[I wouldn't call anything here a "spoiler" because I'm not going to talk about the story, because the story is very much secondary to the style in which it is told, but I am going to talk a little about the fluctuations in quality and my experience with the game, and if you want to really experience this for yourself, which you should, you probably shouldn't read this or anything else and just know that I think it's really, really good. Just be aware that much of the content therein can be really disturbing, so maybe read around a LITTLE for trigger warnings if there are certain themes that you aren't comfortable with]
LiL is really hard to talk about, especially if you're trying to describe it to someone scrolling through reviews deciding whether or not to play it. I was introduced to Lessons in Love a few years ago while I was scrolling through new indy VNs, just looking for something weird or creative. LiL caught my eye in particular because in the comments of the download section, someone had commented a request for an animation of "X character in Y position wearing Z outfit", as one often sees on these types of things. Selebus himself responded to the comment with a simple "not that kind of game". That stuck with me for some reason and piqued my interest for a VN which seemed to really aspire to more than just a neverending conveyor belt of pornography serving as the front for an eternal Patreon account (no shame in that, for the record ; this world takes all kinds).
Going into LiL with zero expectations is what made it possible for me to push through it, because, if you read reviews, you'll see a lot of people saying things like "best VN of all time" and "most beautiful writing I've ever seen from this medium" and, honestly, while I agree with BOTH of those sentiments, the first chapter (which is VERY long, basically the length of a normal VN all on its own) doesn't completely reflect that. The first chapter is good, don't get me wrong! I'd even say it's QUITE good, better than your average EVN, certainly. But the reality is, is that when people praise this game and give it 5/5, they're (at least in my case) talking about everything after about the halfway point of chapter 2 (i.e., a daunting 75 or so hours in), once basically all the exposition is done and the game can really start moving its pieces around in ways it can't take back.
The style changes gradually until it's almost unrecognizable. What begins as a very interesting slice of life with some very nice writing and very well written characters and very welcome poetic interludes becomes a virtuosic philosophico-poetic manifesto told through quasi-mythological, Lynchian dream sequences and delusions. Even if you HATE this game, you have to admit (assuming you get up to about chapter 3) it is without a doubt one of the most ambitious VNs of all time. Whether it lives up to that ambition, in my opinon, depends on how much you like reading through LOTS of poetry. Personally, I love poetry, and I think the poetry (especially after chapter 2) is genuinely exceptional. Your mileage may vary.
It's one of the best things I've ever read. Should you read it? Well, besides the poetry thing, that depends on your stomach for some rather dark themes and very disturbing, often violent imagery. Normally, I'm not one for a story that gets this dark, it's not usually my thing, but honestly LiL is so well told that I can't pull myself away from it even though almost every time I sit down to read it I either cry my eyes out or have a fit of anxiety and have to close the game.
It's good. Great even. What do you say about something that very clearly aspires to be literature, poetry? "Oh, Delillio's White Noise? 8/10, good story, good ideas, weird pacing". It's a VN that, at least once it hits its stride mid-chapter 2, takes itself very seriously as a real work of art and very much deserves the title.
LiL is really hard to talk about, especially if you're trying to describe it to someone scrolling through reviews deciding whether or not to play it. I was introduced to Lessons in Love a few years ago while I was scrolling through new indy VNs, just looking for something weird or creative. LiL caught my eye in particular because in the comments of the download section, someone had commented a request for an animation of "X character in Y position wearing Z outfit", as one often sees on these types of things. Selebus himself responded to the comment with a simple "not that kind of game". That stuck with me for some reason and piqued my interest for a VN which seemed to really aspire to more than just a neverending conveyor belt of pornography serving as the front for an eternal Patreon account (no shame in that, for the record ; this world takes all kinds).
Going into LiL with zero expectations is what made it possible for me to push through it, because, if you read reviews, you'll see a lot of people saying things like "best VN of all time" and "most beautiful writing I've ever seen from this medium" and, honestly, while I agree with BOTH of those sentiments, the first chapter (which is VERY long, basically the length of a normal VN all on its own) doesn't completely reflect that. The first chapter is good, don't get me wrong! I'd even say it's QUITE good, better than your average EVN, certainly. But the reality is, is that when people praise this game and give it 5/5, they're (at least in my case) talking about everything after about the halfway point of chapter 2 (i.e., a daunting 75 or so hours in), once basically all the exposition is done and the game can really start moving its pieces around in ways it can't take back.
The style changes gradually until it's almost unrecognizable. What begins as a very interesting slice of life with some very nice writing and very well written characters and very welcome poetic interludes becomes a virtuosic philosophico-poetic manifesto told through quasi-mythological, Lynchian dream sequences and delusions. Even if you HATE this game, you have to admit (assuming you get up to about chapter 3) it is without a doubt one of the most ambitious VNs of all time. Whether it lives up to that ambition, in my opinon, depends on how much you like reading through LOTS of poetry. Personally, I love poetry, and I think the poetry (especially after chapter 2) is genuinely exceptional. Your mileage may vary.
It's one of the best things I've ever read. Should you read it? Well, besides the poetry thing, that depends on your stomach for some rather dark themes and very disturbing, often violent imagery. Normally, I'm not one for a story that gets this dark, it's not usually my thing, but honestly LiL is so well told that I can't pull myself away from it even though almost every time I sit down to read it I either cry my eyes out or have a fit of anxiety and have to close the game.
It's good. Great even. What do you say about something that very clearly aspires to be literature, poetry? "Oh, Delillio's White Noise? 8/10, good story, good ideas, weird pacing". It's a VN that, at least once it hits its stride mid-chapter 2, takes itself very seriously as a real work of art and very much deserves the title.
