Just played the game and, I'm sad to say this, but its very bad.
Arstyle-wise the game is amazing. It boasts all possible varieties of genders, body type and species. While I’m gay and all, I nevertheless appreciate female characters and romance options since I don’t require characters to be a certain gender to enjoy romance and overall it contributes to the world’s believability.
Sadly the “believability” is the word I can only use loosely in this case because as far as everything else goes this game is NONSENSE.
The game markets itself as an essentially furry Hogwarts with emphasis on magic and shit.
So with that in mind let *this* sink in: upon an entirety of the first route I’ve played I have seen exactly *one* scene where magic system is at least somewhat explained, *ONE* scene where magic is actually used and *NO* scenes depicting the protagonist actually visiting classes with his peers… all in the game that markets itself as a furry Hogwards.
Like, what? Why are you advertising the game as such when you can’t deliver on the thing you advertised the most? Why even set *this* as a premise?
Now you might ask what this game is about then? And the only answer I and others can give is… Bunch of characters hanging out going around in circles(reference not intended) until something finally happens. No really, that’s literally the entire plot.
The world building… doesn’t exist. If it was yet another real-life setting with furries I would maybe begrudgingly forgive that but, like, this isn’t real life, that is supposed to be science fantasy!
Additionally we are supposed to identify with main characters since he came from place where magic doesn’t exist but we don’t even know what exactly is the place he came from! Harry Potter have done it pretty well placing its protagonist in irl London, but here everyone is constantly remarking that the protagonist to came from Midgard. Like, what’s even *is* this place? It this ff7 type of Midgard? Is this a Norse Mythology type of Midgard? I don’t know and the game doesn’t know either!
And finally we get to the characters. And I’m gonna just come out and say it: they are absolutely unbelievable. They act so detached from reality that its simply impossible to emphasize with them. They can act like more-or-less normal people in one moment and the flip the switch and turn to complete psychos.
At first i was convinced that the game was going for a denpa-style horror (which is backed up by moments where the game legitimately wants to be horror) but as a denpa it also doesn’t work because denpa implies that every character starts normal and then slowly going mad for reasons when here everyone starts detached from reality and remains as such for an entirety of the game.
The dialogue seems forced and unnatural and the sequence of events makes no sense whatsoever. Things just… happen.
Like, after midroute there is an important event when two teachers got into debacle and during their spellfight hurt one of the student in a crossfire, and after two weeks timeskip things just… got back to normal?... Like, they face no consequences, the wounded student seems to recover just fine and the protagonist who fell into depression because wasn’t even being visited or comforted by anyone?... and it isn’t like either of the other characters were caring much for that student either, they just continue with their lives like nothing ever happened.
And then I get an ending that rips off Suzuha’s steins;gate one without a proper build up. Protag just discovers a time-travel superpower out of nowhere and decides to keep rewinding time because of an apocalypse or something? Where did this come from?
Anyways, this game is nonsense and my brain hurts just from thinking about it.
I also have to mention the gameplay which somehow was screwed as well. Instead of traditional vn they decided to go for a pseudo point and click adventure which only hurt the overall experience more than anything. Instead of just choosing your desired love interest each time you know you have to stumble across the entire town to search the place where they decided to randomly spawn this time around… which also came at a cost of not adding such basic features like skip read text, autoplay, reroll and save anywhere. What in the actual fuck. Last game I played that didn’t had these features was a Colonel Sanders Dating Sim, which was a free meme game, but even when it comes to free meme vns all of them have these options and you are telling me devs couldn’t add these basic features in a title which costs as much as a remaster of Persona 3? I can’t even.
Anyways, don’t let pretty graphics fool you. This game is dead inside.
1. I read the game's description and where does it mention "furry" or "Hogwards" or "magic" or any combination of those words, since you say that the game markets itself as such?
"This game was created as a love letter to internet fandom, and quickly expanded to become a deconstruction of relationships, a game about forging genuine connections, and the struggles of finding your identity in a community that you don't entirely fit into. If you're looking for a way to kill some time, or an experience that will connect with you on a deep emotional level, check out Familiar Travels. This is a game for anybody who is part of an internet community, or anybody who wants to explore the more nuanced and complicated aspects of relationships."
Actually, the description is very, very vague.
I mean sure, the devs marketed the game as a furry one only through their screenshots. So I give you half a point there.
But nowhere they said that you can use magic and you go to a school of magic.
2. "Like, what? Why are you advertising the game as such when you can’t deliver on the thing you advertised the most? Why even set *this* as a premise?"
Please reffer to point no. 1.
3. "Harry Potter have done it pretty well placing its protagonist in irl London..."
When you say placing it's protagonist do you mean:
a. where HP lived and grew up
or
b. where the most of the action is happening, Hogwards
But if you mean b. then Hogwards is located in Scotland and Scotland is not in London, my dude.
4. "...but here everyone is constantly remarking that the protagonist to came from Midgard. Like, what’s even *is* this place? It this ff7 type of Midgard? Is this a Norse Mythology type of Midgard? I don’t know and the game doesn’t know either!"
No bro. The game KNOWS where is Midgard. You're the only one who doesn't know where it is.
And you know the best part yet? That we are living in Midgard! Yeah, we are living in and on it! Because Midgard is another term for "Earth" you freaking moron!
"In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old NorseMiðgarðr; Old EnglishMiddangeard, Old SaxonMiddilgard, Old High GermanMittilagart, and GothicMidjun-gards; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term οἰκουμένη : oikouménē, "inhabited") inhabited by and known to humans in early Germanic cosmology."
5. "I also have to mention the gameplay which somehow was screwed as well. Instead of traditional vn they decided to go for a pseudo point and click adventure which only hurt the overall experience more than anything. Instead of just choosing your desired love interest each time you know you have to stumble across the entire town to search the place where they decided to randomly spawn this time around… which also came at a cost of not adding such basic features like skip read text, autoplay, reroll and save anywhere. What in the actual fuck."
Yeah, because this isn't a traditional VN game it's a hybrid between, from what you say, VN and point & click, because you know, games, like humans, don't fit into one category only. Shocking, I know.
"Instead of just choosing your desired love interest each time you know you have to stumble across the entire town to search the place where they decided to randomly spawn this time around…"
That's because the devs wants you to play multiple times. Get different endings, discover new paths, new characters, new locations etc. etc.
As for the lack of those features you mention, I guess that could be a valid point, the devs could had implemented those, at least for repeated playthroughs.
Long read! You must have woken up on the wrong side of your bed this morning.
Some interesting thoughts that I personally don't agree with at all but could read through and see. However, they're all sadly invalidated by your child-like outburst at the end personally attacking and trying to put down someone's opinion.
If you're going to write a counterpoint, write a counterpoint, don't step on someone like that because you're too incapable of regular human interaction.
I wish I had a clever thing to say tot mimic your "the only one dead inside is you" but sadly, there's nothing worth taking away from your post after ending it on such an idiotic note. You turned yourself into a troll, at best. I'd love to see a counter argument where you actually spent effort into making it, not spewing irrelevant hate everywhere.
P.S If you were aware of such thing like “subtext” (a very innovative and shocking concept, I know), you would figure out easily what I meant when i said “the game present itself like furry hogwarts,” as its premise and mentioning of “institute of magic” give you all the information to piece together without making a direct references. Of course you wouldn’t find direct mentions of “furry” and “Hogwarts” because no sane person wears their inspirations on their sleeve like that, and if you *do* expect every work fiction to spit out everything on a silver platter like that for you to understand— then you should probably start working on improving your own IQ.
If you're going to shrug off somebody else's comment by calling it trollish or offensive, try not to do the same thing. By using the very same rules, you're invalidating your own argument. And if you think that "It doesn't deserve a reply," well, it did enough for you to write a Bible epistle-length reply to "not be deserving.".
Let's start by telling me you seriously need to touch grass and/or consume more fiction. Not every game is FF7, and so not every Midgard is FF7.
Maybe you didn't know how to properly express yourself, which might be the case. It happens to everyone, especially when English isn't your first language, like in my case. Did you mean a "Dystopian sci-fi Midgard like the one presented in FF7"? Because that would have been a better way to word it. Oh, and let me just tell you that this isn't Marvel's Midgard either. It may (and just maybe, a tiny tad bit) be the dev's very own Midgard, populated with their very own creations!
Also, not every magic academy is Hogwarts; there's the White Tower in The Wheel of Time, the University in the King Killer Chronicles, the Witch Academy in The Witcher, the Fulcrum in NK Jesmin Works, the Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld, and not to mention the endless Magician Guilds, Schools, and Orders, which are also academies in many works of fiction!
Not every single magic academy is Hogwarts, not even in Rowling's work; get over it already.
Concerning not reading the subtle undertones and subtext, you stated that this game bears no resemblance to Hogwarts, so how could it be an undertone? It seems more like it's your own preconceived idea of it. For someone who praises the diversity presented in genders and body types, this is both hypocritical and unexpected.
There are many works of fiction—games, books, movies, you name it. Use "Harry Potter" and other works for comparison purposes. Just walk into any Barnes and Noble or open any review pages, and you'll see even the authors and developers themselves name it and boast about it! Ghibli-inspired, Souls-like, and Hogwarts-like are some of the many things they're usually compared to so as to make people familiar with and interested in their works.
To me, it seems like you're talking from your very own limited world of view, and that is quite intolerant and, at the same time, ignorant. I urge you to please expand your horizons and open your mind. In the end, it's your choice to do so or not.
Thank you for reading this quite lengthy reply, and I honestly hope you have a good day and improve both your replies to others to not be self-defeating and hypocritical and your general outlook on fiction and not classifying other people's works in whatever your limited knowledge allows.
For clarification purposes, I meant that in a non-deprecating way, as everyone's knowledge is limited, and that is precisely why I urge you and everyone else to expand it so nobody end's up pre-judging, wrongly understanding, or classifying stuff.
Through insane luck or divine magic, you've received your acceptance letter to Vanaheim
Home of the Vanaheim Institute of Magic and Technology
I think that's pretty explicit?
I mean, I haven't played much of the game yet, so I have no idea if any other claims are true, but the description blatantly mentions being magic school.
Game doesn't start. Music starts but no window of any kind. Reinstalled twice. Given the dates on the dev log, I'm guessing there's no support for the game either
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This game is very good and live!
Just played the game and, I'm sad to say this, but its very bad.
Arstyle-wise the game is amazing. It boasts all possible varieties of genders, body type and species. While I’m gay and all, I nevertheless appreciate female characters and romance options since I don’t require characters to be a certain gender to enjoy romance and overall it contributes to the world’s believability.
Sadly the “believability” is the word I can only use loosely in this case because as far as everything else goes this game is NONSENSE.
The game markets itself as an essentially furry Hogwarts with emphasis on magic and shit.
So with that in mind let *this* sink in: upon an entirety of the first route I’ve played I have seen exactly *one* scene where magic system is at least somewhat explained, *ONE* scene where magic is actually used and *NO* scenes depicting the protagonist actually visiting classes with his peers… all in the game that markets itself as a furry Hogwards.
Like, what? Why are you advertising the game as such when you can’t deliver on the thing you advertised the most? Why even set *this* as a premise?
Now you might ask what this game is about then? And the only answer I and others can give is… Bunch of characters hanging out going around in circles(reference not intended) until something finally happens. No really, that’s literally the entire plot.
The world building… doesn’t exist. If it was yet another real-life setting with furries I would maybe begrudgingly forgive that but, like, this isn’t real life, that is supposed to be science fantasy!
Additionally we are supposed to identify with main characters since he came from place where magic doesn’t exist but we don’t even know what exactly is the place he came from! Harry Potter have done it pretty well placing its protagonist in irl London, but here everyone is constantly remarking that the protagonist to came from Midgard. Like, what’s even *is* this place? It this ff7 type of Midgard? Is this a Norse Mythology type of Midgard? I don’t know and the game doesn’t know either!
And finally we get to the characters. And I’m gonna just come out and say it: they are absolutely unbelievable. They act so detached from reality that its simply impossible to emphasize with them. They can act like more-or-less normal people in one moment and the flip the switch and turn to complete psychos.
At first i was convinced that the game was going for a denpa-style horror (which is backed up by moments where the game legitimately wants to be horror) but as a denpa it also doesn’t work because denpa implies that every character starts normal and then slowly going mad for reasons when here everyone starts detached from reality and remains as such for an entirety of the game.
The dialogue seems forced and unnatural and the sequence of events makes no sense whatsoever. Things just… happen.
Like, after midroute there is an important event when two teachers got into debacle and during their spellfight hurt one of the student in a crossfire, and after two weeks timeskip things just… got back to normal?... Like, they face no consequences, the wounded student seems to recover just fine and the protagonist who fell into depression because wasn’t even being visited or comforted by anyone?... and it isn’t like either of the other characters were caring much for that student either, they just continue with their lives like nothing ever happened.
And then I get an ending that rips off Suzuha’s steins;gate one without a proper build up. Protag just discovers a time-travel superpower out of nowhere and decides to keep rewinding time because of an apocalypse or something? Where did this come from?
Anyways, this game is nonsense and my brain hurts just from thinking about it.
I also have to mention the gameplay which somehow was screwed as well. Instead of traditional vn they decided to go for a pseudo point and click adventure which only hurt the overall experience more than anything. Instead of just choosing your desired love interest each time you know you have to stumble across the entire town to search the place where they decided to randomly spawn this time around… which also came at a cost of not adding such basic features like skip read text, autoplay, reroll and save anywhere. What in the actual fuck. Last game I played that didn’t had these features was a Colonel Sanders Dating Sim, which was a free meme game, but even when it comes to free meme vns all of them have these options and you are telling me devs couldn’t add these basic features in a title which costs as much as a remaster of Persona 3? I can’t even.
Anyways, don’t let pretty graphics fool you. This game is dead inside.
1. I read the game's description and where does it mention "furry" or "Hogwards" or "magic" or any combination of those words, since you say that the game markets itself as such?
"This game was created as a love letter to internet fandom, and quickly expanded to become a deconstruction of relationships, a game about forging genuine connections, and the struggles of finding your identity in a community that you don't entirely fit into. If you're looking for a way to kill some time, or an experience that will connect with you on a deep emotional level, check out Familiar Travels. This is a game for anybody who is part of an internet community, or anybody who wants to explore the more nuanced and complicated aspects of relationships."
Actually, the description is very, very vague.
I mean sure, the devs marketed the game as a furry one only through their screenshots. So I give you half a point there.
But nowhere they said that you can use magic and you go to a school of magic.
2. "Like, what? Why are you advertising the game as such when you can’t deliver on the thing you advertised the most? Why even set *this* as a premise?"
Please reffer to point no. 1.
3. "Harry Potter have done it pretty well placing its protagonist in irl London..."
When you say placing it's protagonist do you mean:
a. where HP lived and grew up
or
b. where the most of the action is happening, Hogwards
Because if it's a. Harry Potter lived at "number 4 Privet Drive ... but it’s actually a real life three-bedroom house in Martins Heron, Bracknell" (source: https://www.chancellors.co.uk/news/property-advice/buying/harry-potters-childhoo...). That's the house from the movie.
Bracknell is "a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England".
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracknell)
So not London.
But if you mean b. then Hogwards is located in Scotland and Scotland is not in London, my dude.
4. "...but here everyone is constantly remarking that the protagonist to came from Midgard. Like, what’s even *is* this place? It this ff7 type of Midgard? Is this a Norse Mythology type of Midgard? I don’t know and the game doesn’t know either!"
No bro. The game KNOWS where is Midgard. You're the only one who doesn't know where it is.
And you know the best part yet? That we are living in Midgard! Yeah, we are living in and on it! Because Midgard is another term for "Earth" you freaking moron!
"In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse Miðgarðr; Old English Middangeard, Old Saxon Middilgard, Old High German Mittilagart, and Gothic Midjun-gards; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term οἰκουμένη : oikouménē, "inhabited") inhabited by and known to humans in early Germanic cosmology."
(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midgard)
5. "I also have to mention the gameplay which somehow was screwed as well. Instead of traditional vn they decided to go for a pseudo point and click adventure which only hurt the overall experience more than anything. Instead of just choosing your desired love interest each time you know you have to stumble across the entire town to search the place where they decided to randomly spawn this time around… which also came at a cost of not adding such basic features like skip read text, autoplay, reroll and save anywhere. What in the actual fuck."
Yeah, because this isn't a traditional VN game it's a hybrid between, from what you say, VN and point & click, because you know, games, like humans, don't fit into one category only. Shocking, I know.
"Instead of just choosing your desired love interest each time you know you have to stumble across the entire town to search the place where they decided to randomly spawn this time around…"
That's because the devs wants you to play multiple times. Get different endings, discover new paths, new characters, new locations etc. etc.
As for the lack of those features you mention, I guess that could be a valid point, the devs could had implemented those, at least for repeated playthroughs.
6. "This game is dead inside."
The only thing dead inside here is you.
Long read! You must have woken up on the wrong side of your bed this morning.
Some interesting thoughts that I personally don't agree with at all but could read through and see. However, they're all sadly invalidated by your child-like outburst at the end personally attacking and trying to put down someone's opinion.
If you're going to write a counterpoint, write a counterpoint, don't step on someone like that because you're too incapable of regular human interaction.
I wish I had a clever thing to say tot mimic your "the only one dead inside is you" but sadly, there's nothing worth taking away from your post after ending it on such an idiotic note. You turned yourself into a troll, at best. I'd love to see a counter argument where you actually spent effort into making it, not spewing irrelevant hate everywhere.
P.S If you were aware of such thing like “subtext” (a very innovative and shocking concept, I know), you would figure out easily what I meant when i said “the game present itself like furry hogwarts,” as its premise and mentioning of “institute of magic” give you all the information to piece together without making a direct references. Of course you wouldn’t find direct mentions of “furry” and “Hogwarts” because no sane person wears their inspirations on their sleeve like that, and if you *do* expect every work fiction to spit out everything on a silver platter like that for you to understand— then you should probably start working on improving your own IQ.
@Naho, dearest internet entity:
If you're going to shrug off somebody else's comment by calling it trollish or offensive, try not to do the same thing. By using the very same rules, you're invalidating your own argument. And if you think that "It doesn't deserve a reply," well, it did enough for you to write a Bible epistle-length reply to "not be deserving.".
Let's start by telling me you seriously need to touch grass and/or consume more fiction. Not every game is FF7, and so not every Midgard is FF7.
Maybe you didn't know how to properly express yourself, which might be the case. It happens to everyone, especially when English isn't your first language, like in my case. Did you mean a "Dystopian sci-fi Midgard like the one presented in FF7"? Because that would have been a better way to word it. Oh, and let me just tell you that this isn't Marvel's Midgard either. It may (and just maybe, a tiny tad bit) be the dev's very own Midgard, populated with their very own creations!
Also, not every magic academy is Hogwarts; there's the White Tower in The Wheel of Time, the University in the King Killer Chronicles, the Witch Academy in The Witcher, the Fulcrum in NK Jesmin Works, the Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld, and not to mention the endless Magician Guilds, Schools, and Orders, which are also academies in many works of fiction!
Not every single magic academy is Hogwarts, not even in Rowling's work; get over it already.
Concerning not reading the subtle undertones and subtext, you stated that this game bears no resemblance to Hogwarts, so how could it be an undertone? It seems more like it's your own preconceived idea of it. For someone who praises the diversity presented in genders and body types, this is both hypocritical and unexpected.
There are many works of fiction—games, books, movies, you name it. Use "Harry Potter" and other works for comparison purposes. Just walk into any Barnes and Noble or open any review pages, and you'll see even the authors and developers themselves name it and boast about it! Ghibli-inspired, Souls-like, and Hogwarts-like are some of the many things they're usually compared to so as to make people familiar with and interested in their works.
To me, it seems like you're talking from your very own limited world of view, and that is quite intolerant and, at the same time, ignorant. I urge you to please expand your horizons and open your mind. In the end, it's your choice to do so or not.
Thank you for reading this quite lengthy reply, and I honestly hope you have a good day and improve both your replies to others to not be self-defeating and hypocritical and your general outlook on fiction and not classifying other people's works in whatever your limited knowledge allows.
For clarification purposes, I meant that in a non-deprecating way, as everyone's knowledge is limited, and that is precisely why I urge you and everyone else to expand it so nobody end's up pre-judging, wrongly understanding, or classifying stuff.
Have a good one!
You are so fucking stupid and bitter it’s honestly hilarious.
Uhh... the description includes:
I think that's pretty explicit?
I mean, I haven't played much of the game yet, so I have no idea if any other claims are true, but the description blatantly mentions being magic school.
I probably read only the "About Game" part and skimmed though the "Volume 1" and "Volume 2" descriptions.
tbh need more cute moments with po
:)
Mews happy!
Wondering what happened to the merch store?
Looking through files, yup sure do. Haven't play it and going to when I posted this.
steam key doesn't work, says it's additional content
bought first half anyways, i'm too tired to care at this point. just know the steam key is for the second chapter only, which is a dlc. nice job devs.
I swear to god, if something happens to best nerdy boyo im gonna cry
Game doesn't start. Music starts but no window of any kind. Reinstalled twice. Given the dates on the dev log, I'm guessing there's no support for the game either
I will be getting this, but if i find out that my best boy dies ima cry... still buying it... but crying