#cineris somnia

[horrorwomen]

CINERIS SOMNIA (PC, 2018)

[dg3zero]

[stripedmarionette]

𓈒ིུ𖥨᩠ׄ݁༽ᓭི༏ᓯྀ༼ 𓈒ིུ𖥨᩠ׄ݁

[ruedefaux]

【キネリス・ソムニア 】

"Oh no… Some of you are still wriggling around?" 𐀔

[sabi-rust]

drawings

[j-fashion-wearer-otd]

Today's J-fashion wearer is Charlotte from Cineris Somnia! She wears old-school shiro lolita!

[scarletprim]

[bruisedlittleangel]

[puellainalba]

Cineris Somnia: A strangely beautiful dream

“I hope that someday, you'll dream of me.”

Cineris Somia brings a feeling as if you are embarking on nostalgic memories, on distant dreams that go from something bright to something dark and gray.

As expected from a walking simulator, you walk a lot around the map, you are guided mainly by papers spread across them; they tell most of the story and even break the fourth wall in a way by talking to the player. Many of the things you will read will depend on your personal interpretation to understand what is happening.

The entire ambiance of the game gives me a strong feeling of nostalgia, it is at first glance calm, “innocent” — But it doesn't take long for the environment to gradually become heavier, dark. This is something I really like and the game does very well.

Prelude - The Green Butterfly Chapter: The Girl

“A young girl wakes up by the sea. All that's left is her sister's yellow bucket and the sandcastle they just built together. Her mother is nowhere to be found. Blinded by the blinding light of the sun, the young girl takes the first step on a strange and mysterious journey.”

The game starts with you controlling an unnamed girl, just called “The Girl” she wakes up alone on a beach, apparently she was there with her mother and sister and ended up dozing off. Her objective here is very simple: get to the beach lighthouse. Along the way, you'll find some papers with some writing on them, but nothing that makes much sense at first. When you reach the top, the chapter will end and you will wake up in the chapter selection room.

This story has a continuity after you finish all the others, but I prefer not to give details as it would be a spoiler!

The Blue Butterfly Chapter: Marie

“Marie is a happy, pure and active girl. She whimsically runs through the dark depths of the forest, wearing pajamas and a cape. But there is an important reason why she came to this forest.”

This chapter is entirely set in a forest, green and blue tones are the highlight. There you meet Marie, a little girl who walks around with an empty white bird cage, she is after a blue bird and you need to help her look for it.

Although at first everything is very innocent and childish, at the end of the chapter a cruel secret is revealed.

The White Butterfly Chapter: Charlotte

“A young woman confined to a sanatorium, her body full of diseases. She is very quiet and has an air of maturity far superior to most children her age. She eagerly awaits promises made long ago with someone very special to be fulfilled.”

Charlotte spends her days alone in the sanatorium, wishing to visit a rose garden. The environment is dominated by a light white, making the corridors appear very similar to each other. At the end of the chapter, red is very present, contrasting against white.

According to the chapter, you help the girl with small things, such as delivering letters and finding some items. As you find the letters and read them, you will understand more and more about Charlotte's story and everything that is happening. Along with this, the environment changes little by little, in such a subtle way that it is difficult to notice at first — but when you look closely, it will be a little different than it was at the beginning.

This was one of my favorite chapters, even though it left me with a “bittersweet” feeling at the end.

The Black Butterfly Chapter: Ophelia

“Daughter of a prestigious family that owns vast lands and an extravagant mansion. She is tormented by intense self-loathing due to her belief that she is ugly and plain. Raised by cold and unloving parents, she spends her days in loneliness and despair, following the orders of her mother and father.”

This chapter is quite different from the others. Unlike the others where the environment is mostly bright and well lit and gradually becomes dark, this one has a dark setting from the beginning — with few scenes where the lighting is similar to the other chapters.

As soon as you find Ophelia, she starts chasing you to kill you just like she did everyone else there. You spend the entire chapter running from her as you explore the large mansion and discover the secrets that are kept there, including why Ophelia killed everyone who lived there.

Unlike the others, in this chapter you can die, and it is not possible to return to it if you have not saved.

The setting also tells a story — Just like in a dream, each representation there, however confusing it may be, has a hidden meaning for the story presented. As everything is up to your personal interpretation and none of the game's devs gave any explanation about the things presented, we ended up having more questions than answers.

I would also mainly like to highlight the game's stunning photography, many may consider the graphics “dated”, however, in my opinion, this is what makes everything even more beautiful. There are some visual bugs, but there was nothing that bothered me or made the game less charming, it's an indie game from a small team (apparently their first game) so things like that are normal.

The OST also contributes a lot to the environment, always fitting in well with the game's locations and scenes. The game's voice acting is also very good, considering it is an independent game.

Cineris Somnia is a beautiful experience, a game that I confess I expected not to like, however, it left me simply enchanted by its proposal. If you want to have a different experience and have the patience to calmly explore game maps, Cineris Somnia is definitely a game that I recommend playing.

[horrorwomen]

CINERIS SOMNIA (PC, 2018)

[dg3zero]

[kizeoi]

[pacifiedoll]

Cineris Somnia

₊˚‧︵‿꒰୨ ♱ ୧꒱‿︵‧˚₊

[j-fashion-wearer-otd]

Today's J-fashion wearer is Ophelia from Cineris Somnia! She wears kuro and classic lolita!

[scarletprim]

[mattyerus]

[Measthopsys - Cineris Somnia] (Dark Ambient Drone, 2024 • OST Collection)