Ulasan

• gamedeal user

  Feb 20, 2020

  One of the best otome games I’ve played. To me it’s up there with Hakuoki, Nameless and, of course, the other Psychedelica game. I think I like this even more than Black Butterfly (it could also be a recency bias). Like the Black Butterfly, Ashen Hawk is all about story and characters. But it’s not fair to say that romance takes a back seat. Standard romantic routes, though, are compressed into various endings, but there’s plenty of romance strewn across common route and episodes. And focusing on story and characters is what make those romantic moments shine even more. Both of Psychedelica games are definitely not your standard otoge, but that’s a plus in my book. Common route is not just a prelude into character paths, but is actually the whole story. This approach enables the story to really breath, develop organically and synthesize all the elements. It transcends the harem structure of most visual novels and that disjointed feel a lot of them have. So, common route all the way to the true/heroine ending is THE story and I recommend going for that ending first. It will not answer every question and aspect but is the most cathartic and satisfying. Most of the initial character work and world building is done in episodes (in maps). Although to some players it can come off as grinding, I enjoyed it immensely. A lot of my favorite moments are there. It’s not a showstopper because at that point the meat of the story hadn’t even started properly. But it’s very important for getting to know the setting, characters and especially MC. It also achieves that staple of visual novels – immersion into the world through wonderful everyday before all hell breaks loose. The main character is wonderful, and I can’t believe I can say that for an otome game. To say that she’s atypical is not enough. Yes, she pretends to be a boy, but not superficially like Hakuoki’s Chizuru. No, Jed grew up as a boy in a household with two adopted brothers and thinks of herself as a boy. She adopted the mentality to survive and it became a part of her (nature vs. nurture). As such, she is a vehicle for exploring some interesting gender dynamics, especially when she starts dressing as a girl and discovering that part of herself. Her comments and inner dialogue about different ways people see her in two roles is very interesting and revealing that I couldn’t believe I was reading it in an otome. When she’s a man people take her seriously and as a woman she faces a lot of inconveniences and uncomfortable feelings. Especially interesting was a point in the novel where love interests find out about her gender and her sudden feeling of vulnerability and nakedness she’d never felt as a boy, because she’s now subjected to the male gaze. Jed is a character in her own right, well rounded, interesting, capable. She’s definitely not a generic protagonist, male or female. She is the true hero of this story, it’s her journey we’re following. All the cool hero things that guys in otoge do, she does it, all the way to the hero [spoiler]sacrifice[/spoiler]. And the guys support her, especially Lugus. For all her bravery and kindness the game isn’t afraid to show her darker side in her one interaction with Tee. She can succumb to some ugly emotions, weakness and insecurity. She’s, before all, a human. (The fact that a big part of this review is dedicated to the heroine is a first) There are really three love interests: Lavan, Levi, Lugus. Ashen Hawk is a father figure and their banter is the most entertaining and funny thing in the game. Hugh is so mysterious and otherworldly that every interaction with him was full of cryptic meaning. Even in his endings, I felt that romantic moments are not just that, but symbols for something more meta or a way to connect to a wider Psychedelica universe. So that leaves those three more traditional romances. Although, they’re traditional only relatively. A lot of endings can’t be called good or bad, most are bittersweet because in the end everything is permeated by an underlying tragedy. Still, this gives the story that grounded, real feel where inner demons aren’t magically healed with love (at least not easily – [spoiler]Lavan end[/spoiler]) and actions have consequences ([spoiler]Levi end[/spoiler]). https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1988706780 Lavan is an older brother figure, the only one that - and I’m not sure this should be a spoiler - [spoiler]knows from the start that mc is a girl[/spoiler]. He’s also secretly in love with her. Add to that that he shares the voice actor with Amnesia’s Toma, it actually sounds like him. Thankfully there are no cages here and he’s not obsessed. He’s a kind man that sees greatness and strength in Jed so much so that she was his role model growing up. Yep, an ‘older brother’ looked up to her. Romantic moments between them are potent and full of passion. Jed is often on edge, never sure if he sees right through her, while he radiates that ‘I can’t take this tension any longer’ vibe. Yeah, it was very hard to turn down Lavan as the main route demanded. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1985576844 Levi is the younger brother and is a best friend figure. At first I didn’t see a lot of romantic potential there, because Levi is a really cheerful, kind of childish pal. But then there were a couple of episodes that showed Levi was actually attracted to Jed despite seeing her as his ‘younger brother’ and getting all confused. So there was a lot of potential for yaoi tension, at least from his side. Jed was blissfully unaware though. But still, their interactions were colored by best friends forever vibe. It made no difference to him whether Jed was male or female. He would’ve loved her either way. Of course this wouldn’t be a Psychedelica game if there weren’t more to him... https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1991470328 Lugus is the main guy and probably the best boy. Lugus route can be seen as a part of true ending. He’s that cold but rough guy, seemingly reserved but hides great passion. He’s the ‘enemy’. Romantic moments in the beginning are only with Jed’s female alter ego. He’s drawn to her and is pretty straightforward about it. He can come off as predatory (I mean he is a Hawk with a magnetic gaze) always trying to catch her but is also very reasonable and fair. Above all he respects her and I don’t mean in the way a man respects a woman (ugh), but as a human, as a fellow man. He respects her right to a heroic sacrifice, he sees her as a hero. It’s the first time I’ve seen this in Japanese otome. In turn Jed trusts him to be the only one with the strength [spoiler]to kill her. Till the very end I expected him to chicken out and save her, and try to sacrifice himself (how it would usually go in otome). But nope, he fucking kills her. I loved it. Now that was romantic. (I know, the irony is not lost on me)[/spoiler]. Lugus is...strong. And I can’t forget Tee, Lugus’ sister. She has a crush on male Jed, but is very territorial when she notices her brother likes the female version (there’s some case of brocon played for laughs). Her hilarious back and forth with Levi is another highlight. She’s like a younger Soi from Nameless. But really there are so many interesting characters, and the whole town can be seen as a pretty colorful character. I can’t talk about some other very important characters because of spoilers, but they drive the saga about friendship, family, betrayal, pain and tragedy that spans generations. Tragedies have that ripple effect. And to close this long ass review quoting Hugh: [b]If I had to choose, I like tragedies, but I don’t want them.[/b] [h3][quote][b]Follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33853800/]Otome Sekai[/url] for more Visual Novel and JRPG Reviews and [url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40848670/]Drugoja In The Dreaming[/url] for Narrative Games[/b][/quote][/h3]
• gamedeal user

  Dec 26, 2019

  This is a game I really want to like, but I just can't recommend it due to two glaring flaws: it's pointlessly over-written and it involves little to no choice. The story itself is pretty decent and you want to find out what happens to the characters and the town - to a point. The main problem is that it's taking a meandering route to get there with overly wordy writing, lots of pointless side text, and little to no involvement from the player. At 22 hours in, I have made exactly ONE choice, and was starting to get really irritated with the long-winded writing in repetitive events. When there are important, impactful events, the story is on rails and the protagonist is going to do whatever the game devs decided she should do, and that really takes you out of the experience. It looks like more choices open up later on, but they are just too few and far between to overcome the fatigue. There is just too much writing and not enough choice. With a firm edit to cut out a lot of the chaff and a rework to provide a little more choice, this could've been a great game. As it is, it's a chore to get through and I don't know if I'll finish a single route. A few other notes: - The character design is beautiful and the animations are really extensive for what you'd expect in a visual novel with many different expressions and some interesting use of camera and sprite movement to convey action and emotion. Some of the facial expressions for certain characters can come off a little goofy though. - The music is banal and repetitive. I doubt you'll be able to remember any of the songs, except that they're reused so often and are so gratingly repetitive they might get burned into your brain. - There are only a few mediocre scene backgrounds that get reused over and over again. - The voice acting is superb. - The ability to swap between costumes is a neat idea for a mechanic, but the way they implemented it made it pointless.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 13, 2023

  i could change him
• gamedeal user

  Nov 9, 2022

  This game takes place in the same universe as "Psychedelica of the black butterfly".You don't have to play the previous title, if you don't you won't get few references here and there. This time around there's no minigames, instead there's a map system. You will be able to visit certain locations of the town to listen to townspeople and see side stories. I liked the heroine in the ashen hawk, a lot more than the one in the black butterfly. She has more personality and backstory. However I prefered the love interests in the first game. In this one I did routes hoping to uncover more parts of the mystery, rather than caring about the guys. I didn't rly feel any genuine chemistry between MC and love interests. Nor was there any moving love story. (The side stories improved on this aspect a bit, a lot of interaction were fun to see) The mystery aspect of the story was pretty engaging, and it had plenty of plot twists. I had mixed feelings regarding the villain though. Nevertheless I would still include it in my most liked otome games. It was fun, once I started playing I couldn't put it down.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 4, 2021

  Waste of potential. A total waste of potential. It's hurt to see such a beautiful work got ruined by the bad storytelling. The plot is so complex yet so painfully simple, the developer clearly tried too hard to make plot twist but end up with awful storytelling. They stretch the the first three chapter into a 12 hours tedious reading time without any major event or any choice that matters. Even Hakuoki(s) that famous for being "too long" are 10 times better. In the next 5 chapter, the story is starting to get pretty good. The plot also moving in good pace. But because you have to waste 12 hours for the first three chapter, the next 5 chapters will felt too fast. But I personally enjoyed these parts the most. And then it got into the worst part in chapter 8 when you will manipulate one person to the point they are hurt physically and mentally, and you have NO CHOICE in this scene. You have to do this in order to progress to EVERY ending without exception. It's so painfully "out of character", impulsive, and ugly. They narrate this part to show that the MC "is not perfect", "also can do wrong", but no, it only shows how weak and ugly her actual personality is. After chapter 8? Don't worry, it got worse. Because instead of "experiencing" the event, you only have to sat down and click 1000 times because there's this one character who will narrate everything to you. Literally EVERYTHING. You suddenly given so many explanation without you having to ask any question or do anything to obtain it. If they remove this narrator character, I will definitely change the review to "recommended". If you want a good VN with good narrator that doesn't replace you as the MC, Amnesia: Memories is the best out there. This game is clearly trying to surprise you so badly using half baked plot twist at wrong place and wrong time, you end up felt lost, you didn't know what to feel and what to do with the information that's given to you at the very end of the story. They want you to feel "wow, I didn't expect that", but you end up with "bruh, wtf". It even lacks of romance too! Why bother making romance VN if you only given romance parts in the last two chapters before the ending? The romance parts before the ending also mainly focused on the main male character (the one that holds the true ending). And you know what? There's no CG in the main male character's ending! Other male characters got CG for their ending and they didn't give one for the main male? You got his CG only when you unlock "your" ending which is Heroine's ending. Absolutely ridiculous. I am so mad with this game. Otomate, the developer, clearly not an amateur in this field, and yet comparing to their other VN(s), this is their most beautiful and worst at the same time. It has beautiful artwork. It was truly beautiful. I won't deny it. It has me keep playing to see the ending. I don't hate this game. I just felt sad seeing so much potential got wasted because someone is too fixated on making "surprising" plot twist.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 14, 2019

  I was going crazy once I saw that they were releasing Ashen Hawk on steam, because I really liked the first one and was looking forward to reading this one. Someone told me in reddit that this one is nowhere near the first, and I'm really glad I didn't listen to them, as I found this one to be way better than Black Butterfly and it is now set in my top 3, right after Umineko and FSN. ★ Story You play as Eiar, a girl that has a red eye - the mark of the witch. Born into a town where the legend of the witch spun hatred and fear, she had to pretend to be a man ever since she was little and she goes by the name of Jed. (You can alter both names in the beginning of the playthrough if you wish). The common route of this story is quite long, but it settles a solid foundation for the story to be set upon; you will fall in love with this town and the characters. You will know it's story and you will be moved by it. It is heartwarming at times and can also be very sad, but it is incredibly well written, it gets you hooked and you just can't stop. I liked how the story went about some really interesting topics and also some things that I really related to what we have in reality. [spoiler] The whole witch hunting thing, the fear of the unknown and the necessity of blaming one person for a series of disasters brough upon by the very same people that are throwing the ones. It's very critical of them, but it also talks about forgiving and breaking the cicle of hatred instead of feeding it.[/spoiler] Like the first game, it has that awesome flowchart to help you navigate through the new feature - the maps with side stories and talk episodes, and the routes. I felt this is a very refreshing taking on the universe of the novel, as you may get to know even smaller characters a little better and it adds so much to the whole narrative, it makes you feel as if you are part of this town and you've actually met this people. You get involved with some of their problems and stories. The notes was one of the best parts of it though, because it gives you even more insight on how the other characters feel and think, and it also gets into more detail of their stories. So, basically, this novel is not a simple otome, but a world in itself with lively characters and a solid plot with good narrative. Please, do read it. Take your time to explore and get to know this world and it's characters. ★ Characters The main cast is absolutely lovely. Eiar/Jed is one of the best protagonists of vns that I have ever read, she is strong, she makes things happen and just doesn't sit there and wait for the change to come. She is kind and brave and I absolutely liked her. The romanceable males are also really nice, and I really did like their stories and personalities. I found the characters to be very well built and intricate, from their sensitiveness to their issues and desires. I loved how this was explored on the novel. Seeing different parts of them, but not labeling them as good or evil - but as complex, lively characters. Lugus was by far my favorite, though. I must say I really liked his strenght, determination and how he is so strong willed to make things better, to make that town a better place, not to say about his love for his father and sister. God, what an amazing character. A lot of love for him ♥. Levi was the second I enjoyed the most, his good mood is what I live for, but for spoiler sake I will not say any more than that I loved his route. Lavan is also really cool and loving, very warmhearted. [spoiler] As for the other two characters with routes here, I didn't dislike Hugh and found his routes to be really interesting, but he's not my kind of man. I did like how his character was built though, just wouldn't romance him. And as for Ashen Hawk, I don't feel like he is a romanceable character at all. Ever since the beggining of the novel and after I finished it my impression was that he was a fatherly figure to the protagonist, specially because of how he is related to her. But I also really did like his character and how he was built, also found some things that I related myself to in him. [/spoiler]. The side characters such as Francisca, Olgar and Tee were also very nice and I really liked them and how they were portraited and what they did througout their story. They were so intricate, complex and well built. ★ Art I don't have much to say about it other than that it is absolutely LOVELY. I have 200+ screenshots because every cg was gorgeous. I loved how there were so much angles and so much movement in certain scenes. It felt very very well done, I loved it. ★ Music Just as the first novel, the music is really nice and I loved the menu theme, this version of Scarborough Fair is lovely. Felt somewhat repetitive after some time, though. I guess that's the only downside for me. Well, I have to rate this a 9.2/10 or I wouldn't be fair to myself and to how good this is. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
• gamedeal user

  Jan 3, 2020

  A couple major points: - If you want the impact of game to hit you *hard* you have to have played Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly (PoBB)(in my opinion) - Didn't like PoBB? That's okay! This game is loads different and *loads* better - The old system of unlocking side episodes with each of the characters has improved and you just have episodes that are limited to each section of the game - Actually got me to cry (PoBB couldn't do that for me) - Game got me to like the character I hated at the beginning and wow the characters have a LOT of depth - I downloaded the soundtrack cause it was that good
• gamedeal user

  Feb 12, 2022

  Good: ● Art ● Voice Actors ● Setting/world ● Heroine is good but depending on the route/ending she becomes inconsistently bad Bad: ● Annoying NPC talk simulator for the first 10 hours ● Incest with at least 2 of the love interests (first cousins) ● Only 3 and a half actual love interests in the game ● Plot holes ● A character that literally acts as the exposition fairy ● Yet another confusing flow chart system ● People go into labor give birth in the span of 5 minutes in this game Man I thought this was supposed to be the better game of the series but somehow it ended up being worse for me.