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Stay With Me's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Category: Music | #85 | 3.703 | 4.000 |
| Category: Voice Acting | #106 | 2.315 | 2.500 |
| Overall | #155 | 3.086 | 3.333 |
| Story | #156 | 3.086 | 3.333 |
| Visuals | #162 | 3.086 | 3.333 |
| Category: Cinematography | #170 | 2.623 | 2.833 |
Ranked from 7 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Content Warnings
Depictions of blood, references to violence
Log Line
Sarah and Vanessa step inside an abandoned mansion. Will they escape its halls... or become part of its story?
Team Credits & Cast
Meighan McDonough - solo developer
Was your submission created with Visual Novel Machinery?
No
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Comments
Hi! I played the game and I’m really satisfied with it. I like the sprite art and the sound design —this game uses audio very well to draw the player in. I’d love to learn more about the story of the ghost nurse!
Having gone into this fairly blind, I was pleasantly surprised by this one! By the time Sarah and Vanessa were leaving the school I was pretty invested in their relationship, and I think that you did a good job at giving them distinct personalities that weren't too exaggerated or over-the-top. I was also pretty keen to test out what would happen if the relationship reached either the highest or lowest points, and I liked that it was fairly obvious which choice would lead to which change in the relationship.
Unfortunately, this means that I was a little disappointed when I did my second playthrough and realised that it was only the final choice that affected the ending, although I understand that this is probably due to not wanting to introduce scope creep during the span of the jam. The art assets also clashed a bit with the style of the sprites - that being said, they contributed wonderfully to creating the atmosphere of a spooky, gloomy mansion.
Otherwise, it was a great read! I was also really pleased when I got my first ending and the duo were able to make it out without issue, and the explanation of what happened to them afterwards was very heartwarming. You've done a good job with this; great work!
Thank you so much for the thoughtful feedback! I am glad you enjoyed the game. :)
There are actually 3 endings, with the relationship bar only affecting the “stay together” branch. You are right that scope creep/limited time affected this - I did want to implement a system that made it more clear, but in the end kept it simple to ensure I made the deadline. This is only my second VN and I’m learning a lot!
I can definitely see the art clash as well. My original set of backgrounds turned out to be AI-generated and I had to pivot. I do love the gloomy backgrounds, but agree they don’t really match the sprite art style. It’s something I will keep an eye out for next time. :)
I really appreciate your thoughts and will keep your feedback in mind for my next project!
Thanks for letting me know about the third ending - I gave it a shot and it was a nice...not exactly middle ground, but difference to the other endings. I particularly liked that a few different lines changed, like mentioning that Sarah was reluctantly following us around the mansion.
Good luck with your next project(s), and once again congratulations on what you've made here - it's great work and definitely something to be proud of!