#This game is very much not Danganrompa but it could not exist without it

[almoststedytimetravel]

After finally finishing Raincode I kinda want to just get my thoughts on the game out; going chapter by chapter because holy shit it's a lot and I have so many thoughts.

Spoilers under the cut

Chapter 0

Looking back this case was a really solid start and really help set the tone and how ruthless Amaterasu corp is. Fake Zilch was a great killer though in hind sight there are a few plot holes. Specifically with the Zilch homunculi we find in the factory and him being on the train he would be exposed to sunlight. Though with the limited size to the windows and Zilch's clothes covering most of his body I can buy him not having stepped in direct sunlight.

Also the Doyleist vs. Watsonian reason for the bodies being burned is pretty interesting. Zilch needed to make Aphex look unrecognisable and Kodaka needed there to be no large amount of blood to be spilled so as to not tip the player off about the pink blood. Simple mystery that does a good job introducing the game mechanics.

Also shows how early everything is being set up, with Yuma's blood on the door being red.

Chapter 1

First off Helara, excellent companion. What's her gender? Detective. What's in her pants? A picture of a cat. Do you want to know what's not in her pants? the 5,000,000 shien you owe her. Her ability is pretty interesting and I love how its mechanics are incorporated into solving the mystery, with the tipped over paint can.

Certain locked rooms were easier to solve than others. Personally I found the gallery room the most difficult to do and it's the only one I actively needed the game to spell out for me.

I like how each murder pretty well telegraphs how each room was done and how it eliminates each church goer.

I was able to call the gallery murder being a copy cat. I think what tipped me off was the paintings being used instead of the dolls.

In this case I saw the first corpse and thought "Wow, so glad the wacky Danganrompa bright pink blood has been brought back! I guess the blood being red was just to show it had dried, or a mistake that slipped through."

...

"Does she know?"

Chapter 2

Kurumi you will always be famous, to me. God speed to you and the sequel that was set up for you at the end. "I may be immortal but I'm not that patient." Iconic. Same voice actor as Framme fire emblem. I love her.

Generally I don't tend to like the token pervert characters but Desuhiko has the cringefail charm that I love. Khoi Dao gives an excellent performance and really made me like Desuhiko in spite of my dislike of his archetype.

Now the case itself was really good. Kurune, Yoshiko, and Waruna all working together to kill Karen because she killed Aiko and got away with it was excellent. You can really see Kodaka is enjoying not being bound by the restrictions of the killing game. (Almost) Every mystery in this game could not have been pulled off in a Danganrompa style killing game, it's really great.

The ending of this case where we kill three high school students did leave a bad taste in my mouth and I had to put the game down for about a week. Though at least it did feel like something of a mercy kill.

Chapter 3

As usual chapter three is the worst one. Easily the weakest case and it's not even a close. The murder method feels like one that could be done in a killing game, like they needed filler so they pulled out a draft of a case where Asahina was the culprit and tweaked it a little bit to fit the setting.

It does not help that it is really poorly paced (Ironic considering the abilities of your companion) running around planting the bombs, then immediately going to diffuse them with a zero escape style mini game, combined with the fuck ton of qte's in this chapter made it really tedious.

Icardi was the worst culprit with the worst motive and the two peace keepers from this chapter were so forgettable that I don't remember their names.

Sucks even harder that his plan would have never worked since he would have left Kanai ward and immediately gone berserk.

Fubuki was easily the bright spot in this case. Her powers being so broken and that being what helped her get into Kanai ward in the first place was pretty interesting. her knowing that her powers are a crutch and what she thinks gives her value on the team was very interesting. I loved her clashing with Shinigami in the labyrinth, carrying this chapter on her god damn shoulders.

Chapter 4

Crying in the club about this one. Yakou you're my sad little meow meow who did everything wrong.

Yakou tanking the poison gas and relying on the detectives' fortes to get past the security and into the doctor's lab was such an inspired choice. I pretty quickly deduced that the killer had just face tanked the gas. Of course because Yakou was already at deaths door I began to go into the denial stage. Telling myself that the gas needed half an hour to take effect but the security logs said the system was turned off an hour prior to Yuma obtaining the logs.

Vivia going after Yuma with a box cutter in the mystery labyrinth as Yakou was just unresponsive behind them... I'm surprised I was able to see my switch screen through all of the tears.

I thought I couldn't hate Yomi more after what he did to Electro. I was wrong. Seeing Vivia get angry at Yomi when we were released from the labyrinth. He should have shanked Yomi with the box cutter.

Chapter 5

Another chapter with whack ass pacing though it is a final case so that's pretty common.

Should've known the bodies were fake were Halara supposedly dies second when it would obviously be Vivia. (Desuhiko is still dying first). Coalescence being used to mimic the handwriting of the other master detectives was pretty neat and while being something we weren't shown it makes sense as something it can do.

The pink blood. Oh boy the pink blood. I don't think I'm ever going to shut up about this. Yuma yelling "Blood being pink is obviously strange!" left me staring at the screen, slack jawed. What a twist that could only hit with the three Danganrompa behind it. So excellent, I'll forgive all this cases' pacing issues on that twist alone.

Getting chased through the abandoned village by past victims and culprits was really frightening. Waruna, Kurune, and Yoshiko jumping Kurumi was really horrific. Fink the Slaughter artist being dead felt a little anti-climactic. Yakou giving Yuma the disk was a really great moment.

Shinigami's goodbye was really emotional. I loved her very unserious attitude so her being serious, telling Yuma how much he means to her was really good.

over all a solid 7.5/10. Without chapter three, 9/10. really good game.

[thelocalmuffin]

Hey everyone, as you know, I have Gnosia brainrot, so if you aren't really interested in hearing my thoughts on it, I put a readmore on this post. This is not spoiler free, unfortunately, but I will try to avoid as much as I can but I do recommend giving it a chance. It's twenty five dollars and has an extremely high replay value.

Overall thoughts:

Gnosia is a visual novel/strategy game that relies on tact, deduction skills, and stealth. It tells the engaging story of a crew being infected with Gnosia after a mission goes horribly wrong. Gnosia is a parasite that wants to destroy the crew. You are one of these crew members, trying to help your comrade, Setsu as you end up solving the mysteries of the Gnosia together. To do that, you must become close with the crew, but at the same time, be wary. They may be your enemy.

This is honestly one of the best games I've ever played. It's all I ever wanted in a game and that's not even an exaggeration. There is a lot of heart and love for each element of the game, and it shows. This isn't just some triple A title, but a rare treat that many will enjoy, if given the chance. Fans of visual novels will like the story and art, people who like strategy games will like the deductive skills they need to use since this game will not hold your hand.

Gameplay

Excellent, engaging gameplay that keeps you on your toes, regardless its repetitive ways.

There's a leveling up system to help with your skills and though the game is trickier at first, as most games are, you will soon find out when your crewmates are acting far too out of character, you can start catching lies, and point out contradictions. Though, to my personal delight, unlike most visual novels, that's not enough. You need to build up your charisma and pair up with the right people to win, regardless of which side you've been assigned. As I mentioned, this game will not hold your hand. It does not question your intelligence, though, and you will feel satisfied when your crewmates actually start to take your side.

Unfortunately, if you do struggle with repetition, I do suggest to take the game slow so you don't get burn out. There are loops that will sometimes take forever for a story plot to be addressed, but if you talk to others, you will learn little tidbits about them and there are some loops that are just a regular game without any new information. Don't get too discouraged, it will pick up its pace if you give it a bit of time. 

Writing

This is what I'm going to gush most about. Writing is sturdy and fulfilling. and I honestly recommend anyone writing a timeloop/paradox story to take some notes from this story because it does it correctly.

You will not feel unsatisfied when you finish the game. Every question is answered and there is next to no contradictions in the plot, which is almost unheard in this genre. You get the answers you seek, but enough to make you have questions that aren't necessary to have answered, but would like just a morsel more of details on. I only played once before making this review, so there's a possibility that these small details are addressed.

For those who like darker visual novels, you will enjoy the plots they explore but not feel like they push the limits just to see what they can get away with, like Danganrompa is so guilty of. Murder, backstabbing, and little girls being creepy is all part of the package, but it doesn't feel like it's out of place.

Though, there was something that really surprised me they explored, especially with the game's official T rating. They do explore sexual assault/sexual themes. I know the rating says suggestive themes, but honestly, I think they should have gone with a sexual themes warning instead and slapped an M rating. I'm trying to not get into too many spoilers in this, but let's just say some characters are motivated by sex and lust. Hell, I'd argue it's an important plot point that isn't unwelcomed. I just think an accurate ESRB rating would have been appreciated especially to those trigged by that content. 

I do love the writing, but I do need to bring up a glaring flaw. Some of the characters do fall flat. I really felt like a few characters were barely explored, like Gina and Chipie, and honestly, it's a shame. There was something there, I could tell, but they just didn't add enough with them. For as long as the game is, they really could have fleshed out all of fifteen characters equally. Keep in mind I have only played one run, so perhaps I haven't spent enough time with them, but I did beat the game, so I was expecting a bit more.

I do wish they explored the characters a bit more and added a few more things to learn about these characters. Yes, I know this would have made the game longer than it already is, but it would have helped with some of the repetition issues and made them more whole.

About the romance scenes I keep seeing critique on: the only canon option is Setsu that's confirmed and honestly...it's a bit of a shame. I do like Setsu a lot and ended up accepting their confession, but I wonder what would have happened if they allowed other romanceable options? 

With that being said...I think they did most of it correctly by not adding in love interests. It would have detracted from the suspense of Gnosia, and I'm not going to lie...Remnan got me a few times when he was Gnosia because I did think there was a possibility of a romance. (Yes, you are allowed to call me out on that.)

I'm going to go off on my favorite part of the game's writing: there is no worship the protagonist trope. You know how delightful that is in a world where other games have characters exist to pander to the protagonist and the player's very existence? No? Well, I’m going to tell you why.

Characters react to you as one of their own: not a sore thumb that needs to be worshipped (i.e like Fire Emblem does), but rather, you are one of them and you are as suspicious as anyone else on board. Sure, characters like Setsu will give you natural praise, but that's because you are their friend and that is what close friends do.

With that being said, there's great representation with Raqio and Setsu, and they/them pronouns are used accurately and not in a demeaning way. With that...they do screw up a bit with Raqio. It's not perfect, and it's a bit of a shame, because they were so close to getting that down. With that being said, it's the best I've seen in media in a really long time.

Soundtrack

I will admit that the soundtrack was the weakest part of the game to me. It's not bad by any stretch of the means, but I think a few more songs would have really helped bring more mood into it and help the repetition issues. It does feel a bit out of place, and honestly, part of me wonders if that was the point? I am a huge fan of video game soundtracks, so I will admit, I was a bit bummed, though it's not bad enough to where it's a deal breaker. I think some will enjoy it, but I did start playing with the volume down about half way through.

Style

I have to talk about this since it does apply to the writing. I have one word to describe the artwork. Breathtaking. It looks so perfect for the setting. It's a bit surreal, but it's perfect for the story it is trying to tell. It's got gorgeous backgrounds. Not to mention the designs for each character. The designs for each character have sci-fi tropes that many will love but with enough uniqueness to stand out. Style and substance work hand in hand in this game and that is a rarity for me.

Overall thoughts

Overall rating 9.8/10, mainly because the soundtrack does take away from the scene for a bit. Variety in music would have really helped it be that much more engrossing. This is what visual novels should be, and honestly, sci-fi writers should take some notes, too. It's a timeless game that has immersive gameplay, a legendary story that doesn't hold back, and for a game about paradoxes and timeloops, it feels complete. With the very small flaws it has that I pointed out, I think it will appeal to the right audience and I encourage everyone to play it. It's twenty five dollars on the switch, and I hope it it gets a PC release because it would do really well on there.

Any thoughts of your own I didn't mention? Just want to go off on the game with me? Let's talk! Thanks for reading, much love, and see you all soon.