I'm editing this review as version .4, which I rarely do, since the author reached out to me having taken my advice and criticism to heart, which is pretty remarkable and shows a sign of engagement that a lot of creators lack. Kudos to IndianaATK, they show they actually care about making as good a game as they can.
So, an updated review:
You're a young man who received power, used it for evil, and was sealed away for your transgressions. You manage to escape your prison, reunite with your family, and plan to exact revenge on the people who imprisoned you.
In the early version of the game, it suffered from baffling, poorly conceived decisions that padded out the visual novel gameplay loop artificially, and strange aesthetic choices, like a jaunty soundtrack that didn't match the tone whatsoever. The author has listened to all the criticisms and really streamlined the prologue, which didn't need a grind. They changed the song choices to be something a bit more in line with the "i'm a Dark Wizard on a quest for power and revenge" vibe. I no longer get so bored and frustrated that I'm ready to quit before the main game has even begun.
I want to make clear I really do appreciate the humility and receptive attitude of the author, but also I want to be honest with the current state of the game, which is far from perfect. The current gameplay loop is pretty typical of Ren'Py visual novels. The writing is all right, but it could use further polish. The game could definitely use a quest log to give the player a better sense of direction and goals. Games should always aim to signpost the critical path clearly.
The renders are decent enough, but the overall composition of individual scenes are lacking. Characters need more poses and expressions, so they can respond to player inputs and conversations can flow better in ways that keep with their specific personalities.
The renders sufficiently convey what's going on, though, but do not really rise above that level. They also suffer from the Perspective being rather arbitrarily chosen from scene to scene. For instance, sometimes we're looking at things from the disembodied view of the audience, other times we're looking out the eyes of the Main Character. Other times, we're looking through the eyes of other characters. The main problem is there doesn't seem to be a conscious reason why it switches up. I'd like more consistency.
Overall, the game is worth a go now, although it still has a lot of rough edges.
So, an updated review:
You're a young man who received power, used it for evil, and was sealed away for your transgressions. You manage to escape your prison, reunite with your family, and plan to exact revenge on the people who imprisoned you.
In the early version of the game, it suffered from baffling, poorly conceived decisions that padded out the visual novel gameplay loop artificially, and strange aesthetic choices, like a jaunty soundtrack that didn't match the tone whatsoever. The author has listened to all the criticisms and really streamlined the prologue, which didn't need a grind. They changed the song choices to be something a bit more in line with the "i'm a Dark Wizard on a quest for power and revenge" vibe. I no longer get so bored and frustrated that I'm ready to quit before the main game has even begun.
I want to make clear I really do appreciate the humility and receptive attitude of the author, but also I want to be honest with the current state of the game, which is far from perfect. The current gameplay loop is pretty typical of Ren'Py visual novels. The writing is all right, but it could use further polish. The game could definitely use a quest log to give the player a better sense of direction and goals. Games should always aim to signpost the critical path clearly.
The renders are decent enough, but the overall composition of individual scenes are lacking. Characters need more poses and expressions, so they can respond to player inputs and conversations can flow better in ways that keep with their specific personalities.
The renders sufficiently convey what's going on, though, but do not really rise above that level. They also suffer from the Perspective being rather arbitrarily chosen from scene to scene. For instance, sometimes we're looking at things from the disembodied view of the audience, other times we're looking out the eyes of the Main Character. Other times, we're looking through the eyes of other characters. The main problem is there doesn't seem to be a conscious reason why it switches up. I'd like more consistency.
Overall, the game is worth a go now, although it still has a lot of rough edges.
