The main thing I was looking for with this game, was a story I could immerse myself in. I'm not interested in prey content, so I didn't go out of my way to see vore scenes, in fact, I tried to avoid game overs as much as possible because I wanted it to be a story shaped by my choices, and dying would make me feel disconnected from the story, because "my choices" would have never led to the rest of the story. I've only done a single playthrough, and, for now, don't intend to explore different routes. I'd preferably go into the rest of the chapters with only the knowledge of the single timeline of events that my choices have led to.
The first thing that pleasantly surprised me was the main character. I really liked how, despite having an interest in vore, he wasn't suicidal, he had, in my eyes, very realistic reactions to the situation he found himself in. I also thought his "lizard brain" was a funny character in it's own right. I thought the main character was pretty similar to me, and it was very easy for me to place myself in his shoes.
Unfortunately this changed slightly as the chapters went on, his interests in vore started drifting further away from my own, his preyish tendencies growing more prevalent as time went on. But, I very much expected this to happen, I know what kind of game I am playing after all.
Something that I do wish stayed more like the first few chapters, is the lead-up to game over scenes. Maybe it's because the early chapters contained less combat, but I felt like the game over scenes were either clearly telegraphed or allow you multiple chances to figure the non-game over option out.
In later chapters, game overs often felt random, either option could be the one that avoids the game over, and I felt like I was essentially flipping a coin.
This is something I perceive as an issue, because, as stated before, game overs cause me to lose some immersion in the story.
I don't mind it when the consequences aren't clearly telegraphed when it comes to choices that have non-game over consequences, because unlike game overs, I can actually "live with" these consequences.
That probably sounds like a lot of negativity, which paints a wrong picture of my feelings towards this game, because I am absolutely in love with this world, the characters and the story they're in. So, to get some more positivity in here, let's start talking about those!
The first day was something special. I was alone in a world I knew nothing about, totally clueless to the dangers around me. Sure, I knew that vore was something that exists here, but I had no clue to what extend. I was frightened, and then I met Mira, who managed to calm most of my nerves.
Despite she being the one who asked all the questions, I ended up learning a lot. The most frightening thing I learned was that everyone has the ability to vore, not just monsters, not just demis, not just females, everyone.
However, despite this scary revelation, I felt safer than ever, thanks to having Mira by my side.
This feeling of safety became fleeting when we reached her hideout and she started drinking. As she crept closer to me and my fears became a reality, I learned my next important lesson: I am utterly powerless and at the mercy of others.
When I was let out the next morning, I knew that Mira wouldn't intentionally harm me, but I no longer felt safe, it was just a matter of time before she'd lose control again, and there'd be no guarantee that she wouldn't finish me off next time.
Despite this, Mira was still the only person I knew and it was clear that she didn't mean to do me harm, so, for now, I'd still rather stick with her.
The event that took place when Mira and I crossed the bridge in order to go to the library, is one of my favorites in the entire story.
When I got grabbed, and Mira was told to part with her money or I'd suffer a gastric demise, I was convinced that that was it, my first death. I'd have to go back and choose a different path.
In my mind, there was no way that Mira, a thief who has spent a long time on gaining those possessions, would trade that in for some stranger she met the other day and almost killed herself, barely batting an eye. I was expecting her to turn tail.
When instead, she gave up her money in order to save me, I was shocked. I fell in love with her character right then and there (not romantically (yet)). All my doubts about my chances of survival if I were to stick with her faded away. I was now convinced that staying by Mira's side was a good idea after all and sticking by her side was exactly what I was determined to do, so I could repay my debt to her.
The time spent in the library made me like her even more. I absolutely adored the way she tried to look busy despite being bored, the way she tried to help despite not being qualified, and how happy she seemed when I entertained her for a bit.
Meeting Vanille was a great change of pace. While hanging out with Mira was great, I did feel a need for someone I could have serious chats with, someone who could be an anchor point for my sanity. Vanille delivered exactly that.
Vanille telling me that multiple people trying to eat me every day wasn't normal, was quite relieving. Sure, me being cursed to attract that kind of attention is bad, but the knowledge that this is not a normal thing stopped me from going crazy with the thought as to how society hasn't collapsed yet in this world if people try to eat each other this often.
I was happy to have both Vanille and Mira with me when we set out on our adventure. Mira being a beacon of joy and Vanille being a beacon of safety.
Sure, the two of them didn't exactly get along at first, but this issue quickly went away over time.
Then we met Ashlyn. I won't lie, I'm not a fan of Ashlyn. Her first introduction didn't leave a good impression on me. While I enjoyed our chat, I did not enjoy how malicious she seemed. But someone trying to eat me is not something I hold a long-term grudge over. (I'm still happily hanging out with Mira after all.)
What made me really dislike Ashlyn, was what she did to the guy (I forgot his name) that was with us when going through the bee hive. The one that kept bragging about his achievements.
I did not appreciate how she just used a small distraction to end one of our party member's lives while no one was looking, and ended up getting away with it.
If she was bold enough to do this to one of her party members once, there wasn't any guarantee she wouldn't pull the same shit again, but this time targeting me, or worse, Vanille or Mira.
All I could think about was how much I wish I could leave her behind and continue on with just Mira and Vanille.
This whole thing with Ashlyn did lead to another one of my favorite moments in the entire story. While training with Vanille, the main character brought up what happened between Ashlyn and the guy when the queen bee was charging us. As he brought up his issues, I felt as one with the main character. It did not sit well with me that someone who we were exploring with, even if they were a bit annoying, would just be eaten by another member of our party right from under our noses, and no one seemed to really care.
Vanille agreeing with me, made me really glad and allowed me to feel like she was a close friend I could be open with and share things that are bothering me.
Speaking of the training with Vanille, I really like how much payoff it had. When I was able to hit vanille with the spear while being swallowed by the worm-girl, I felt quite accomplished.
The haunted temple is where my negative feelings towards Ashlyn got challenged, but only very slightly. It was interesting that Ashlyn decided to stick around and rescue the rest of the party, instead of leaving me to fend for my own.
I also learned something vague about Vanille's motivation for helping me, unfortunately, it never got brought up for the rest of the 14 chapters, probably because I didn't hang out with her at the right moment.
Before the temple, it felt like my friendship with Vanille was steadily getting stronger, unfortunately, after the temple, that progress seemed to come to a complete stop. I suspect this is because when I was given the option to choose between hanging out with Vanille or hanging out Mira, I'd generally pick Mira.
While there was the part where I just think Mira is the most fun character to hang out with, the main reason I tended to pick her, was because Vanille and Ashlyn were both capable people who could look out for themselves. Meanwhile Mira and me had a tendency to get into trouble.
By sticking with Mira, we were able to watch each other's backs. Mira was able to keep me out of physical trouble, while I was able to keep her out of social trouble. (Admittedly neither of us gave perfect protection against the other person's flaw)
Thus, when the centaur raid happened, I was hanging out with Mira, who just became my girlfriend?! Omg yes! I'm so happy!
*Cough* anyways, so the centaur raid was happening and while trying to re-unite with the rest of the party, I found myself in a position where I could attempt to save someone from a trip to a centaur's stomach. I was still trying to avoid game overs as the plague, and I felt certain that the best case scenario with my rescue attempt, would be to trade one meal for another. Worst case, the centaur would have 3 meals instead of 1.
I was ready to just move on, and regroup with the others, but then I remembered that regrouping with the others, also meant regrouping with Vanille. If Vanille was in this situation, there's no way she wouldn't try and save this villager. There is no way I could reunite with her, knowing I let someone die to save my own skin, especially after our chat during training.
So, I picked up my spear and charged the centaur, knowing that it'd result in a reset, but I had to at least try.
So, when it actually worked out, and me and Mira managed to take down the centaur together, the feeling of accomplishment I had was pure euphoria. It felt like all my choices lead me to this exact moment, all adding up for the perfect payoff.
My relation with Vanille gave me the courage to face the centaur. My training with Vanille gave me the strength to have a meaningful impact in the fight, and my relationship with Mira provided the assistance I needed to win the fight.
Skipping straight to the search for the underground city: Ashlyn electrocuted herself in order to stun the water spirit. It was around this time that I stopped wishing for Ashlyn to leave the party. I hate to admit it, but they have proven to be pretty useful so far, and I actually like the way they act now, mainly because of how the Main Character reacts to her antics by shutting her down in some fun way. But it annoys me that it feels out of character for her to be like this, due to what she did when she first joined the party.
Ashlyn then and Ashlyn now are almost totally separate entities in my mind. Ashlyn then was a sadistic person that got pleasure out of the suffering of others. Ashlyn now is a prankster that likes to mess with people's heads.
While I like her more now, I can't help but feel like she just doesn't fit in this story, partly due to how radically changed she feels, partly because she seems a tad bit too crazy for this world.
But, if she stays the way she is now, I might forget about her introduction one day and will actually like the character as a whole.
The next thing I want to talk about is the octo-girl fight. I'd like to start out about vending my frustrations over a game over. Mira was swallowed by the lower mouth. I had to choose to either go after her via the bottom or the top mouth. The right answer seemed really obvious to me. "Mira went in through the lower mouth, so that's the obvious path to follow, there is no guarantee that the regular mouth leads to the same location that Mira went to, and even if it does lead to the same location, taking the regular entrance will result in the rope being noticed, so the octo-girl could use that knowledge to turn the tables on me. The lower mouth is clearly the right choice".
So, I was kinda annoyed when it somehow turned out to be the wrong choice, even in hindsight, I still think it was the right choice.
Anyways this game over lead to a scene that was way more wholesome than it had any right to be: Mira cuddling up next to me and expressing her happiness (provably in part because of the knowledge that I risked my life to try and save her, and in part because she got to spend the last moments of her life with her boyfriend)
*Ahem* anyways, back to events that didn't get canonically removed. Ever since Vanille admitted that she didn't know what to do with herself, back in the temple, I've been somewhat afraid. Vanille has been the anchorpoint for my sanity all this time, so the revelation that she wasn't in the best mental space herself, filled me with dread. This dread became reality when Vanille lost her shit and sliced that octo-girl into parts that even I could swallow whole.
I cannot stress enough how much I wanted to go to the baths with Mira that evening, but after what happened in the underground city, I couldn't leave Vanille alone. I could always have fun with Mira later, but Vanille seemed to need me now. She was able to vent her frustrations, and seemed to be in a much better state the next day, so I'm glad I turned Mira down for that 1 evening.
On to the murder trial, I really liked the way Sherine was introduced. Since she couldn't talk and I was forced to defend her, I ended up making all kinds of theories, all leading to the conclusion that Sherine is innocent, only to have the exact same reaction that the main character had, when Sherine immediately admitted to being guilty the moment she had a chance to speak.
I thought the whole trial was a really fun change of pace, I enjoy the social interactions in this game, and this trial had a lot of social interactions.
One thing I really wish wasn't done however, was the reveal that the only punishment Sherine would face, was 2 weeks of community service if she was found guilty. I know that the joke is supposed to be that this world makes no sense. But this was on a whole other level of nonsense. I've still not recovered from the tonal whiplash that reveal gave me. (Though, credit where credit is due, striking through that whole section of text when the MC also couldn't accept it, was a genius joke)
The last event I want to mention was when we ran into Allie again, this time with Sherine in the party. I really appreciated the opportunity to just talk to her. I enjoyed that chat a lot. (I've tried talking to her before, but that just led to a game over). She reminded me a bit of the mimics we ran into (more on those later).
I've had a bit of time with Sherine now and have formed some opinions on her. I like her about as much as Ashlyn, but for almost the complete opposite reasons.
While I am not a big fan of Ashlyn's character, I really enjoy the way the main character reacts to her antics, Ashlyn being shut down is kinda cathartic I guess, but it's nice that it doesn't feel mean spirited and both parties seem to enjoy the interaction.
Meanwhile, I actually like Sherine's character more by quite a margin, but I hate the way that the main character reacts to her. He always goes prey mode around her, and I've felt more disconnected from the main character ever since Sherine joined the party.
Next up, a few scrambled thoughts that I didn't manage to fit into the linear sequence of events.
I like how the curse of being targeted is often used as a way to draw agro and solve conflicts. It's a great way to make the player feel like they have a role in combat encounters, despite being severely outmatched in pure combat prowess.
It doesn't make much sense to me that the main character is suddenly an archery ace. I don't remember getting any training with the bow in this world, and no training prior to getting to this world was mentioned. I think it'd be nice if some explanation for why the main character is proficient in archery was added, like archery clubs being relatively common in our world and him being in one.
Mimics, mimics deserve their own section. I absolutely adore them. I love everything about their mannerisms. The way they slowly try to shuffle away when they catch their Mira prey, as if everyone else in the room wouldn't notice them. The way they hold still in fear when Vanille approaches, as if it's somehow gonna help them hide. The way they try to clean up Mira after releasing her, as if to say "See? She's perfectly fine, please don't hurt me".
The 2 scenes I've seen with a mimic were some of my favorites throughout the whole story, they haven't failed to give me a chuckle yet.
