
Horror/thriller visual novel with RPG elements about two friends that explores guilt, co-dependency, and personal limits being pushed.
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About
Austin and Riley are childhood friends. Despite their tumultuous friendship in high school, things are going pretty good now in college.
But that stability does not last.
Something happens. Old habits resurface.
Riley can fall back into old patterns, or he can draw a line.
Both choices leave marks.
Play as Riley as he grapples with guilt, responsibility, and personal limits.
Genres
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Languages: English
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 40 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
[h1] Non-Spoiler Review [/h1] Some of the gameplay was a little bit clunky, especially when it came to clicking on objects, but the writing was sooooo good. This ♥♥♥♥ was like a greek tragedy man. The foreshadowing was so seamless without being in your face or feeling forced, and the way their relationship was written was super compelling. [h1] Spoiler Section [/h1] I think my favorite writing choice was having that little section in Austin's POV at the start. Having that little section that shows off the light in his eyes, how much he cares about Riley, how much he was willing to do for Riley before the bear attack, how much he believed that things were starting to get better... It really added to the tragedy of it all, the fact that he wholeheartedly wanted to be useful for Riley and become a better friend after frankly being kind of an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ in their teens, only to be forced to watch the thing controlling his body treat Riley horribly and force him back into their toxic codependent dynamic. The way Riley so readily fell back into it was like aughh. Another choice that I feel like was deliberate that I loved was that during the second day after Austin returns from the bear attack, his portrait isn't used and his eyes are obscured from screen the entire time. This is the last scene where Austin expresses not wanting to be a burden for Riley. They've already established at this point that Austin had lost the light in his eyes post-bear attack, and I feel like the obscuring of his eyes in that scene was to imply that that was the last moment in which the real Austin had full control, since it's the scene where he tells Riley that he doesn't want to be a burden, and the scene that shows the scratches at his neck. Later that day is when he begin ordering Riley around, and his portrait comes back dead eyes and all. Their codependency was written in such a compelling way, and it's so easy to hate Austin for what he's doing to Riley. But that scene at the start established that he cared. The scene with the snail where they debated if parasite hosts are forced to watch their body move against the will implanted the idea that could even be forced to do all this directly against his own will. I love how just that little line at the start about the snails changed the feel of so many lines later on. Is Austin scared of starving because of the parasites sense of self-preservation, or is he scared of starving because he knows the next escalation would be eating Riley? It's written sooooo ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ good. I haven't even played the Compliance or Mercy endings yet but the self-sacrifice ending hurt so good and made me (and my friend that I was playing it with) so invested.
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Concurrent players on Steam, sampled daily since tracking started.
Hours played at review time, across 40 reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
I just played the first 3 hours of it (first 10 hours i left the game running without doing anything), and wow I'm so sad with the ending I got (sad in a good way! without spoiling, I'll find a solution in my next playthrough)! The massive foreshadowing up to the end of my first playthrough, everyday left me feeling dreadful of an inevitable end. I can't wait to play through all the different choices. One complaint: Some of the action controls (especially when it comes to AWSD + Z controls for moving things) moved a bit too fast for me to actually keep track of my movements or being able to control with what I was doing. But it serves well for a most of the gameplay so it was more of a slight annoyance :3 Overall, anyone who's even SLIGHTLY interested, GIVE THIS A PLAY! UPDATE: I just got through all possible endings (based on the in-game achievement board) and I can't say more than enough my eagerness to play this game was well worth my time ^-^ SPOILER REVIEW!!!: Where do I even begin? Looking at all the other reviews, I feel there isn't much else I can point out. But I will point out some things that really got me (surprising me in a good way)! First, I'd like to mention the parallel I found with the "compliance ending" (is that the one where he eats you?), where Riley is wearing Austin's post-bear attack shirt while he's basically being mauled by Austin....in a similar fashion to how poor Austin in the beginning. Is that what they call "everything coming full circle?" (Can you believe Austin managed to even counter-attack a bear, when you choose to stay instead of leaving to get help?) 1) The point of no return when you volunteer to eat the raw chicken heart which leads to you ultimately being BOUND to Austin 24/7 had me in a choke-hold 2) The actual WEIGHT of every single action you are given free-will to make affecting your ending surprised me, such as: whether you prioritize your needs over Austin's OR the route of Riley basing his entire self-worth based on his usefulness to Austin out of guilt for what happened to him; 3) The way Austin's mood flips on a dime speaks levels of the gaslighting and toxicity Riley must be dealing through. Poor guy has no one to stand up for him but himself, and if he can't even help himself, ofc it's a recipe for disaster when trying to "fix" what remains of your friend, AND 4) The fact that there is no real way to "fix" or "save" Austin. I had gone through every possible option, every possible ending in hopes that SOMEHOW I could save Austin from the parasite inside of him. Only to realize the solution was spelled out in the very beginning: Austin debunking the Locke's Sock's theory and squashing on the snail-parasite without question. Austin who was ready to move on from the past. It's Riley who refuses to see his dad's car anything but a shadow of it's former glory; It's Riley who questions if a parasite-infested-creature is still itself on the inside; and It's Riley who, upon realizing his best friend is in that situation himself, continues to delay the inevitable until...you know. This whole messed up situation makes me wonder...what if their roles were reversed? I have a feeling Austin would notice immediately and wouldn't hesitate to end Riley but also...Austin would surely feel like he owes Riley. Who knows :3?
compliance ending the best one. i love ♥♥♥♥♥ up simbiosis relationships
this is such a good game. very yummy... im sure austin would agree...... pls play this i love yaoi the art is very very very good. waow. riley is a baddy i loved seeing sou in the concept/extras ahahahghehgerdsjncxkzm
pretty good game, interesting concept!! also a YTTD reference which we love <3 very much recommend, toxic codependent yaoi ftw
toxic yaoi , codependency , emotional devastation , blood guts and gore , what more can a guy ask for truly
<3
I was a little hesitant with it at first, but the character depth is fantastic and I came to adore both Riley and Austin. I like how the coffee shop mechanics can change based on your choices. It's a great story and I like the aspect of doomed protagonists. Wish more horror games did that
such an incredible game with an amazing story. i truly wish it gained more attention, it was so fun to play. the characters were so compelling and the relationship between riley and austin was so well written. the artstyle is really cool too. pls play it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AMAZING game. I've only unlocked one ending so far and it is just so peak..... absolute cinema..... i cried..... 10/10 PLEASE play it
Audience
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.
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