The Shell Part II: Purgatorio

This experience was phenomenal, I could share countless impressions yet also struggle to even begin expressing any of them. My expectations were already high after the first part, and they got exceeded as well! No idea how the writer does it, but reading the story simply felt so smooth and nearly addictive, it was hard to stop at times (>u<). I find the writing of the series incredible as a whole; the way the plot is structured feels well balanced and manages being engaging all along. The mystery is very intricate and multidimensional - I particularly adore the fact it's not linear with one climax, and instead encompasses several intertwined mysteries that stretch throughout literal generations too, making it satisfying to continue reading even after the seemingly main reveal (I guessed a certain part in advance but still felt clueless due to the remaining unsolved questions lol). I also love how the grotesque scenes are described so ornately, which paired with the unsettling atmosphere perfectly nail at being beautiful in a gruesome and desperate yet vain manner. Despite my fondness of the dark elements of the story, I actually like how the plot doesn't entirely rely on constant…

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

A noticeable improvement over the first game. A sequel that decides to tell it's own story but succeeds in avoiding pitfalls from the previous game. For the uninitiated, the Shell is a murder mystery VN set in 1950s Japan, where we follow Reiji, an ex-cop turnt PI as he investigates a series of gruesome murders. You can check out my Part I review to get the gist of what the Shell series is about. My review for Part II is mainly going to be a response to all the critisms I had for Part I as well as some parts that I really enjoyed. For starters, the game plays like an actual modern VN now. Instead of having to go through hell and retrace your choices as you grind through multiple bad ends to get to the true end, there's an option to just skip through read dialogue now. Secondly, the investigations are less of a PITA than they were in the first game and they don't directly impact your route, which is a much welcomed change. And finally, a writing issue that plagued the first game is finally gone, [spoiler] where important/ plot-relevant characters finally don't get killed off for shock value, which surprised me towards the end. [/spoiler] Finally, I only had to go through 1 norm…

A meticulously crafted story that over the coarse of about 40hrs will weave together a deep and sparse web of mysteries that will each diverge into a seamless multi-layered narrative. It succeeds the first novel in nearly all aspects with a more linear experience, streamlined investigation sequences and H-scenes that are actually relevant compared to the shoehorned counterparts of it's predecessor. Not to mention its phenomenal translation that, though abit cryptic at times with some less than common idioms and expressions, contributes greatly to the enjoyment of the story. My only gripe if any was the way particular characters reacted when they were caught which was less than realistic in my eyes, but disregarding that the characters for the most part are phenomenal being intricate and dense, each fleshed out to a solid level. I think its a great continuation of the series and largely plot and character dense rather than philosophically so. If you liked the first game, this blow your expectations out of the water.

Continuing from where part I left off, I'm quite impressed with how they managed to maintain the quality of the story after everything that happened in the first game. Compared to part I, part II wasn't as gruesome or terrifying, but instead felt much more... melancholic, with its slower pacing. Honestly, I’d say the first part felt like getting punched and then having my heart squeezed until it broke. But the second part felt more like being left alone in a lake while slowly drowning. ...What the hell am I even saying here? Anyway, the pacing is definitely more deliberate this time. I felt like the main culprit and the motivation behind the serial murders were pretty obvious to figure out from the early chapters. Although, I’m still not sure whether the game intentionally expects us to realize it early or not. Still, many things that happened afterward really glued me to the monitor. Another thing I appreciated was how the H-scenes were handled MUCH better than in the first game, thankfully lol. At least they didn’t feel as random this time and mostly made sense within the story (well... almost all of them, but that’s good enough for me). TBH I had completely forgotten I was e…

Improved basically on every category compared to the first part. This VN cemented itself as a definitive top-tier read with what it had to offer here. Brilliant story spanning generations that introduces new characters and locations extremely well. Can't wait for the finale that is Paradiso. By the way, the "5+ hours of story" in the store's description is a funny way to undersell your game. It took over 20 for me at least.