Yog-Sothoth’s Yard

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死神塔還缺人嗎?

I originally wrote a review at just under 4h of playtime and said I was probably barely scratching the surface of what this game had on offer. I now have 26h of playtime, and that includes save-scumming for endings and various achievements, without having even touched New Game+ for the achievements I'm missing yet. I can therefore say I was definitely right in my initial thoughts. Now, how you feel about that playtime is going to depend heavily on how you regard both visual novels and management/simulation titles, because this game is a blend of both. Large chunks of VN content, especially in certain chapters, followed by large portions of managing the hotel and your Action Points. Personally, I am quite surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this title. It definitely has flaws, but I was invested throughout. The story is very much catered to those interested in the supernatural, featuring many different culture's mythologies, along with a huge serving of Lovecraftian elements, and some science-fiction thrown in too. There are a lot of names and terms used in this game, where it does mostly expect you to know what they are before-hand. Some more niche things do get explained, and the English localisation does have some notes about certain Chinese proverbs and sayings, but if you go in completely blind, you will likely have a very hard time understanding what is actually going on or being said. I will also say that the pacing at certain sections is a bit off, with huge chunks of VN content into a Carnival, into another huge chunk of VN content. Save whenever you can, especially towards the end of each in-game week. Note: I know a lot of people will be put off by the (clearly) MTL English localisation, but it didn't bother me, given I'm kind of used to it from much bigger Chinese devs (*cough* MiHoYo). Haa Lou Ying does stand-out here, but that's more an issue with English not having regional dialects in the way China does. Personally though, I loved it, and I also loved how each of the 4 main girls were not only wholly unique in visual style and characterisation, but also tied in to various different mythologies and aspects. This even extends to some recurring NPCs and other story characters. In regards to the girls, all of them were great, although Yevna did take a while to grow on me. I was also surprised that their "affinity invitations" did not wholly focus on romance, but also delved into a whole myriad of topics, with the game not shying away from the dark or macabre. Some of them were quite shocking, yet done in a way that fit the girls' personalities. By the way, if you're expecting R18 in this game for the romances, it does not have it. Like with other elements, each romance/affinity with each girl fit their character, and felt believable. A lot of the endings will also depend on your affinity with each girl and whether you've played more into their traits. Moving on to the other core gameplay, which is the hotel management, it honestly surprised me with how in-depth it got later on. You only get 1 Action Point to use during the day, and then again during the night, with certain activities being locked to specific times of day (mostly night-time). You can get "Oracles" later on, which give you 2 AP per day and per night (so 4 total), and some Energy Drinks that can be used for 1 extra AP, but those come later and are not guaranteed. You then have to decide on what to do. Do you raise affinity with the girls? Do you create or upgrade new rooms? Do you go exploring or mining? Do you rest to regain Sanity? Do you clean the Hotel? Depending on how you play it, will lead to different outcomes and endings in the story. You then also have Alchemy and Cooking mini-games, with Alchemy playing a huge part if you want to progress through certain story elements, or participate in the monthly Carnivals that sell Extra-Items (that provide passive buffs). Definitely get a grasp on Alchemy and Soul-Gathering early on, as it will potentially save you a lot of hassle in the later sections. There are also mini-quests from various guests that visit the Hotel, whether selling them Alchemy ingredients, Food, or Materials in order to receive Gold or extra Oracles on-top of the daily one. There's also a handy shop that you will want to upgrade as soon as you can. Overall, this is a gem of a game, and I kind of feel bad waiting for it to go on sale to save that £2-3. It's more than worth the original asking price in my opinion. Great main story, great side stories, interesting characters. Least regrettable Steam purchase.