VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Crimson Gray: Dusk And Dawn [Final] [Sierra Lee]

(Version Reviewed: Completed Game)

Not as good as the first game. That was my first thought about the second game in the series. It also isn't as long as the first game and overall I did feel a little disappointed. However, the canon ending of the game was worth it. It was quite beautiful and reminded me why I rooted for the couple.

I liked reading Lizzie's perspective of the story. It was fun to see her restraining from murdering several people out of her love to be with John forever. The lewd scenes were tame, but just like most Sierra Lee's games I just see it as something that enhances the story. So I don't have much complaints about it.

Overall I'd rate it at 7.5/10. Solid game.

Just finished this game after finishing Crimson Gray 1 a couple days ago. As a Yandere fan this and the first game are definitely two of the best, if not the best, Yandere games I have ever played. They are also pretty much the only Yandere games I have ever played where there is a serious (and successful!) attempt at delving into the mind of the Yandere (including interesting small touches using the gameplay and character pictures that I won't spoil) and trying to actually understand her and find a way to minimize her worst instincts and focus on her best. Like, I normally find the bad ends in Yandere games to be an important aspect of what interests me in playing them, but here I didn't even want to see the bad ends because the story gripped me to the degree that I didn't want to see any of the two main characters get hurt in anyway! Sierra Lee has definitely written a truly awesome story here .
There aren't that many CGs included, but the ones that are included are nice and well made. The music fits the scenes but isn't remarkable.
Overall, this game series is definitely recommended, and I really hope for a sequel!

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first one but it is still fun. I do really enjoy the art and some of the little quirks of the gameplay, such as the cursor being strongly drawn to certain options was a really neat touch.

This is a very interesting sequel, as it puts you in control of Lizzie instead of John. I like how you are able to see how Lizzie struggles with her inner demons, and how she tries to balance John's needs and her own. Seeing first hand how she has to deal with all these intrusive thoughts about worst case scenarios makes her a more sympathetic character. I'm still impressed at how the author could make a crazed stalker into a someone that I genuinely care about.

Much like the first game, it's heavily focused on the story rather than the erotic content.

An okay sequel to a pretty unique first game.

The idea of switching perspectives was pretty good, considering how the first chapter played out. The writing for Lizzie is great and conveys her state of mind in an effective way, making her thoughts both clear and ridiculously overblown. The fun "mechanics", like the cursor being drawn to specific choices, said choices changing once selected and the occasional "Doki Doki" glitches compliment the yandere MC very well.

However, the biggest problem with the game comes with the writing in a more general manner, with an awkward pacing and confused storytelling. I wish I could pretend it was made on purpose to reflect Lizzie's unstableness, but let's not kid ourselves.
A lot of events are presented as important or event pivotal, and yet they play out without having any apparent impact on the story or the characters. The best example happens right at the beginning with the speaker coming to their university, which seemed to be a big element of the story here. But it all takes place within minutes of gameplay; it's introduced, there's talk of organizing stuff, then it happens immediately, and it's forgotten just as quickly. Maybe I've made the worst possible decisions, because the whole thing seemed to happen over two or three days max.
Same goes for characters which are introduced, sometimes even given a name or a visual representation, but then don't seem to be remotely relevant (except for that one bro). Even the whole melody thing just disappears after a few scenes.

In the end the story seems to be sewn together with different pitches for school-setting games, but none of those are given any time or real importance, to the point where I was surprised to have arrived at an (underwhelming) ending. Game's over, go home.

Finally, art is pretty nice though scarce. I do miss the gray aesthetic of the first game which was a real bonus to the story being told and made its true ending much more impactful. This one has some real nice CGs, but it's not as noticeable or eye-catching. Forget about the whole serial-killer overtone and the images could be swapped with some other university slice of life VN.
But John is really hot so that's fine.

Anyway, still going to try my hardest to get more endings... hopefully those will actually feel like they are indeed endings.

TLR
Pros:
-be a cute yandere
-and date a cute boi

Cons:
-written like a diary
-routes with 0.00 sex (horrifying)
-political commentary (sometimes?)

Great art and story. The choices are well done, i really liked the one where you have to highlight the sentences to see the real choice and also the one where your mouse is going instantly on one of them.

A very interesting and unique experience. It isn't as good as the original for me personally but it's still a pretty good game. If you enjoyed the original game you will probably enjoy this one too. In conclusion this game has a lighter tone and is more like an extended ending to the original game than a stand alone game itself but it still has it's moments.