Homunculus Hotel

I am not sure how I feel about this game, the first playthrough I did not enjoy it, then I played it again, took my time, I read the dialogue slower, and my opinion of it has improved, but not as much as I hoped. Part of the problem is how short it is, only about 30 to 40 minutes long with multiple characters that only have a few minutes of the spotlight. All things considered, I think the game has an interesting concept and some thought-provoking themes, but I needed more time with the main characters, and honestly I think more context for either of them would work. I assume the dialogue options don't have any effect on the ending, I was not able to find anything new after multiple runs, aside from just changing the order in which you meet the people. On a more subjective note (please don't kill me for saying it devs), the genre changes in the soundtrack were a bit too much for me, I kinda liked those melancholy vibes you had going with the music at Claire's apartment, I kinda wish you stayed in that pocket, but I feel like the game changes the mood very often, in part because of the music. The idea was cool, entering doors in the hotel as a metaphor for entering the grief and dreams of the characters, or at least that is how I understood it. I just think it was too short, maybe if the characters would also visit you for some smaller talk in between, I wanted a bit more for my mind to work with. I am a huge fan of the first game you guys made, already 25 hours in just listening to the music over and over, and guess what, the animation still gets to me too. It's not a good comparison because it's a different experience, but I found that you didn't put as much love into the animation here, this game has a lot of static drawings, and very little animation to elaborate on the scene - also, not nearly as many metaphors. Strangely, I think the last game had more to say with no words, where this game had a lot of dialogue, but much less visual storytelling. [h1] Pros: [/h1] (+) Taking into consideration the short run of the game, I think the narrative design and the concept were interesting, it's just so hard for me to start a game and end it 30 minutes later, it takes 30 minutes for me to warm up to the story, you know. (+) Any visual novel with unique art is a big plus for me. If it was any other developer I would say you did a decent job, but it does not compare to the first game you did, I thought it was so beautiful, so I wish you did a bit more here with the metaphors and visual storytelling. [h1] Feedback: [/h1] (?) I felt like I didn't spend enough time with the main characters, their interactions were the most interesting to me. When it comes to visual novels, it's always nice if the devs can create some narrative forks that have more impact, that helps with the replay value and the player has more time to reflect on the experience. The visual storytelling was not nearly as enjoyable as the previous game, it was okay, but I think you can do a lot better. [b] Overall Thoughts: 6/10 [/b] I mean I like what you guys are doing, I just think it has to be a little bigger and more complex, I want to see more internal grief from the characters and more animation for that visual storytelling. For the price, it's fine the way it is, but I also don't want an interesting story to blast right past me. I am a fan, but you have to give me something more substantial. [code]Review by: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]