It was nice seeing a vn made with Unity, with this new style for the characters, they look funny!

The story is ok, the nsfw part caught me off guard, but damn it’s hot!

It's an excellent rough first draft, and the ideas it shares are both interesting and don't take too much of your time, however the models are rather off-putting, and the prose and setup is rough to say the least.

Still, I didn't have a bad time with it.

An interesting snippet into a different sort of post-apocalyptic world. While I love that this VN used 3D sprites, which are so rare, I have to admit their animations ended up being uncanny more than anything. The backgrounds were cozy though, and the color choices were impeccable. I did find the story a bit hard to follow, partly because the character seemed to speak mostly in witty aphorisms, the abstract nature of the choices, and the lack of a strong guiding plotline. Though, in the end, I actually ended up liking the dialogue and the profound sayings they had to say. It's definitely one of the more beautiful VNs in this jam, uncanniness of the sprites aside.

Presentation-wise, I mostly enjoyed this one, but did struggle a bit with the text effects... if it is difficult or distracting to look at, it effectively loses its purpose... flashy effects are best done in small doses to emphasize something very mportant.

The story was decent, but it also left me wishing to explore more of the absurdity of this world, especially with the visuals of the outdoor laundromat... it would be nice to either lean more into that world building, or alternatively, to avoid it and focus more on the two main characters, I believe.  I do love the color choices, and the sprite animations do help give this entry its own unique identity.

Like with your Novembear entry, there’s a lot of style here. Your art direction is great, and the washed out pastels make for a certain look that doesn’t detract from the apocalypse, but adds to the dreaminess and loneliness of it. The gas station laundromat is interesting to see and matches with the “well everyone got raptured” absurdity.

I found the text lacking, though. The characters’ voices aren’t differentiated from each other very much, and I didn’t find their actions particularly compelling. I saw the payoff of the tree at the end and the continued adventures of the duo who have found each other in a lonely wasteland, but it didn’t feel adequately built up to.

I adore the presentation here. You've created an incredible and cohesive aesthetic theme throughout the entire piece that was just a joy to look at. The sound effects were nice (though I accidentally played through on mute the first go around and had to skim through again to see what I missed haha) and the menu music was nice though it would have been great to have music during the story as well. The sprites were unique and well made though the animation was fun to have and see, though felt too constant/too much making them a little too over animated at times. The text scroll animation also was a bit distracting. In short: very unique and very well done presentation, a feast on the eyes.

As for the writing , this is where I find my gripes. I feel that the characters lacked any sort of individual voice or characterisation and feel completely identical to each other with me even having a hard time remembering who was who once the sprites were off screen. Too, the dialouge doesn't feel particuarly natural, with every line feeling like it's fighting to be "the most profound" of the text with none of the natural progression of the conversation that would lead up to it. Someone else here said that they feel like characters talking past eachother and I couldn't agree more; I would love to see how their different backgrounds and perspectives shape the way they interact with the world and those around them, but we don't yet have that here.

Overall I really dig the setting and ideas that you played around with here, and your presentation absolutely rocks (probably my favourite of the jam tbh). With tighter writing and more diverse character voices I feel like this story could truly become great. 

There are some solid ideas here and definitely a commendable effort in creating a project in Unity with animated sprites, but I don't think the complete product really came through for me.

Breaking down by criterion, spoilers from this point forward.

Implementation of Theme:

I think what you're going for is the brightness of finding companionship in the melancholy of a post-apocalyptic world, especially from Donnie's perspective, who was literally just wandering before the events of the VN and now has made a connection that has at least temporarily made things better. Like, I get that, theoretically, but I don't think this is coming through strongly. Maybe this is because the characters aren't really deeply fleshed out here (more on that in a bit) but this feels more just like a temporary distraction than a meaningful difference in the characters' lives. Remy has his little speech at the end to try to sell the point more but, I don't know, it just didn't hit for me.

Story:

Two areas where I think this story could really benefit from improvement:

1) Natural character dialogue: There's a lot, especially in the first scene, of what feels like "checklist" dialogue. Basically you have a list of things that you feel like you need to exposit to set up the characters and/or the plot, and you're so focused on getting those things out there that the conversation feels stilted and unnatural, like the characters are talking past each other to get to the next point on the list. It's tricky to get right sometimes, but make sure every line of dialogue is smoothly flowing into the next line - when you do this instead of moving from exposition point to exposition point, you're more likely to get more of the characters' personalities across, which is something this story could really use. Right now there's not much to either character other than being generally friendly and easygoing. There's some backstory sprinkled in, like how Donnie was in the military, but we don't really get much of a sense for how this has shaped him or his attitudes about the Departation. You can also drop some details if they don't fit naturally too - going into the characters' full names doesn't add much other than giving them the chance to quip about it, and you can accomplish this with practically any subject. You don't need to reach to get there.

2) Exploring the setting: Easily the best part of the VN is the idea of a post-rapture apocalypse. That's such a fun thing to try and explore - besides just having the post-apocalyptic survivor narrative, you have the added complexity of being someone that didn't make the cut, for better or worse. Unfortunately I don't feel like we explore it much deeper than surface level - we get a sense that the characters are bummed about it (kinda) but also in good spirits (kinda) and that's about it. You mention them driving through an abandoned town - while they do that, use that as an impetus for further discussion. Go into where they were when the event happened, how it played out, if there's any idea of what caused it, how many people were taken, how they feel about it, how they coped, etc. 

Other things to more quickly run through:

1) The sex scene was kind of awkward. Like, it's just a CG that pops up for a line and then fades out with no accompanying description. If you're going to go for the 18+ and have a sex scene, go all out. You can do it with the one picture (or two since there's a variation) but still have the text describe how the full scene plays out.

2) Ending felt pretty abrupt. I thought there was going to be more of a conversation where the characters further broke down their outlook on the situation, but it just kinda... ends. I didn't think the "post-credits" scene added much either. Like, yes, it's a reference to a line of dialogue that happened a few minutes ago, but it's not like a real zinger that has any punch to it. Just feels like a reference for the sake of having a reference.

Presentation:

One of the stronger elements of the VN to be sure. Clearly a lot of effort went in to creating the 3D models and their animations, and they look very good! Two things to note here are 1) while the animations are very nice, the sprites don't need to be moving all the time. During the laundromat scene there were a few moments when I wished they would just sit still; 2) you're already aware of the sprite disappearing issue. For how good the sprites are, I would have liked to see them during the car ride.

Main menu track was quite good, so it was a bit disappointing to find that there was no other music in the game. Really could have used it at times, especially in the car where it could have been passed off as diegetic. 

A bit more random, but I'm not sure why the 18+ disclaimer appeared a few lines into the VN? Either have that on startup or as soon as you begin new game.

Creativity:

As mentioned above, the premise of post-rapture mundanity was the best idea of this VN, and I think it's a really good one. "Love at the end of the world" isn't necessarily super unique (I've seen it a few times now in this jam) but this could have been a really interesting take on the concept. This really just needed more time simmering with the setting and characters to really shine. 

While this one had some issues that prevented it from reaching its potential, I can still definitely applaud the effort!

This one's hard to judge because it's so short, but I'll leave a comment anyway. I like the character models and how they move. That and the unique text animations do make it stand out from most FVNs. I also like how the backgrounds look. Other than that, there's not much to talk about. The sex CGs were nice, albeit they were for short scenes. The interactions between the characters were neat, but neither was particularly memorable. This whole VN feels a lot more like a small part of a larger story than anything, which is kinda unfortunate. Check it out if you can, but don't expect it to blow your mind. Just a short but relaxing experience.

'Where Will You Go' is a brief glimpse into a mundane post-rapture world and a chance meeting during it all. The biggest strength and intrigue of this visual novel is the stylistic choices and effects, giving it a sort of 'vaporwave meets playstation2' vibe. The 3D sprites with moving expressions really showcase the artistic technique that's possible to create in the Unity engine, and the background scenery and transitions are just super clean and polished. The story serves the purpose of showing off the features of the engine as well as setting up a nice erotic scenario for the characters.

The story itself does feel a bit sparse. This is a post-rapture world, by at least 7 years, so its interesting that the exploration of this world is done through a hitch-hiking plot. It seems to be inferred that those who haven't raptured have still somewhat continued to survive in the world, but with a crumbling society that somewhat functions, but not to the expected point of other apocalyptic stories. Instead of it being a disaster wasteland, it's just mundane but functional. The characters still try to find purpose in this world, with the wolf working towards paying off a car (with money that's worthless) and the bunny fixing up a house (that no one is going to live in). What I find fascinating about the direction is how nonchalant the characters are not only with each other, but also approaching the topic of becoming intimate, just as a quick distraction. Nothing deeper than that.

It feels like it could be a sense of learned helplessness or a lack of agency. I'd imagine that a global event like that would shake anyone's belief system to their core, and so characters that continue to live would exist in a state of routine numbness and lack of direction. I think that's where the theme of 'a light in the dark' kind of comes into play, the idea that this chance encounter is the opportunity to make a connection and find purpose. But, with the story evoking more of a feeling of ennui, I'm not sure just how much light is being shone in this dark.

Focusing in on the sexy bit, I appreciate that there were two options given for whether to be top/bottom, and it is pretty humorous how 'porno-plot' this story feels. Pick up a hitch-hiker, take him to a laundromat, and then they have sex. If you're gonna put in a sex scene, don't be afraid to write out the sex scene to flesh it out some more. There are several tones and story ideas that were mixed all together in this one, but I don't know if the combination is greater than the sum of it's parts. It's extremely pretty/hot to look at, but make sure to have the story be hot and engaging to read too.

Non-Ren'py engines are always nice to see, but there were some technical/presentation issues that sort of overwhelmed the entire reading experience for me. The animation for text appearing is really, really distracting, especially on fast text speeds; you just kind of click, watch the tornado of letters whirl around for a while, and then read, which kills the rhythm. I think text-based games really should make the act of reading as unobtrusive as possible.

Also, maybe most importantly, bug report: on my setup (Firefox+Linux), something in the embedded canvas container gained and displayed focus, forcing me to play the game with a harsh orange overlay over it. The art direction looks solid from the screenshots, but I sadly wasn't able to enjoy it like that.

The sprites/models/whatever you want to call them are really good, and I like the designs! The big issue with them is that as the animations stop, the sprites are – depending on the scene – either fully static or looping distracting idle animations where they rotate their heads and blink rapidly, and it looks weird either way. I think a middle ground of something way subtler would have been preferable.

With all of this hindering the reading experience, the story took me a while to get into. I would maybe call it sparse and brief to a fault; the combination of the super-concise descriptions and the relatively distanced dialog between two characters who've just met each other and don't have strong voices or conflict between them doesn't really give the reader a lot to work with. The stylized environments evoke a mysterious mood, but it almost feels like they're doing all the work – for a visual novel, the "novel" comes off as an afterthought. Some good sound design would also have helped here a lot, I think; it's a good way to ground the reader in what the characters are experiencing.

Safe to say this one has the most solid visual direction so far. It strengthens the ephemeral, somewhat serene-but lonely feeling. I can see the thematic idea, questioning what kind of things are worth "value" when everything seems to be meaningless at the end of the world. Classic, but it works. I just feel like the pacing could be improved. IMO it's better to let the story simmer, let us soak the fleeting feeling of living in a world that has completely changed. Pauses would totally help, especially between scenes.

Unfortunately, the presentation isn't flawless. I could be wrong, but I think you're experimenting with this one. The text animation and the comic-style sequence on the laundromat felt overdone. The sprites' animation in the first half was good, but the second felt jarring bcs they kept moving. The music on the main menu was excellent and managed to set up the vibe from the get-go. It would be so much better if you could use more music or ambient sound throughout the game (and silence whenever necessary).

Nevertheless, I think it's a good project to experiment with, and I bet you can gain a lot of insight. Well done!

A chance encounter in a post-apocalyptic world. Let’s address the elephant in the room: 3D models! They look nice, but their idle animations are short and a bit creepy. The backgrounds work well with them. The models stay there during the CG/credits, which isn’t ideal. The text effects are a bit annoying and distracting. To round up presentation, no music is sad. As for the story, it’s a bit plain. We’ve got explanations for the post-apocalyptic settings but it doesn’t really make sense: enough people disappeared that money doesn’t serve much purpose and nobody’s around to repair machines; but there’s still running water, electricity and, presumably, gas? And the writing feels stiff, with some weird syntax at times, probably due to the writer not being a native english speaker. The characters felt quite hollow. Overall, good effort but there’s a bunch of small issues.

I think the setting's really cool. Like very abandoned and lonely which I think adds to the atmosphere. I also liked the little bit of world building that we got, I kinda wish we would have had even more about what happened but I get that that's not really what the game is focusing on.

I am impressed by the animated sprites. They are so smooth it's hypnotizing! 

Even the text and transition are well animated. However the text animation is so strong that it distracted me very often from the story. I wonder if you should not make it a bit less captivating, like the letters start a bit smaller or Idk.

I really liked the artstyle in this game, and both characters are absolutely adorable. The bit about the car being much too small yet still taking in a hitchhiker gave me a chuckle. Shame about the sprite bug leaving 1/4 of the game staring at car seats, but so it goes! Well done!