#so much more tempting to read other VNs where i'm like. just reading normally. and not also trying to keep track of a plot spanning mult ye

[vynegar]

14% of the way through....

[grandvoyant]

Alright, I'm going to be normal for a second about a creator I've come to love in the past few days.

Lu is not someone I know much about, a furry artist on twitter (https://twitter.com/kawaiishinitai) with some small games released on Steam (https://t.co/3q5RU4wCwk). I don't know their gender, age, etc, but I have been playing their games because of a small review on their game HOLEHOLE.

HOLEHOLE is a very sweet game and I will spoil none of it other than the fact that it isn't pornographic despite that name and the big-titty mousegirl on the cover. It is just incredibly surprising for what it is.

I just played PRIPRI, the game I probably like the least of the three I've played thus far, and still really enjoyed it and had a lot to think about. Spoilers for PRIPRI ahead:

PRIPRI is a small game where you play as a prison guard who can speak to three girls: I, S, and K. The gameplay is simple, you just walk up to a room each day and then pick from a menu who you wish to speak to. Nothing at all besides that. I can tell that this game was used to learn camera work in whatever development program they have been learning, because the camera actually moves independently of the player this time, and it blends the usual first person style with VN-style talking segments.

I is a girl who likes music and short stories. I likes music seemingly because she can predict it: she has an ability to see the future, and can tell you exactly when to turn on the radio to hear the song she wants. She only asks for the radio when it is playing what she wants to hear. She likes to spend time reading books, but she doesn't read the last page: she feels lonely after endings. Likely, this is because of her ability, but we will get back to that. She predicts two endings for you that will lead to an escape, and using K, projects them into your head. K's end shows a wedding, and gore. S's end shows the promise of nudity and joy that comes with someone bursting down your door.

S, or SMILE, is a girl who explains how she has had all her limbs chopped off during different times being imprisoned. All she wants to do is enjoy life, but even escaping prison in a thing she feels might only be temporary. Living an exciting life, with someone she cares about, is enough. She has a telekinetic ability (to move fridges?), and enjoys sweets. She is short sighted and knows it and doesn't mind it. I think there's something to her being both limbless and having the ability to move things. She can move forces beyond herself, but needs physically carried by the player to go anywhere. S ends up escaping with you, tempting you but seemingly sticking around and saving you with her fridge powers. Her ending is about going somewhere far away together. Always running from the law, but enjoying it while you can, like the sweets she loves.

K is a girl who can project and perhaps create imagery. She's created many things that seem dangerous in a way she doesn't fully intend, and has gathered people she doesn't intend to. There's a trauma behind her power that has led her to twist things towards the negative. At one point, she creates the prison yard for you two to move around in, as she is tied up even more than the other prisoners and has no ability to do anything at all. During this short segment, she realizes there's no reason to create the fences, even though it is accurate. There's no need to create a world that reflects the real and painful world she exists in: so she stops doing that. Her escape with you is one that is twisted, violent, and strange, like her, but it ends with happiness.

Now, back to I: If you choose to go with her first, nothing happens. She predicts you'll die when the escape is triggered. There's nothing you can do about that. Nothing you can change about that. Go with her again at the end, however, and the other two escape, and you are saved from the fated barrage of bullets. She reveals to you that the first route with her was a prediction, one she showed you using K's ability to project images into people. And now, being hardworking, you've managed another ending. You've made her happy, allowed her to bathe in a hot spring. She admits her love for you, her hardworker with good timing. I think the game is about this, about not being afraid of what will come because of your own limitations. You can make something a little twisted, a little limited in some ways, but you can use your unique abilities to create something, and you shouldn't fear the end product.

Its beautiful! All of this text I typed about what happens assigns a lot of meaning to it, but the game never outright tells you much. No one's inner thoughts are on display for you. I played for 48 minutes for a total of four playthroughs. That's...so little time for the amount of information here. It uses the format of a game with routes to create a larger story by the time you reach the last one. It clearly has programming issues, but it doesn't really matter. I think these games are a strong case for making something no matter your skill level. Passion and fun come through first. When making art, skill is one thing, but no one can create something with your personal flavor besides yourself.