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!
