Boy oh boy was it…an interesting journey. Or a psychological counselling session. I still cannot quite decide which one.
Lingering is definitely a mature and dark game for adults, so do not go into it thinking that “hey, it is just a fun for several hours and then I will forget about it”. You will not, trust me. Or maybe it is just little old emotional me who takes everything to heart and tries to put herself in the characters’ shoes in each story.
Anyway, let us have a deep dive into Lingering to see what kind of story it is.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177304423
[h1]First things first or TL;DR[/h1]
[b][u]DO NOT buy this game if:[/u][/b]
[list]
[*]You either do not like LGBTQ+ topics and themes, as well as romances, or feel uncomfortable reading about them;
[*]You are depressed or have a very difficult time right now, and dark scenes (some of which talk about suicide, bullying, mental illnesses, etc.) can trigger you;
[*]You do not feel comfortable looking even at censored 18+ content or read anything even remotely related to it; characters also cuss quite often.
[/list]
[b][u]DO buy this game if:[/u][/b]
[list]
[*]You do not shy away from mature content (both in the form of text and pictures) and do not feel disturbed by dark topics connected with major emotional issues and mental disorders;
[*]You have no issues with same-sex romances and people discussing them;
[*]You are not afraid to go through some serious drama [spoiler]and see how characters can overcome their fears and accept themselves[/spoiler].
[*]You like stories presented as comic panels with their own unique art style [i](WARNING! There are occasional flashing scenes during animated parts)[/i].
[/list]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2178479511
[h1]My thoughts about this visual novel[/h1]
The best part about Lingering is its diverse cast of characters. You can step in their shoes and see how events unfolded for various sides of the conflict, what each person did at a specific time and what they felt about various events. There are a lot of great personalities, and all of them have very dark secrets. At the same time, all these people are very accepting towards each other and even people outside of their circle (not all, but some at least). So many absolutely tragic things happened to these poor souls, but they still go on and strive for the better future. [spoiler]But I do think that the director of their company is not a good person, at all. She seems to be very selfish and too focused on her ‘son’; she does not really care about her colleagues for the most part.[/spoiler] Prejudice, as well as badmouthing and bullying. I absolutely hate all three and despise people who think it is OK to make others feel miserable. It was nice to see that Lingering openly talked about these problems and offered some ways to address them.
Now, another interesting thing about Lingering is that you can open some chapters only after reading the ones for other characters. I saw a very similar thing in 428: Shibuya Scramble, and I absolutely loved it! This brings more depth to each story and person, in my opinion. Your choices really matter and can lock you from specific endings and scenes.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2177276338
I should say, I am not very well-versed in the LGBTQ+ topics, so this was a unique experience for me to see that almost 80% of characters in this game are either lesbian, gay or bisexual, and they are completely open about it for the most part. To be honest, it was a bit unusual setting for me as a person who comes from a very conservative country, but I got used to it fast. Now, I should also warn you that many characters here speak about their ‘passionate hugging’ activities quite a lot, so be ready for this kind of conversations.
And I cannot but admit that at some point, I have been tricked, I have been backstabbed and I have been quite possibly, bamboozled by two characters and their relationship. A big spoiler incoming, so read at your own risk: [spoiler]I have been rooting for Snow and Fox from the very beginning! The writer tricked me into believing that they could be a thing, and a pretty wholesome too. And then boom! Nope, fan girl, not in this game. I swear, I was no less surprised with this turn of events than Fox! xD[/spoiler]
Another important thing about any visual novel is the writing. And I am a bit on the fence here. On the one hand, all characters had enough depth to look realistic and relatable, and the story itself is great. The writer was able to address very sensitive topics as gently as possible while not making the whole thing sappy and weird. On the other hand, I think that some parts of the story were rushed. I honestly wish it was longer and showed us more of some characters. But the Best Ending was lovely, hand down. Somewhat bittersweet (and a bit awkward…you will see what I mean if you read it), but still lovely.
Speaking of the music, it was nice, but nothing special. Also, I had two issues with it (one of them is actually more on the funny side). First, there was a track that played during calm scenes, and the thing is, one of the YouTubers I watch uses it in all of his videos as an intro. And I could not but think about him every time this music started, which was hillarious. Second, the one and only thing I cannot stand at all is…is the sound of passionate kissing. It just makes my skin crawl when I hear all this slurping [i](ewww!)[/i] that is supposed to be hot, for some unknown reason. And every, every adult scene in this visual game had this sound effect! Oh my poor ears…
And the last but not least, the artwork I mentioned before. One word: amazing! Everything, except for some backgrounds, is neatly drawn, and I liked pixel character models too. Lingering has a pretty unique style of both the artwork itself and how it is presented as a comic book with partially animated action scenes.
[h1]Would I recommend it?[/h1]
The main message of this visual novel is that you should not suppress your emotions just because everyone expects you to do it. If you need to cry – cry; if you need help – do not be afraid to ask for it; if you need professional advice – seek a councilor or a psychiatrist. As one of the characters said, “We are surrounded by happy-looking people in social media and because of it, we start thinking that there is something wrong with us if we are not happy too.” Do not pretend to be alright when you are not, stop hurting yourself with those bottled up emotions – they can actually turn into your worst demons. And, most importantly, just love yourself.
Personally, I would recommend Lingering to people who want something mature and thoughtful. This is a well-written story that you will enjoy for its darkness that still has a bright ray of hope in the end.
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