The Last Act

[i][u][b]The Last Act[/b][/u][/i] is the third game created and published on Steam by [i][b]Snowhaven Studios[/b][/i]. It's a short story (<2 hours) about a young woman named [b]Sarah[/b], as she pursues her dream of becoming an actress for theatre plays. [b]Sarah[/b] has wanted to be a thespian since she was a young girl and saw her first play. [i][b]Plot:[/b][/i] The story starts out with[b] Sarah[/b] receiving her first audition. She believed she would be trying out for a support role, a good starting position for her career, but is surprised when the script she's given is actually for the leading lady. Naturally, she's overjoyed when she's offered the role. Upon hearing the inspiration behind the story she will be acting out, things take a surprising turn. This happens in the form of a ghostly stranger and a warning of danger. [b]Sarah[/b] must decide if the potential risks are worth the reward. You may take an active role in the investigation or simply allow the professional to do his job. [b]Sarah[/b] can (sometimes unwittingly) gather clues and decide whether it's important enough to pass on or not. Even the smallest, insignificant bit of information can make or break the case. But is it a wise thing to do? [b]The Last Act[/b] is described as being a mystery-romance novel. I'd very much agree with that statement. I'd also add that despite it being a mystery about the supernatural, it's also quite light-hearted and very sweet. [i][b]Main character:[/b][/i] [b]Sarah[/b] is a very believable character. She's set her goals and is determined to achieve them. You may play her as a believer of the supernatural or skeptical. You may also start off as a skeptic before changing your mind once events start to unfold. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2432384239 There is a lot of thought dialogue in this game, which is a great way to learn about the inner workings of this protagonist. People don't always tend to openly voice their opinions in detail, for one reason or another, after all. [b]Sarah[/b] is revealed to even have a sarcastic, slightly sassy personality. She was a delight to play as. Following [b]Sarah's[/b] journey, you'll meet a small cast of intriguing characters. Three of which are potentially love interests.  [i][b]Love interests:[/b][/i] First there is the charming co-star: [b]Joshua[/b]. He is friendly and seems thrilled to be acting alongside [b]Sarah. Joshua[/b] is very skeptical when it comes to the supernatural. He will openly argue how such things as ghosts are ridiculous and irrational. He is particularly interested in finding the[i] 'real, human' [/i]culprit behind the seemingly ghostly accidents that happen in the theatre. Next, there is [b]Silas[/b]; the ghost that risked exposure to warn [b]Sarah[/b] of the dangers that will befall her, should she continue to act in the play. [b]Silas[/b] is very friendly (eat your heart out, Casper), if not a little caution, as he tries to decide how much he should share with the young woman. Of course, being a ghost, [b]Silas[/b] has some unfinished business. Are you interested in finding out what it is, and helping him? [strike]Wolverine[/strike] [b]Gavin[/b] is the last of the potential love interests. He is a private investigator, that is called in after the first incident at the theatre. He's open-minded and quite the flatterer. His methods as a detective are somewhat unconventional. Having said that, he appears to really want to solve the case. Although, maybe there's something more to him than he's willing to let on. [i][b]Supporting characters:[/b][/i] [b]Miranda[/b] isn't an LI but holds a strong role as the head of the play. She's instantly taken with [b]Sarah's[/b] acting abilities and offers her the role there and then. Casting someone who has never performed in a play, as the lead, shows a lot of faith in the young girl. [b]Miranda[/b] is affable and a believer in the supernatural. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2432384513 Another supporting character is [b]Blaire[/b]. She is said to be [b]Miranda's[/b] rival, and her true intentions are somewhat of a mystery. She is eccentric with her partially dyed pink hair, bright clothes and cryptic behaviour. [b]Blaire[/b] also has a talent for showing up at the most suspicious of times. [i][b]Character development:[/b][/i] Sadly because this visual novel is a fairly short experience, there is minimal character development to be had. To balance this out, [b]Sarah[/b] is formerly unacquainted with any of the characters. This provides an opportunity for her and you to get to know everyone. [i][b]Art:[/b][/i] The art may not be a particular style that is seen in the more traditional otome, but it's certainly cute and well done. It's more on the minimalistic, cartoony style which adds a nice unique touch. There is only one base sprite for each character, meaning they only have one pose. There are, however, quite a few facial expressions, which is where most of the personality comes from; cute pouts and mischievous grins for example. I did feel that sometimes the expressions didn't quite represent the intent behind the dialogue though. [b]The Last Act[/b] has a gallery sporting 20 illustrated CGs. However, six of those are variations of the same scene, and the majority of them centre around [b]Silas[/b]. I'd have personally liked to have seen more of the other two LI's. Having said that, the CG's are beautifully drawn and hold a bit more detail than the sprites and background. Character's look ever so slightly different from their sprite counterparts (especially [b]Sarah[/b]) but not enough to be an issue. [i][b]Music: [/b][/i]The audio for this title was a delight for my ears. It never overshadows the story or feels out of place. In fact, it's so well done, that it greatly adds to the atmosphere. There are a total of 12 different, unique tracks. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2433140332 [i][b]Love and care:[/b][/i] I could tell pretty quickly that a lot of love and care has gone into creating this gem of a game. The characters are all nicely fleshed out, the art is fun and the soundtrack is lovely. As for the plot, it's well rounded with reasonably satisfying endings. There are next to no typos (I think I only noticed two). [i][b]Overall: [/b][/i][b]The Last Act[/b] was a charming little experience. It offers what it says it will in the form of a delightful mystery. I personally feel the price tag is a bit expensive for such a short story, especially when compared with other games of its length. However, it provides a tight plotline with no unnecessary frill. I'd be a tad hesitant to recommend it at its full price but I definitely think it's worth a read. [h1][quote]𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33853800/]𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐤𝐚𝐢'𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞[/url] 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐑𝐏𝐆 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬[/quote][/h1]

[h1]Overview[/h1] Attending an audition for a supporting part in a play which would give our heroine Sarah her stage debut; she is shocked to be asked to read for the lead role, and even more so to be offered it after doing so. She thinks this is everything she has ever dreamed of, but will quickly discover that this particular play has more to reveal than its script; being based upon a ghost story from 300 years earlier – and the ghost in question still being present within the theatre where the play is being rehearsed. [h1]Graphics[/h1] The visual presentation of both sprites and backgrounds is pleasing. The drawing style at first appears to be quite simple, but is so well complemented by the skilful use of colours that the end result is very attractive. Sprites are shifted around the screen (in a 2D fashion) in response to a comment that they are moving, their eyes look at each other during discussions, and feature a number of different expressions. It's always worth watching the visuals first before reading the next caption after moving on if you don't want to miss anything. [h1]Audio[/h1] I don't often notice the background music unless it is either annoying or very good. This falls towards the higher end of that scale. I didn't feel that it massively enhanced any scenes, but it was pleasant enough to be noticed and I kept the sound a couple of steps higher than I would normally have it. I did feel that there could have been more effects within the game though. There are scenes where tension should be building: astute use of effects would have helped to enhance that, but any feelings of heightened anxiety were never brought out whilst reading. [h1]U/I[/h1] This novel has been developed using Unity and therefore some controls are different to those we are accustomed to finding in the more commonly utilised Ren'py engine for the genre, although the developers have made a good fist of keeping most of the usual controls accessible by the same keys. The biggest difference is that the <ESC> key has no effect. After a bit of trial and error, I discovered that pressing the right mouse button will bring up the menu. There is a basic series of options right at the bottom of the screen – but I chose “Windowed” from the display options at the start of the game, with the fullest available resolution – and as a result of this, said control list disappeared off the bottom of the screen, so I had no idea it was there at all. Be sure to select your display option carefully! It appears that there is also no “back” option, but there is – if you plug a mouse in whilst playing, rolling the wheel will push the text back. There is also another way to jump back by using the LOG facility. Select the log from the menu, and captions from the current scene will be available for review, accompanied by a little clock icon. Click the clock accompanying the caption you wish to return to, and you're delivered back to that point in the story. It's worth noting though, that the log goes back [i]only[/i] to the start of the current scene. “Scenes” can be identified by a brief delay and black screen between captions. [h1]Overall experience and verdict[/h1] I expect that most reviews will categorise this novel as “short”, and leave it at that; but I think it warrants a little more elaboration. Certainly, on any given route, the play through time will not be extensive. However, I believe it is fair to highlight that the scripting within this story is sharp and concise. There is no “waffle” or “filler text”. Every caption is important. There are also a wealth of choices relative to the size of the game. And I do mean a [i]wealth[/i]. Due to the nature of the concise narrative, this gives the unusual experience of being presented with a decision to make incredibly often. I frequently found a new choice to make a mere couple of captions after the last one. This does of course present a healthy amount of alternative text to discover, and provides replay value as you seek to find all of the endings, CGs and achievements. First time through, this is quite lot of fun as you find yourself changing your mind as to the route you had intended to follow, and then back again... but by the time you come to different-end-chasing, the frequency of picking the same options several times over just to reach the ones you need to select alternatively, becomes a little tiring. Having to press SKIP over and over each time it stops (end of every scene) in an attempt to find a new ending which you might not achieve does have a wearing effect on your patience. The story offers three romance options, [spoiler][i]including the ghost![/i][/spoiler], but does not really explore any of them, and only digs into the background of one of them. Love comes remarkably quickly and feels forced-in-before-the-story-ends, but it could be fairly argued that romance is not the focus of the story, rather more a sugar topping on the cake. Overall, what matters most is, “was the game enjoyable?” The answer is yes. I had a nice time playing through for half of the achievements before I began to tire, and by then I'd already decided that this a fun experience. The game describes itself as a “mysterious tale of heartbreak, romance, and supernatural events” - and that is precisely what is delivered. The price is open to question, but not by an awful lot. Ignoring everything else, it's not a bad price for what you get. If you like the story and the visuals – and you should – then it's not going to leave you feeling unhappy. The problem here is that the nature of visual novels leaves them open to comparison with every other release on the market; and comparing enough similarly priced competitors will leave this one somewhere in the middle of the pack. [quote] Please follow our curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/4680120/]Otome Lovers[/url], if you'd like to see more reviews like this one! [/quote]

Cute story with 3 routes for a casual evening read if you enjoy mysteries with romance. The soundtrack is lovely, I enjoyed the tracks.

much shorter than i was expecting! i will probably wait for someone else to make a guide so i can get all the endings. it's cute and not too long if that's your thing

这个故事真的特别特别特别苍白，仅仅只是主角在闹鬼剧院演戏然后发现闹鬼原因和幕后主使。但实际上这个发现真相的过程也不是主角通过努力探索细心寻找得出的，而是想都没想就由npc直接告诉主角的，所以剧情连跌宕起伏的悬疑侦查都没有，故事转折也超级生硬。 鬼魂silas是好评最多的线。首先此男对主角的情感完全是因为主角像他的亡妻，并且中途剧情里根本没有情节来过渡人物情绪，莫名其妙地大家就突然从陌生人变得难舍难分、在故事结尾你爱我我爱你了。 本来还想打下同事joshua的线，结果打着打着突然卡死了我也没存档。 故事会在一些奇怪的地方neta歌剧魅影情节。画风还是挺萌的。

came here for the ghost route it did not disappoint

This game is pretty interesting - different from your usual romance visual novels with super cute art, relaxing music, and a unique story. The three main leads are great especially Silas the ghost was a very unique protagonist compared to most visual novels. There is a game like this on the Voltage app if you want more like this but I prefer this story. It was a great game and one of the best visual novels I have ever played! Not too much detail, short, and sweet but exciting with great male leads and heartwarming endings. It's worth the full price and more :)

[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34294631/] Follow Far2close - Visual Novel Playthroughs Curator Page [/url] The Last Act Developer: Snowhaven Studios Publisher: Snowhaven Studios [b]Pros:[/b] 1. The story is actually quite wholesome even if about ghastly encounters and the thought of near death accidents on the stage. 2. Most of the characters were pretty interesting in their own way with Sarah depending on how you shape her character, but along with the romance options like Silas, Gavin, and Joshua. They were all very unique and had such distinguishable personalities that are able to hook you into them. 3. Some visual novels give choices that may not affect the game too much, but here a lot of the choices you make are accounted for. This results in maybe totally different dialogues between characters (especially Sarah's outlook) or different outcomes with same scenes but different locations. Some thorough planning surely was applied here. 4. THE ART STYLE. The art style can determine how you want your project to be perceived. Pure horror? Dark, dreary, and gritty. In here, it definitely works hand in hand with how the writer wanted the story to be, something lighthearted and heartwarming. The art is absolutely wonderful to look at as it's cheery and cute, along with lovely lighting applied to Silas to emphasize ethereal. Definitely some lovely art for sure. 5. Says right in the description "Unique soundtrack", safe to say it works well with it. The tracks definitely do their part whether it be enhancing the situation with Silas' arrival or the awkwardness with Alisha Blaire's catchy and strange presence. [b]Cons:[/b] 1. Short n' wholesome story but definitely with some drawbacks. The pacing can be taken as very fast, using a few time jumps. This might make it a little hard to connect with characters as we'd like to spend more time with them along with some backstory having to be explained by a second character several times. This can be seen hugely in the near end of the story where things need to come together. 2. Miranda's character felt off. We didn't know too much about her (unless you take some choices with Alisha Blaire) and when it came to the end, it felt a little odd, maybe sudden or poorly done context building. With maybe a bit of a longer game, her character could have some more depth added in. [b]Conclusion:[/b] The Last Act is a wholesome and lighthearted story about finding love through either the love of theater or the love of something... ethereal. With the story and adorable art, comes an experience that is sure to bring a smile on your face, despite having a couple of areas that could use some improvement. [b]Score:[/b] 7/10 GOOD

I enjoyed this ♥ Also it works like a dream on the steam deck :)

Une chouette histoire de fantôme qui m'a fait pensé au Fantôme de l'Auditorium(de Chair de Poule) qui présente des fins très sympathiques et romantiques pour certaines :) ! J'aime beaucoup le design du fantôme qui est tout bleu. Je conseille ce jeu qui permet de passer un moment chill et agréable :)