Gloom and Doom

Eternity is a really long time, and something tells me the 400 years Gloom, an ancient wraith, has spent killing demons is starting to feels like such - a neverending story as it were. One might ponder exactly what made him embark on this rampage, and the answer is surprisingly simple: to be permitted a return to Heaven. His final task, to kill Wynona, a troubled young girl convinced she'll bring about the end of days, shouldn't overly difficult. Except Wynona has an uncanny ability to escape death, no matter the cause. What's everyone's favorite ghastly green ghoul of Gloom and Doom fame, to do, then? A whole lot, as it turns out, over the course of this choice-driven tale that blends 90s humor and pop culture references with more than a little fourth-wall-breaking, and... well, there's no ignoring the fact that the story does get rather dark at times. We are after all dealing with a demon-slaying being tasked with ending the life of a girl who's barely begun living, just so he can get back into Heaven. What a selfish punk. Or that's how I would describe Gloom, if not for the fact that - wait, did I mention how he absolutely loves Genesis? No, not the band. The console. Actually, probably the band too. He's been kicking demonic you-know-what for several centuries after all, and music did come up several times before the credits rolled. Anyway, given his affection for 16-bit classics, surely he can't be genuinely bad, right? Yeah... maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. Yes, I'm being intentionally vague here, so as to not spoil more than absolutely necessary, because this is definitely an experience best enjoyed with as little prior knowledge as possible. Even more so given its choice-driven nature, complete with no less than seven different endings. It took me around five hours to wrap up my first journey with Gloom and Wynona, and once this review is published, I'm definitely going back to explore every other possible outcome. What can I say? Sometimes, a bit of Gloom and Doom is just what the doctor ordered. But I'm getting ahead of myself, for Gloom is only one half of the main cast, and believe it or not, Wynona is actually almost more depressing than him at times. Then again, if you were haunted by a looming sensation that you'd eventually bring an end to life as we know it, becoming the Doom Bringer, chances are your outlook on life would also be more than a little... gloom. An indescribably heavy burden for one so young to bear and in Wynona's case, sadly, it's far from the first time fate has dealt her an awful hand. So what's a girl to do? How does one go about preventing a prophecy from coming true, when it involves oneself wreaking havoc and creating a literal apocalypse? Unsurprisingly, this is where the content warning for Gloom and Doom rears its ugly head (because of the topics/themes far more so than their implementation in the visual novel). In case you hadn't already guessed it from my mention of Wynona's ability to escape death, well, she's determined to cancel the end of days by ensuring she doesn't live to make it happen. Obviously not the ideal solution, but desperate measures and all that, you know? No. There's no way that'd fly, and while the story does cover topics like self-harm and suicide, thankfully, it never veers too far in that direction so as to avoid becoming a depressing nightmare (akin to those Wynona's been experiencing). The frequent sprinkles of humor and witty banter between not only Gloom and Wynona but also every other character - of which there are surprisingly many, each getting plenty screentime too - helps maintain a steady balance of light and darkness; much like the story itself, actually. That said... if you don't enjoy or at least remember the late 80s/early 90s, a lot of the jokes are going to fall flat. That's just how it is. As someone fortunate (yes, really) enough to be a teenager in the 90s and a crazy old coot who still thinks the 80s is the best decade for music - closely followed by the 70s - needless to say, I had an absolute blast with these. Even the handful of obscure lyrical references that I doubt many my age would get made me smile. Doubly so because of their timing, often coming crashing through the dialogue box at just the right moment, reminding the player that it doesn't matter who or what you are - demon, angel, human, cat, dog, old, young, male, fema-- you get the point - music is a universal language. Apparently, that also goes for English, as everyone speaks it here. Oh, stop rolling your eyes at the screen - I am joking, obviously. I know perfectly well that the angels and demons have their own ancient language and my brain simply interpreted it as I read each line of dialogue. But seriously, getting back to the story for a moment: have you ever wondered whether there is in fact more between Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy? Reading (or trying to, rather) Shakespeare didn't put such thoughts in my head, and neither did playing through Gloom and Doom. So why bring it up? Well, in a few ways, this particular tale of how the needs of the many just might outweigh the needs of a few (or one, in this case) did give me some food for thought, and in no small part because of its supernatural (and/or religious) elements, angels and demons clashing and such. So there, Heaven, Earth, in-between. Wynona's troubled life is after all one I'd wager many can relate to, even if only in a small way, and the level of determination Gloom shows in his attempt to atone for his sins is also quite relatable. We've all made at least one bad decision in the past after all. Comes with being human. We're a flawed race. Unlike Gloom, however, we don't exactly have immortality on our side, giving us only a limited amount of time to hopefully make things right again. Because of this, every moment carries significantly more value than someone for whom time has all but lost its meaning. Wynona, on the other hand, is almost too human: fragile and driven by emotions with a limited lifespan. Throw an unhealthy chunk of depression on top along with, you know, that aforementioned prophecy... and you've got a truly broken soul. This most certainly begs the question: is Gloom - a wraith who mostly kills demons, plays video games, and enjoys more than a few old movies - really what Wynona needs in her life right now? Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. One way to find out. What? No, I don't mean 'by having me spoil the whole thing in this final paragraph'. Sheesh! That's not how reviews work. Ah, speaking of which, this is where I'd normally put the tl;dr version for those who fancy skipping all but the final paragraph. Sorry, not this time. My opinion of Gloom and Doom, like the game itself, is best experienced without skipping ahead, and so it shall be. I have spoken. Originally published on [url=https://www.wraithkal.com/gloom-and-doom-review/]my blog.[/url]

It has a very well realized 90s aesthetic with an art style, consisting of that super edgy 90s comic book art style with a bit of text adventure game sprinkled in here and there. The subversive take on Christian Mythology such as fratboy Michael and punk girl Lucifer also fit in with the aesthetic. It even extends to the dialogue and humor which has that trying too hard feel though in a tongue in cheek sort of way. The basic plot here is a grumpy old man and the depressed but kind teen team up to achieve something and end up helping each other heal and discover themselves in the process. Grumpy and old here meaning a millennia old wraith who’s been exiled from heaven the last 400 years, depressed meaning ‘attempted suicide multiple times’ and achieve something meaning ‘killing her for good to stop the apocalypse.’ but that’s just window dressing. Generally I’d say there were 3 parts to the VN; Scenes which were the protagonists discussing their circumstances and struggles, such their suicidal ideation and efforts to be a good person, with another in a philosophical yet somber and down to earth sort of way, which managed to be pretty effective and touching. These were interspersed with scenes which were basically trying to make as many pop culture references as possible which was cute at first but quickly got tedious due to the excessive amount of them; characters essentially just listing out movies and game is not actual conversation. There’s also the plot/action that mostly made up the last fifth of the VN which was disappointingly mediocre. It does some unique things which counts for a lot in my book but there’s enough mediocre/cringy scenes that I 'd only put this as a tentative rec.

I had an issue with the sound in this game not working and had to refund it. However, later I bought it again, it worked just fine, and I found the game to be amazing, far better than I expected. Great flipping story, highly recommended.

A game that I wish I got to play while I was stuck in my angsty teenage years. It was fun and thought provoking, and I'm excited to unlock all the other endings! Love the music and all the 90s pop culture references!

A real gem of a game for those that enjoy great storytelling and nail-biting suspense. Excellent artwork, beautiful layout and well paced. Three thumbs up!

Interesting story with great characters and a 90's-ish theme. Light-hearted even though it has themes of suicide. Generally very enjoyable. No action scenes wedged in. (which is good for most visual novels)

Loved it !!! Enjoyed the great story telling, the conversations between characters felt real unlike other games. Moral dilemmas choices are taken up a notch compare to other games... its so much harder when you have to consider things as a young girl and not just a bad assed wraith. Smiled to myself every time i got a pop culture reference and there are so many... Definitely replaying to see if i missed any... pretty sure there has to be an Avril Lavigne skater boy reference somewhere in there that i missed!

Really enjoyed the storytelling and flow of the game! It's an awesome experience playing through the game, especially all the 90s references which really brought a smile to my face. The story focuses on the mental aspects of people in placed in different situations, which I found really relatable and lead me to reflect on myself. Would highly recommend it to people looking to trying something that's slow placed and to enjoy the story. Great work for a solo development as well!