Stranger Still

i cannot believe this game is free. its simply amazing, so many endings, and the art is super polished!

Or

When I first booted up the game, due to either past experiences or simply due to personal bias, I expected the game to be another visual novel catered to romanticizing the antagonist. When I got my first ending, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of sexual and/or sensual tension. It felt like a conversation with imminent death, and I wholeheartedly believe that was the intention. Down below are minor/major spoilers, so if you haven't completed the game, refrain from reading further.

I love the idea of procrastination with your death, and the way it was used in this was very chilling. Granted, the sudden 13th ending took me out of the immersion, but I don't think it was intended to be completely canon, just as the endings are all to their own. If I'm able to look past the drastic change, and look at the ending on it's own, it was very interesting to watch the Host deal with his own version of procrastinating the end.

Other than that, I enjoyed every other ending in itself. Of course, as I had read from the content warnings, there were indeed sexual moments in the story. They weren't explicit, which was indeed a relief. They also didn't subtract or add to the Host's character; it didn't feel forced, or created just to add fan service. It felt more-so like he was willing to explore, just like someone with infinite time would be willing to do.

Leading from that, the Host's writing was exquisite. I could understand his viewpoint, even if I didn't agree with his actions myself. "What would someone with infinite time do? What would he believe in?" Even if it wasn't directly told, we could infer it from his dialogue. His humanity was shed with time. He knew that time was finite, since he experienced Death first-hand, so he wants to take matters into his own hands before Death catches up to him. Thus, creating his game to the viewer.

Now, onto the report. I noticed there was very minimal amounts of grammatical errors: I only counted two. Unfortunately, I've forgotten where I found the first... (My memory tends to fail me.) But I do know there is one in the 13th ending's dialogue.

I only encountered two bugs, one being a crash. When you've exhausted all of your options, right before you get the option to flee, my game stops responding and promptly closes. This has happened twice, during different choice trees. Secondly, when I opened the guide and closed it, the Host's sprite had disappeared. When I chose a new option, he re-appeared. I believe this might be linked to one of his sprites, as it only happened once. Other than these, the game played perfectly.

All in all, this game was fascinating and a worth-while play. It had moments that made me excited, moments that had shocked me, and moments that had perturbed me. I am eager to see, (and play!), what you make next.

This game is so fricking cool!!! The guide does wonders and I need the Host!!!!

Just finished playing through this and loved it. wonderful writing and art! 

This game is awesome! I just played through the whole thing and loved it! The guide was really helpful for keeping track of how to achieve the endings, and I also really loved how the trophies represent the MC's character throughout the chosen route. It really popped out to me after ending seven, the fox one, and it was just like wowww, I love the implied metaphor there. 

I do have to say, when I started playing, I was peeved at having just one save file. The fact that it reset after you reached an ending annoyed me, but in retrospect, I found it better immersed me in the game and made my experience 10x more memorable.

The last ending was amazing as well. I love how pensive the host looks. It's like a reward! 

This game is absolutely a 5/5! The amount of detail and passion that I can tell went into it is nothing short of stunning, and I will definitely be checking out your other works!