Rituals in the Dark

If you're looking for something witchy, this is not it, there is nothing supernatural and it's weird that it's marketed as such. There is zero ritual as per the game name. There is a circle of candles because a character is dancing in them, that's as close as it gets. Main plot is just the love interest obviously talking rubbish and the protagonist believing her most of the time. She is also her childhood bully(?). This is my second ebi-hime novel (I wouldn't have bought a second after I read the first, I bought them together in a bundle) and I disliked both. They read like bad fanfic, like the author was a teenager rather than the characters (cannot find confirmation online of the author's age so this could be the case). The characters are flat at best and irritating at worst. The love interest is a liar who hangs about in a dead woman's house. "I like to tell stories" was her justification for lying. She was a bully as a child, physical and verbal, and it's brushed off. The protagonist doesn't have any issue with it. It's fine because her parents had a messy divorce!? Weird. Reads like the author was a bully and thinks it's fine because it was justified. There is not a sorry fro…

[b] My first wlw vn [/b] really sweet game, and quite a steal for the price considering the lovely visuals and audio tracks. The atmosphere in this game was maintained really well, very immersive, hough the pacing felt a little slow at times (I might just be a slow reader). To note there are elements of "bullying" present. But overall definitely recommend. [spoiler] The end twist was my fav [/spoiler] 𐔌՞ ܸ.ˬ.ܸ՞𐦯

A little predictable, but I liked the dynamic between Althea and Aspen so much that I don't really care. Really, really cute story! I'd be very interested to explore other games by this developer after this. :)

Beautifully and cleverly written, art is absolutely gorgeous and the soundtrack is harmonious with itself and in general. Thank you for creating this game, I really love it! Excited for my second playthrough :D

Pure vibes. Rituals in the Dark technically has a story, but it's probably the least important part of the narrative; most of the VN is just two teenage girls talking to each other in an abandoned house. Read this if you want a melancholic, lightly spooky experience with a little bit of yuri. Don't go into it expecting something horror-themed, or a big plot, or a passionate romance, or really much in the way of things happening at all. But if you're open to something [i]primarily[/i] focused on setting up and maintaining this specific atmosphere, it's a nice way to spend ~3 hours.

Honestly? I liked it far more than I had expected. The writing was a bit clunky in the beginning but 1/3 of the way in, I couldn't help but find myself fully captured by the presence of Althea. Give it a try.