It’s just not enjoyable. I went through all the endings and enjoyed only about 20% of the game due to so many reasons. Easy knocks are the music, art, and character design. All three are well-done at first glance, but it is so sanitized and rounded at the edges that it lacks any true artistic expression.

This game grinded against me the entire time as the more I played it was clear that the author is unable to write dynamic characters and plots that are engaging and not contrived. Nikolai, and I try not to say this lightly, might be my least liked character I’ve ever seen in my life. Constantly and unapologetically horrible in all constants throughout all plotlines. Hypocritical, self-righteous, pompous, and with a massive superiority complex. In visual novels, words and actions are our weapons to battle the problems we face, and with Nikolai almost every action he takes or every word he says I felt to be unenjoyable. Written to be suave that falls so flatly, I was constantly confused by how the female characters even enjoyed conversing with our ‘hero’. Mentioning them, they are all mostly unenjoyable, with major flaws in the other endings that essentially character death them, and the way they converse feels like just another Nikolai talking to himself. In writing there is an idea if you create and understand your own characters enough, they will begin to make decisions on their own, I’m quite sure this rarely happened for the author as I was constantly disappointed throughout all the playthroughs by the way everyone was portrayed, lacking a strong identity beyond a nickname and a possible trait.

There is one exception, Ellie. I’m not kidding, playing through her storyline, all three endings feel completely different from the rest of the game. Like a Nikolai that is what the author wants him to be (or how he should be), Ellie is real, but with flaws and interests and cares and even gets Nikolai to improve and be a better person! Yes, she can be grating, but in a real way, like a rich girl, it feels authentic and meaningful, and very few plot points are contrived like the rest of the story. This showed me that there is something there, just it isn’t present through the rest of the plots.

The main overarching plot concerning THE PROJECT to me was just awful and I rarely enjoyed any execution of it within any playthrough, save for the bad endings which was merely for my pleasure of Nikolai getting what he deserved. It’s introduction in the story ultimately places a lot of the decision making out of the hands of our casts and into adults, who we’re unable to relate or gain a deeper understanding into. There could have been something here with this plot, but I don’t think the author is skilled enough to do so. Beyond THE PROJECT, there are constant issues with people just showing up for no reason just for a plot point that the author needs to happen, people withholding information just for the sake of it that is hard to determine why they even do it.

This VN needs a chainsaw taken to it, to cut out all the chaff and non-essentials. Every plot line drags on much too long. The author also clearly lacks any respect for the reader to take the tiniest grain of nuance from a scene and refuses to even spoon feed the viewer, instead opting to pipette the meaning of any scene directly into your mouth. Massive over explanations, frequent ramblings, annoying metaphors, pretentious references to literature, and side-tangents of extreme length that would make any substitute teacher blush. This is a prime example of ‘Less is more’ completely forgotten, and ‘Show, don’t tell’ not a concept within. Sorry to say that the author is not a philosopher or I just didn’t care to hear what he had to say in this VN.

The choices feel rough and most of the time largely ignored, Nikolai opting to do as he wishes. It feels constantly I’m unable to guide Nikolai into the right decisions, to help him grow or improve, instead just picking which way to direct the dumpster fire that’s rolling down a hill. Usually in VNs, the problems of the other girls get ignored when you choose one, but in this game, all the problems regularly get ignored for the sake of the plot, previous issues just disappearing when the story said it to. Frequently a decision would lead to a completely crazy event occurring that makes no sense when replaying the game over as it just lead to things happening for no reason. I wanted to enjoy the game, but this game is so full of hate and angst that it is like sucking on a spoiled lemon. I can under no circumstances recommend the game, except if you play no.1 girl Ellie route.