My forgotten shadow

SPOILERS FOR THE VISUAL NOVEL DOWN BELOW!!!

My god this was a doozy. So much has been added and I was completely blinded from how tense the atmosphere was, to the escape portion, and to the evolution of the story.

I have to say, I love how you included the original endings of the first version of the visual novel because when I saw the artworks I was hit with an instant hit of nostalgia. It was also lovely to see how much you improved artistically but also narratively because now it felt more complex and interesting. The use of shadows to symbolize Henrietta is honestly amazing because it feels like the shadows haunt MC, and all Henrietta really wants is to be acknowledged and cared for (a basic living necessity).

I have to say, I adore the art for the convention, it was so lively and colorful which provided a sharp contrast to the dreariness of the later stages of the visual novel. I adore the dreariness of the escape portion because with how things kept disappearing, the violence and chaos, as well as Henrietta's shadows and figure hunting MC, it honestly feels kind of what depression may feel like, especially with the 2 normal endings when you think you might get better but you just get dragged down even deeper. It reminds me of the Learned Helplessness theory that describes what depression may feel like.

Another thing I want to say is how utterly painful both MC and Henrietta are, they are so toxic to one another but MC is the real toxic person. I agree that we all make our own fictional characters suffer as an outlet to our emotions, but in the end we do give them happy moments. MC, however, didn't. The cycle of depression was so violent to MC that they couldn't even change the formula of how Henrietta's story could have been, I could have come up with different ways to spruce up the story because it genuinely sounds interesting and I know a lot of people would have been interested in it if something was added or changed compared to the constant formula of violence and distrust towards Henrietta.

My girl Henrietta was so tragic here, I firmly believe that everything that happened in the basement was a figment of MC's dark imagination because as we see in the True Ending, MC had slipped from the narrow stairs and hit their head on the ground causing them to pass out. So the people that were killed were probably parts of MC that their mind used "Henrietta" to punish/kill them. The one thing I liked is how we, the players, don't have to use the option of violence against Henrietta as what MC wanted. We can choose to spare her and find our passion (really, the hidden room was so out of pocket I feel like there could have been more of a sign for it). And I think the main reason why Henrietta says that the MC is the one obsessed with Henrietta is because they want to be either punished or guilted by the decisions they made in the past, and the reason why MC was so violent and cruel towards Henrietta is because that comic was made during the deepest stages of MC's depression, so looking at it makes them nauseous because it reminds them of that moment and why MC wants to vehemently move on from it.

But it's not fair to their characters, it's something MC thinks of especially Henrietta whom they were close to (as seen in the doodle) and was most likely a form of passion towards their own art. I honestly think Henrietta was pushed to the complete edge of desperation, longing, and neglect and that MC's own psyche pushed for Henrietta to do something drastic. 

The True Ending's ending was quite interesting because it must have implied that MC survived the fall and started to draw an ending for Henrietta where she was accepted and acknowledged, the lil trick that you used to signify the end with a hopeless hug but then show the ending where Henrietta was happy, I had some mixed feelings about it because MC never addresses their own wrong doings and how they were desperate for Henrietta's forgiveness.

But aside from that, I love the story that was finalized and shown here. One of my qualms is that the locked door puzzle was literally difficult because I had no idea what it wanted, maybe a prompt would have been much more helpful and also being able to have the MC say "This might be important..." to the faded numbers would have been a lot better. But I'm thankful for the walkthrough all things considered!

Overall, I love how polished and complete everything is! The original one already felt complete but this added layers to both MC and Henrietta and their toxic and painful relationship with one another. I genuinely felt bad for Henrietta because she is both teh symbol of passion and depression to MC and as such, she gets treated awfully by MC who couldn't find peace or help for themselves. It would be nice to see the original demo up because it gives a lot more context of what the story is, but I'm digressing.

This is really good, I adored everything about it and I love the terrifying and depressing atmosphere because it felt so tailor made for MC's own predicament. Amazing job!

The endings were great, I truly appreciate the brutality. I'm looking forward to playing your next game!