Jukai Maze

还没推完，只是突然发现又在说宇宙不稳定，联想到上一作，好家伙罗刹夫妻又来了

このゲームを作ってくれて本当にありがとう

Another game for which I wish I had "neutral option" in Steam, but it's negatives are covered by small price (even cheaper than better Kanna Maze). If you have read first story, you probably must play this one too, but if you are just looking for interesting games in genre, I cannot recommend this one as much. Concept and story elements are quite same as Kanna Maze - your character gets into dread situation in company of few familiar faces and some random people. Learn more of your surroundings, make choices, get endings, or get plotlocked and see for endings which give your "keys" to unlock additional options. Rinse and repeat, until you reach esoteric plot twists and final climatic challenge (in-story). Usual jam for fans of old-school mystery VNs and ADVs, like Kamaitaichi no Yoru. However, like VLR to 999 before, if you'll get this comparison, Jukai Maze got somewhat radical change of priorities compared to Kanna Maze. Personal survival and detective tropes here are downplayed in favor of animesque heroics and grim humor endings. It's not bad per se, but it feels much more light-hearted and like mainstream type of thing, while Kanna Maze felt more balanced in it's dark atmosphere for me. 3d artist made great job to make character models and locations, but I feel like it brought shorteness and simplicity to many routes, also compared to Kanna Maze. Abstraction of blue silhouette helped to add additional retro layer to game and save time on designs, but with many CGs with poses and faces like this, it should have been harder to make more content for small studio like this. It also should be noted that, while first game was much more claustraphobia- and paranoia-inducing, this one happens mostly in greenery and well-lit buildings, bringing more serenity than tension. Additional photo mode is nice as small change of pace between endings and as place "to check your progress", but compared to other games with such elements which I played, this one is kinda lacking. Nice NVL from 致意 as always, but I would prefer grimmer Kanna Maze antics.