This was a VN I wasn’t initially too keen on, but I eventually warmed up to it. While I liked the basic premise, I didn’t like how much of a dick Ulfor was towards AElla (I’m just going to spell it like that for convenience’s sake) for basically no reason, especially since he did treat Raf kindly. The eagle not being who the other two thought he was basically undermines anything Ulfor says, which is a shame, because some of what he said was pretty cool and justified. I also didn’t like that AElla’s relationship with the other two was developed off-screen. Just kinda feels like the VN just expects me to believe that AElla got along with the others while I wasn’t looking, which was annoying. The section after that was nice, with Raf and AElla discussing tales they’ve heard before, and the banter was cute. Then the sex scene happens, and I just wasn’t really into it, because none of the characters were that attractive to me, although this is just a me thing. After the sex scene, though, I did start caring about the characters and writing a lot more. It’s hard to describe, but I do like the vibes the VN has. As these characters reveal more about themselves, you start to understand why they act the way they do. I liked AElla the most, but the other two were pretty cool as well. There’s a weird sort of hesitant hope in the VN, being compulsively cynical but understanding that being kind towards others and keeping your foot forward is the surest way to keep living. And I fuck with that. I also like how the theme of folklore and stories are used.
The writing took some time to get used to. I ended up reading the VN pretty slowly at first. I think it has a good, elegant flow to it, but there are instances where I do think it doesn’t understand what exactly it’s doing. I can’t really describe it, but sometimes it feels clunky to read. When it locks in, though, it locks in. There are some pretty nice quotes in there.
The presentation is pretty great, especially with the GUI. The unique text boxes for each character and the GUI in general are just gorgeous, and really do a good job of making this VN feel alive. The sprites also look great, although I’m not a fan of Ulfor’s sprite. It looks like someone put a wolf’s head with spaghetti on it on a human’s body. Ulfor looks a lot better in literally every CG depicting him (Okay, maybe not the backstory CG, but still). The CGs are pretty well done. I think the way the VN presents its sprites and uses the camera is pretty neat. The music isn’t my cup of tea, but it’s well made, and it fits the scenes they’re in.
Overall, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I think I enjoyed it less than other people due to my personal preferences, but I still liked it a good amount. If you like people form close bonds in the midst of a war, I’d recommend reading this one.
Ratings for Categories:
Presentation: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Theme: 4/5
Story: 5/5
Creativity: 4/5