General Info:
Developer: [Circle Group] DottoruGames
Language: English
Progress: Complete (Finalized)
Type: 2D Gameplay ## Side-Scroller ## Adventure (Small), Simulation (Horror) ## Resource Management ## Horror ## Modern
Engine: Game Maker Studio
Fetishes: Femdom ## Male MC ## Monster & Undead Girls ## Foreplay (Slight), Sex ## Pussy & Breasts & Monstrous Fetish, Smell & Taste Fetish
Links: DLsite
Keeping at it with the 2nd post of pure Shock and Thrills. This game fits the Horror bill much better, as it has it as a main theme, and the entirety of the gameplay, well, plays into it. I'll most likely draw a lot of parallels between this game and FNAF, it's self explanatory why. Now, onwards and forwards! (something like that)
Review Contents (links to each part):
Review TL;DR:
All Scores:
================ Plot = 7
======== Story = 7
======== Characters = -
================ Gameplay = 5.75
======== Mechanics = 7.5
======== Complexity = 6.5
======== Uniqueness = 9
======== Replayability = 4
================ Scenes = 6.16
======== Visual = 7
======== Written = -
======== Interactivity = 5
======== Replayability = 6.5
================ Development = ----
================ Obtaining = 7
======== Price = 5
======== Methods = 9
================ FINAL SCORE = 6.47
QuickView
A small Horror-themed game about hiding in the worst place, the most nightmare-ish one: a school. Jokes aside, it has an interesting gameplay, has some inspirations from FNAF (about the time intervals at least), and nice pixel-animated H-scenes in-game. It is, however, a small game, can be clearly played fully in under an hour (unless you really mess up a lot of times), has 2 endings (although the split is only at the end, and one of them has one bonus h-scene), and there aren't a lot of H-scenes, either. While the mechanics are unique, and it has it's charm for the amount of time you'll play the game, not much of a reason to go back to it too many times. Its price also, in my opinion at least, is a bit high, considering the content gained in the end. Up to you if it's a promising enough concept to try out.
Full Review
Plot = 7
Story = 7
Quite simple premise, as a lot of Horror entertainment has. It's the trope of braving an abandoned building, a school this time around, at night, as peer-pressure shows its ugly side, once again. So many ways this type of "courage trial" can go wrong, without even involving the supernatural, from fearful homeless man, to crack dens chock-full of unstable people, maybe even with a side of underground illegal establishment, thrown in for some spice. Even just a pack of stray, rabid, dogs can be detrimental to the optimal continued growth of a child. Alright, I'll admit, mayyybe I have a pet peeve with this specific trope.... But still, "don't do at home" type of activity.
The Shota MC of this game committed one of the worst crimes against humanity: chronic timidity. His friends, ever helpful, come up with the solution: enter, in the dead of night, the abandoned school from nearby (every town&city has one, right? well, mine also has one....), and exit with "evidence" that he was there (so his friends were such pussies, they couldn't even wait him right outside of the school. I see...) Alone, with only a flashlight, and his deep regrets, to keep him company, possibly until he shits himself in utter fear and trauma, and possibly passes out like that. Much like all timid kids, he folds easily and does the dumb. One thing I'd like to add, I like the touch of using Undertale-style Intro cards. Makes it even funnier for me. Imagine Frisk being dared to climb the mountain. Heh.
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| Anon, would you also strip naked, just for a bit? You know, 'cuz it's funny. |
Once inside, Shota (his own friend refeered to him that way; either that's his official name, as a funny joke, or his friends is beyond a jackass) quickly gets a taste of the horrors, by being having to hide from a "mysterious someone" in the bathroom stall from nearby. He then finds Hanako there, and she's the one to propose to him the titular Tag game, of playing with her "friends" until 6 AM, when the shift en-- I mean, when the game's over, and he can return home safely (and deeply disturbed). Shota, clearly being the ideal Horror MC IQ level, asks the faithful question "But what if I fail?". You never ask that in those situations. Why jinx it like that?
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| ... He did ask, after all. |
Then the game starts. Since the game is pretty gameplay-focused, much like the popular indie series of jumpscare games, the only other story part comes right at the end, where, Spoilers (not really, not that relevant), you get a choice, that determines which of the 2 endings you get. So, will you stick around the ghosts, like the a good necrophile, or decide that, actually, you miss seeing the sun rise? You'll see on the visual of the title screen which of the 2 endings you got already.
Pretty simple premise, nothing out there, but it's quite fine for the game. It just works.
Characters = -
Well, apart from feeling sad for how hated by God and Fate the MC is, not much to say about him. Pretty blank slate. Nobody else of not, not even Hanako the ghost girl (well, aren't most of them ghost or undead either way?)
Gameplay = 5.75
Mechanics = 7.5
Pretty straight-forward to explain, but there is a bit to unpack. Much like in the last game reviewed (and much like actual Tag), you don't fight. You just hide. You move around the school, which has the Ground Floor and 2 other Floors, in search of items and in hiding of anything that has (or had, when alive) 2 X chromosomes. You can move around, or run, which uses up Stamina that recharges slowly when not in active use. You can also interact with hiding spots, with shiny objects or with doors/stairs. For all interactions, you need to Hold the Interact button for a bit (the time needed will show on the screen each time). You have a flashlight, with battery levels, and you can toggle it on or off. While it is off, not only is everything generally darker (duh), but interactions also take longer to finish. A strategic way to generally use the flashlight (and preserve the battery) is to flash it only during Interactions. You can also collect consumables, although you can only hold 2 at a time (and will have to switch between the active consumable and the reserve one). Consumables include Milk (refilling one heart), water (refilling stamina; I didn't use it often), ZA WARUDO / Touhou-Sakuya time pocket watch (guess what it does), a portable one-time hiding box (Snake? SNAAAAAAAAKE), charm/talisman thingie (you know of Jiangshi, right?), fresh batteries to refill the Flashlight, and I think that's all. You will also collect, from time to time, small notes, each one telling you a small clue about how to evade/prevent one of the Supernatural girls (that's how I decided to name them as a group). The notes will remain on the meta-save, so you'll only collect them once between all saves, and you'll only find the notes of the current Supernatural girls that can appear at that time.
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| In-game UI, outside and inside the menu |
On the enemy side, you've got a variety of girls. Each of them behaves differently, from simply running after you on sight, to moving while not looking directly at them, to being stationary traps, and lots more. That's why you would use the notes to have an idea of how to avoid each, at least without getting Grabbed by each first. When one of the Grabs you, you get their specific H-scene, and lose one of your three hearts. They can be replenished, but if you lose all of them you lose for good (which is bad).
The game itself is split into "levels" of sorts. The night actually starts at 1 AM, and goes, of course, at about a x12 speed, meaning that a minute in-game passes each 5 seconds IRL, and each hour will take about 5 IRL minutes (of course, if you don't lose in the meanwhile). Each separate hour can be treated as its own "level", as each hour passed is shown clearly in-game, all item spots are replenished (and all items generally spawn in the same areas), and all current supernatural girls are reset (so, if you are being pursued by the :59 of an hour, the turning of the new hour will stop that pursuit). Each hour, different girls are "active", meaning that, early game, you get the easier ones, like the Picture Lady, and later, you'll get more difficult ones, and in more complex combinations. If, at any point, you lose, the hours also work as checkpoints, so you'll restart at the last sharp hour you reached.
You can also generally "Peek", using the Peek button (its Tab by default), which shows you the girl that is currently in room with you (or one of them, in case of multiple). Useful to gather some information, although you also have the auditory cues to consider. Also, while you can hide in plenty of spots, much like in most horror games, if you hide while being pursued in the same room, it won't really work (you'll have to juke the enemy around rooms until you get to hide before the enemy follows you into the room). And yes, enemies will pursue you between rooms. Hiding spots shouldn't be abused that much, considering how many of the enemies can simply grab you regardless (since their individual rules work differently).
That's about it for the mechanics. Pretty easy to understand once you get to play for a bit. The mechanics are pretty polished, all things considered, and work well in keeping the horror vibe going. Personal opinion, I like this game a lot more over the early FNAF games. Can't say about all of them, as the more recent ones really went far away from the initial format, and are First Person Shooters by this point.
Complexity = 6.5
I might have given the impression the game might be a bit daunting, describing each individual mechanic (I'm kind of a nut about breaking down the workings of games), but it's not that hard to play the game itself. As a general strategy, you have to keep moving, making sure to cover most of the school area per each hour (to make sure you get around each item spot before they are restocked, and see which you hoard and which you leave for later), remember general item areas (I'd suggest, for example, learning where the Milk bottles spawn, so that you know where to go to refill on health), not abuse the Sprint, and remember the mechanics of the current supernatural girls threatening you, especially if those rules span the entire school (as it will happen with later girls). Having played both this and the original FNAF (since that's the only one I had half an interest in playing, and even then, only as a challenge while Screen Sharing with my friends), I'd still say FNAF would be the harder, and less forgiving one, although that's to be expected, since, in this game, you actually get 3 lives (that you can also refill) instead of one-mistake-loss. Also, since, in a hentai game, you'd at least want to fap a bit more than have a hard time playing (usually).
The game is just one night, so relatively short in size. If you'd be to play 100% perfect in one go (and not accounting for the usage of the Time Stop Watch, which stops time for 1 minute in-game or 5 seconds IRL for each use), you'd finish it in around 25 minutes + the transitions, so about half an hour. Overall, not extremely hard to get around to play and finish, and you have the leeway to enjoy some of the hotter ghosts while still aiming to win.
Uniqueness = 9
I have to appreciate here the dedication to the horror aspect. Even as simple as the game looks, it accomplishes to make the spooky atmosphere, without the abuse of jumpscares. In fact, it reminds me of the Horror RPG Maker games that relied more on atmosphere and psychological horror than simply trying to get you with a cheap scare. And there aren't many games like this one, to be honest.
Replayability = 4
There is a bit of reason to replay the game, much like how you'd like to replay a general run-based Horror game. However, there isn't that much of variation to the game itself, and once you get a hang of it (and get both Endings of the game), there isn't really a push to replay it. You could try to challenge and handicap yourself, but that's what you can do with any game, either way.
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| Title screen with both endings done. Guess which one I got first |
Scenes = 6.16
Visual = 7
Good quality to be seen in the Scenes. They are all pixel animations as results of Grabs, and sadly, there aren't that many of them. Still, they are pretty well-made. Also, I know already a concern of yours (clearly this is not a forced segway into my next point): "Ain't it a tad bit dark to properly enjoy those H-Scenes?". Have no fear! There's "Coward mode" that you can enable in the Options menu, and for the low price of your self-esteem, you get the darkness effects removed! That's all that it does, it's not an "easy mode", just deals with the darkness. Game mechanics still stay the same, as well (you still use flashlight to speed up Interactions etc.). Good addition, considering how the darkness plays well into the horror atmosphere, but less well in actually seeing those sweet scenes we so crave for. The animations are a bit short though.
Written = -
Apart from pretty rare teases from like 1-2 ghost girls before attacking, nothing else, really. You get those cool SFX writing, like in the mangas! That has to count for something, right?
Interactibility = 5
Grabs are instantaneous, once the conditions are fulfilled. You only get to refill your hearts later. Not much else, so it's pretty low in the interactions department, except, of course, your ability to either avoid, or seek, such Grabs.
Replayability = 6.5
The good new is that there is a Gallery in the Main Menu! (unlocked after getting to the end of the game the first time). The bad news.... as said previously, few scenes to see. Each enemy gets only 1, save for Hanako, who's lucky and gets 3 instead. And considering the shortness of the animations themselves, not really a lot to see, even with the ease of access provided by the Gallery.
Development = -
One thing I can say is that, between the release of the Demo and the Full Game, there really was a short time. Which makes sense, since the game itself, all things considered, is on the shorter side. At least they did not keep us waiting!
Obtaining = 7
Price = 5
Sitting at 880 JPY or $5.91 USD on DLsite, I'd say its a bit high of a price considering the size of the game. It's clearly a smaller game, and it doesn't have that many H-scenes, either. Either find some good Coupon, or don't really go for it, unless you think it's enough of a small price for you. Still, plenty other games of similar prices have more to offer.
Methods = 9
DLsite only, but it's still a popular place, so it works just fine.
FINAL SCORE = 6.47
In all honesty, it's not really a bad game. It has an unique gameplay take, kind of horror-y, small, and detailed pixel animation (I'm also personally biased towards pixel animations. Plenty of awesome games have 'em). Sadly, it is, after all, quite small in terms of content, especially the horny stuff, and considering the normal price of it, can't say I would really recommend it casually, unless you want to try something a bit different for a change and you don't mind the price for it.
Saves
As always, a Full Save with both endings gotten (the one I got legit was the left one, for posterity) and Gallery unlocked.
Cheat Table
We got a bit to talk here. First, the original Table was not mine, but it was from a Forum. Link to the original post is left in the "Other's Files" section down bellow. I then kept all that his Table had, and added my own General Table's features that I have used so far (the Auto-hook and Manual hook functions, and the Extended Speedhack hotkeys). I'll make it clear, I simply added those functions in the Lua code, the blunt of the work for that Table was already done by Mark195 on the Cheat Engine forum. In fact, I still got some things to learn about making Cheat Tables, myself (I hadn't used AOB scans that much so far; also some other neat features that I might pick up in my next Cheat Tables). I also notified him of me making a modified version of his table, and if he does not agree with this idea and tells me so, I will remove it from the files. Now, I'll continue by explainining what his Table offers, although it's pretty self-explainatory.
First, to properly start it, you have to be in the game itself already. Then, you Check the entry that says "Activate me first! (Takes 5 sec)" (the last blue entry). That's how the Table essentially finds the current addresses for the variables. After a bit of loading, the values will initialize (you can test by checking their values become the expectable ones, like ~100 for Stamina). If you re-open the game (or go to Main Menu and re-enter the game), you might need to Uncheck and Recheck that box, since some of the Addresses will change.
The Table has the Values for Life (the Hearts), Stamina, Flashlight (the charge and if it's On/Off), the Item slots and the current Time. The creator also made the main options that are selectable for each easy to pick from a dropdown list (ex: for the items, instead of leaving the number codes, you get to choose between the actual item names). If you wish, you can re-enable the option to manual-input the value of those variables. Which I did, to test out a bit of siliness. Results can vary.
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| Disclaimer: normally, you don't increase the max health. Or survive having 0 life. |
For the curious, that's the only max you can force to be higher. The stamina simply reverts to the normal, and the Flashlight battery, if set above the max, will actually become empty instead.
For a bit of a caveat, at the time options, the table's creator actually left the option for "6 AM" as well, even though, in the normal game, you'd already have won the game at that time. Truthfully, you can set the clock (the hour, that is) to any number, but you'll only get the last 2 digits (the others probably go off-screen), unless you go over 10 digits, at which point it seems to give a bit different values. Alas, not really relevant for the game. More importantly, even if you change the time, the soft "level" you currently are one won't change. That is, if you were at 1 AM, that would be the 1st "level", and thus, you'll only get the enemies that would normally spawn on "level" 1, despite what you set the Hour to. The game actually tracks the soft "level" independently of the Time value. However, it's not useless to set the time, as any time the clock hits a new sharp hour that is 6 or above, will finish the game (you cannot instantly win; you'll have to wait at least an hour's passing, even if you set the hour to something like "44444444").
Apart from that, the Creator seems to have tried to hack the value of the Current Location, but currently, it does not work. I tried to fix it a bit myself, by freshly learning about AOB scans and whatnot, but truthfully, could not do it. Well, not that relevant to change the locations when you can change all the other values, so it's all good even like this.
Other's Files
Here's the original post with the Table. This occasion motivated me to learn even further about Cheat Engine's functionalities. We'll see in the future how much that helps me....
2 down, one more to go. I'll admit, it's now taking a bit more than that promised week time for this 3 posts, but in my defence.... I genuinely broke my glasses this week. Currently, the frame is held due to a semi-clever improv from me. Dumb stuff, totally my fault either way, but that was one thing out of the ordinary to take a wrench and anally fuck me with it. Still, we'll keep going strong!
Meta_Review,Meta_Files,
MetaFiles_Cheats,MetaFiles_Saves,
Developer_CircleGroup,
Language_English,
Progress_Complete,
TypeGame_2DGameplay,
TypeLookGenre_SideScroller,
TypeGenre_Adventure,TypeGenre_Simulation,
TypeSubGenre_ResourceManagement,
TypeSetting_Modern,
Engine_GameMakerStudio,
StyleAnim_2DPixelAnimation,
StyleView_2DView,StyleMiscView_Censored,
FetishMain_Femdom,
FetishMC_MaleMC,
FetishChars_MonsterGirls,FetishChars_UndeadGirls,
FetishSex_Foreplay,FetishSex_Sex,
FetishFocus_Pussy,FetishFocus_Breasts,FetishFocus_Monstrous,
Links_DLsite,
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