Psychedelica

(Yes, definitely read this first!!!) MC finds herself in an otherworldly mansion that she cannot leave for reasons she does not remember. Monsters and butterflies surround her, and she finds some other humans trapped like her. Together, they start seeking to survive - and figure out how to escape. From the beginning, this game is not like most Otome in the sense that it works through flowchart, and the player must navigate the flowchart in different ways to get all the different stories and endings. However, the story is one of my favorites, very deep and clever, and also tragic.

I must say I liked the flowchart layout, it made finding endings easier for me. I also found it interesting that characters were treated differently, not all them had the same standard endings. Romance is a little brief, but with a story this great, that doesn’t take away from the quality, I find. Although I was quite disappointed in the treatment of Karasuba, I feel the devs never quite gave him a fair chance, even in his good ending. MC on the other hand, is pretty decent, although I don’t always appreciate how passive she can be. The art is beautiful, and I like the dark undertones with bright neon pastels - it is a fantastic combo.

First off, this game is a great stand alone, but to get all the nuance and understand everything, starting with Black Butterfly is highly recommended. The game follows the same pattern with the flow charts, less severe focus on romance and the endings being unequal, but the art and the characters are radically different. I was at first kind of doubtful with the soft water color checkerboard style, but it grew on me fairly quickly because it also feels very warm and comforting.

The MC, who starts the game living as a male (both names customizable by the player), is without a doubt my favorite MC of all times. As the youngest child of one of the two noble houses in town, MC has quite a bit of responsibility, and her own secret to keep. For that reason she lives in the tower outside of town alongside its mysterious Lord. But something is seriously wrong with this small town covered in snow, and MC slowly falls further into the mysteries that it holds. The way it ties into Black Butterfly is seamless and mysterious, and doesn’t entirely become clear until the end. Really, really worth the read, I love this game so much, next to Collar X Malice, it is among my all time favorites.