#tierlist update

[ariapmdeol]

I recently played Z.A.T.O. - I love the world and everything in it (itch io) (steam) and i really, really liked it! I may move it up to 'Peak' tier, but i want to sit with the game a bit more before i decide if I should.

rambles under the cut. As always, please read the content warnings before playing. Spoiler warning!

It's hard to articulate how deeply this game resonated with me. Ferry is a master at making their characters feel real, and the cast of ZATO is no exception. Everyone feels realistic and three dimensional, and has their own ways of dealing with and handling things. The prose was lovely.

Asya in particular was especially relatable to me. The idea of "the world must be inherently good. the people who hurt me have their reasons, they don't mean it, it's just things getting out of hand. They dont want to hurt me." is a painfully real mentality that I haven't seen depicted so realistically.

The changing text speeds to indicate a change in thinking is wonderful, and it added so much to the experience. I especially liked the depictions of panic attacks - I haven't seen a depiction that captured the feeling quite as well as ZATO did. The atmosphere was excellent.

It was interesting especially to me because my family is Bulgarian, so a lot of the environmental elements reminded me of how my parents grew up during the communist times.

I think Ferry has a real, genuine skill in capturing the small moments. The little conversations, the details adding up to a greater whole. It makes ZATO a wonderful experience to play.

I do think this is also a game that would feel different on a replay. I'll need to replay it at some point to test that theory, though.

Another thing I really liked was the character designs. If you look closely, you can see that Ira, Asya, and Marina all have gold pupils. But Garin has green. He doesn't Know the same way that Ira, Asya, and Marina do, and his design reflects that. Ira's pupils are also changed to black when she's Out of it. (screenshots for reference).

It's interesting because Tosya also doesn't have the same pupils as anyone else - they're orange.

[ariapmdeol]

it's been a while! Tierlist update time

I played words for in between and deeply enjoyed it - the characters are cute and silly, and i found it really charming! I really liked the dynamic between shutters and seen a lot,, Yurigem,, This game was made by a friend!

I also played the demo for Schrodinger's Call and really enjoyed it too! the art style is gorgeously intricate and it has so much texture, it feels like a storybook! The animation is wonderfully intricate! Excited to see the full release!

As far as games in-progress go, i've been chipping away at Zeno 4.01 (april fools ver) and I am compelled by how much has changed with such a simple concept,, I'm having a lot of fun with it. i like the changes to how kuro views the concept of love (3/5 endings done, 2 to go)

Words for in between

Schrodinger's Call

Zeno 4.01

I am partial to this version of kuroaka. I haven't done the true ends yet please dont spoil me

[ariapmdeol]

I played OVERWRITE recently, and really liked it!

OVERWRITE shines in its mechanics - the back-and-forth of whose Will is stronger was really fun! the UI design felt really nice

Story-wise, it was fine? I think the story was self contained and easy to follow - elements were foreshadowed well, though the story felt a bit predictable. I liked the dynamic between Ren and the Director! I will note that it can be difficult to get the True End without a guide, but following along with the guide was easy enough! I thought the true end was very heartfelt.

There is an extra scenario unlocked upon completing the True End, but it's currently untranslated.

The art style is very cute!

the use of the game mechanics and UI itself to push the battle of wills further was really charming!

[ariapmdeol]

I finished Urban Myth Dissolution Center!

The pixel art and animation is genuinely gorgeous - the limited palette is SO stunning and the bounce of the sprites is super charming!!

Story-wise I had a lot of fun!! I think the slow build up of little details made it a really fun journey to piece things together!!! the last case was my favorite. I think Jasmine and Azami are so yuriful,,, it's so cute to me.

I have heard mixed reviews about the Twist at the end but my final feeling is that I think it was awesome actually. Holy Shit. I love being surprised and i would love to replay the game with this information in mind,,,

[ariapmdeol]

I played SWOLLEN TO BURSTING UNTIL I AM DISAPPEARING ON PURPOSE (thank you @violetsquare111 for the recommendation!)

WOW the graphics of this game are gorgeous! I love the 2.5D aesthetic and the music is all really good!! it has such a strong aesthetic - Every detail in the game feels intentional, as a part of the vibe that the developer was going for.

You can definitely feel the Yume Nikki influences in this and as a fan of Yume Nikki, I had a lot of fun!

This is a game about being transgender. It's about trauma, and bad experiences, and I really found myself captivated by the little snippets of story that the game shared with us. It was emotional and impactful and It felt very Real to me,, I really liked it.

I liked that you could clock out and "end" the game at any time. I think it's important that you need to push to see the finale, and to choose to keep running around even after all your deliveries are done. We as the player are a participant, choosing to look deeper and learn more about ourselves and help out more in town.

The medium of this being a game and the Effects as a part of it all add more to the story. It was really good.

also i thought this was funny <3

[ariapmdeol]

Tierlist Update! The Saihate Station (translated) Demo came out!!

The Demo is short and sweet-- the art style is SO cute, and the characters have a fun dynamic; I'm excited to see where it goes from here!!

I don't trust shion, but I think he's cute~ I think the senpai+kouhai dynamic is very fun

[ariapmdeol]

played Nobody Nowhere, and i highly recommend it!! a lovely, gorgeous game!!!

~3 hours long, with gorgeous pixel art!!! the minigames are a lot of fun, and the characters are really nice!! Please play this game!!! It came out less than a week ago, so it could really use the support sadkjldajskl

[ariapmdeol]

tierlist update! Finished Homicipher! I really like Mr Crawling <3 he's so everything to me,, Fun game, fun setup! I did the setup and played a bit of the first game of Aibyou World (it doesn't work easily with my textractor, so I had to do a lot of finagling. I managed to get it to work in the end, though! So I'll play more soon) Also, I did start Wilardo's Conclusion for Witch's Heart! I helped a lot of friends set up the JP ver before it was released in english, so my skills as rpgmaker tech support are really coming in handy dsllkdsljkads