Kiss the Demiurge

Kiss the Demiurge has a very interesting premise, but to discuss it is to spoil it. I'll cover that in more depth at the end of this review, as there are a lot of content warnings that apply and I want to give people a chance to check those out. Some of the positives: the humour derived from the clash between what the protagonist thinks and what she says, the differences in flashbacks across the three routes, and the way that the narratives led me to sympathise with various characters even when I didn't think I would. I also really appreciated the fact that homophobia is internalised, discussed and feared by several characters, but the entire cast of the game is composed of people who either don't have an opinion or are supportive of sapphic characters. The sprite art is quite different from the CG art, but it still works together, and the skip mechanics are useful for playing through again to see all three stories (though there are a few scenes where almost nothing differs except which sprites are onscreen, but the skip mechanic has to treat it like unseen text, which is unfortunate). CW: discussion of fictional suicidal feelings The main issue I had with the storytelling was the rather heavy-handed treatment of suicidal thoughts. Although the lack of subtlety suited its teenage protagonists well enough, the writing veered into melodrama enough to break my immersion on quite a few occasions. The abruptness of the intrusive thoughts about suicide can be authentically jarring, and the narrative does manage to portray the way that seemingly minor issues can trigger such thoughts due to self-loathing. However, sometimes it just feels forced or unnatural or even flippant, which can be uncomfortable in a whole other way. If it weren't for this, I would have rated this title 7/10. [b]Kudos to the devs for updating the 'mature content' warning on the Steam storefront page to better reflect the core themes.[/b] [spoiler]The protagonist goes from passively suicidal to actively suicidal to making a suicide plan to working on recovery with the girl she likes. There are also multiple instances of deliberate self-harm through blunt force head trauma and it is implied the protagonist has repeatedly punched through her wall, though she does not remember doing so.[/spoiler] When it comes to mental health, there's a remarkably wide range of topics covered in quite a lot of depth. I felt that most of these were handled quite authentically, though I have no personal experience of [spoiler]psychosis or survivor's guilt[/spoiler] so I am relying on mental health websites' information about these topics. [b]Here is a more in-depth list of content warnings:[/b] [spoiler]deceit, manipulation, self-loathing, self-harm (head trauma), alcohol, trauma, guilt, discussion of murder, detailed portrayal of passive and active suicidality, internalised and feared homophobia (but none actually occurs). Home invasion, dementia, manslaughter, delusions. Dysfunctional parental relationships, (non-malicious paranoid) stalking, ableist bullying, intense social anxiety, general anxiety. fear of homelessness and destitution, hypersensitivity to touch, amateur exposure therapy. Low self-esteem, inadequate support from school, learning difficulties, academic trauma, mentions of physical danger and harm (being hit in the face with a rock, facing off with a bear).[/spoiler] However, the characters' attitudes towards the idea of seeking professional help from therapists or psychologists were universally very negative and stigmatising. This struck me as quite bizarre, given that [spoiler]Tomoko and Minori both continue to experience highly distressing hallucinations for some time after discovering that their experiences are psychosis, and yet neither ever considers the possibility of talking to a doctor or therapist about this. In fact, all the characters seem to consider suicide or eventual homelessness as more acceptable life outcomes than talking to a professional about their mental health![/spoiler] If this is intended to be a comment on Japanese society's attitudes toward therapy and/or medication, the lack of mental health education in schools, or how the characters' self-esteem issues make them loathe the idea of being burdens on others, then the writing has failed to make this distinction clear. As it stands, the narrative comes across as incredibly opposed to seeking advice, therapy or medication in any context, [spoiler]even when experiencing high levels of distress and suicidal feelings[/spoiler]. This is a very harmful message that I hope the devs will rework. Even if just one supportive adult character (such as [spoiler]Grandpa or Cynthia[/spoiler]) were to suggest that seeking professional help can be beneficial and potentially life-changing, it would go a long way to counteract the stigmatising attitudes of the younger characters. There's also some coded coverage of ableism and neurodivergence, though a reader who was unfamiliar with these concepts could easily miss the significance of a fair bit of the coding. [spoiler]Akane shows signs of being undiagnosed neurodivergent - likely Kinetic/ADHD - and has crushingly low self-confidence when it comes to academia. Chitori shows signs of being undiagnosed as Autistic and has developed social anxiety and paranoid delusions as a result of severe ableist bullying in her past. She is hypersensitive to touch, though it is unclear to what extent this trait was aggravated by trauma vs innate. Tomoko has an undiagnosed dissociative disorder - she became Plural in her childhood following the trauma of recklessly causing her sister's accidental death, an event which has given her horrific survivor's guilt and made her passively suicidal. She also shows some OCD-like compulsions. The protagonist, Minori, has hallucinations and delusions that shape her entire worldview for the first two-thirds of the narrative. She relies on alcohol to dull her negative emotions, and had repressed her memory of being responsible for her mother's manslaughter around 10 years prior, instead relying on delusions about magic and demons to shield herself from the full extent of the guilt she feels. All of the girls experience delusions (or perhaps in Akane's case just make-believe?) to distract themselves from their real-world distress through the idea of magic - and 'magical thinking' is frequent. There is a lot of internalised sanism (especially fears of being dismissed as crazy) and ableism (especially the concept of being inherently stupid), and while supportive characters model healthy behaviours such as being accepting and not using stigmatising language about others, there isn't much critical engagement with the wider social norms that led to these harmful beliefs.[/spoiler] Overall, I found this game really fascinating. It has funny moments, sad moments and surprising moments, and I'll definitely remember playing it for a long time. I think it's a really impressive first project and the devs should be proud of their accomplishments. I'm definitely adding it to my list of games that represent mental health conditions with sympathy and consideration. However, there are some aspects of the portrayal that were jarring or potentially harmful, so proceed with caution if you want to read it. [b]6/10 - enjoyable.[/b] You can follow my Steam Curator page at [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35646443-Inclusive-Games/] Inclusive Games[/url]!

[b]Warning:[/b] This visual novel mentions concepts like depression, death, suicide, etc., so do be forewarned. [i]Kiss the Demiurge[/i] is a yuri visual novel developed and published by YuriEureka. You take on the role of Minori Nakahashi, a teenage girl who's secretly a mage and works for an organization to keep magic a secret from the world. One day, after Minori finishes investigating an accidental fire and encounters a fire demon, she's walking in one of the hallways of her school when she sees a poster for a "magic club" at another high school. Feeling disgusted by the existence of this club, Minori contacts her superior, Sofia, who orders her to infiltrate the club and shut it down. Thus, Minori transfers schools and joins the magic club. There, she meets three girls, all of whom end up having actual magic potential. Can Minori stay focused on her mission and dissuade one of these girls from pursuing magic, or will she end up succumbing to her emotions, perhaps falling in love with one of them? I'll end my story synopsis here to avoid spoilers and all that. As for the gameplay, it plays mostly like a kinetic novel. However, there is one point in the game in which Minori can choose which one of three girls to pursue on their routes: Akane (the club's leader and whose family is supposedly descended from a line of magical samurai), Chitori (a quiet fortune teller who is sensitive to being touched), or Tomoko (a spirit medium who can talk to dead spirits but ends up having personality change episodes). Regardless of which route the reader pursues, it will result in a happy ending. There are a few CGs presented as well as a soundtrack, which is a mix of original tracks and royalty free ones. Also, there are Steam achievements, but at the time of this review, they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game". Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my critique. Upon first glance, [i]Kiss the Demiurge[/i] seems to be a fantasy type story, what with the mention of magic and all that. However, once you get far enough into the story, it becomes much more than that, and a revelation is made that might end up shocking the reader. The story starts off a bit slow, with Minori going about her daily life at school and at home with her grandfather. It takes a while before it picks up, but along the way, there's quite a bit of humor. I love it when Minori calls the club members [spoiler]"degenerates" for embracing magic[/spoiler]. Once you get on a route, though, that's when the story takes a more serious turn. As Minori investigates her chosen club member, she discovers what she's hiding, and Minori might even make a revelation regarding her past. I should warn readers, though, that the story puts emphasis on ideas like [spoiler]suicide, bullying, and death[/spoiler]. These topics are sensitive in nature, and it seems that the writer likes to focus on them a lot, especially when it comes to Minori. It feels as though it's almost too much at times, like it's over-the-top. As for the routes, I enjoyed getting to know all the girls in the club and finding out what their personal issues were. They have a variety of personalities, from Akane's outgoing bravado to Chitori's shy quietness. If I had to choose a personal favorite route/girl, then I'd probably go with Tomoko since her issues and Minori's are the most similar, so they can help each other work through them. As for the writing, as I mentioned, it starts off a bit slow. It feels like a slice-of-life as we witness Minori going about her everyday life while trying to accomplish her mission. However, the pacing picks up after you're on a route, and I never felt dragged down with any of the events on a route. However, I felt like the endings were abrupt and a certain issue, [spoiler]like what happened to Minori's dad[/spoiler], never gets resolved on any route. I noticed occasional typos and such as I read through the story, so it could use a bit of proofreading, but otherwise, no issues. In regards to the art style, I like that it uses an anime style for the sprites. The backgrounds feel somewhat simplistic, never going into intricate detail. This was fine with me, though, as the story is more focused on Minori and the girl whose route she's on. There are a few CGs as well, and I should give a heads up that there's one where there's [spoiler]nudity between Minori and a girl as they're partaking in a hot spring. It's mostly confined to seeing their backs, so nothing too outwardly revealing[/spoiler]. The CGs are really well done, but unfortunately, there's no CG gallery from which to view them once they're unlocked. As for the soundtrack, I like the tracks that are present. Some of them are royalty free ones, which are noted in the credits. As for the original tracks, they depict the tones of depression and such well. Overall, would I recommend [i]Kiss the Demiurge[/i]? If you like visual novels, yuri romance, and don't mind reading a story that delves into dark, depressing topics, then this is worth taking a look. I like how the developers attempt to explore these topics although I felt that they could have toned them down slightly. One route took me about four hours to complete, and after having finished all of the routes and the bonus scene (which is, fortunately, on the way more humorous side, so I'd recommend reading it after finishing all the routes), it took me around nine hours to 100% complete the game. For the asking price, I'd say it's worth getting, but you can wait to get it on a sale. Finally, I'd like to thank the devs for the review copy, and I hope to see more games from them in the future. ^^ [quote]Flying free and writing reviews solely for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url].[/quote]

[quote][b]Check out our [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/36364102-Horny-Hentai-Festival/]Steam curator[/url] , [url=www.youtube.com/curatorhhf/]YouTube channel[/url] and [url=twitter.com/hhfcurator]Twitter[/url]![/b][/quote] [Anime/VN/Yuri] A middle mysterious story with 3 girls that you can have a romance with. Nice 6 event FxF CGs, rough sprites, fair price. [ADV] 怪奇ミステリーをめぐる百合恋愛物語。3人が攻略可能である。イベントCGは高品質だが枚数が少ないのが難点。価格相応近いが、セール時の方が納得感は増すだろう。

Kiss the Demiurge is a western visual novel about magic, overcoming trauma and most importantly: girls holding hands. While I initially thought that it would be a mostly lighthearted comedy with some dark undertones, I was surprised to find that the writing went beyond a few silly jokes and cute scenes between the girls and actually tried to tell a compelling story. While far from flawless, it turned out to be a perfectly serviceable story that managed to keep me invested in the characters and their internal struggles during the 10 hours that took me to read all 3 routes, especially towards the end of each route, where the writing really picks up the pace with some nice twists. Each of the girls had a great chemistry with the MC, to the point where it would be hard for me to decide which of the routes I liked the most. Art style is nice in general. Although I think there are some instances with room for improvement quality wise, I would say that character design is definitely one of the strong points of the game. I don't have much to say about sound design, the tracks are good and they suit the mood of the scenes, although one of my major complaints would be that in some cases, there's no background music. All in all, this is a good first release for the studio that establishes a solid foundation I hope they can continue improving upon in their next titles. If we hold it to western VNs standards (which admittedly, I'm not fond of) it passes with flying colours and it's definitely worth its price, and your time.

[h1]Kiss The Demiurge is a yuri visual novel released by YuriEureka, we would like to thank them for providing us a free copy of their visual novel for review.[/h1] [h1]Story[/h1] The story starts out with [b]Minori Nakahashi[/b], a normal-looking high school student who is a mage. She is tasked by a secret military organization to hide magic from the world. [b]Minori[/b] encounters a demon who tells her about the existence of potential magic users at this high school. The demon tells her about this magic club at the school and plans on offering a deal between them so they can get magical powers of their own. [b]Minori[/b] reports it to the secret organization she works for, who is named [b]U.M.I[/b] and they ask her to go and find this magic club. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2979524417 Once she is there, she finds the club with three other members, [b]Akane Aoki, Tomoko Tanaka[/b], and [b]Chitori Notawa[/b]. Each who have their own special powers and abilities that they can use to speak to sprites or cast certain spells. [h1]Pros and Cons[/h1] [b]Pros[/b] [list] [*]Very fun and compelling story with dark elements and twists [*]Interesting characters depending on the route you pick [*]Relaxing soundtrack that is pleasant to listen to [*]Nicely drawn CGs [/list] [b]Cons[/b] [list] [*]Character development suffers depending on the route you pick [*]Story has engaging plot points that fails to lead to anything [*]Voice acting is available but did not function on my play through [/list] [h1]Characters[/h1] There are a total of three routes that you can choose from to explore in the VN. There is only one scene where you have a choice between which route you choose. So, you don’t have to worry about getting a bad ending and you can focus on the character you picked. The story elements that were shown were really nice and I enjoyed them when they were presented. I liked how the characters showcased their magical abilities in unique ways. This helped to further distinguish each character from each other. The characters were very interesting, depending on the route you choose, my favorite has to be [b]Akane Aoki[/b]. Who is a magic samurai who is a descendant of a samurai clan that has a long history of using magic. She wants to prove to society that magic is real and by doing so she can help the world out when she discovers it. She also wants to make a [b]Fantasy[/b] based story, which is something I kind of want to do as well. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2979525208 One thing I should note is that there are different scenes for each route, so there is some replay value to be had while playing. The ending may be the same for all three but you will have different scenarios for the characters. The twists that the story offered were also very nice, despite them being a little obvious to me. I also liked some of the more charming moments and there was even some dark humor thrown in as well. I should note that if you are not a fan of this type of stuff, you may want to stay away from this VN. Although that’s where the positivity I have for [b]Kiss The Demiurge[/b] ends here as I have two major issues with how it presents its story. When it comes to [b]visual novels[/b], I will usually go into depth about the characters but couldn’t for this one due to the fact that I played [b]Akane Aoki’s[/b] route. This basically means that whatever route you pick, will determine what character development you get in the story. Now, you may say this is normal for visual novels, but keep in mind that if there are ones with multiple different characters, the other characters will develop at least to make them likable and to be a character. I just did not care for the other two characters in this visual novel really because I did not really know anything about them. Of course, this can be negated by playing all three routes in the visual novel but for someone who only wants to do a single playthrough, that may not please them. Then there are some issues with plot elements, Kiss The Demiurge presents you with some intriguing plot points but unfortunately they go nowhere. I can’t say much of course due to spoilers but I do think there were some interesting moments in the visual novel that were shown and then they were left unanswered. Like why does this character do this or why does this character do that? I just wish there were some resolution to what the characters were thinking or what they would do in some parts. [h1]Graphics and Performance[/h1] The art style for [b]Kiss The Demiurge[/b] is rather charming, you can tell that everything is hand drawn and it’s good. The CGs are the most impressive in my eyes as they really show off, I actually like the designs on the demons the most, I think they really fit the art style. I tested the game on an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB, AMD Ryzen 5 1500X Quad-Core Processor 3.50, and 16 GB of RAM, I experienced no issues while playing. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2979518609 One thing I should mention is that the voice acting did not work for me, it was turned on but I heard no voices. So, I don't know if it's even implemented yet or not, however, it was shown on the trailers to be included. [h1]Final Verdict[/h1] While [b]Kiss The Demiurge[/b] may be rough around the edges, it still provides a decent experience that could be worth reading. If you are someone who likes to experience all routes in a visual novel, then picking this up at full price wouldn’t hurt but if you are going in for one route, I recommend it on a sale. [quote]There is this club who may have potential to follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/5297658/]Life Needs a Little Sin [/url] for good quality reviews[/quote]

[h3][b][u]Short Answer:[/u][/b][/h3] A dramatic romance visual novel that took me by surprise--often for the better, but occasionally for the worse. The story was engaging overall, especially in the second half; but its portrayals of more serious subjects are not always handled in the best way, and it risks sending a harmful message about proper mental health care. Approach it with an open (and perhaps skeptical) mind, however, and you'll still find something to appreciate. [b][u]CONTENT WARNING[/u][/b]: Writing includes discussion of [spoiler]sex and sexuality, death, mental illness, psychological trauma, and detailed descriptions of self-destructive behavior and suicidal ideation.[/spoiler] Though not an 18+ game, visuals do include some sexually suggestive content. [h3][b][u]Long Answer:[/u][/b][/h3] [i]Kiss the Demiurge[/i] is a romance visual novel that tells the story of Minori, a girl with magic powers recruited by a secret agency with a single goal: to hide the existence of magic from the outside world. Her most recent mission leads her to a nearby high school, where she stumbles upon a "magic club" made up of three girls who falsely believe themselves to have magic powers of their own: Akane, the self-proclaimed leader with an alleged history of magical samurai in her bloodline; Chitori, who uses everything from tarot cards to crystal balls to try and predict the future; and Tomoko, who claims to be able to speak to the ghosts of the dead. Minori is tasked with infiltrating the club in order to stop their activities before they get too close to the truth about magic--but as she learns more about the girls and herself, her mission proves to be much more difficult that she anticipated. As the premise might suggest, this visual novel can branch off into one of three story paths, and which path you take is determined by a single choice made within the first hour of the game. All you have to do is decide which of the three girls in the magic club you want to pursue, which determines who Minori focuses on for her mission and who she'll ultimately end up falling in love with--this [i]is[/i] a romance VN, after all. You get a few tools/options to assist the reading experience, including Auto reading to automatically advance the dialogue, History to reread recent lines, and Skip to rush through previously read dialogue (for if you're trying multiple routes). You also have a couple sliders to adjust both the text crawl speed as well as the Auto scroll delay, which were really helpful as I tended to read lines quickly and felt the default speeds were a little slow for my liking. Finally, you get a few accessibility options, though they're hidden behind a menu that's hard to find--pressing Shift + A will open a screen that lets you change the scaling/font of text as well as enable/disable text-to-speech. This screen and the hotkey to access it is only referenced in the Controls menu, which is [i]also[/i] hidden behind a hotkey (F1) that isn't mentioned anywhere else, or at least nowhere that I could find. [b]The story is the bread and butter of the experience, and while it isn't perfect, it did keep me invested long enough to play through all three routes.[/b] Some sections of the story are shared between routes, namely scenes in the early game that occur when all or none of the three girls are involved; but most of the runtime is dedicated to unique scenes between you and the girl you picked--sort of. Certain story beats will still happen no matter what, with the only difference between routes being which girl is slotted into the scene to push the narrative forward. In most cases, these scenes play out almost exactly the same--there may be some slight difference in wording here and there--but sometimes this is used to great effect by offering alternative perspectives on a shared event; one (less spoiler-y) example being when [spoiler]the girl you picked gives Minori a birthday gift based on prior interactions with her, as each girl's present highlights a different aspect of Minori's past and personality that you can't get otherwise[/spoiler]. That said, there is still plenty of genuinely unique content in each route; and even though they all come to a similar conclusion, the way each route takes you there is varied enough to make them interesting. As interesting as it can be, however, it's not without its flaws: there's some grammatical errors in the writing, mostly just missing or incorrect punctuation; the risqué scenes (again, romance VN) were kind of jarring given the tone of the rest of the story; and the endings all felt rather abrupt. I concede that all of these might be minor gripes; but there's another issue that deserves a more in-depth explanation, and that's the way it handles some of the deeper themes in the latter half of the story. In case it wasn't clear from the store description, while this is primarily a romance story, it quickly takes on a much darker and more dramatic tone than you might expect. [h3][b][u]Mild to moderate spoilers from here on out.[/u][/b][/h3] Those content warnings I posted at the start aren't just because of passing remarks--topics like death and suicide are at the forefront of the narrative, and what starts as a fantastical story about magic and secret agencies quickly becomes a more grounded exploration of neurodivergence, mental illness, and childhood trauma. These are all delicate subjects that demand a lot of nuance in order to tackle properly, and their handling here is...well, it's not always the best. [b]It's clear that the story was written with the best intentions, but certain portrayals of mental health--namely in regards to the treatment of mental health issues--risk sending the wrong message about how to tackle these issues in a healthy way.[/b] One notable example is that the idea of seeking professional help is dismissed more than once in favor of self-treatment methods that could be ineffective or outright dangerous when done in a non-fictional setting: attempts to simply push past or ignore symptoms causing issues for the affected person(s), one instance of exposure therapy performed by somebody with zero experience in safe application, and several moments of self-medication through the use of alcohol, to highlight what stood out to me. I am neither a literary critic nor a psychologist, and my personal experience with these topics only goes so far; so I couldn't give you a full breakdown of how well everything was handled here even if I tried. The best advice I can give you, should you choose to examine the story for yourself, is to approach it with an open mind, and don't be afraid to question or challenge something that doesn't feel right to you. My first run took about 3 1/2 hours, with another 2 hours apiece spent on the other two routes; though your runtime may vary as I was reading a bit quickly. Even by the developer's own admission, this game is rough around the edges, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't manage to hold my interest despite that--after all, I [i]did[/i] play through every route available. [b][u][i]Kiss the Demiurge[/i] had a certain charm to it that's hard to describe, and although I took issue with some of what it had to offer, I'm ultimately glad that I got to play it.[/u][/b] [quote]For more game reviews, check out my [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42524563/]Curator page[/url]![/quote]

ENG: Although it is a bit tragic at times, it also has its funny moments. The plot is engaging and the characters interesting. Has 3 clear paths, just under 6 hours to read all 3. The Yuri is quite light, and does not occupy the main scene of the plot. I liked it. ESP: Aunque es un poco trágico por momentos, también tiene sus momentos divertidos. El argumento es atrapante y las personajes interesantes. Posee 3 rutas bien claras, poco menos de 6 horas para leer las 3. Por cierto el Yuri es bastante ligero, y no ocupa la escena principal de la trama. Me gustó.

Despite rather simplistic, and, if we are being honest, not very professional-looking artwork, this visual novel is, without a doubt, very good. There are a lot of rough edges to it, but if you are willing to overlook small problems, you will be treated to a supremely solid story with [i]many[/i] emotional peaks and lows. When I began, I didn’t expect anything from this story. I thought it would be another boring western visual novel, which cannot stick the landing, despite being good at the beginning. Well, I was wrong. The story was just getting better, the longer I played. Halfway through the first route (Akane), I understood that this story should be taken seriously. I finished the first route, and went to play the other ones, thinking they will be worse, as Steam achievement statistics show that Akane’s route is the most popular. I once again was wrong. Chitori’s route was severely better than Akane’s. Ok, I said to myself – It’s time to play the third route. Tomoko’s route. It should suck right? Tomoko’s looks like she has crossed eyes because of artist’s mistake! I cannot possibly like this character, or her storyline! Yeah, you guessed it, her route was the best. It felt like the true route: it complimented the other routes and the whole story thematically, the second part of the story (after a certain twist) actually felt as tense as the first part (as opposed to the other routes), and it managed to conclude everything nearly perfectly. I can honestly say that this is one of those rare English visual novels, which is good all the way through, until the last line of dialogue. If you are tired of cliché romance visual novels, but aren’t yet ready for something experimental and avant-garde, this one is for you. It will surprise you, make you sad, make you happy, and will end in a satisfying way. [b]A definite recommendation![/b]

Reads kinda like a Ryukishi, pretty cool. Magic is real.

I laughed! I cried! I went kissu kissu!