評論

• gamedeal user

  Apr 1, 2022

  An emotional dive into the feelings behind game creators. Equal parts moving and funny, it resonated strongly with me as well as made me laugh out loud multiple times. Make sure to look at the Royaume Heven website after finishing the game! EDIT: Some things I belatedly thought to mention: -The content warnings are there for a reason so please take care of yourself reading this. It may look like a fun April Fool's game, but in true Fata Morgana fashion it gets very dark. This is why I suggest reading the website after the game, so you have something light to look at after such a harrowing journey! -The translation has quite a lot of issues. While overall it's well done, it doesn't look like it's been QC'd at all, and some translations read close to Google Translate. It's pretty disappointing, but still readable in my opinion. I guess, just don't go into this expecting a translation as good as the original game.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 1, 2022

  Went into this expecting a neat, fun little story with some decent writing and comedy and was subsequently blown out of the water. Although it's not connected with The House in Fata Morgana in terms of plot, it definitely benefits from you having played that game (as well as spoils some sprites which could potentially spoil some bigger details in Fata Morgana), so I definitely recommend it to fans Fata Morgana. Took me about 3-4 hours to fully complete, but honestly I think the price is reasonable given how good it was. Also, if it's not too late, avoid reading any info on the game page. It won't totally ruin it but there's definitely a lot of things that are better experienced blind that the summary spoils.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 2, 2022

  I was pleasantly surprised by this game. I went into Seventh Lair expecting a fun little parody game similar to the 2015 April Fool’s project released by this studio, but I became more invested in the narrative than I could ever have imagined. In just a few hours, I think this game managed to capture the ‘magic’ that made The House In Fata Morgana so impactful. Seventh Lair tells an incredibly engaging story that is distinct from its predecessor, yet also builds upon and subverts the reader’s pre-existing knowledge of these characters to convey a powerful message. If you have not played The House In Fata Morgana, I believe you can still understand and enjoy this game on a basic level. This game is set in an alternate universe that features many characters from Fata Morgana, but since this is not a continuation of the original game, you can technically jump right in without any more knowledge than that. However, to get the most out of it, I would strongly recommend playing Fata Morgana first. Some plot details and references would probably seem pretty sudden and confusing without the prior knowledge of these characters that you gain from The House In Fata Morgana. Playing this game before Fata Morgana would also inevitably spoil some aspects of the original game, so please do yourself a favor and play the original first. This VN is definitely on the shorter side (4-5 hours) and reuses the sprites from Fata Morgana with only a few pieces of new character artwork, but I think it’s well-worth the price. On top of the story, there’s an all-new soundtrack with some truly gorgeous pieces. One final thing I must emphasize: please heed the content warnings seriously. Despite its release on April 1st, Seventh Lair does address some very serious, graphic, and potentially triggering topics in a raw, realistic, and unfiltered way. I went more in-depth into this in my Fata Morgana review, but I have to say it again here: this isn’t a game for everyone, as despite the preview images, it is not entirely a lighthearted or ‘feel-good’ experience. Despite this, Seventh Lair really resonated with me, so I would enthusiastically recommend it to fans of Fata Morgana, and hesitantly recommend it to those unfamiliar with the original. (But really, play Fata Morgana too. It’s well worth your time.)
• gamedeal user

  Apr 2, 2022

  It actually hurts to not recommend a piece of Fata content. I love the series to absolute death, and while I wasn't initially too excited, the tweets by the creator, Keika Hanada managed to do it. They were saying how this story deals with sensitive topics even more so than the original Fata, and this piqued my interest. The problem is, the second I first started this game in English, I knew immediately that I would have to read it in Japanese. This is [i]the[/i] worst translation I've ever had the displeasure of reading. Characters sound unbelievably robotic, both narration and dialogue are incredibly stilted, there are grammar and spelling mistakes ALL over the place... It genuinely feels like this was not edited at all. Here's a quick example since Steam doesn't allow images: Michel: "You've been going a little too far with those jabs...! ...My girlfriend... I have someone special!" Nellie: "Ayuh." And I have countless more where that came from, all of which I can post if people need them. I am both astounded and incredibly disappointed that a game from my favorite series of all time received such utter mistreatment. The original Fata Morgana has [i]the[/i] best translation I've ever read, and Requiem isn't far behind. Reincarnation had a few more issues, but it was still quite good and definitely above average. But now, with Seventh Lair, we've dove aaaaaall the way down into the seventh circle of Hell. As for the story itself, the contents range from "not my thing" to quite powerful, actually. I was impressed at how some of the reveals and beats were handled, and while it's still the weakest piece of "Fata" content, it still is worth a read. ...If you can read Japanese, that is. I [i]cannot[/i] recommend reading this in English until some kind of fix is put forth, but knowing how this industry typically operates, that's not going to happen. Fata Morgana deserves better, and so do you.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 2, 2022

  had me ugly crying at 4 in the morning, 10/10
• gamedeal user

  Apr 2, 2022

  I come to laugh, and I left with depression. As a game developer myself, i felt a resonate with Michel and this inspires me to keep creating the games I'd love to make.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 7, 2022

  An ABSOLUTE BRILLIANT MASTERPIECE. And a HEAVENLY SOUNDTRACK to boot.
• gamedeal user

  May 10, 2022

  It was okay for a spinoff. Don't expect too much. Do not play this if you haven't played Fata Morgana at all. Please play that one first. But if you want more Fata Morgana content, this is skippable. It was fun seeing the original cast back in action, especially Michel and Jacopo! But the story was clunky at times, with many important plot points introduced way too late. The writing of this game made it feel more like a personal project, all the characters less like real individuals and more like caricatures the author used as their mouthpiece to get their thoughts across. Wasn't really feeling the twist at the end... Maybe the high quality of Fata Morgana and Requiem of Innocence just spoiled me, though. It didn't help that the English localization was unpolished. It was riddled with typos, unnatural phrasing, and sentences that were plain difficult to understand. There are many times you can tell what the original Japanese sentences were and didn't bother to get creative with how to write it. The text also keeps switching between Pauline and Pauleen. Did the localization team not have a style guide? Were they working with a tight deadline? Whatever the case may be, seeing this game's lackluster localization quality after Fata Morgana didn't do it any favors. I'll play it again in Japanese and see if my opinion on the story changes. Music is great as usual, but it feels like a bit of a waste to hear it on this game... If anything, the author put a lot of heart into this story. If you're interested in reading more about the feelings of a content creator, or some mild takes on [spoiler]suicide, depression, mental illness[/spoiler], go ahead and play on. I love Novect! This just wasn't their best work. Eagerly waiting for their next game.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 7, 2022

  Is it perfect? No. Is it a heartfelt look into the relationships you form on the internet? Absolutely. It's messy art from a person desperately trying to put something out into the world.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 11, 2022

  "dear seventh lair you made me cry"