A Light in the Dark

I first came across A Light in the Dark completely by chance while browsing a games website. Back then, I was around sixteen. After seeing it, I didn’t even try to download it—I knew my computer probably wouldn’t be able to run it anyway. So instead, I watched a full walkthrough on YouTube. Something about it caught my attention immediately. Maybe it was the cover art, or the sadness it seemed to carry—not just in its name, but in its overall aesthetic. There was a quiet heaviness to it, a sense of melancholy that drew me in before I even knew what the game was about. For reasons I still can’t fully explain, it stayed with me. Years later, the memory of this game resurfaced out of nowhere. I usually don’t replay games, but this time I did—perhaps out of a hopeless attempt to reconnect with my younger self, to be briefly transported back to who I was back then. It was a bittersweet experience, rough and honest in its sadness. I replayed it and finished it in one sitting. One thing that truly stayed with me was the soundtrack. It’s melancholic, but beautiful, and it fits the tone of the game perfectly. There’s one piano melody in particular that never left me. I’ve always loved the piano, and that simple tune lingered in my mind long after the game was over, quietly echoing emotions I never quite knew how to name. This time, I bought the game—not only to finally experience it properly, but also to support the developer. I guess we’re even now, after having almost pirated it all those years ago. As I said before, the game isn’t particularly good, and the story isn’t anything remarkable. And yet, somehow, I really liked it. Maybe because some games aren’t meant to impress, but to remind you of a feeling you once had—and can never fully get back.

[h3]|| Spoiler free review ||[/h3] (~8 hours clocked in for all routes. Connection was funky on my end.) It’s a story centred around the desperate [i]older girl [/i] (voiced by Yurika Kubo), whose kidnapping of the player character (“rich boy”) kicks off the two characters’ development throughout the events unfolding, spanning around 7 days/chapters. There are no romantic overtones, although one *might* see just a little bit of implications by trying really hard. The [i]younger girl [/i] (voiced by Kana Ichinose) plays a critical role in the narrative, albeit less pronounced than the [i]older girl [/i] and the [i]rich boy [/i]. Stemming from the characters’ vastly different upbringing and social standing, their conflicts inevitably involve socio-economic themes. Social commentary persists throughout the story, and one could easily read the story as a critique of the economic system, inequality, mass media, etc. However, I think whatever lessons this hours-long VN can offer is simply too shallow; it’s not exactly productive to take them as something other than the protagonists’ in-character rambling. I feel what this game truly succeed in is exploring human connections – and not the seemly obvious Stockholm syndrome kind. Depending on the player’s actions and the different routes they lead to, you may see the characters overcoming their difficulties or dooming the one chance of salvation, leaving lasting impact on the other parties. The true ending (Ending #0) in particular draws a wonderful conclusion to the characters’ journeys with an uplifting note: despite everything, there is still hope. The good ending (added by a post-release update) is somewhat weaker and leaves much to the player’s imagination. Ending #1 to #4 presents some alternative scenarios which may also give you more insights on the characters. I find myself more attached to the characters after finishing them, and do think they’re all worth doing. The rest 2 endings should only come from deliberate self sabotage, rewarding specific Steam achievements but little substance and no CGs. The actual gameplay on the other hand can be quite underwhelming: - Unsatisfactory exploration. With limited action points for exploration – in the forms of choosing dialogues and examining items – it is too easy to miss important clues in blind playthroughs. - Occasionally unintuitive dialogue options. You think you chose the most peaceful dialogue, then the player character ended up saying something naughty and got spanked (figuratively), possibly bricking this playthrough. - Unnecessarily restricted saving mechanics. Manual saves can only be made before a chapter begins, while multiple exploration windows open throughout one chapter. Usually they’re all minor annoyances at worse, until you’re replaying for different endings. The skip function does take account in the texts already read, so you won’t miss new texts for using it; however, it runs too damn slow. Coupled with the points listed above, it’s simply a slog to go through – with occasional landmines blowing on your face if not careful. And you’re missing a lot for not reading different endings, so better bear with it for the next few hours. Despite the issues, I would still wholeheartedly recommend this short VN – not as a sermon on social justice, but as a story about hope, a celebration of humanity.

劇情來說我覺得偏微妙，我很難說喜歡或者不喜歡， 因為輸出觀點的手法太直白了。 無論是女主還是男主內心的各種內心對話都有一種作者在藉著角色輸出自己觀點的感覺。 說教的意味非常濃厚，而這份說教又進一步削弱了角色的魅力，就很看個人是否能接受了 如果你不認同故事內的部分的角色觀點，你很容易對裡面的角色產生反感，甚至沒辦法共情裡面的角色遭遇。 但是，整體來說我覺得還是OK的，喜歡的人會喜歡，不喜歡的人會不喜歡。 ... 以下為劇情負雷吐槽，負雷慎入 [spoiler] 男主都這麼唯唯諾諾，都盡量不惹你生氣去嘗試理解你的觀點，女主那一頓為了洩憤暴揍男主那幾拳真心為男主感到雖小。你是說因為那完全不疼的兒子的媽媽，所以搞到男主被綁架甚至被女主拿到威脅嗎？只能看女主臉色，如果對綁架感到不爽敢口嗨還會被揍死，在這種危機情況下認同女主悲慘遭遇嗎？我看男主也是倒了大霉。你被綁架也只是因為運氣不好，這男主也是斯德哥爾摩症候群的一員了[/spoiler]

还挺好玩的

令人深思的剧情和不错的画风 是款不错的互动类小说游戏

Really good story. It's all about perspective. No one wants to do something bad, but everyone wants the best for themselves; its just sometimes whats good for us might not be good for others.

可以理解作者想闡述的議題，部分情緒烘托得也不錯，但有些劇情部分過於直白，整題來說可以一試的佳作。

劇情很吃三觀和共鳴，對我而言我很喜歡 被貼標籤 這一句話，以前學生時期因為同儕之中較為省錢那位，也被貼上 窮 標籤，在遇到某些金錢事務或者物品不見，第一時間質疑砲火我會第一線被砲轟，所以劇情裡我能體諒歧視感受，甚至同情犯罪者的"思想"，但是綁架BAD 然後遊戲UI交互設計很糟糕，選項設計限時、打開筆記有機率無法按選項BUG、行動限制、沒有快速存檔讀檔，反正我覺得這遊戲UI交互設計真的欣賞不來，沒有想破多結局的心力，整體來說還是不錯的