The Mermaid of Zennor

loved this one!!! the protagonist is very realistic and despite how dark she seems in the beginning she becomes a very sympathetic and lovely character the more you spend time with her. ebi's works never disappoint. brilliant <3

[h1]The Mermaid of Zennor[/h1] Коротка вражаюча новела. Пережити тяжку історію тридцятилітньої дівчинки, булінгу та сімейних проблем - це вау. Музичний супровід вогонь, додає погруження до феноменальної атмосфери. Один eмбієнт нагадав тему з "Detroit: Become Human", дуже круто. Раджу до ознайомлення! [u]Дякую що читали мою маленьку рецензію!♥[/u]

Reader, I cried.

Ну и русалочка... Со временем репетативность мыслей героини начинает утомлять, но новелла заканчивается прежде, чем устаёшь от данного стиля повествования. История накручивает негативные эмоции всеми правдами и неправдами, пока не подходит к логическому завершению. Рекомендую к прочтению, если любите сочно описанную драму.

*** NON-SPOILER REVIEW *** The premise of this game being more nuanced seemed really promising. Rather than having a more fanservice take on incest, The Mermaid of Zennor goes more towards how harmful and codependent this power dynamic can become which is refreshing to see coming from a visual novel. I wish there were more character portraits. The art of this game is visually pleasing, so I wish there was more of it! I know that Mrs. Khoury and the 4 bully girls are side characters, but they play a big part in the story since they directly impact Lilac's actions and how she behaves as a character in different situations. I wish we got to see them and what they looked like, since it could take away a lot of "she said/she asks" sentences in the writing. I also wish we got to see more of how Lilac's parents treat her. We hear explained from her that her parents are pretty abusive and neglectful, that they're absent in her life, but it would've been helpful to see a flashback from her perspective. Same applies with why she is so attached to her brother. I can see why Lilac is so obsessed with him since he seems to be a source of comfort for her in their dysfunctional household, but it's hard to understand or relate to where she's coming from when we can't see those important interactions she has with him or the other characters. I'm a slower reader, but the writing and pacing felt really slow and repetitive. I felt there was a lot of explaining the plot, but not really showing it if that makes any sense. You might enjoy this game if you can progress through the plot faster, since I didn't get far enough to even see the brother in-game. I got up to [spoiler]when her brother finally calls her over the phone[/spoiler] and I stopped there. I'm guessing the pacing of the plot speeds up as you keep reading, so I think this game is still worth trying at least! It just wasn't for me personally.

очень эмоциональная новелла . рекомендую

This visual novel is emotionally intense. You view the world from the eyes of a young girl named Lilac who struggles both at school and at home. You have full access to her every thought and feeling, which drastically increases the sense of contrast between your understanding of how she feels versus how the rest of the characters (mis)label her. I have never been in her shoes but feel a deep sense of empathy for her and felt emotionally invested in her well being. Prose: Seeing the writing in the opening pages is what compelled me to buy it. The prose is simple, sentences are mostly kept relatively concise and pithy. Every sentence delivers what it was supposed to say and then promptly ends. And, let me tell ya, some of those sentences were jabs to the gut. The prose describes complex emotions without using complex language, relying instead on the context of the situation to setup an expectation of how she could feel, then letting her vent her emotions in her head in direct language. Something I really appreciate in this VN is that the emotions are explicitly stated most of the time, there’s something cathartic about seeing feelings, especially intensely negative ones, expressed in such a raw and direct way. Length: I like to read very slowly so I finished one route in 4.5 hours. Most people would finish at lot sooner. Wished it was longer, I wanted Lilac’s life to continue so I can see both the consequence of letting her problems fester and also (when different decisions are made) her slowly improving her situation step by step.