Samantha and Lillian are best friends. At least, they were, until everything fell apart. Now, Samantha has a day to repair their relationship — but is it already too late?
Very Positive
273 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | Y | Y |
Asphyxia, developed and published by ebi-hime, is a visual novel that trades scope and spectacle for emotional intensity and introspection, offering a tightly focused narrative that lingers more in its tone than its length might suggest. It is not designed as an escapist experience, nor does it rely on elaborate branching or dramatic twists to sustain interest. Instead, it builds its impact through carefully written dialogue, internal monologue, and the slow unraveling of a strained relationship, presenting a story that feels deeply personal and, at times, uncomfortably real.
The narrative centers on Samantha Coleridge, a young woman grappling with worsening depression after a falling-out with her closest friend, Lillian Wordsworth. The story unfolds over the course of a single day, a structure that gives the experience a quiet sense of urgency without relying on external stakes. Rather than grand events, the tension comes from small interactions—conversations that can either mend or further damage an already fragile connection. The player’s choices influence how these moments play out, shaping the trajectory of the relationship and leading to multiple endings that reflect different emotional outcomes rather than drastically different plotlines.
One of the most distinctive elements of Asphyxia is its writing style. Drawing inspiration from Romantic-era literature, the dialogue adopts a poetic, sometimes ornate tone that sets it apart from more conventional visual novels. Characters express themselves in ways that feel heightened and deliberate, which can initially seem at odds with the modern setting. However, this stylistic choice reinforces the emotional weight of the story, giving the characters’ thoughts and conversations a sense of gravity that aligns with the themes being explored. It is a deliberate artistic decision that may not resonate with everyone, but it contributes significantly to the game’s identity.
The portrayal of depression is central to the experience and is handled with a level of honesty that can be both compelling and difficult to engage with. Samantha’s internal monologue is often repetitive, self-critical, and emotionally draining, reflecting the cyclical nature of depressive thinking. The game does not attempt to soften or romanticize this aspect of her character; instead, it immerses the player in it, asking them to experience the frustration and inertia that come with such a mindset. This approach adds authenticity, but it also means that the game can feel heavy, even exhausting, at times. It is a narrative that prioritizes realism over comfort, and that choice defines much of its impact.
Structurally, the branching paths offer variations in tone and resolution rather than entirely separate storylines. Each ending provides a different perspective on the central relationship, highlighting how small decisions and subtle shifts in communication can lead to significantly different outcomes. The relatively short runtime makes it feasible to explore these variations, and doing so adds depth to the overall narrative. It becomes less about finding a single “correct” ending and more about understanding the nuances of the characters and their interactions.
Visually, the game adopts a soft, understated anime-inspired style that complements its tone without drawing attention away from the writing. Character expressions are effective in conveying emotion, and the simplicity of the presentation allows the narrative to remain the focus. The soundtrack follows a similar approach, providing a gentle, atmospheric backdrop that enhances the mood without overwhelming it. These elements work together to create a cohesive experience that feels intimate and reflective.
However, the game’s narrow focus and deliberate pacing may not appeal to all players. Its limited scope means that it does not offer the variety or breadth found in longer visual novels, and its reliance on introspection can make it feel slow or repetitive. The emotional intensity, while a strength, can also be a barrier, particularly for those who prefer more uplifting or dynamic storytelling. Additionally, the stylized dialogue, though intentional, may feel unnatural to some, creating a slight disconnect from the setting.
Despite these limitations, Asphyxia succeeds in delivering a narrative that is both thoughtful and emotionally resonant. It is a game that values subtlety over spectacle, using its limited runtime to explore complex themes with care and precision. Rather than offering easy answers or clear resolutions, it presents a series of moments that invite reflection, leaving much of its meaning to be interpreted by the player.
In the end, Asphyxia stands as a focused and introspective visual novel that prioritizes emotional authenticity over conventional entertainment. It may not have the broad appeal of more expansive titles, but for those willing to engage with its themes and style, it offers a quietly powerful experience that lingers well beyond its conclusion.
Rating: 8/10
Infelizmente a história é extremamente arrastada. Os belos gráficos e a música não compensam a história ruim. Ainda não experimentei o "revamp" feito pelo desenvolvedor. Estou reinstalando o jogo para obter as conquistas, mas não tenho esperanças que o jogo vá me surpreender de forma positiva. Acaso isto aconteça. eu editarei minha análise.
Like reading an open wound, one in which I also suffer from, ergo I can't really review this in a detached, objective sort of way, so I'll keep this short.
It's ebi-hime, and all that implies: well-written, full of immense sapphic yearning, emotionally draining for all the best reasons. Aside from the very much intentional classic literary reference, both the relationship dynamics and private school setting remind me heavily of Riyoko Ikeda's no less melodramatic [i]Dear Brother/Oniisama e[/i]—a welcome surprise that made me all the more invested as that is forever one of my favorite forgotten/overlooked pieces of shoujo manga history.
It's just... good, and painfully relatable for irrational romantics that suffer from severe depression besides.
英国文学背景百合游戏，画风甜，但文字实在佶屈聱牙，生肉啃起来很费劲，能用高阶词汇的绝对不用口头词汇。下次打算先从青梅线开始打。
Очень красивая рисовка, а фулл арты будто маслом, но отсутствие русского/украинского конечно тяжко далось хд
one could say this VN felt... asphyxiating 😭
想问问有人知道最新的汉化链接吗...之前评论区分享的我好像用不了欸
💋
没有汉化补丁真是难受了，百合会的补丁打上去没反应
Asphyxia es una novela visual con una ambientación interesante y un tono melancólico que puede atraer al inicio, pero la historia no termina de brillar y se siente algo plana. No está mal como experiencia breve, aunque no deja una huella especial.
The story was short and sweet, and I had a good cry.
Не дограв, не планую догравати й загалом графоманія автора мені остаточно допекла, тому ця історія про няшних дівчат, які буцімто написані з відомих поетів (ахах, це на мою думку окремий якийсь вид несмаку, ще й на обкладинці криво перемальована Офелія Мілле, ой-вей) навіть на докладний огляд не заслуговує. Я просто от зовсім все з цими іграми, де автор надихається чужими творами й всюди пхає перебільшення, від яких мені як філологу стає фізично зле.
Якщо трохи докладніше, то логіка полишила сюжет ще до його створення, героїні будуть нить й обговорювати все, що спаде їм на думку, а сюжет перші три години нікуди не рухається, крім того, що постійно доводить, яка героїня тюхтійка знедолена. Можна було б зіграти на контрасті мальовки, від якої може розвинутись цукровий діабет, й похмурого сюжету про депресію, але всі хоч трохи змістовні частини в цій новелі аж ніяк між собою не пов'язані. Мальовка окремо, звуки та музика окремо, текст окремо, хоч якась наближеність до реального світу відсутня, все це вкрите товстим шаром по-підлітковому перебільшених страждань та пафосу.
一个非常非常有意思的百合视觉小说，高度风格化和优美的语言与故事。游戏流程较短，一条路线大概4小时（我的阅读速度），也就是我评测时只玩了一条线（而且是某种“BE”线，恼）。
这个游戏的背景是neta的历史上英国著名的浪漫主义诗人柯尔律治和华兹华斯的关系，以及他们和其他浪漫主义诗人如骚赛，拜伦，雪莱等等的关系，改成了一个女同视觉小说。游戏的作画我觉得女主角萨曼莎·柯尔律治稍微有一些土妹子的感觉（可能是故意的），但是莉莉安·华兹华斯，拜伦小姐，罗伯塔小姐等等都是绝美。在人物塑造上，每个人物都有鲜明，独特和可爱的性格，请一定要自己体验。
游戏的语言和故事可以说非常优美和“英国式”。作者十分细腻地刻画着抑郁，脆弱和逃避的萨曼莎对莉莉安的情感与她的思想轨迹，用优美的语言刻画着人物，但是在语言与故事中又有一种英国人的那种清晰，疏离与冷酷。比喻起来就像是寒冷秋夜里的柔和的月亮，这也是这个游戏最大的亮点。
另外它都已经10年了作者还在不断修改内容，非常用心呢。
最后，既然我写了这么长的评测就意味着我有汉化它的计划，虽然感觉会很有挑战，但是我真的很想尝试一下。如果在我干完其他项目之前有人打算汉化它，请一定要告诉我我要参加！还有如果开发者知道这个游戏存在汉化项目，可不可以告诉我（If there already exists some Chinese fan localization project of this game, please tell me, I will be most gladly to help.)
补充一句，拜伦小姐真的太可爱了。
Игра норм, но её потенциал не до конца раскрыт.
A well written visual novel that feels like it had a lot of heart built in to it
Yes.
Juego cortito (con varios cw de suicidio y abusos) que le da un giro curioso a los personajes dado en quiénes están basados, y con un estilo visual bastante mono.
i had to actually mention this game to my therapist.
these girls are messy
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<3
This is a pick-your-path visual novel about a group of girls at a boarding school who are on a field trip and emotions boil over. If you like the genre, then there’s plenty to recommend. The characters, the writing, the art are all assets. It isn’t a long game, but it also only costs $6.49 Canadian, so it is worth picking up.
[h1]A clever VN, if a little gloomy[/h1]
(Alt+Enter for fullscreen)
I have had this game sitting around in my backlog for years. Now that I've finally played it to completion, I feel enriched. The irony is that I went into the story straight from my library, having no clue of the premise as featured on the store page. After finishing two endings I started reading about the original Romantics the characters were based off in the Extras, and was suitably impressed.
So as the store page blurb indicates, Asphyxia is a tale reshaped out of actual history - remoulded and reshaped into a class of high school (boarding school) girls on a geography holiday trip. Thankfully none of that is relevant, or featured. It might also be a bit on the short side, but I also find the novel's length is just about right for the price. It starts and finishes where it should, considering the story it tells.
The main characters are based on Southey, Byron, De Quincey, Wordsworth (of course), and Coleridge as the main character. Not being familiar the with famous Romantics besides perhaps a little Wordsworth, I ended up liking the story quite a lot. In truth the only poetry I've read and own is Poe, but it doesn't matter as you don't need to have read any works to understand the relationships presented. You don't even need to know anything about the historic figures to enjoy the story - but if you want to, the information is there for the reading in the Extras. I recommend reading these after playing though, to truly appreciate the similarities.
It isn't a perfect VN though. The art is very casual - lots of blurred, out-of-focus scenes, with some images on screen for a long while. As it is a short VN, I feel like the images should have changed a bit more frequently. This is just nitpicking though as the core of the story centres on the people and their relationships. Continuing my nitpicking, I felt the language was overly technical - especially when some of the girls started to argue about their beliefs with each other. There is text in the story saying it is Grade 6 (Year 12), yet the language used by the writer here would be more believable from middle-aged folks. I still remember my own Year 12 experience, and I have to say that's not how people talk at that age.
In terms of structure, there are a few choices leading to a few different endings. You shouldn't need a guide to get all the achievements and CG art though. I got the best ending in my first attempt. The choices just made sense to me - other VNs sometimes have invisible and arbitrary choice systems in play, but Asphyxia nailed it. In this instance, I think it worked well without voiceovers too - full voiced bratty teens might have been disastrous.
__________________________________
There is plenty of great advice between the lines - whether you look at the story presented in the visual novel, or the individual character bios in the Extras it is loosely based upon. Elements such as believing in yourself, loving yourself, taking action if you want things to change... by playing through all the different endings, you may learn something deeply profound that changes your outlook on life.
I think I just farmed achievements or cards on this and don't remember buying it but it looks like it's about
[hr][/hr]
[h1] ! ROOMMATES ! [/h1]
[hr][/hr]
The story was different and i quite liked the personalities in the story just wished it was a bit longer.
Romance, depressão e muito drama.
Amizades sendo quebrada, coração partidos e muito, mas muito lacrolandy.
Va passando no skip que sua busca pelo 100% será mais rápida.
siga o guia de combinação das escolhas e seja feliz.
o game tem cartinhas, terá que jogar mais tempo do que o farm delas.
This vn is about neurotic teenage lesbian with an emphasis on neurotic. However it is not a story just for teenage girls. All the characters are based on famous English poets and the dialogues or opinions reflect those poets works. I found their interactions amusing. Interesting way to get an inspiration for a neurotic centered story.
Asphyxia is a very good visual novel game with a beautiful story. The graphics are nice and the soundtrack is Chill and relaxing... I don't usually play this kind of game but the ebi-hime games are really great!!! I highly recommend it. 💗💗💗
The writing was too on-the-nose in that the writer seems to wear their beliefs on their sleeve(touching on politics that I saw). On top of that, it can be far too wordy. Eventually I just turned on "Skip All Text" and to continue skipping after choices, held Ctrl and sped through the dialogue for the achievements. Fortunately, its shorter than most visual novels so getting the rest of the endings took roughly 5-10 minutes.
The often (almost excluively) child faces on often adult (and sometimes scantily clad) bodies is a little more than creepy, Ebi, do better.
Short but mostly enjoyable read with a heavy focus on depression within interpersonal relationships during an all-girls school field trip. My only complaint is that the bickering with one particularly obnoxious character goes on for far too long. The artwork is also somewhat odd in how young the girls appear compared to the actual age of the characters, but it's otherwise nicely illustrated.
Somehow I never wrote a review on this? Can't believe it. Honestly one of my favorite Ebi-hime works. Its hard to say that I enjoyed it, the story is absolutely just melancholic to its very core with the happiest ending probably being one where you rely on your weird bestie and get over your love, but none of them really feel happy, and honestly, youre struck with that feeling of a byronic hero with the lead, someone who can never be happy. And it kinda works? These over dramatic queers and their extremely delightful extremely Romantic Lit style dialogue over everything.
Ebi-hime's best strength in my mind is evoking character and personality with text. Dialogue drips with whoevers speaking and prose soaks in Coleridges feelings. Asphyxia is all about this strength of hers. Though not exactly fun, its super memorable and left me laying on a couch thinking for a long long time and more than that FEELING these nebulous painful, uncomfortable feelings even longer.
9/10
[h1]Story of a boarding school...I don't think I'm the target audience...[/h1]
[b][u]PROS[/u]:[/b] Asphyxia is a quick visual novel, the events of the game taking place over a single day during a field trip. The story focuses on Samantha, a teenage girl suffering from depression as her relationship with her closest friend seems to be deteriorating. The characters all have unique designs, & the art style looks gorgeous in many ways. Everything feels like it has a watercolor paint to it, helping it stand out from many of the other visual novels on Steam. The music has a somber feel to it, accurately matching the mood the novel seeks to portray.
[b][u]CONS[/u]:[/b] The novel is mostly harmless, though a big problem is the characters. For the most part, they all have large bits to them that feel wholly unlikeable. This is due to the themes portrayed, but it doesn't help endear them, especially with such a short time to work with them. The nadir of this would be Lillian, as a good portion of her dialogue is designed to give her an aloof feel which makes her come across as pretentious. Finally, the characters are supposed to be in their late teens, but the art style gives everyone a much younger appearance, though viewing this may simply be due to the watercolor aesthetic giving them all a 'porcelain doll' feel.
[b][u]ACHIEVEMENTS[/u]:[/b] Like many visual novels, these will simply be collected upon following every path available. Thankfully, they're rather easily laid out, with in game choices being rather binary & obvious when aiming for a specific ending.
[b][u]FINAL[/u]:[/b] Asphyxia is an interesting visual novel that, if there was an option, I would definite be neutral on the entire thing. It is a grim tale, sure, but that also makes it difficult to be invested in it. In the end, it's harmless, though unfortunately forgettable as a result. Worth a peek as a result, though understandable if that's all one gave.
[h1] 쉬운 도전 과제 [/h1]
도전 과제 100% 달성 쉬워용.
[h1] Easy challenge [/h1]
Challenge 100% easy to achieve.
I didn't know I wanted a visual novel about the internal drama of the great Romantic writers but redone as schoolgirl lesbians. And yet here I am...
Note: Not for those who would be disturbed or upset by themes of suicide, substance abuse, or related issues. Please take care of yourself first.
"Even if the whole world did love you, you wouldn't be happy unless you accepted and acknowledged that love yourself."
Uncomfortable, yet comforting, and exceptionally beautiful; a telling of depression and its effects on loved ones around you. I don't know what I was expecting, but, it wasn't this, and it especially wasn't these new thought provoking feelings. There are far too many moments in the writing that hit close to home, things that I've already heard in my head or from others in my life.
Overall the game is good. I liked the soundtrack and the art style. The story was ok.
⠀
Really great visual novel about a girl and her relationship with some students at her school. You basically have the option to talk to three different characters by the end of it depending on your choices, and there's plenty of dialogue for each, almost a little too much. The writing was a little wordy but I enjoyed it.
It's an ok VN, kinda boring without VA.
7/10
i liked Asphyxia, the themes, being sometimes grim, that this game explored were pretty interesting & it encourages players to do more research to get to know the people behind the characters. all the characters are all based on British writers, from William Wordsworth to Thomas De Quincey, in a modern era. it took be a bit to complete, but it was pretty good for what i paid for.
Such a pretty game, but such a dark topic. Asphyxia deals with depression and suicide, so those suffering with poor mental health may wish to avoid this VN until they feel somewhat better. Ebi-hime as usual manages to marry nice visuals with a murky subject, this time it's friendships between gender-swapped 18th century British authors who're turned into teen girls going on a field trip. Sounds weird but it really works lol.
The topics covered in Asphyxia can be covered rather flippantly but this is largely due to whichever character is discussing them. You'll see things like people sick of someone who is always "sad" or "being dramatic", often closely followed by a solid bit of empathy from another character. This is...well I'd say it's a different sort of VN but truthfully if you've dealt with depression before much of what you'll see within mirrors how people online tend to treat you.
Achievement hunters, you're looking at roughly 4 hours per story arc with 13-ish hours to completion if you're a slow reader like I am, closer to 10 if you're not. There were a couple minor grammar errors when I last played but the game has been updated twice in the time since so they're likely resolved.
Solid recommend, it's a decent buy at the current list price but this has been bundled before and tends to go on sale often so waiting wouldn't hurt.
Hello, yes, are you depressed? Or just stressed?
Relationships drain the life out of us, one minute hot on the go into the cool blue, you land that raise, yay your difficulties are over or you jump off the edge.
I'd love time alone to just spend with myself however I must feel life, that daily hussle and bussle miscreud as breakfast hour.
I'd love to devote my time to my heartfelt thoughts and feelings however only in private, I don't mean secret, just in comfort, I don't know where home is however I'd like to be at home with myself.
Life just gets so busy and then no one is around.
I can take ages, stay quiet, I just like the presence of people who have a life before I feel I have both privacy and feel at home with them.
Depression is just the collapse of stress, heartbreak isn't depressing.
Heartbreak is being unable to trust love.
Which is true, you can't trust love, you may have love and be unable to have the emotion. It is all a matter of perception.
However your perception isn't necessary for you to know what love is and hence its availability were circumstances different.
People who would love you are all around just you have an obligation to love yourself and it takes work.
As to whether I approve or disapprove of the relationship, based on personalities is out of the question.
The characterisation, the virtues and vices is less is this a good or bad relationship on the rocks and a matter of development.
Choices in interactive games are to me about finding the morals of the author.
I may be drawn to particular likes in my choice of options however the overall theme will remain the same.
It ain't the desire of the author to either have the relationship break up or not.
I like to see how the author characterises away from what's bothering them.
I read this years ago. I find myself thinking back on it constantly.
Asphyxia is truly something special. I went into it informed by its prequel, and do not think it's universally enjoyable as a commercial VN, but I also don't think it aims to be. It's radically different from the author's other works, on purpose, and though it's certainly not for everyone, it does what it sets out to do astonishingly. I wouldn't recommend this to most friends. But to the right person, I would not be able to recommend it enough.
I wish I were 1/100th as smart as Ebi-Hime.
Ho cercato di farmi piacere questa visual novel, ma non riesco proprio a dare un'opinione positiva. Non è un gioco orribile, ha alcuni punti di forza, ma ci sono elementi secondo me anche molto problematici che proprio non mi sono andati giù. Vi consiglio di continuare a leggere se siete sensibili ad argomenti riguardanti la salute mentale, in particolare la depressione.
Partendo dalle cose positive: i disegni sono carini (la grafica un po' meno, ma essendo uscito ormai 6 anni fa potrebbe essere invecchiata un po' male), l'ispirazione alla letteratura inglese del Romanticismo di per sé è interessante e la rappresentazione della depressione della protagonista è decisamente realistica.
Agganciandomi a quest'ultimo punto inizio con le note dolenti... per quanto il punto di vista sia del tutto credibile, i personaggi intorno alla protagonista Samantha hanno reazioni orribili ai suoi problemi: decisamente troppo giudicanti, la offendono e sminuiscono per tutto il tempo. Capirei il punto dell'autrice se la chiave di lettura fosse che queste persone sbagliano, se venissero ritratte come villain, ma questo non avviene e non si capisce sinceramente quale sia il messaggio del gioco. In alcune circostanze le ragazze intorno a lei (dopo averla infamata per tot ore di lettura) cercano di aiutarla, ma il più che fanno sono discorsi sulla falsariga del "sorridi e la vita ti sorriderà" (con annesso "devi provarci di più, non ti impegni abbastanza"), non il massimo da dire a una giovane donna che ha già gravissimi disturbi dell'umore e tendenze suicide. A onor del vero ammetto che le viene consigliato di andare in terapia, ma avviene solo UNA volta in tutta la durata del gioco e sembra anche avere un po' un'accezione negativa. Io non credo che l'intento fosse di stigmatizzare la depressione, ma evidentemente l'autrice non si è documentata abbastanza oppure non ha avuto le capacità narrative di far passare il messaggio desiderato. Altro elemento annesso è che viene lasciato intendere (in alcune ending viene detto in maniera anche esplicita) che Samantha non ha speranze di migliorare e ho trovato questo messaggio gravissimo, dato che il target appare del tutto essere giocatrici giovani. Non è la cosa in sé ad essere problematica, io stessa gioco a, e apprezzo, visual novel drammatiche e/o violente, ma per com'è contestualizzato non funziona e sono piuttosto preoccupata per eventuali giocatrici e giocatori con disturbi dell'umore soprattutto se molto giovani (a me che ho problemi simili ha dato fastidio, probabilmente sarebbe stato molto peggio l'avessi giocata anni fa o in un momento diverso), dato che questi elementi disturbanti non sono neanche segnalati debitamente.
Ci sono altri elementi che non mi sono piaciuti, seppur meno gravi, ad esempio l'idea dei personaggi ispirati ad autori del Romanticismo che di per sé come già detto era carina non viene secondo me realizzata particolarmente bene. Ho riconosciuto le reference che vengono fatte, ma sembrano più easter egg che altro... è vero che i caratteri dei personaggi riprendono quelli degli scrittori originari, ma essendo la vicenda originale non se ne sente molto il bisogno. Magari un nerd della letteratura inglese può apprezzare più di me (l'ho studiata, mi piace, ma non sono particolarmente fan), ma anche qui credo che ci sia stata l'incapacità di mettere in pratica idee che potevano anche essere buone originariamente.
Ci sono altre cose che mi hanno fatto storcere il naso ma non voglio dilungarmi su sottigliezze dato che volevo informare principalmente sulle problematicità citate sopra. Sconsiglio quindi il gioco a chi potrebbe essere sensibile a certi temi.
Cute.
I now have extensive knowledge of the social circles and happenings between the leading figures of the 18th century British Romantic movement.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND. I've read several Visual Novels on Steam, and although it is rather short, Asphyxia is one of the best.
My introduction to Ebi-Hime's work was the even shorter novella, "Lily of the Valley" which I also greatly enjoyed. Ebi-Hime's body of work is large, the complete bundle pack costs over $100. While browsing to see which title I might purchase next, I noticed Asphyxia's description stated it was a reinventing of Romantic Era British Poets and Writers as high school girls.
I am a former English Professor and public school teacher so I immediately hit "buy", and I was not disappointed. As a literature nerd I was absolutely blown away by how well this little story captured the depth of intrigue, passion, and actual history between the writers of the Romantic Era.
This is only the 2nd VN I've read from Ebi-Hime, so I can't fairly say it's "the best". But I doubt any of the other stories will impress me this much. The amount of historical non-fiction subtly packed into what amounts to a Shojo Manga short story, is a literary achievement. It makes me wish I was still teaching so I could recommend this story to my students. On the surface it's a shallow drama about teen girls fighting about what girls fight over. However, it is an enjoyable, easy to understand way to access the historical interactions between famous writers of the Romantic Age. Well worth your time if you are a student (or a Literature Geek, like me).
Knowing the history and works of these authors as I do, I LOL'd when "Georgia Byron & Percy Shelly" were introduced. The characterization of "Lady Byron" is laser accurate. Ebi-Hime has clearly studied classic literature in great detail.
My only criticism: IMHO, Ebi-Hime's books are a bit pricey considering how short they are. The full price should be $2 cheaper. The first VN I ever read on Steam was "Cupid" which is extremely long, highly animated and scored, has many questions which branch the story, and is "Free to Play". Perhaps that has set the bar too high for all the other VN's I have read and will read in the future.
Regardless of my one mild criticism, I enthusiastically recommend this title. I bought this on sale, but if I was still a teacher I would (grudgingly) pay double the full price because of its extreme value as educational entertainment.
I absolutely adore this VN and would recommend it to anyone who wants a story that explores a lot through cute versions of famous authors. A+.
A short, bitersweet tale on depression, love, and literature. It even teaches you about English Romantic poets!
It's good to Asphyxiate on Wasted Pizza At Home Alone
I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed this Visual Novel. However, it's not without faults to say the least.
It uses too many similes throughout the text for my taste. Sometimes it's nice to have some, but there aren't just a few to “spice things up,” so to speak. There's almost an overwhelming amount. The description I enjoyed the most were the ones that wasn't a simile, mostly because it [i] was [/i] so overused.
Too repetitive with certain words. The words that come to mind the most are “had been,” two verbs that's better to avoid as much as possible. I found a number of times when these two were used twice in one paragraph, sometimes even thrice. You might have to rewrite the entire sentence, but it [i] is [/i] possible to not use them.
Samantha's name also comes up quite often even when it's just her. If there's another person with her, then I can understand the usage of her name more than when she's alone. Because when she's by herself and you've used her name once, you need only use pronouns because we've already gathered that's her name.
An enormous amount of commas. Some sentences made sense for them to have their commas here and there, but other ones—like the longer string of words—could've done without the amount. I'm a comma addict myself—which I can only assume whoever worked on the text is based on said thing—and it's hard not to add one when it would work in your mind but is necessarily not needed. There were many instances where the sentence would still flow well if that pause hadn't even been there.
Alright, that's it for my constructive criticism, now onto the things I liked!
Despite the things that I mentioned previously, the text wasn't too bad. It had character, delightful dialogue, and a good use on the empathising of certain words. I only really found around twenty errors within the span of eight hours, which is not bad. Now, these errors are anything that's worded incorrectly, words that make no sense in the description, letters missing, etc. This can be overlooked depending on how often it happens, and since I didn't quit the game, let's say that it didn't bother me too much.
The art-style—though confusing at first as it makes the characters appear much younger than they actually are—is quite nice. It's pleasing to the eyes with an abundance of colours that work well together. The backgrounds and overall scenery was certainly one of my favourite parts to look at.
The atmosphere is incredible. The added noises makes it feel like you're actually there, and that you are Samantha, instead of just a player. The music is also beautiful. It really conveys the emotions for the scenes and whatever the characters are experiencing.
Speaking of which, I absolutely adored the characters. They have very distinctive personalities almost to the point where you could write down their dialogues without their names being mentioned and still be able to identify on who is speaking. My favourite type of characters—as strange as it may be—are the ones who are rude, inconsiderate, sadistic, etc. They are just so fun to write!
And finally, to say that Asphyxia is emotional would be an understatement. It is positively heart-wrenching. I love how Samantha's condition was portrayed. It's almost nerve-racking on how accurate it is—at least, from my point of view. I have felt similar or much the same things that this character has gone through. And that makes me think that this game could be a teaching moment for those who don't know or understand how it is or feels to have that condition. So if you have friends, family, or otherwise that want to know more about this one thing, then this could be an answer for them. And if it doesn't work, at least you tried.
Sehr zäh und langweilig...
This game is an excuse for the artist to show off their OCs. The art is not good enough to carry the whole game and there is nothing else to support them.
Wonderful exploration of passion, love, depression and our inability to break out of the chains that bind us. Superb and succinct prose with beautiful art and biting dark humour. Highly recommended.
[u]First of all: if there was a "neutral" option for a review, I would probably choose that.[/u]
I honestly can't say that [i]Asphyxia[/i] is a bad visual novel. It's consistent in style, it talks about chosen topics (depression and dependency in a relationship) without unnecessary dramatism or romanticizing, every character is distinct and has her own traits. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough for me.
I didn't like any of the characters, probably because of a sturdy way they are described. I understand that not every character has to have a complicated personality, but when the character is awkward and you remind us about this for the third time in five minutes — perhaps you should stop. It's really annoying, we've got the point the first time you mentioned the fact.
The plot is okay more or less, but then again, I couldn't enjoy it because I didn't care about the characters. Samantha (the main character) is so irritative in her obsession with Lillian that you expect to see someone likeable. Turns out, Lillian is just as irritative as Samantha, but only in her own robotic way.
Art style is pretty, but completely inappropriate for this plot and these characters. Every person here looks like a child, even the one who is supposed to be a teacher. Also, some characters are sexualized so much, it's impossible to look at them without cringing (yes, I'm talking about De Quincey and also Byron). More than that, I found myself unable to imagine these girls in the situations they've described when talking about their past; just a reminder, adult themes are present in this novel, such as mentioning sex and a variety of addictions. So yeah, not only that looked weird, but also inappropriate.
I've decided to [b]not[/b] recommend this novel because I really wouldn't want any of my friends wasting their time on this. If the store page seems interesting to you and you still want to buy the novel — do it at your own risk and at least wait for a sale.
[quote]🌟 If you want to see more reviews and recommendations by me, check out my curator page → [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45309733/]Anna's Misadventures[/url][/b] 💛[/quote]
I have mixed feelings about this game. The art is lovely, but the teacher looks younger than her students. The music is very pretty, too. The prose is also very interesting and undoubtedly helps create the continuously gloomy, desperate mood. I thought the weaving in of all the Romantic poets was clever and found the supplemental material fascinating. Romantic poetry isn't my area of expertise, but I know enough about literature to appreciate what disasters most canonical authors were in their lives.
However, I'd like some variation in options for Samantha's life. From a contemporary perspective, it's odd that she hasn't been advised to see a therapist before now. It hurtful that even her friends are brutally mean to her, and that before they are even acknowledged to be so cruel. Though, it's all too common that others assume she can just "get better" if she decides to.
Maybe I was just hoping that I could romance Georgia and have Samantha benefit from her unshakable confidence because she is an absolutely spectacular character. I stan a shameless demon.
[h1] Una sorpresa [/h1]
La verdad nunca le había dado la oportunidad a algún título de estas características, ya que en general me parecían tediosos he inclusive algo simplones, pero a decir verdad lo que me atrajo y gustó mucho de este en particular fue el arte, la historia que tiene trazos de historia real y por su puesto la música. A momentos me pareció algo predecible lo que se venía en las escenas por la forma de escribir la historia y la manera en las que se presentaban las decisiones pero, aquello no amerita el decir que se obtiene una mala experiencia al jugar, logró su cometido al hacerme sentir distintas emociones y pude sumergirme en esta novela gráfica, escapando un poco de la realidad que me rodea, casi como leer un buen libro. Recomendado completamente, y es más, ahora su arte forma parte de mi perfil por la belleza que implica. Gracias al desarrollador y los artistas involucrados en esta corta pero gratificante experiencia gráfica. :) <3
This Visual Novel game is very good.
I recommend this game for everyone.
cute girls.
cool scenes.
sound is alright.
price is in offer alright.
all achievements work.
Around 7/10 recommended. Another interesting and novel take on visual novel by ebi-hime. Some caveats first: I don't recommend reading this if you are depressed or suicidal and may be triggered. And it may also be a little bit difficult to read if your mother tongue isn't English.
The story is pretty grim, which is in sharp contrast to the overly vivid water-painting graphics. The protagonist, Samantha, is depressed. Therefore, naturally, following her thought will be depressive. Similarly, her dialogues are very infuriating. That is, infuriating but precisely what I would say when I'm deep inside a depression episode. I especially like how the low-self-esteem thoughts are written. They hit me pretty hard. It worries me that these high-school girls can lightly bring up a variety of grim topics ranging from depression, anxiety, suicide, [spoiler]sexuality, sex, murder, to drug usage[/spoiler] ...
Basing characters on 18th century English poets (and posing them as 21st century high school girls) is really an interesting idea, and the execution isn't bad either. These characters aren't really too three-dimensional (partly due to the story length limit), but aren't merely plot devices either. That being said, since the writing style is influenced by Romantic English literature, it's a little bit difficult to read for me as a non-native speaker. (or perhaps it's because I'm quite unfamiliar with English literature...)
I don't really like the music. Other than that they don't seem to be too well-produced, they also sometimes don't fit the scene very well, or give me a creepy feeling when it shouldn't. Okay, maybe it really should be a little bit creepy...
I liked this story a lot and I could relate to depressed main character. At first it felt short but playing different routes takes some time. All Ebi-hime's works are well-written and art is beautiful.
Got this for like a price of beer so I'm not going to get a refund but... The story was enjoyable up to the moment they started talking about their boyfriends. Did not buy it for that. I did not buy it for that stuff and I'd appreciate warning so I could avoid it. Not recommended.
Very pretty and a decent storyline
青涩，纠结，小心思，是少女们的青春！
角色原型竟然都是男的233
Why the hell is it so good, why did I ignore this VN for so long and where can I find more of the similar stuff?..
(Sorry for the mistakes, but english is not my first langage)
The Good:
-Awesome art, a mix between manga and pre raphaelite styles.
-very good writing
-good depiction of spleen, melancholia and depression
- the clever hints at the romantic poets
- fascinating exploration of the psyche
-interesting symbolisms
- Alexandra Pope <3
The "bad" (not exactly bad actually, just my personal thoughts)
-most of the characters are unsympathetic. I think it's done on purpose but it's quite difficult to feel for some of them because you just don't care...
-the slice of life parts were sometimes a bit boring (ex: Byron and Roberta arguing).
Verdict:
A good read. Asphyxia is a deep and very well-written VN. And the art is awesome.
This game is not quite what I expected.
An unusual art style for a story set in the modern era.
Pros:
- The skip function and autoplay functions work really well, and you can save on decision screens.
- The story is realistic and is eked out in realistic conversations and memories.
Cons:
- There are quite a few spelling mistakes and typos, which seems particularly out of place with characters who are so interested in writing.
Other:
- The story deals with themes which can be hard for many to handle. Including substance abuse, self harm, traumatic events, troubled family lives, and "dark" ideation.
good story line
Bad
Wow, Samantha is a wreck.
This is a very sentimental VN. At times exccessively so, all with the self-pity of our main heroine.
The other cast, consisting of her best friend and love interest, being increasingly irritated and unable to deal with the MC, the story captures the turning point of whether bonds can be repaired or shatter forever. What the latter means for an extremely fickle and depressive character, should not be hard to guess.
Me being myself, I had a great time empathizing with any and each of the characters. I loved the art and the writing, though I am not at all familar with english poets or poets in general it's been nice touching on the matter.
On the improvable side I think DeQuincey deserved a little more screen time and the unsufferable Georgia could have stood a little more opposition.
Nevertheless: Please make more of this!
Новелла с таким-то названием и заглавным артом настраивала на откровенно пессимистичный лад. Но с первых же кадров и строчек настроение менялось на умеренно оптимистичное. Ещё бы, такого красивого английского языка мне не доводилось видеть, наверное, никогда, по крайней мере в визуальных новеллах, да ещё и с такими пасторальными пейзажами на фоне, такими прописанными персонажами, такой трогающей за душу музыкой. Проходя игру раз за разом, получая всё более полную картину, всё глубже проникаясь персонажами и их проблемами, всё сильнее переживая за главную героиню, я каждый раз оказывался полностью опустошённым. Такого аккуратного и чуткого изображения депрессии и за пределами игр-то не часто встретишь, а уж в нашей индустрии и подавно. Но с чем ещё игра справляется на отлично, так это с демонстрацией лучика надежды, остающегося даже в самые безнадёжные моменты жизни. Так что готовьте платочки, если вы ещё не совсем зачерствели, они вам понадобятся.
Впрочем, один недостаток всё же отмечу: игра в каждой своей возможной концовке обрывается будто бы на полуслове. Вроде финальный диалог либо монолог и доведён до конца, но какой-то финальной фразы очень не хватает. Титры выскакивают как-то внезапно, кажется, что персонажа оборвали на полуслове, хотя это и не так.
Ну и ещё знатоки английской поэзии, вероятно, получат дополнительный бонус и новую глубину в местном сюжете, но я к таким не отношусь, так что ничего заявлять не буду.
Asphyxia is a very heart-felt story, where you really do have to play it a good few times to get all the information.
You can tell a lot of effort went into it. I spent longer combing through to be sure I found it all, but you could easily get through all of the content within 6 hours, even pacing yourself.
The art is beautiful and colorful and the fact that you can see elements of it being hand-drawn only add to the genuineness of this game. There are a good handful of paths to go down, and each one reveals more about the characters and what they've gone through.
Be warned, this game is very much about depression. And it depicts it with gut-wrenching accuracy. You'll probably get mad, get sad, get frustrated, and maybe even a little fed up with the characters at times...but never so much that you can't admit they have a point later on down the road.
There's a lot of great philosophical conversations between the characters as they argue different points of views and opinions about how the world works and how it should.
All in all, there's a lot of engaging story here to go through.
beautiful art, beautiful atmosphere, beautifully written characters
整个故事都是围绕着女主的单相思来进行的，对女主有许多心理描写，让读者能够比较容易地理解并代入女主。
比起常规发展的ge和好友线，我觉得情敌线和损友线更加有趣，通过对比其他角色和女主的想法进行反思，可惜这两条线都没有后续，没有解决问题给出一个结局。
The art is beautiful and so is the writing style, but each and every character proves themselves to be utterly unlikable. Their treatment of the main character's depression is bitingly harsh to often unnecessary degrees. It's almost as if they don't realize that constantly insulting someone who's clinically depressed is only going to make their condition worse.
There are some great things about this game, the art style being the best, but I simply can't recommend it to those who have suffered through depression or have someone in their life who has. This game presents a mindset - even if it doesn't mean to - that's extremely harmful.
(Edit [spoilers]: Now that I've played the game's "bad end," Suicide's Argument, I just want to adjust an earlier statement and say that Georgia is the only character who treats Samantha's condition with even a modicum of respect and gives some of the best advice in the game... And then it's treated like fact that Samantha will never be able to take that advice or get better. Like recovery somehow doesn't exist.)
Very rarely play VN games but I am completely glad I've had the pleasure to play this one. The Visuals are awesome and the writing superb. You gain strong feelings to each characters and the overall theme is pretty heavy. Felt like an emotional roller coaster and i still don't know which is my favorite ending.
Fantastic visual novel. I love this art style
romantic poets re-imagined as anime girl, what more could you possibly want?
That aside, I think the game managed to paint its grim (as the name Asphyxia suggests) picture well. It hit way too close to home way too often.
Also, its art is gorgeous and music fits the overall theme well.
Tags: Adventure - VN - Visual Novel
Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library
TLDR: A ton of exposition. Mostly banter between girls around the countryside. Odd paperdoll choices. Little to no fan service. Barely any choices. Very wordy. Boring.
There are a few branches of option where people get into banter disagreements and a tiny touch of fantasy as you see some kind of wood fairy at some point but on the overall there is little to interactivity or anything interesting happening here. I ended up mostly keeping to myself out of boredom during the choices and I got a bad ending after hearing a lot of pseudo psychology. Expect the narrator to comment quite a lot in this VN.
I read a lot of visual novels, and many of them are the same small set of tropes just repackaged in a slightly different manner.
Asphyxia however is more akin to real literature as it tries to paint realistic characters who you can identify with and relate to. I found both the comedy and drama to be very well written and very engaging. Could easily see myself in the protagonist.
Structure wise, there are 7 characters in the game and at least 4 routes to take with plenty of branching resulting in both good and bad ends.
Note that the game mostly deals with severe depression and low self-esteem, so if that's not something you want to deal with you might want to steer clear. Otherwise, [b]HIGHLY RECOMMENDED[/b].
Pour 6 euros on a droit à des histoires gnan-gnan de gamines ultra émotionnelles qui ont l'air d'avoir abusé d'Instagram/Tumblr. C'est creux, sans enjeu, et ça mélange des références improbables (Youtube ?!) compte-tenu de l'univers graphique choisi.
C'est beau et bien réalisé pour sûr, mais on a vu beaucoup mieux pour moins cher.
A visual novel with beautiful character design, soundtrack and multiple endings. May look cute but it has a dark tone that gives it the perfect touch! I have to say that it could be a little bit depressing for some people, but if you're into this kind of games give it a try.
This visual novel is an alteration of English romantic poets from a bunch of men in the 1800s to a bunch of schoolgirls circa the modern era, given the usage of smartphones. Numerous paths and an appendix of sorts regarding the source material are featured, and though the story may not appeal to all potential readers, is nonetheless quite enjoyable and not hentai-like in the least.
Recommended.
Very sweet visual novel by ebi-hime. I really loved the author's notes at the end, which talk about the history and how it was adjusted.
ok!
Красивая визуальная новелла.
Asphyxia is a visual novel different from the usual Japanese stuff. Without spoiling, it is more focused on friendships, with a darker tone. It has some choices that can lead to 4 different endings, and all of them are worth for slightly different reasons. The art and especially writing are pretty well done. It also has the right length for an average read. If you like VNs and want to experience something a bit different from the Japanese style, this is a great option, especially on sale.
the dialogues are long but if you have enough patience, they are fine
Pretty good
This is an interesting little visual novel. It takes a bunch of writers from the 19th Century, makes them girls, and then builds from there. The story centers on Samantha and her relationships with other girls. Things can go well, or they can end in very bad ways.
Worth a read, as the storyteller is quite good. Warning: some of the scenes can be quite heartrending.
honestly asphyxia is a really beautiful visual novel and while the subject matter is extremely heavy it's very realatable for any girl struggling with her feelings for another girl in an unaccepting environment as well as those sufferring from severe depression. that said, if you aren't comfortable with topics of self harm, suicide, etc. being discussed, this game isnt for you
This game was beautifully written, stunning artwork and pretty music.
I found myself crying at some endings because it hit home about depression a lot and the message about loving yourself and not needing another's love to be complete was a reminder of the times I have been in that mindset.
The game sees depression from different viewpoints; how one can overcome it and how another can get stuck. It shows the illness in different lights and I think that's important.
I think this game has many strong messages in it, even though I read it was based on English writers.
What a wonderful bittersweet melancholic story this is. Beautifully written and told, and with gorgeous art and dreamy music to match. I have nothing bad to say about this VN…. -It’s just a stunning visual novel that I’m so so grateful to have discovered. I rarely pour on praise as abundantly as this in my reviews, but here it's simply justified. The extras contains a gallery which is full of extra artwork, the story behind the story, the people on whom it’s based and more… It’s highly recommended to wander through to get an even deeper appreciation afterwards. Asphyxia is well worth the price and I strongly recommend it. I bought the story with the small hope of it being ‘just’ a simple yuri to my collection, what I got was so much more.
"Loneliness is an illness that leads to dead" – Horo "Spice and Wolf"
Loneliness, depression, deaf screams for attention and suicidal thoughts.
All of this, packed in few hours story of main heroine named "Samantha" Teenager with problems, which are faced by many of her age. Samantha is such an interesting character and perhaps, (more or less) reliable for some of us. Each ending gives her more depth and personality. There are few ends to the story, some bad other worse, (Just kidding) but all of them are skillfully written by Ebi-Hime. All of this decorated with unique sprites far away from typical "Anime style" that you can find in most of visual novels. Music is well fitting to this game (novel?)
Do I recommend it?
Well, yeah. I do!
游戏时间：
只打出来一个不痛不痒的单相思好姬友安慰的结局。全程游戏时间四小时二十分钟，然后看后面的作家介绍花了一小时二十分钟
然而要把作家们的代表作再过一遍，花的时间会更长吧……
加分减分项：
加分：百合剧情，故事在突然结束前还是不错的
加分：有分支，不只是单纯的小说，可互动
加分：附带文学知识
减分：内容有些劲爆，和洋娃娃一样的立绘不大配
减分：看过The Sad Story of Emmeline Burns之后（其实那个游戏发行在这个之后，不过先玩的那个），对这种风格的立绘有点腻了
作家代表作品：
Samantha Coleridge = Samuel Taylor Coleridge（塞缪尔·泰勒·柯尔律治）：《文学传记》
Roberta = Robert Southey（罗伯特·骚塞）：《金凤花姑娘和三只熊》（……）
Lilian = William Wordsworth（威廉·华兹华斯）：短诗
Tabitha De Quincey = Thomas De Quincey（托马斯·德·昆西）：《一个吸食鸦片者的自白》
Georgia Byron = George Gordon Byron（乔治·戈登·拜伦）：《唐璜》《恰尔德·哈洛尔德游记》
Percy = Percy Bysshe Shelley（珀西·比希·雪莱）：《西风颂》
John Keats（约翰·济慈，游戏中未列出）：《夜莺颂》
Alexandra = Alexander Pope（亚历山大·蒲柏）：《批评论》，翻译《罗马史诗》
最后彩蛋：
看成就名字有惊喜
Główna bohaterka - nieogarnięty, przepraszający za bycie żywym ciućmok z paznokciami wyobgryzanymi ze stresu. Ona - zdystansowana, inteligentna, pilnująca porządku królowa lodu z perfekcyjnym manicurem. Kiedyś przyjaciółki, dzisiaj jedna pogrąża się w chorej tęsknocie, druga niewzruszenie trzyma dystans. Wycieczka na wieś wydaje się ostatnią szansą, by się spotkać i w cztery oczy wyjaśnić sytuację. A może nawet?...
Co jest HOT:
+ wiarygodnie przedstawione bohaterki: dobrze zaprezentowano nastoletnie smuteczki, przesadzone dramy, toksyczne zauroczenia, dziwne przyjaźnie, cyniczne poglądy, przeteatralizowane rozmyślania o życiu czy dziecinne okrucieństwo;
+ 'dziewczęca' otoczka: delikatna kreska, jasne kolory, spokojna muzyka, wszystko się składa na melancholijną atmosferę;
+ mocno różniące się zakończenia;
+ aspekt edukacyjny - łatwo przyswoić dużo ciekawostek o życiu i relacjach angielskich poetów romantyzmu. Kto by przypuszczał.
A co NOT:
- można odnieść wrażenie, że autor grafik żyje na jakimś zaśnieżonym pustkowiu i jak raz coś narysował, to trudno było mu zakomunikować, że trzeba coś zmienić: i tak wiecznie krytykowana fryzura Samanthy wygląda na ilustracjach całkiem normalnie, mieszkanki prestiżowego internatu łamią przepisy dotyczące mundurków jak popadnie...
- ubogi zestaw dziwnie dopasowanych dźwięków;
- szkoda, że gra nie zdecydowała się na stworzenie AU łączącego romantyczną scenerię z nowoczesną technologią, tylko niepotrzebnie uparła się na nieklimatyczny wiek XXI;
- wata słowna. Bywa, że z rozmyślań bohaterów można ciachnąć konkretny kawałek i nikt na tym specjalnie nie ucierpi.
"Asphyxia" to mała opowieść, która z pewnością nie jest dla każdego: nastoletnie dramy są wiarygodne i przez tą wiarygodność mogą niejedną osobę wymęczyć. Historia toczy się na szkolnej wycieczce i skupia się przede wszystkim na przeżyciach bohaterek, nie ma tu wywracających wszystko zwrotów akcji. Jeżeli ktoś uważa, że visual novel z żeńskim castingiem równa się fap!fanserwis pełen zbliżeń na cycki, to zdecydowanie nie ma tu czego szukać. W moim odczuciu "Asphyxia" miała pomysł na siebie i dobrze go zrealizowała, serwując adekwatną do ceny małą historię o wielkim uczuciu.
I'm a big fan of Ebi-Hime, and currently own all of the VNs available and released on Steam, but Asphyxia was the first one I played / completed and has a special place in my heart. The characters and plot tie into various historical poets and their individual pieces, which is such a unique way to have wrote a story that I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to read and learn more. The artwork is beautiful, the dialogue is smooth, the music is well looped and atmospheric, and the choices flow evenly from one to the next. The plot itself is bittersweet and leaves a sense of dissatisfaction (in my case it did, at least) with it's broodiness and almost tragic multiple endings, but that is one of my favorite parts of Asphyxia. It remains true to it's poetic origins, and doesn't try to grow through prose into the happy ending many expect from VN. Sometimes a little bit of sorrow and finality is good for the soul, since it becomes a learning experience, and the way it's framed for the characters once more harkens back to their poetic origins.
Definitely a great game for a great price, though I don't think people who aren't interested in gentle girl love (rather than fanservice-y type yuri) or poetry will be as captivated as I was!
This game has some beautiful and cute characters, but it has long and boring story which is more important than characters.
opium addiction game
I planned to write a review on Russian, but if you have those factors crossed in you (being from Russia and considering bying this game), you must be already fluent in English - at reading, at least. So it's all the same.
VISUALS
The nature backgrounds are gorgeous, they look like classic paintings made with most basic SAI or GIMP instruments. It leaves a magical impression that doesn't wear off after you finish playing the game. I also love it how the menu and text panels are done. Not only don't they distract from the story, they also give some magical vibes to it. I'd love to see more of that careful designer attitude in VNs released on Steam, because of how greatly it affects the impressions on the story.
Sprites are very nice and elegant, too. It's a pity they so often do not match the descriptions, given by the author. Samantha has enormous bags under her eyes, but her sprite shows white, glowing skin without a trace of any problems at all. Her haircut is supposed to be messy, but not only it's pretty accurate on the sprite, later in the game we even adapt an extremely nice and accurate hairstyle. And still we get berated for having our hair look bad.
That was the main problem for me, art and text constantly arguing. The game says the walls are painted white, while they're just wooden, without any trace of paint. The game states we're always messy, while we don't look so different from Lilian, who's supposed to be ideal. There are lots of small details we as players just have to imagine when playing visual novels. But if something is meant to be the basic character trait, it should be reflected in the sprite.
On the other hand, the game's definitely worth playing for the wonderful artstyle alone. There are plenty of nice \ cute \ pseudo-Victorian VNs on Steam, but they rarely share the same level of shining beauty.
STORY
Famous poets are now girls in a boarding school, they all study together, wear cute uniforms and share lots of... love? Fun moments? No. Traumatizing experiences. If you're interested with the concept, you're gonna have a good time. If not, you can still have a good time, because you don't actually get to play in the boarding school, and in no way the game forces you to recognize the girls are "prototypet" after certain poets. They're just girls on a school trips, and some of them show interest in poetry, that's all.
Our protagonist is a girl in depression, Samantha. She suffers from constant self-destruction impulses, unhealthy life choices and painful relationship addictions. A deep hole between her jolly humorous outside persona and her real feelings makes everything even worse. As far as I know, the game does not give you a chance for a happy resolution, so I recommend to NOT FINISH THIS GAME IF YOU'RE IN SEVERE DEPRESSION AND ASSOSIATE YOURSELF WITH SAMANTHA. If you're in depression, but are disconnected from Samantha, it's okay though. Just remember not all stories end in the best sort of ways.
Other characters also have lots of insecurities, imperfections, secrets, etc. Some of them are exposed to us, the others are only hinted at. You get to know some of the characters more, if you make certain (not obvious to me at my first playthrough, because I tried to make thing better for Sam, and not to aim at a certain girl) choices. Sadly, because of the lack of time we get a game full of unpleasant people. At plenty of moments, even their beauty doesn't help to deal with their long rants, which you have to listen to without an opportunity to participate in the conversation and state your own opinion.
The ending I got was abrupt, and it didn't in any way invite me for a second playthrough (which I will do anyway, but sometime later). We didn't finish our school trip. We didn't even finish the conversation we were having! Just BAM - credits! Thanks for playing! At least, we got beautiful CGs as a compensation.
My main complaint is the game is too short, and somehow weirdly paced. But the writing style is pleasant to dive in, and some ploot hooks were pretty interesting.
OVERALL
It feels more like a short prequel or a demo than a full game. It's nice there are different routes, but as a player I've got a feeling there are lots of missed plot and character development opportunities. I'd also like to learn more about the poets-prototypes from the story itself, not from the info-dumps in Extras. Otherwise, it was a beautiful ex[erience. I'd recommend buying this on sale.
