評論

• gamedeal user

  Jun 5, 2017

  "SoulSet" is [i]ungodly[/i] awesome. Quite possibly, now it is one of my most favourite works of fiction ever, of all time. I wasn't being able to shut up about it for two weeks already, and quite possibly made several people roll their eyes at me, but well, um. I just can't help myself. "SoulSet" is just too good to marvel at it quietly, too great to confine the feels and thoughts to the mind of one person. So, people had to deal with me. As well with my lack of sleep, because who needs sleep, when you have something this awesome. You know, it is always remarkable, when a work of fiction, created in some unconventional medium, makes use of the distinguishing features of this medium, incorporating them into the plot itself. I adore the cases, when such work of fiction just wouldn’t exist, if it were created as something else. And it is double, or even triple true for “SoulSet”. Interactive, branching, replayable nature of a visual novel made this story possible. It is an integral part of what this story is. There exists quite a lot of movies, books, TV-series, based on a similar premise, or may be not [i]a lot[/i], but a reasonable number nonetheless. However, that’s just not the same. They are linear, so they cannot possibly impart the right experience to readers or viewers. It is always like an attempt to show something three-dimensional to someone from a two-dimensional world only by means and tools found in that two-dimensional world. You could express a general idea, a concept, but it would only be an approximation, and the losses would be inevitable. “SoulSet”, due to its nature, achieved something that no movie, or TV-series, or book could ever hope to achieve. Visual novel medium is perfect for this particular concept, and the creators of “SoulSet” brought it to its full potential. And even more so, they managed to incorporate into its actual plot something that I hadn’t even thought was possible to incorporate! [spoiler]When I found out about the part Isshin was playing in the story all this time, I just sat there and screamed mentally for two minutes without a pause. If there were any mind readers in my general vicinity, they probably went deaf forever. It was just so, so, SO cool, AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH. One of the best, the most elegant cases of breaking the fourth wall, and extremely original and inventive, to boot. An extremely rare and precious occasion, when it is… I dunno how to express it, really, I’m not even a native English speaker… When it is inverted? So, SO COOL. Just wow. That was absolutely [i]thrilling.[/i][/spoiler] It became a unique experience, one I wouldn’t trade for anything. Seriously, wow. This story is so complex, detailed and well-thought-out, that I don’t even have right words to express it. At first, you are really disoriented. You and Mariko understand nothing, you don’t know what to make out of the situation, there are some people you don’t even know what to think about, you are not sure what is happening, or why, or who is behind it, or what every bit of information really means and how it connects to everything else. You get tiny pieces of the general picture, but you don’t know what to do with them. And you begin to construct theories from what little information you have. And then… you get more. Each new replay you get more to work with, you get to know some of the characters better, you get some insights into what was once hidden from your eyes, what was happening behind the observable. You learn motives, you start to compare in what exact ways the events unfolded differently, and you begin to understand why. You draw connections. You add to the picture, you revise it, and then you revise it again, and again, and again, and you revise your understanding of the characters, and you revise your opinion on them, sometimes turning it upside down, and then, still, again. There were so many big reveals (and I mean BIG, like, really), so many HOLY **** SO THAT IS WHAT IT WAS ABOUT moments, I had even lost count. Some things, I inferred from the information I had. Some things were absolutely unexpected. Mindf***ery ran rampant. My brain was melting. I was on high on the feels. That was some unparalleled experience, and I’m not even sure I had enough processing power to process everything that was going on. In the end, everything was coming together so neatly that I felt the urge to start reading the VN from the beginning, route by route, just to marvel at how everything that didn’t make sense then makes perfect sense now. Every little detail. Every little bit of information. Everything fell into its designated place, except several pieces, and I’m sure that if I give it enough thought and be more attentive, I definitely understand how it fits into the grand picture. At times, it also was an extremely painful read, because, well… I felt very emotionally involved into everything that was going on, into the Mariko’s story and not only hers, and things got pretty dark really fast. There were a lot of wonderfully heartwarming moments, and quite a few hilarious ones (oh goodness, “101 Ways On How To Appear CREEPY”!), however, it was more heart-rending than anything else. Especially since even the happiest of romantic endings with most of the characters kinda… ceased to feel that good in retrospect, after some major reveals in the true route. Everything else would be a nasty spoiler. Actually, I was going to write it down, just to hide it under the spoiler tag, and my review was much longer. However, when I tried to post it, it was cut off by a word limit, so… Well, a major part of my personal impressions is going to be lost for general public, I guess. <…> <=== here were one and a half pages that didn’t make it. So, back to general talk.“SoulSet” is a story that made me think, that made me feel and sympathize. It is honest with its reader, it doesn’t sugarcoat things, it is cruel sometimes and uncomfortable in a way that only true art exploring some dark corners of human psyche could be. This discomfort I speak about should by no means be considered as something bad. If anything, I think that the values dissonance I felt at times is one of the many strong points of this visual novel. Mariko is not some placeholder for inserting a reader into the story [spoiler]Isshin is[/spoiler], she is her own person with her distinct personality that is being revealed to us and to herself step by step. The situation she found herself in gives her a chance to change, to heal, to make something constructive of her life and of herself. [spoiler]In some outcomes, she uses this chance, in some others… well, not. And when she doesn’t, oh boy, her way of thinking is almost physically painful and feels extremely dissonant with what you think or feel about the situation, about the characters, about Marco specifically. It is truly unpleasant, and, at the same time, powerful and really welcome experience.[/spoiler] It is brilliant. By the way, when I say “uncomfortable”, I don’t mean intimate scenes. I am actually a very squeamish and picky person, when it comes to physical aspect of expressing affection, and it is extremely easy to turn me off. However, I was surprisingly fine and on board of everything that was going on, and it was conveyed in exactly right (I mean, right for me) amount of details. [spoiler]Well, some sex scenes were meant to be rough and a bit traumatizing (I am speaking about Verin, of course), so I regarded them as such, and it was a perfect blend of erotic and disturbing.[/spoiler] So, additional love for how it was held! I guess, I could go on and on about everything I loved about “SoulSet”, however, I feel like my English gets even more horrible with every phrase, and I’m reaching a word limit again. So I just want to stress one more time: this visual novel is a work of brilliance. And I mourn the amount of praise it doesn’t get, because it deserves all the praise.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 4, 2017

  This game is freaking *awesome*. It has all the elements of a great story: mystery, magic, humor and romance. I had bad luck with otome games of late but this one just really reminds me what I love about those types of games... being someone else, making the kind of choices I wouldn't otherwise make, living a different life in a different world and meeting different people. Laughing and swooning and smiling. And all the while, being a hero (: Now tell me, who wouldn't want that? In this game, you play as Mariko. Our resilient and cool-headed protagonist. Mariko wakes up in a mansion among five other strangers, none of them seeming to recall anything about who they are and what they're doing there (aside from their names and a few vague memories). To top it all, they seem to be stuck inside some kind of magical barrier. Now, they must find out what is going on, who they can trust, who is behind it all, and how to get out of this mess alive. During a certain fixed point in the game you get to choose who you want to pair up with; Aloof and grumpy Apris. Kind hearted and helpful Yvonne. Kickass and snarky Shira. Quite Shirr. Mysterious and sarcastic Marco. Each route has at least one bad ending (sometimes more), Normal ending (which is a happy one only without the romance part) and True ending (which is a happy one with romance). That stands for every character in the game. Moreover, during each route and possible endings, you'll find yourself gathering 'clues' (red, green, orange and silver). Some endings you won't be able to unlock without gathering some of the clues. Which is why my advice is: play the game the first time blind (great way to have fun and get to know, overall, what is going on), and then follow this recommended walkthrough (http://konoi-and-noir.tumblr.com/post/157285475522/soulset-ending-hints-and-guide) to get every route and possible ending. That will make sure you clear the game (: Ready to start your journey? Only you can solve this mystery before it's too late.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 24, 2017

  I love this kind of time loop/multiple route mystery visual novel, and SoulSet is an excellent example of the genre. The characters, their motivations, and their relationships are complex and nuanced, and [spoiler]the possible inconsistencies between alternate universes[/spoiler] just adds another layer to that. The first few playthroughs can be a bit frustrating, as the bad ends cut things off rather abruptly and the early choices don't have obvious effects, but I think the game's pretty fair about telling you what clues you have to find. I eventually looked at a walkthrough, and it took me about 11 hours to fully complete the game, so if you tough it out it might take you a bit longer. Once you actually manage to get on a character's neutral/true route, there are still a number of choices that lead to small dialogue and scene variations without locking you out of a good end [spoiler](for the most part)[/spoiler], which is good for replayability. It's also nice that you can avoid sex scenes [spoiler](again, for the most part)[/spoiler] without getting locked out of the romantic endings. And I really liked how there isn't one true end that neatly wraps everything up; they're all true in their own timeline and their own way. (That said, Shirr's true end is my canon ending.) I only have a few minor complaints. The writing was generally a joy to read, but could have used another edit for "non-native-speaker-isms." The sprite art is dynamic, expressive, and well-directed, so the handful of event CGs could have been left out entirely; they're a huge downgrade in style, and the difference is quite jarring. Some elements are glossed over that I wish had been explored in more depth, mainly [spoiler]Isshin's role, Mutik, the alternate universe Mariko, and what happens during the fade out for the end credits.[/spoiler] I also kind of wish this were an R18 game. The vague/implied sex scenes that do exist are focused on character dynamics rather than just generic fanservice, and I think giving the writer more freedom to go into detail would have only made them more interesting. Highly recommended for visual novel fans, even if you're not particularly into otome, and especially if you like games that require multiple playthroughs to piece together the whole story. Certainly well worth its price. ~ [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/31589634-Kimchi-Tea-Reviews/]Kimchi Tea Reviews[/url] ~
• gamedeal user

  Jun 14, 2020

  I really enjoyed this game! Pros: *Queer relationships, *Option to have true romantic endings without it being sexual, *Great replay value due to the mystery unravelling bit by bit in each route, *Interesting and engaging characters (I didn't mind Yvonne despite some of the reviews, and I thought Apris would be boring but he really wasn't!), Cons: *Predatory character where it's unclear if his predatory behaviour is fully frowned upon, *Mishandling of gender identity [spoiler]or gender non-conforming people[/spoiler], I think I know what they were going for but it was a huge disservice to the character and a let down honestly, *There is genuine sexual assault in this story and it's clearly not considered as r*pe by the MC or authors!! I was really disturbed as they labelled it abuse, but then the MC was like 'oh well the plus side is it helped give you sexual experience'... Like... seriously... wtf If they acknowledged the sexual assault as r*pe, and handled the one [spoiler]gender non-conforming character[/spoiler] better, it would have been way better.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 15, 2017

  31 hours it took to complete this lovely VN and I love every second of it. Each tread of the story interwine and into a beautiful story. This was a mix of dating sim and mystery. It was entertaining and kinda cheesy. What I love about this is that each link (arc) was like clues to uncover the true story. Even if you had to do every ending to get the "true ending"; I wanted to. Each character was had their own personality and you wanted to get to know their backstory. Which I Believe is the reason you want to reach each route. This VN is defitely the top VN and defitely recommend this to anyone.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 28, 2021

  Wow, I did not expect SoulSet to be as good as it was! I was so surprised that the story was interesting and kept me guessing constantly. The characters were very in-depth and I'm so glad most of my questions were answered the more I played through. Some of the endings were so satisfying, and the interactions between characters was entertaining! Beautiful artwork, fun story, lots of mystery. It took me about 20 hours to get through all endings. This may even be something I go back and play in a year or so - I enjoyed it that much. I definitely recommend this one!
• gamedeal user

  Jun 30, 2017

  A great visual novel. There have been visual novels that had me more emotionally invested, and there have been ones with greater romance and character growth. But there has never been a visual novel with quite this level of intrigue and mystery. The premise of the game is rather simple, and so is the solution for your predicament. You wake up in a mansion with almost all your memories missing, along with five other unfortunate souls. You are trapped by a barrier, and must find your way out while attempting to recover your memories, pairing up with one of the other five characers for each run. The problems start arising when you realise how little you know, and how little time you have to figure things out. You'll die over and over, but each run reveals another set of clues, and you must piece together the events and use this information to inch closer to the truth. Once you find it, naturally you're on your way to finding each character's true ending, unraveling one mystery after another. Oh, and once you get their true ending, you get to bang 'em, if you like. You deserve it. You'll probably die at least a dozen times for a single character. Although it's not as focused as a one-on-one romance game, SoulSet does a great job of making every character interesting and worth pursuing. Some times it's because you like the character themselves. Other times, you might just want to find out what role they play in the story so you can better pursue another. If you're looking for an excellent mystery-adventure with a spark of romance, do yourself a favor and purchase SoulSet. You won't come to regret it.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 6, 2021

  Wow um... I don't really know what to say without giving even a single thing away... Let's try this: If you like supernatural mysteries with some crazy stuffs involved... Then you may like this one. I just got the whole story complete and...... It depends on your point of view... Is it good or bad? Only you can be the judge. Everything fits well together and it's superbly well written. I wont pick a favorite character, because that isn't fair... As each had their own unique stuffs to add to the story. Oh yeah, this is an adult game, but you mostly use your imagination :D. (Alright fine... All hail "Mutik" the cat... That way he signed the document XD... My cat approves.) That's all you get. It's a mystery game, so you get a review that doesn't tell you anything about the game at all. Heh heh. Seriously though... THANK YOU! I don't think I'll ever forget the story nor the characters... :D :> =)