Fool Me Once

This story has really captivated me. 

Your writing is absolutely beautiful without being overly descriptive (I get easily frustrated when I have to read a page long description about the environment XD). The setting and rules of this world were also easily digested. It feels very natural, unlike some stories I've read where I have to read an encyclopedia article before I can move on with the story.

The whole time I was reading I was so tensed up! You've truly managed to create a foreboding atmosphere and extremely interesting characters. I love them all, also I am suspicious of every single person I come across :(. I don't know why but that fork-tongue demon slithered his way into my heart, I hate him (I love him).

All the choices you can make in the game also feel impactful, even if they tie back into the main story. It makes each playthrough feel different. I have checked out your other games too and they all definitely feel unique to your brand, even if they deal with different subjects. Anyways, sorry for rambling. I just want to say that I'll happily read/play anything you create because it's just that good! 

The gothic style of this particular story is perfect for me which is why it's my favourite. I am eagerly looking forward to whenever you are done with it. I'll be more than happy to pay for this quality product. Thank you PDRRook!

Hello I know this is a strange question to ask here but didn't know where else. I remember once on your tumblr you had a recommendation list for text based games. There was a category for each one as well and showed which were completed. I coudn't find it again, I was wondering if you could direct me to this list?

Btw I love this game, can't wait for more

This is amazing, oh my gosh. I love interactive games, and recently got back into playing them, this my first comment. I’d love to see more and eventually play the full game!

i came for mirren then became so obsessed with rez this man will literally be the death of me 

This was so good it actually made me write my first ever comment on itch. Loved the atmosphere (it has a gothic feel to it, my favorite genre), the music, the characters (their personalities are so diverse but I actually managed to love them all! wow!) I actually gaped at the cliffhanger, i'm sooo excited to read more and cannot wait! Will definitely buy it as soon as you release it:) My favorites (as of now) are definitely rez and mal<3 Keep up the good work!!

I just got my paycheck so be prepared because as SOON as this comes out  my money is yours!!!!!!!

Hey author,

I enjoyed you game and will likely buy it once it's finished. But I really have to tell you about an issue I had with the game:

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS:

When I started out, I got really frustrated that absolutely nothing about the world was explained. There was talk about the Overshadow, essence, ghosts - and it was not explained for a long time what those are. It sometimes felt more like a weird fever dream than a story. I was searching, if it was book two or got an explanation in the menu or it it's maybe an established universe that doesn't need explanation. Everything got explained eventually but much too late in the story. If you were going for "I don't explain anything and the reader should discover it themselves" unfortunately that didn't work out for me. This works best if the MC doesn't know as well, but here the MC has always been part of the world and knows what's going on, just the reader is kept in the dark. I will give you some points about what information would have been nice to have earlier (because I know as the author you know this and may lose focus about how it is for readers that know nothing):

• What is the Overshadow? It gets explained when you are in the void (I think), which is much too late. I was asking myself if it's a fancy word for the Underworld and if all dead go there. But then why are there humans? How can a king sent troops there? Since it's a more abstract concept than Underworld, it needs explanation early on.
• Essence/Chaos: I didn't have any idea for a long time what those are. The only explanation you get early about essence it locked behind the choice to make light in your room. I didn't do that the first playthrough. Than you get some when talking to Lotár about him wanting essence and that he has Chaos, but you have essece on mass. I still didn't know what those mean and was more confused than enlightened.
• Ghosts. For me it was not clear for a long time that MC is a ghost. It did get mentioned that they died a first time. But really, that could mean anything. Did someone bring them back? Are they a zombie, did time get reversed, whatever. What does it mean to be a ghost, what does it look like? Are they shine-through? How can people instantly tell that you are a ghost?
• Summoner: You get early on that MC is a summoner, but only later what that means. Also that you are and why you are special got explained later, but this is the leas issue for me.

I think a Glossary with explanation of those points would be enough to make the story much clearer. Or maybe in in-game explanation that is not only available with certain choices. Once you know what's going on, it's much easier to enjoy the game.

That said, I enjoyed the characters and played it with 3 different ROs so far. I hope to get more and looking forward for the whole thing.

can't wait for more.

i thirst for more......... 

I'm so in love with the world and characters!! Can't wait to see more <3

first i just want to say that i love your story! i have a question though, the choice to explore the market with Saltire, is that a romantic choice and that's why i've gotten locked out of it or is it just another choice i made that's blocked it?

I literally love the story so much. It's realistic in terms of how people can be suspicious of one another. It's beautiful storytelling.  Love it! ❤️

I miss this...

not me seeing rez, going 'oH YEAH that's the one!' and then :') ah ha ha!!!! AHHHHHH AHAHAHAHAH!!!!!! How many chapters will this end up being (cough, how much space is this going to occupy in my brain)??

Ohh, this is right up my alley 💛 The story, the charaters and the writing itself. I usually play IF on mute, because the sound distracts me from reading at times, but your BGM choice fits so well I can't possibly turn it off.

romance with Mastravisch when

Mal owns my heart and soul. I'd sacrifice the world for him.

Such an interesting and unique concept to approach with IF, tysm for taking the time to create this and I am excited to play more. 

wanted to leave a comment. but saw this game when searching for more IF games and honestly as first I didn't download it when first spotting it, though saved it in my library. though once fallen into a pleasant addiction for IF games, I stumbled upon here once more. I was getting curious and the comment by mshen19 with their spoiler really drove me over to downloading the demo. and I fell in love with the story, the summoner and the cast.  there was a bit of confusion when looking at the relations though that was cleared later when seeing color indicating which path I was going down [it really caught me off guard before being distracted by said pretty colors] 

I started with Saltire's route which mostly driven by the spoiler comment. and by golly was he such an innocent bean during his route. and then after him I went for Rez next. and dear lord above that man can just sweep me off my feet any day. I don't even care of the betrayal, from what my memory hopefully recalls right, for the memories had with him just hits me right in the heart. first the flower, and then the other memory with his reaction to the summoner being injured? I was confused when getting carried off before realizing the intentions and my heart broke.  even with his tough appearance, he, in my eyes, is a soft squishy bean to the summoner when on his path. first gotta just crawl further in to see it.

I went to Mirren next because made sense. and agree with mshen19 about there being more angst when coming to this man. that and I felt so attuned to the summoner's feelings when doing his path [and the memories] and when being fed by him I was mentally flipping a table for the summoner. while I am not the greatest at picturing things mentally due to aphantasia, but the emotions were strong enough to push through to get an idea. 

the only routes I have not gone down yet is the snake and coyote route. I am intrigued and likely will go down them eventually. 

can't lie felt bit sad with the interactions being feeling few in the first chapter, though the flashbacks for ROs push the sorrow aside with getting me excited for what you may have planned for each route. also slowed my own playthrough as I had to minimize the screen so I could glance back at the character art before melting at the radiating good looks of the cast. 

I am looking forward to when the full game comes out whenever it does. I have a feeling I'll give to temptations and crawl over to your patreon if my wallet looks healthy so that I may support you and feed into seeing updates. 

This is an interesting concept. Admittedly I'm not fond of anything super dark and/or involving other wordly horror or demonic things, but I wasn't to give this a shot because I recently played Perfumare and I loved it. I will definitely update as I have gotten farther into he story, but so far I am just enjoying your talent for storytelling! 

(Side note: How did you come up with the names of your characters?)

DELIGHTFUL

THIS IS SO GOOD AHHHHH

--spoilers below--

(I'm going to refer to all RO with he/him pronouns to decrease confusion when talking about them in concurrence with the protag)

You do such an amazing job at immersion. When the protag was stuck in Mastravisch's castle, I didn't realize the genuine anxiety I felt until they got freed from his oath by falling into the void and meeting Saltire and Mal. While there are more friendly characters in that castle like Rez and her old mentor, the feeling of Mastravisch's persisting oppression stays.

Speaking about Mastravisch, why am I lowkey simping for that tyrant...

I just KNOW Ren's route is going to have hella angst. The way he was getting pissed off from what Rez tells him when you're on Rez's route?? Also the way he kind of forces caretaking by feeding the protag and then wiping her mouth off to the point where he is distracted enough to not answer Mastravisch's summon immediately. I am ready for that delicious angst.

Rez is soooo football player coded (if that makes sense lol) but in the most violent way possible. The relationship between him and his men is so endearing! And when he embroiders a flower for the protag?? My heart melted. Because two of his traits are "brutally honest" and "loyal," I am super curious about why he betrayed the protag. It can't be for Mastravisch, since the tyrant needs the protag's barrier skills and Rez hates that guy anyway.

When Lotár hides the protag's view from the hanged bodies if you have the altruistic trait, whew! He's a suspicious liar but at least he's open about that. DUDE WHEN THE PROTAG PULLS HIS HAIR?? hhholy shit. UGHHH I LOVEEEE

I really enjoy the dynamic between Saltire and Mal! When I peeked at their alignments I thought they wouldn't get along at all, but now they "fight" like siblings LMAO. And speaking about Mal, I didn't think I'd like him so much?? And the history between him and the protag back when they weren't a ghost is HNNNNN no wonder he's so attuned to them! Replaying after knowing this changes so much

Saltire is so kind, which is why I played his route first. He's such a breath of fresh air compared to the guys at the castle. He has the funniest reactions to "unpure" things! And tell me why his oath to the protag sounds like wedding vows. I was twirling my hair and kicking my legs LMAO

In conclusion to my rambling: I am so in love with this story. And isn't even going into the amazing worldbuilding!

Why do I like Mal so much, they're so evil? What have you done to me? /j

I adore this game <3 But I noticed some of the choices are blocked- how do I choose the "romantic" option in the bathtub scene with Malitiose?  All of the flirty responses are blocked for Lotar as well.  Pls help!!

Love the game, the writing's amazing! One thing I've noticed is that choosing the "romantic" choice during the bath scene with Malitiose sets his route, but also deletes a huge chunk of his accumulated relationship stat. Is that intentional? Thank you so much.

The stat changes in chapter 2 confuses me. Sometimes, a choice that should raise my high stats lowers them instead, or does nothing at all.

Can't wait to play the full game!!!!! Love it ;D

Also... ... steam version, plzzzz?