plot twists. I accidentally saw a review say that they thought that Simon wasn't that good, and i was worried i was going to deal with an insufferable protagonist, thankfully, he wasn't, but i wouldn't say he's perfect. I think with the routes, there ends up coming a problem with his character, sometimes he makes decisions that are absolutely bone headed, such as trying to kill himself to save fake Hannah, and when fake Hannah does sacrifice herself, when Simon sees that there are "clones" of everyone else, he doesn't think anything through, and just runs through the door, getting himself killed. yet, in by far the best written timeline, when Simon outplays everyone else, his paranoia gets the better of him, but he is able to use it as a strength, as he uses the old gun to fool agnos, and later find out he needs to leave with e. I think the issue with the loops is that Simon can either be a good character, or bad character based on how choices pan out, but without something to keep him still "likable enough", it makes me kinda not happy with him at points. on that note CHARACTERS ARE KINDA WEIRD Agnos is by far the highlight, he was a very compelling enemy, and after the first route, i was always trying to make sure to act before he acts. this helps when sometimes OTHER characters go crazy. He is very static, but i think in a good way. Fake hannah, i feel bad for her, because she isn't really able to expand as a charterer, as is more of an extension of real Hannah. I think there could've been an interesting arc for her, but she is shafted to be killed in the reactor, and then just help out Simon (briefly) when real Hannah and Greta meet up Greta, again, underutilized, but i think its not as bad. She did have some good interactions with Simon, and she is the most "complex" character, though its not by much. marco, disappointing, to say the least, he barely has a stake in the story, and he is seemingly both working, and against the empty S. This could've provided an interesting prospective, if, lets say he partners up with agnos, but then it comes out more was going on, or idk, something else, at most he just has a mental breakdown near the end Ray, funnily enough, the one character that said his name is the one we know the least about. He is a good secondary antag, and he did cause some damage. his collapse at the end was sad, but fitting for him. I feel there coulda been more, especially since he did help Simon get the gun, and other information. hell, i was expecting him to be revealed to be Zachary, but guess not. seems kinda wasted, and he got better treatment jasmine (REAL Hannah) Pretty good, she had some good moments, both crazy and rational, but her personality kinda doesn't separate herself well from the others. which is a shame, because 1. jasmine could be a good character, 2. Hannah post birth ME code would be interesting to explore. e/Emily is kinda odd, for one thing, she is both a damsel in distress, but the mastermind. in the first route, i would be hesitant to call her the MM, more of an unwilling accomplice. excluding birth me code, she is easily the most intreging charterer. but emily herself has E (as in the one from the original route) act on her own, and kinda isn't allowed to grow. Emily as the MM (specifically the woman we meet at the end) is very interesting, her motives are kinda yandere-ish, yet you could argue it was for a good reason, although at the same time, if she could revive Simon, why didn't she help save the others? And throwing in birth ME code, it gets more complicated. Another issue is that some stuff isn't fully explained until birth me code, which yeah, its intended to be a trilogy, but i feel like with some of the stuff, it isn't explained *enough* for the player to understand it, but keep it hidden. maybe more could be added, such as with Marco's conflicting loyalties, and more about agnos's personal life, and so on and so forth. THE DEATH GAME ITSELF these people should have no excuse to be so dumb, The answer was so obvious, but they made themselves look like idiots, i guessed as soon as i saw the numbers that the real answer was just to pair up with people to get 9, and not a 9th man, meaning there was no traitor. Yet they went on a wild goose chase that isn't something that can be blamed on smiley. Even with the only 2 survivors rule, like, Come on...! Another problem is with the format of the death game, which has no real time limit, it leads to a problem of pacing, it leads to the first route being WAY too long because the writer is way to UN-restricted in the amount of time it takes to reach an end. The flow chart making you jump to different points, while nice for quality of life things, makes it insanely quick in contrast. PUZZLES Non existent, i refuse to call the searches game play. I'm not okay with that, at least have some challenge, it doesn't even need to be justified like with 999, i don't like the fact the only puzzles were the church and the pool. the latter of which can be brute forced. GRAMMAR ISSUES I'll admit, i kinda suck at detecting grammar issues, but there was stuff i did see, like words that should be swapped, some stuff that wasn't clear. the game diffidently would need a proofreader, or at least a 2nd read through. ENDING Well played, its very interesting to have plot points like the reveal that the game was rigged so Simon and Emily WOULD ONLY live. Causing retroactive despair, as you realize the twins didn't actually get out as you thought. Simon's final choice was a really well done moment, as i spend a solid 5 minutes thinking about it, and to take away player choice HERE was a good moment for Simon's "arc" so to speck. His suicide though is very interesting, he did at least protect the 17 pair, but you could also argue he could've just tossed the dead Emily's body onto the contraption, then give the new E the 19 collar. But i think the point behind the suicide, a final ♥♥♥♥ you to "god" by Simon, even if its very irrational is a good way to cap off the game. overall, while i still liked the game, its no where near as good as birth me code. I'm sure the devs will hone their skill, i mean, they did a route based death game, that's not only one of my favorite types of games, but its also a lot of work. Hope you guys do well further in life!

A solid Zero-Escape visual novel with an especially good ending. One thing to note is there aren't any puzzles in this game, which honestly didn't bother me, the story was strong enough on it's own, The pacing does slow a little for the middle third of the game, but the conclusion still makes it worth getting through.

Preparing myself for a Decide 4 God playthrough (I was turbo-broke for some time, so only got it recently), I decided to revisit the older games when I realized that... I hadn't actually played the whole way through HASC's remake. I played the original version a long time ago, and I did START the remake before, but then I stepped away and I guess my memories of the original version later tricked me into thinking I did finish the remake... how silly of me! Anyway, I have finished it now, and [i]DAMN[/i] is everything tightened up. The writing has been tightened up, all the pseudoscience elements feel more relevant, suspense is more suspenseful, events are punchier, the graphics have been way upgraded, but honestly I think Alec Shea's soundtrack might be an even bigger upgrade than the graphics -- it is MERCILESSLY spot on. Some tracks are plain [b]terrifying.[/b] As for the overall quality, I might try to edit this into a better review later (if I ever get around to that), but suffice to say, I knew the general gist of it already, and yet the specifics (especially in their re-tightened form) grabbed me [i]again.[/i] Total obsession, spread over the course of about 1.5 days total. One minor gripe I have to point out is that while HASC's original puzzles may have been a bit much at times (I still remember struggling with the safe and "metagaming" the laser), this version removed actual puzzle-solving almost entirely, nerfing the "playable escape room" aspect into the ground. By itself this might be fine, but this _is_ a Zero Escape-like, and I think people coming from ZE will expect a bit more resistance than this. But don't let that discourage you -- the story (this time tightened up in terms of writing and MUCH better-presented) is the main attraction here, and this game will thrill you, chill you and scramble your brain real good. If you're a newcomer, welcome aboard. If you're here from the original version, this one's better. If you're here from Birth ME Code, you'll catch some [i]very[/i] interesting details, many of which the original version didn't have. If you're here from ZE... well... this particular entry in the franchise LOVES pretending that it's showing you a twist similar to something in ZE, only to introduce a "twist to a twist" that wildly changes the context. So... if you think something seems a bit too unoriginal... [i]think again.[/i] :) Don't know if I should go through BMEC again or jump straight into D4G, but either way, this thing is fantastic and 100% needs more love. I just finished and maybe am not super coherent, but the more good reviews, the merrier.

I'm a big fan of visual novels/adventure/puzzle solving games. I've played the Zero Escape Series, Danganronpa, AI The Somnium Files and more. This game has a similar spirit. Watch an interesting story unfold, make choices that matter and solve puzzles to progress. There is always a timeline, time bending and rewinding to be had. The story is worth the wait. If you like any of the games mentioned above, you will like this game as well.

Wants to be a Notary Game so bad, but isn't. Not the worst crime, since 999 is a masterpiece and even a poor imitation is still a decent game. Enjoyable navigation with the ability to skip unseen text, some genuinely surprising endings and a thoroughly used and enjoyed feature that shows which items and dialogue have already been viewed for optimal replay and 100% completion value). Also, the game has an in universe justification for its meta structure as well as some fourth wall breakings that worked pretty well for me. However! - most if not all of the major characters go underdeveloped. Despite routinely giving you choices of who to explore rooms and make small talk with, I very rarely felt I understood a character's motivations. Characters are established as shady or trustworthy or ♥♥♥♥♥♥ or down to earth, but there were maybe 3 characters who wouldn't act the same as every other character in any situation (and one of those is a girl who is blind and deaf, so). Even your character's established best friends are flat, they both have at least one timeline where they turn on you/make some allegedly wildly out of character choice, and it completely fumbled for me just because I barely understood what acting IN character would look like for them. Plus, the game definitely suffers from ending fatigue - while it at least makes narrative sense that [spoiler] there's no massive fight with the major villain of the game [/spoiler], it doesn't make the [spoiler] villain sits and exposition dumps the entire plot to you [/spoiler] trope less overdone mindnumbingly boring. Good outweighs the bad though in my opinion. The mystery sustains with some truly ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ insane endings towards the end that really ramp up your desire to find the truth (even if that isn't exactly rewarded; see above). Beat the entire thing completely, including 100% completion of all rooms and areas, in about 6 hours, so if it's a rainy day and you enjoyed 999, pick it up.

This is an incredibly ambitious game made by an incredibly small team- considering that this game is *incredibly* impressive. While it's not quite perfect, it's a good experience and a good start for an interesting series. If you are looking for a complex philosophical narrative with several timelines you can seamlessly jump between, I have several small issues with the game, but only a few truly impact the experience. First, the most forgivable issue is the lack of visuals around character death. While there are several reasons for it (adding at least a dozen or so CGs would be timely and costly), it can feel... odd after you notice how we almost never see anyone's actual body when death is fairly frequent. At first I assumed it was some kind of sensitivity to violence thing, and then we got some in detail death descriptions and a rare violent CG and it feels very... tell don't show at times. There were times where I fully lost tract of who died and had to go back to the logs just because I couldn't remember and some for of visual indication would have helped. Overall this is not a big deal, and the art that exists is very pleasant, but if this game is ever remade/remastered I believe it would make a big help to establish a stronger tone to show some of the bodies and add a few more art assets for clarity. For achievement hunters- don't! It's not worth it. You will probably have to replay each of the puzzle rooms at least three or four times (and some novel sections as many as eight) to read all of the possible dialogue options that are required for the several achievements the require you to read all of the text in the game. I went back and choose basically every alternate option whenever I could, and I barely had half by the time I got to the true end. My only true issue for this game is the writing. I do think the plot is generally good and fairly thought out... but the dialog and tone can be weird or almost unbearable at times. Some characters will dance around light curse words or intense subjects like a preschool teacher and then a chapter later curse like a sailor and then make some wild sexual innuendos. It's mostly our narrative character Simon that's the issue (he is incredibly inconsistent and often a bit unlikable) but its an issue with most characters. He a bit of a pervert, a coward, weird (he makes more than one weird joke about his unrequited crushes weight for example) and a wallows about several things that just are (partially to entirely) his fault... I see the inspiration (If you know you know) but he was maybe not the best choice as an MC. Almost everyone has some faults though, from making very specific references, making unbearable puns, or spouting over thought experiments that they do not have any business knowing... but while the frequency is often enough I can't call the writing.. good. Finally, the puzzles. This game has a habit of solving puzzles for you. If an object needs a specific item iteration for you to proceed, the game will complete that interaction as long as you have the item... even if it's your first time interacting with the object. Other puzzles will simply be auto-completed by the MC as he describes how he did so without any input on your end. Since some of the puzzles we do have agency over are often misleading in their instructions, this isn't ideal but it's not the worst. The next game almost over-corrects this issue so... hand in there! While I will complain, I also don't think it's SO bad that it's worth skipping the game. Also, the newer game has some similar issues but is much less frequent and far improved, so I'd argue it's worth sticking out for!