Deluge: Threnody of Crashing Waves

This visual novel was really unique. I loved the slow burn of the Lovecraftian genre, and after the 2h mark, it was a ride til the end. I've only completed Rika's ending, but her ending fits her narrative as she descends into madness. I thought the story was good, and it didn't make sense at first, but you really have to understand well what it is trying to convey. There are a lot of historical and biblical references that I thought were good, but sometimes they were too much and just confusing. But a flaw for me is the MC. The character we played felt like a side character, more of a bystander than an MC. But other than that, the story, the visuals, and the pacing were superb, and I can't wait to indulge in the other series as this is my first. Solid 7/10.

---MINOR SPOLIERS---- tldr; Overall a pretty solid VN and is for sure worth checking out =====Story======== Story wise I love the vision for it, although the execution could've been a bit better for some parts imo, but it's not bad by any means. I think the lovecraftian horror element was executed pretty well, there were a couple parts that even gave me some chills (mainly pertaining to the more in-depth lore of the creature and the events in the endings). ========CHARACTERS/ENDINGS========== I got the Rika ending first, and I certainly wasn't expecting THAT. I actually had a weird feeling when Rika was introduced that she was gonna manipulate me or something but I didn't expect her character to go where it did. The way religion ties into her character made everything a lot more interesting, especially when Ina's route expands on it further. Rika's character is the most impactful in the story for sure, her presence can be felt during the other routes even when she's not around once you witness her final scene. A great character for sure and seems to (understandably) be the fan favorite lol. Mei's ending was the next I ended up getting. I was intrigued by her the most at the be…

Yeah, this VN sucks. The game feels like it's set in a town of only, like, 4 people. The girls all love to drop info dumps. It's most of their characterization, really. Why do they all act like they're 30 years old? As for Ina's route, [spoiler]how did Rika manage to get off so easily? She should be in jail for terrorism. Or a vigilante would've taken her out. But everyone is cool with having her around like nothing happened[/spoiler]. So stupid. The worldbuilding amounts to absolutely nothing. A bunch of political factions and religious stuff is mentioned. None of it matters. Why did the dev bother with all those info dumps, anyway? The MC is also a complete loser. Kinda wish the fool would die heroically at the end so we readers could be rid of him. He deserves nothing less for being a talking head. And what about that Lovecraftian stuff? There isn't any. Sure, it's teased a bit. But no. This game is completely devoid of Lovecraftian narratives. The closest this game gets to Lovecraft is Deliverance (1972). The game is a complete waste of time. And definitely don't waste your hard earned money on the pathetic DLC, which only lasts maybe 10 minutes, tops.

For a free, seven to eight hour VN, it isn't bad: but is especially isn't anything to write home about. The standard for free VN's especially seems to be astronomically high, and a lot of the poor reviews stem from a lack of perspective when writing and analyzing these types of games. Deluge is a short VN you can finish in a day and pick up whenever, which inherently means it isn't going to be anything special. The game's art is beautiful, there's no debate about that I would imagine. Everything is beautifully drawn and the sprites were surprisingly well-done especially considering the status of this kind of game. A lot of the horror elements were okay during the earlier parts. The entire story is very unique and very interesting, which is mostly what kept me engaged. Rika's route is by far my favorite and her character was the strongest in my opinion, but that isn't a high bar to cross. Unfortunately, for me, that's mostly where the positives of this VN end. Most of the negative reviews stem from the pseudo-intellectual conversations and complete lack of characterization from anyone in this VN where you'll read fifteen minutes of a girl reciting some paraphrased Nietzsche or Ci…

Good story. Good soundtrack. Rika's plot was kind of predictable but that's ok. Ina = best girl, for a journo she's not bad 7/10

An homage to the good old days of visual novels!