Such a slick and well-made VN. The animations and art are really top notch. It's clear that this is a Zero Escape-like with it's non-linear story chart but the gameplay aspect isn't as strong, not enough to make this feel less like a pure VN. Namely, the "game" is using clues and files to figure out if characters are lying, or to determine their motivations, or to figure out correct answers so we can "beat" the story - there's no puzzles or anything like that so it ends up feeling like you're just playing a VN with tricks. And that's not entirely a bad thing, just something to know before getting into it.
What I think is more significant is that this game barely takes advantage of its non-linearity. The locks in the story are solved in one or two chapters or often solved even before we hit the lock so I ended up answering correctly not realizing that it was meant to be a lock that would force me to another chapter segment. There was one special chapter segment that comes in Chapter 2 that was pretty cool and requires you to have collected information from all of the other story routes, but 1. I was able to solve the first lock in it just by looking at the achievements I already got (one achievement spoils you on total amount of revealed characters...so it's not too hard to find the answer) and 2. while the chapter requires you to go back and forth between two story routes to solve it, the reveal is made rather unceremoniously. In fact, most reveals and suspense moments are rather flat, the game moves on too quick. So, as this is kinda like Zero Escape, it really isn't. It's a straightforward VN that makes you switch characters from time to time.
That being said, it's not bad. The story is interesting, it does weave all the pieces together, and the adventure is fun. I like that the characters meet each other frequently and share info but still have their own quests to work on alone. There are some really strong moments in here, and that holds merit for the game's quality in storytelling. Even if the logic and story chart aren't all that special, the game is trying and that's noticeable. It was cool to play one full story route first before the game breaks down into a whole series of events across 3 characters who all run around town over the course of a day that end up explaining what happened in that initial route.
Seeing that there's a second game that just came out, I think this game, and style, definitely earns it's chance at being a series.
