Heaven's Grave

Had to quit this halfway through supposedly the best (in that it is most overtly romantic) route and am disinclined to come back for the simple reason that in her infinite desire to be Lawful Good, MC becomes cringeworthy Lawful Stupid and the game only encourages it becoming an Extreme Doormat simulator. Have to commend the length of the game; still thanks, but no thanks, not my cup of tea.

I was eyeing this game for a while, but had my doubts because lately I've been growing more and more suspicious of newly-made otome games and how most of them seem to lack a good writing, which is what I'm usually after. But! I knew this game was made by the same developer who did The Rose of Segunda and that one was fairly enjoyable to read and had a nicely written protagonist as well as some other characters (was a hell of a task to get to the secret path but oh so worth it ^_~). In case of this game, sure, after playing for a while the sprites seem way too repeatable and some faces from CGs remind me too much of ones from The Rose of Segunda (takes little to figure what they both have the same artist), but whatever, I came here for the story and boy, did I get a fine one. So, in short, does this game worth a shot? Yes, it does. Like a good book, it's long enough to steal your attention for a while with its decent writing and given how rare it is nowadays, it's enough for me. Everything else (art pleasant enough for the eyes and music you don't want to turn off immediately and all that) is just a nice bonus.

I knew when i added this to my follow list, that I would end up getting this game. I knew when i looked at the images exactly whose route i would be following as well. No I wont say which one, but I will say he was exactly as I thought he would be. And I enjoyed every moment of the game I got to spend with him. I've only completed the one route at the time of this review, and it took 2 days and nearly 8 hours for me to do so. I have played (if such a word applies honestly) other VNs and CYAs that claimed to have 3 times as many words, and yet delivered less than half that amount of time and enjoyment. Its well worth the money asked. The music is fitting to the theme, and not distracting from the story. I barely noticed it most of the time to be honest. The art style is simple and clean. The real art in this, is the story. There are some hard choices to be made. Not because "figuring out" which is the right choice is hard, but because it makes you really want to choose the wrong one. In the end I chose appropriately for the ending I was wanting to achieve, but i did so grudgingly. Knowing that if I were following my own moral compass at points, Id have lead Arha astray. I mention this only to share the fact that this game really does move you deeply on several levels, and for me atleast shed light on some darker corners of my own soul. It can be more than a little uncomfortable sitting there, knowing what the right choice is in one of these situations but just staring at the screen wanting for maybe more than a moment or two wanting to make the wrong one. So ill wrap this up by inviting anyone who is considering whether or not to get this, to give it a go. This game is not about the ending so much as the paths you walked to get there.

Do you like stories where the heroes travel from place to place hoping to reach their destination in the end? (like the Odyssey or Life is Strange 2) If yes, then you're likely to enjoy Heaven's Grave. If no, then don't bother. Overall, I quite liked the story. It was pretty interesting. However, at times I was somewhat frustrated with how slow-paced it was.

Heaven's Grave is a Otome about the end of the world and how our MC and the 3 gods that appeared before her will in preventing the end of times. I really enjoyed the story. It gave a strong story that did not shy away from the darker themes and things you'd expect when the world is falling apart and also provide a mystery and a twist. The most significant theme being the absence of compassion and kindness towards your fellow stranger and the ugliness of humans in desperate times. Each route in the game focuses on that theme on different ways. In regards to the characters, Ahra (our MC) is a lovely headstrong, compassionate MC who essentially pushes her LI's into being better people. Not only does her LI's grown in each route but each route she faces trials that challenges her beliefs (Suiza's route comes to mind where she is challenged the most) Overall, the story is great and recommend it due to it.

I fell in love with this game. The characters grow and develop beautifully throughout the story. Though I came to love all of the main characters (and most of the side characters), my favorite character is the shrine maiden. I played so many otome games where the main character is clumsy, stupid, naive, lovestruck or downright annoying. Arha stood up for herself and for what she believed to be right without being a b!tch about it. This is truly a beautiful tale. <3

Changed to not recommending... If you're really curious then get on sale. Start with Kein's route, it is the most enjoyable. I tried to save him til last, but I don't think I'll finish this game. I really enjoyed another game by this company called "The Rose of Segundia", and had hoped that this game would have the same feel. It does not. It is a more serious subject matter and there are very few moments of joy or fun. It feels like the game is trying to teach me something about the struggle of man to remain good in the face of extreme hardship and injustice, the corruption that can come with power, struggling to find onself and self worth, etc. I have a major in religious studies, and this felt like an attempt at a deep conversation. It succeeds at being intelligent and darker than most stories I've played... but to it's own detriment. It gets very repetitive until the characters split about 1/2 way through. The seriousness of the subject matter makes a lot of the lovey relationship moments seem weird/forced. The romances almost don't fit into the story (which is really bad for a game of this nature). It switches between tragedy and the struggle of man to a cute scene where the MC and LI help the other wash their hair or something. For such a serious tone, the characters don't talk through things as much as you think they would (They can't because if they resolve their issues it would dissipate their tension i guess? The tension lasts too long for things they could talk about.) The art is usually very good with a couple scenes being a bit blurry and off looking. The MC is forced to be lawful good most of the time. Overall, I haven't once wanted to try to finish Kein's route or replay this game.

Loved it, absolutely loved it. All three routes are brilliant, and the protagonist is probably my favourite ever in a game like this. The world would be a much better place if we all followed the teachings of Aisu.

This game is criminally underrated. It is undeniably rough around the edges, but I think that the wonderful writing and world building ore than makes up for its technical faults. The MC is very likable and has a strong personality, which seems to be a theme with Blackcross & Taylor games. The LIs are all very well written and play off the MC well. Easily recommend