Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Nov 1, 2022

  Please note: This game should be considered a Novella/Sequel to the free game "Deliver Us From Evil" and the paid DLC "Cadenza". Cadenza is £6 and this game is £4.29, so call it £10 for the full "experience", with a very long "prologue" you can try before you buy the DLC for the first game. You CAN play this first if you wish, but I feel like the background story gained in DUFE and Cadenza is a great thing to have entering this game. Not to mention their character introductions are honestly fine, but they feel a little lacking if you've played the first game - purely because you've spent so much time with them and it's hard to really describe them properly in so few sentences, so I think you give yourself a disservice playing this first. (And if you want even MORE Keldran, he appears as a cameo in "Yonder World: Interview with the Void" as well.) I ALSO recommend to play Ace's route first. As you're forced into his mind for a few of the acts anyway, so staying with him is just consistent, and I had a nicer time swooning over Keldran in Ace's mind. Now, if you've played DUFE and Cadenza? This game is excellent. It's more of what we love about those games, and it's very "on-brand" with the feel of the story. There's a 'fair' bit of voice-acting, too. Mainly on the important scenes, you'll be happy to know. There's also two CGs that I felt were very well-drawn, which is no surprise from Galen Games' work thus far. I also really enjoyed the narrator's part in this story, which really tied it together for me with the resolution and the comparisons with "fear" for this spooky, supernatural halloween story being a real fear many of us can relate to in the end. If Galen Games decided to do more short stories like this, for Keldran or even a new group of characters, I'd very much enjoy the format. But that being said, I'm certain I'll buy the next Galen Games work anyway. Onto my only negative: This game is very short. There is one choice in the entire thing - so you'll be happy to know you don't need a guide, and there is one "ending", so getting 100% achievements is a cake walk, and no pesky missing CGs. However, it's very short because you spend the majority of it forced into Ace's mind, even when you choose Keldran, you revert back to Ace, so you read a lot of the same text again. I finished it within an hour, but I am a very fast reader, so you could maybe get 2 or 3 hours out of this if you take your time. Some might say that's too little for the amount you pay, but I found myself smiling and having fun with it, and it's still very cheap for the professional, excellent quality you get from this game. Especially within the LGBT+ game dev community, as most of it is either £20+ or terribly drawn. There's no bugs, glitches, or even spelling mistakes. It's been tested thoroughly, and the voice acting is high quality with a beautiful sound track. Which I am very happy to pay for £4, when creating a game like this can take a very long time and a lot of energy/effort. It really just depends what you're happy to pay every month for BL games, and how much you enjoyed DUFE and Cadenza first. (But btw, there was a rude discussion topic from a randomer about the LGBT content, so consider even just spite buying it to support an ally dev against narrow-minded 'phobes, even if you don't have time to play it quite yet.)
• gamedeal user

  Nov 2, 2022

  I enjoyed this Novella, and be aware that it is, you have nothing to decide, but I bought it at Halloween and it was a fun short entertainment. The characters are from the game "Deliver Us From Evil", a game were you have choices. It is not expensive, but enjoyable, so I recommend to but that game WITH the DLC too and play that first, to get a background on the two. As the other reviewer said, I recommend to play Ace's route first. It was a bit short, but other than that I was a fun evening I had with this tale. :)
• mathias_rieder

  Dec 30, 2022

  The game is really short. You will finish it in one hour. Only one choice to make and only around 20 different pictures mixed together. The producer had no time and only a bit passion. I expected more ... even for the small amount ...
• gamedeal user

  Jan 3, 2023

  Deliver Us From Evil (DUFE) - Masquerade is a very short (I totally get all the complaints about its length) but truly exciting Boys' Love visual novel. I'd highly recommend to play the previous parts ("Deliver Us From Evil" and the paid DLC "Cadenza") first. I enjoyed 'Deliver Us From Evil' a lot. It's an otome game but it was mentioned even there that Ace and Kel are friends with benefits. And when female MC got that polygamous ending with them I felt she didn't belong there :D Their relationship seemed perfect without anyone else's interference. So I was excited to learn about this BxB visual novel. Honestly, the whole experience turned out to be slightly underwhelming. For these reasons: --dunno what happened with the sprites, I'm kinda lazy to check if it's the same artist here but Ace made me truly gasp when I first saw him. Here he looks a bit different, his face is chubby, I dunno, the colors feel kinda off. They are still recognizable but they don't look as breathtaking as they were before. Perhaps, it's just personal though. --I've already mentioned the story is short :( Again, never look at my playtime, it'll just take ~an hour to finish it. --No choices. I mean you're allowed to choose whose perspective to pick first buut it's obvious it doesn't influence anything, you'll just look at the almost same events through the other main character next. I've chosen Ace first. I read other available reviews and it's advised there to start with him too. Though I'm not so sure it really matters. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2910783595 --No gallery in the main menu. It's understandable as there're only two CGs in the story. --I enjoyed the writing though I came across a couple of typos. For example, 'to spook it's prey' instead of its. For this short text it could be edited better. (I'm just whining here, don't take me seriously :D) --Nothing explicit here textually or visually. Sigh, what a loss, really :D BUT it was still a great pleasure to play it because: +aww despite being kinda unhealthily pale (maybe it was their makeup as vampires dunno but I got used to imagining vamps as some sexy creatures, I'm with Ace here ;D but their appearance kinda downgraded in this game) welp, anyway it was still a great delight to ogle them xD They are still incredibly handsome. +I liked the way the story is presented, the narrator's text was so atmospheric, reminded old silent films. Though that sentence that we (readers/players) are entitled to our wrong opinions, that was mocking and totally uncalled for. I even briefly contemplated about down-rating my review at least to a neutral one. Dunno if it was supposed to be funny or smth... +The plot was enticing, funny and emotional! The main reason I enjoyed this short novel so much. I'm immensely grateful for this wonderful opportunity to learn about their relationship more! The way they love each other is too touching! All my complaints just melted away in the heat of their passion. That's truly unique to watch how supernatural creatures love. They are not limited to short human life span, though at the same time it means they're inevitably fated to change a lot, to argue more, lol they could afford to have a fight and disappear for a century xD In general, people state that passion is a fleeting feeling, our desires fade away too soon but here, centuries-long relationship...it was so heartwarming, so romantic to watch. It presents an endless material for more similar stories, one hour novel was sadly too short but at the same it's truly precious to at least glimpse at their romance. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2911858637 +Achievements. 'Profile Features Limited' though for now. +That was a pleasant surprise to see my native Russian also available. I didn't check its quality though. +It's voiced but XD just some, I guess, crucial sentences are pronounced and mainly some steamy sounds xD. That was awesome anyway. It was astonishing to see in the ending that Ace's voice actor is the writer himself. Wow, what a talent! (･ω･ﾉﾉﾞ I bought this game during the sale, as it's really short I'd recommend to do the same. Play ' Deliver Us From Evil' with dlc and if you like it, I'm sure you'll enjoy this short adventure as well.

  More thoughts about the game in a Reading Nook

• goramo

  Jan 7, 2023

  good game