obligatory spoiler warning
if memory serves, you should go with him to the forest at the start so you don't befriend oliver or merina, and from there choose every option that might make him upset, like snitching to bean and walking back to school when he leaves you in the forest, then at the end choose to sleep with someone in the tribe and you should get the worst ending
VERY MUCH A SPOILER BELOW:
one of my current theory's is that alvy might have known what was going to happen at the end to some small degree, i only have two lines supporting this and one of them is far from iron clad so i am probably wrong, the 1st being "if you or THEY want us to go against each other so much we'll do it" we already know that alvy obviously knows bird mask, but does he also know who therium is working for, or at least that he IS working for SOMEONE? the other line that got my attention was "i want you to know me well, well enough to maybe remember me in the future" this probably just means that alvy has anxiety and thinks that a couple years down the line cody might not remember him BUT what if it means that alvy at the very least knows that some time soon cody will forget all about the events of alvys route and has some small hope that if they are close enough cody might somehow remember the time they have shared?
also if Mof is reading this, is the next update going to contain the entirety of scribbles route, or is it being split into separate days like alvys?
Aight, i have now gotten around to reading aidens route and re-reading every other route back to back and can now give a full breakdown of my thoughts, spoilers most likely below.
When i first found this vn i really did not expect much, i read the name and kinda just assumed it would be a porn game with a poorly scrapped together story just as a vehicle for da smut, but since i like snow leopards so much and the art looked good i decided to download it anyways, I WAS VERY WRONG. I now have a permanent tab open on my laptop just for taking notes on the mystery's of this vn, i LOVE good mystery's, i have read 9:22, Ciene, Echo, Polar nights and Aim to capture (all great novels btw) but NONE of them have captured me so much to the point that i have created an entire document dedicated to compiling my theory's and thoughts. the last message i left on this page said that this was ONE OF my favorite vn's, now it just IS my favorite.
although lust shards definitely does not focus as heavily on the mystery outside of scribbles route, once you have read it, it adds subtle moments of realization to every other route, mostly through the presence of the blue butterfly's, so even when you are reading the nice comedy infused romance of the other routes, you still see small signs of something going on behind the scenes.
other than my matpat esq investigations into every instance of the color blue and red, the art is absolutely amazing, just about every character is great, even the characters that i don't like AS PEOPLE (therium), i still thoroughly enjoy AS CHARACTERS (therium), and i could write a whole essay alone just glazing Cody, the only mcs that i come close to enjoying as much as cody would be spencer from 9:22 or garret from polar nights, his dynamic with scribbles is always fun to read as well.
this vn has made me laugh, cry, left me so stunned i just had to stare at the wall for a time while i processed everything and permanently rewired my brain to react like a lob corp fan seeing the word mist whenever i see a butterfly
i am so fucking hyped up for the next update, actually peak fiction, on god fr fr
i dont have anything really fancy or detailed to say here, this is just a really solid vn, i enjoyed it from start to the end of the current build, the music was good to the point that i actually noticed it, which i usually don't in vns, the sprites look great alongside the rest of the art, and i like all of the characters, its also quite rare for my favorite character to be the mc, but i genuinely really like Jude, i am super excited for the next build.
also since i have made a habit of asking this whenever i can, is there a set time or date ya'll expect the next build to be out by? no worries if there isn't, i just like to keep a full calendar.
just finished Tate and Alvys route and this honestly is one of my favorite vns i've read so far but i gotta ask. if this is chapter one then how many chapters will there be in total, also if there is one set already what month do you reckon the next update will be out? no worries if there isnt a day or month set in stone yet tho, i just like to keep my calendar as full as possible.
(alvy best boy)
possible spoilers below but i aint taking the chance on spoiling peak fiction for someone:
genuinely one of my favorite fvns, the only ones that i would rank the same are aim to capture and burrows (maybe 9:22 or cienie to) the opening scene is SUCH an amazing hook, the sound design and bgs are great, all of the characters are so well written and it all reminds me of still wakes the deep in the BEST way possible, especially with the sound design aboard the Arran reminding me of when you have to go through the beira d's legs, almost the whole time i was half expecting to see those weird ahh flesh tendrils, its also a breath of fresh air having a mc who is ACTUALLY competent and skilled at something which is why garret is probably my favorite mc that ive seen in quite a while.
also, is there a month i could mark down in my calendar for when the next update might be out? no worries if there isn't though, i just like to keep a full calendar
spoilers ahead
okay its review time! so far, the plot is like a furry version of Madoka magicka, I like it. when it comes to bugs, I've only noticed one and it's just really funny rather than annoying. but I don't understand why Dalton has what i assume is his dream clothes on in the second cg even tho gin said he didn't have them yet but other than that the music is great the art is great and while not enough of the story has been published for me to have a definitive opinion it seems pretty good so far.
final rating for current demo: 8.5/10
