Hermitage: Strange Case Files

This is a real tough call. Bustafellows is a 30hr+ unbearably bad visual novel with an absurdly small number of player choice…but I got to say this surpasses it. So congrats Hermitage you now hold my #1 rank for worst visual novel ever made. I honestly didn’t think it was ever possible to surpass Bustafellows, but you managed to do it. While Bustafellows definitely has far higher production values with animated backgrounds and voice acting and a more robust soundtrack, that’s not what makes Hermitage worse. Hermitage is worse because the story is both boring and incomprehensible where Bustafellows has a bad story, but at least you can understand it and the dialogue is enjoyable to read/listen to. I would say Hermitage does have some nice qualities. I think the soundtrack is quite good, I wish it was longer, but it’s still good. I enjoyed the art style. It has a real graphic novel quality to it, maybe this game would have done better as a graphic novel. The character designs are also well done. However, that’s probably all the positives. The characters themselves I found ok…but not enough time is spent on developing these people so instead they just come off as very stereotypical. The main character of “Store Manager” is just a mysterious character that really you never know much about. Neko is the expert child computer hacker, Justin is the young super sleuth detective, Cecile is the naive school girl, Scarlet is the femme fatale cynical lawyer, and Zack is the street tough with the heart of gold. There is nothing wrong necessarily with that, the problem is that the game seems to not care at all at developing these characters. Almost all the dialogue in the game is just massive info dump after info dump dealing with either psychological, theoretical, historical, or cosmic horror mythos background information. It’s exhausting. There is so much reading in this game and none of it is interesting. I could only play maybe an hour of this game at a time before having to do something else because of how boring it is. None of this dialogue feels natural either, I don’t know if that’s a translation issue or what but I played Untale and that game is a Russian murder mystery with massive translation errors and I was still enthralled with the story. Characters just monologue about things forever and contemplate life in general instead of having interesting conversations with each other. The game is also divided into 6 chapters/cases. The first one is the best one and even that isn’t very good. The main issue is that none of these cases are really mysteries. You can figure everything out extremely fast. So you aren’t really solving anything. I guess I would describe all of these things as horror stories dealing with the cosmic horror mythos. So that’s a fun setting, but it’s just done so poorly here. You never get that feeling of cosmic dread, probably because the dialogue is so boring you just want them to hurry up and solve this mystery that you will have figured out far before the main characters. Chapter 4 especially where your characters turn into cats for no reason is so absurd that I almost stopped playing the game at that point. Overall, my biggest issue with the game is the utter lack of decisions. The entire point of the visual novel genre is allowing player choice to affect the story and this game has none. There are a few points where you have some choices….it’s extremely few…like maybe a dozen times in a 25hr story. However, these choices if you pick the wrong one, just immediately cause you to lose the chapter. That’s not player choice, that’s meaningless. Player choice is making meaningful decisions that have an impact throughout the game, like maybe have it possible for these characters to die and hence change where the story goes. The game has none of that. The other massive problem in this game is the only other “decision” you get to make is using clues you find throughout the game (again you have no real way to search for clues as the game has no choices so just playing the game gets you almost all the clues. Except in a few extremely frustrating cases where the clues are hidden in books that you have to read twice to get the clue). This mechanic could have been fun, but either due to a poor translation error or poor game design none of these clues ever seem to have any relation to the actual deduction being made. It’s maddening. There is no way to ever figure out what clues are needed for the correct solution. I had to use a guide that thankfully someone made otherwise you’d have to just save scum your way through it. Again, maybe the original Chinese language version the clues make sense with the deduction being made, but not in the English version. This creates a whole level of frustration that destroys one of the only interesting aspects of this game. Finally, overall the story to this game is just bad. [spoiler] So the ultimate plot is that the insane book store owner is trying to summon elder gods to destroy the world…for some reason…oh but they are also time traveling somehow. This again is all explained in an info dump at the end of the game and nothing really leads you to believe this guy is time traveling around the world murdering/sacrificing people prior to this. In fact the cases you are solving in this game for some reason don’t even have anything to do with this plot. The cases you are solving apparently were part of the store owners grand stratagem to drive out other cults in the city that might interfere with his plan. Sure would have been better if these cases involved time travel elements or dealing with pieces in the ultimate ritual, but nope. The final twist also makes no sense. As far as I can tell the game seems to be saying that Scarlet, Neko, and the Store Manager all actually died 1 year prior to the start of the game when they were involved in another case. The Store Owner then used his elder god friends to make copies of these people…for some reason? However, these copies were too well constructed to the point where they acted like the actual people that originally tried to stop the Store Owner. A character that until the final chapter was never mentioned then appears, causes some sort of time travel paradox…where Zack, Cecile, and Justin go back in time and essentially rescue the real Store Manager, Neko, and Scarlet so upon returning to the present the copies are no longer copies they are the real ones? It makes no sense, like not even remotely. Even worse, the last 2 chapters of this game literally don’t even have you making any decisions at all and just reading these long text info dumps and more egregiously Chapter 5 actually alludes to a better game. Having the game where Neko, Dan, Scarlet, and the Store Manager are a mystery solving team that ends up failing and everyone dying and being stuck in a time loop where you are trying to solve why you are stuck in a time loop and have the twist be that Dan betrayed you would be a drastically better story. [/spoiler] No one should play this game. If you want a good mystery visual novel play Zero Escape (the first one not the sequels) or AI Somnium. Either of those games would be far more worth your time then this.

Давно ждал эту новеллку на англ и не зря.. Очень интересно.. ну а кто не знает англ, может использовать TextRactor.

a hidden gem!

This game made me realise I really don't like visual novels, and I need to stop thinking a concept is cool and worth trying if its a visual novel. Negatives first; it has these ugly characters. At first, I thought it was just stylisation, but when looking at their stills, they just look odd and I don't like it. The backgrounds are kind of basic as well. This is a personal gripe I have in all games with text. When scrolling to the next set of words and it goes past the amount allowed for the dialogue box, rather than scrolling down, it ends on a new line, even if the new line is adding only one word. I just don't like this. Minor issue with sound design is a shocking revelation will play this tune and then continue the background music. I found it jarring, but others will likely love it. Very nit-picky here, but I hate stories where police officers get involved and goes against their lines of work ethics, because it always raises the question of "why didn't you do X? That's what a normal police officer would do." Basically, my suspension of disbelief is very hard to maintain when a story is set in our world and someone acts out of alignment for their profession or what a reasonable person would do. Positives; strong sense of mystery and intrigue, and sets off at the start to showcase that. Puzzle solving using the tools available to you doesn't feel too difficult or too easy, requiring you to think about what you're reading, but also giving you the information you need for later. I love the soundtrack with its jazzy vibes. Not enough soundtracks feel like they suit the tone and mood of the story they're telling, but with this OST, it feels very fitting to the setting, giving a partial noir but also feels like something that would be played at an antique bookstore (the primary backdrop of the game). Do I think its a bad game? No. It's just, not for me. I find it easier to point to its negatives than its positives, but that's true on any game, so it may seem like I'm being harsh, but this is pretty decent little visual novel. Its just a shame I've learnt that VNs aren't for me.

Horror visual novels usually put me off, because I have been burned by too many in the past. They should be a chance for a storyteller to explore interesting ideas, and introduce you to new topics and insights, but most are just cliche filled retreads of the same stories, or poorly thought out nonsense. I've only played the first case so far, but Hermitage is not like that. The writers of Hermitage are whip smart and preposterously well-read, and the first case is both clever and very tense. Add in fantastic art and a gorgeous soundtrack (reminiscent of the jazz pieces in the Persona games) and I wish I never had to stop playing. It might be my favourite cosmic horror visual novel, even better than Song of Saya. If you like cosmic horror, you will not regret playing Hermitage. I'll update this review once I finish the game, but I had to get something out now, more people need to play this game - especially now it's halloween.

Strane vicende accadono in città, è giunto il momento che qualcuno faccia luce su questi misteri… La storia prende vita tra i remoti e polverosi scaffali della Hermitage, una strana e misteriosa libreria situata nei meandri di una città apparentemente tranquilla, dove seguiremo tutte le vicende di un ex professore di antropologia dotato di grande intelligenza che, per oscuri motivi, non è mai stato visto per le strade della cittadina ma solo all’interno di questo negozio di libri che pare attiri l’attenzione dei clienti più bizzarri alla ricerca delle letture più contorte. Quando una serie di orribili incidenti che non possono essere spiegati da nessuna logica umana cominciano a scatenarsi in tutta la loro macabra violenza, il nostro bibliotecario sarà costretto a indagare su una spaventosa serie di casi oscuri ai limiti del sovrannaturale per scoprire i veri responsabili di questi sinistri eventi, sfruttando le conoscenze di una antica collezione di libri Lovercraftiani e il supporto di una giovane hacker molto creativa, un inesperto investigatore privato e una impaziente consulente legale per raccogliere gli indizi e le prove necessarie per poter risolvere questi inspiegabili eventi e scoprire la verità. Prepariamoci a un nuovo e oscuro viaggio a tinte horror nel mondo occulto di Hermitage Strange Case Files, seguendo tutte le intricate vicende di una trama che si svolgerà attraverso 6 intensi capitoli in cui saremo chiamati a interpretare strani sogni di studentesse liceali, confermare l’esistenza di quartieri sinistri in città, esaudire richieste per oscuri individui senza nome, ostacolare misteriose operazioni chirurgiche nelle ombre di strutture abbandonate, sperimentare nuove esperienze con inaspettati cambi di prospettiva e molto altro ancora, interagendo con un ricco cast di personaggi principali e secondari, leggendo messaggi di posta elettronica, analizzando disturbanti notizie di siti web o strane trasmissioni in tv per raccogliere informazioni e indizi utili per superare al meglio i dubbi sorti nel corso delle varie indagini, completando con successo oltre una ventina di sessioni di deduzione investigativa per confermare i nostri sospetti, acquisire nuove prove che ci permetteranno di avanzare nelle trame della storia e scoprire ogni sfaccettatura degli oscuri complotti che ruotano attorno alla nostra biblioteca, scegliendo i giusti approcci da utilizzare per ottenere la fiducia dei nostri contatti, esaminando una bacheca per collegare persone e vicende e superando sessioni esplorative in prima persona e in ambienti 3D, operando tutta una serie di scelte nel corso di scontri fisici o sessioni furtive che ci porteranno ad assistere a uno dei vari finali multipli presenti nei meandri di ogni capitolo di una trama immersa nella paura dell’ignoto tra colpi di scena a non finire, allucinazioni sensoriali e terribili mostruosità in paziente attesa di raggiungere il mondo umano per seminare pensieri di terrore, distruzione e morte. Hermitage Strange Case Files è un nuovo titolo in salsa visual novel che ci porterà a vivere una nuova avventura ispirata al leggendario universo di orrori Lovercraftiani che tenteranno di impossessarsi del nostro mondo con rinnovato vigore per piegare le menti e i corpi di una razza umana impegnata nella vita della routine quotidiana e ignara delle antiche forze in agguato tra le pieghe dimensionali del tempo e dello spazio, assistendo a tutte le oscure vicende in puro stile visual novel che scorreranno davanti ai nostri occhi tra esperienze allucinogene, incidenti inspiegabili, trasmigrazioni spirituali, segreti nascosti, contorti rituali sanguinosi, misteriosi ordini religiosi, intricati sacrifici, assurdi artefatti antichi dal grande potere e oscure entità che non si fermeranno davanti a nulla pur di ottenere la loro vendetta mentre seguiremo tutti gli sforzi di un piccolo ma coraggioso gruppo di persone che, muovendosi con prudenza tra gli angoli del mondo conosciuto e le soglie dell’ignoto, cercheranno con ogni mezzo di ostacolare e porre fine a queste tremende e spaventose macchinazioni per la salvezza di persone innocenti. Voto Personale 70/100

Hermitage: Strange Case Files is not your average visual novel, nor is it your average cosmic horror title. With relaxing-yet-energetic jazzy tunes that’ll have you sipping coffee and pondering the depths of the darkness that resides within the human mind, the game feels oddly comfortable and confusing at the same time. It’s not that I didn’t want Hermitage: Strange Case Files to end — it got to a point where I genuinely didn’t think it would, its unexplained mysteries consuming all that’s left of me (40 hours to complete, y'all). If you’re looking for an interactive visual novel to get absolutely lost in (in every possible sense of that phrase), Hermitage: Strange Case Files has a literal bookstore to delve into.

It's an alright, slow-paced Lovecraftian VN. not terrible or great, just alright. It would be one thing if it was slow-paced, but when the game is dropping tons of useless info dump and exposition, it gets a little annoying at times. There are handful of writing errors that makes me think that the game's English translation isn't properly tested. I also strongly believe that certain environmental art is traced. Despite all this, there are things I like about it. The soundtrack is good enough that I would listen to some of the tracks outside the game. The art style has a lot of charm, and it does a good job of mixing 2D and 3D art. The story is also interesting and had a good message behind it. Although other players may feel different on that aspect. Some of the nice gimmicks in the game breaks the monotony as well. Overall it's worth getting it at a sale. It's a memorable game in the sea of mediocre Lovecraftian games.

本作是《寄隅居怪奇事件簿》的外文版本，作为一款灵异题材AVG，本作结合了神话与克苏鲁风格，讲述了一名旧书店店长对各种诡异事件的调查过程。本作虽剧情节奏感偏差，但内容新奇，画风别致，对推理类AVG爱好者来说无疑是个惊喜，不过删去了应有的跑团内容还是不免令人感到遗憾。 [h1]跑团题材无跑团内容[/h1] 本作的故事由一家名为Hermitage的旧书店开始，闲来无事的店老板意外被卷入了神秘事件，并于伙伴们不断展开调查、探寻真相，通过对话、书报、电视节目等等途径搜集情报，一步步拼凑出整个事件的原貌。本来本作应当是一款结合了跑团的优秀作品，无奈跑团环节被砍了，变成了单纯的线性推理，加上各个章节的分量安排略有不合理，导致节奏感方面有所确实，很容易在前期造成厌倦，在结局感到突兀，没有将题材应有的潜力发挥出来。 [h1]画风立大功[/h1] 抛开剧情，本作最吸睛的莫过于独特的画风，比较接近韩式写实画风的黑暗风格与游戏题材可以说是相得益彰，角色立绘也是个个特色十足，游玩后令人印象深刻，加上各个环节的UI设计也极为巧妙，超高的契合度让玩家感到很是舒适，不过相对于角色，各种“不可名状”的内容就显得有些粗糙，不太能够令人满意。 [h1]总结[/h1] 本质是一款COC题材的单线推理AVG，不管是对题材还是对画风，亦或是对推理感兴趣的都可以尝试一番，价格也并不算贵，不过一来本作的剧情节奏确实有待加强，二来对国内玩家放着中文买英文版也确实不合理，还是移步隔壁较好。 以上测评仅供参考，只代表个人意见 [quote] 游玩百态，将游玩心得用汉语化作玩家的指明灯，(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ [url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35402408/]点击这里关注汉化语录~[/url] 如果喜欢这个评测，请点个赞让更多人看见 [/quote]