 I finished Leo's route, both A and B ending, and wow, what an emotional roller coaster! This visual novel reminds me one of those tragedies written by ancient Greeks. It even has the same dramatic structure, and with that go the emotions as well. How amazing!
In exposition I was grinning like a loon, feeling happy how diverse the characters are, and well, yeah, I felt for Leo the moment he opened his muzzle. And then TJ, Carl, Jenna, Flynn and even that rock called Chase, all of them caught my interest.
In rising action I realized something bad is going on. The project Chase wanted to do opened my eyes and it was a little hint that this is going to end badly for my beloved characters. Still, how Leo acted, awww, I was surprised it took Chase so much time to hug that huge puppy. From what I knew Leo didnt do anything horrible to Chase in the past, it was mostly the town, Echo, that Chase despised, and all of his friends including Leo lived there and went through something horrible and unpleasant. Oh Chase...
In climax I thought I was done, like seriously I wanted to end the game the moment those psychos entered the diner, but not because it was a bad turn of events or that the writing was bad, it just, I realized I am playing a horror visual novel, and well, and was hard to accept it even after those big hints that sometihng sinister is happening in Echo.
In falling action on the contrary I couldnt stop playing, so much tense! And Chase, my poor Chase, he went through the worst of it! I admire him a lot for staying sharp, I would just curl up into a crying ball in Leo's lap. And Leo, oh wow, what happened to him? I felt that Chase wasnt there for him, and that's why he became so, hm, determined and loco? But then again it is hard to blame Chase, who himself needed someone to comfort him, and becasue Leo was out, of course Kudzu went for it (and it was worth it for him in the end). Too bad there was noone to comfort Leo, noone...
In denouement I just cried, in both A and B. Sure, one of them is super scary and had my mouth opened the whole time, but that one with the closure between Leo and Chase, oh dear Lord. The only visual novel I cried in was Morenatsu, in Kouyas ending, but that was becasue I realized how sad my own friendless childhood was and how I didnt have anyone to care about me, but with Echo, wow, I felt something different, even if the outcome (crying) was the same. The amazing music, the memorable place, the words, oh just everything seriously. I know that neither Chase nor Leo died like in a classical tragedy, sure, but something else died, their love. Or maybe it was still dying, still trying to survive, grasping at straws, but both of them made their choice and eventually the love will stop existing.
I just hope they will both be happy. I feel like Chase has a better chance to "get over" Leo and to live a fulfilling life. He has someone to care about and will be far far away from the town he hates. But I worry about Leo. I wouldnt be surprised if he ended up alone for the rest of his life, maybe having only hook ups. Lets face it, Leo loved Chase more than Chase loved Leo. Leo will be always crying while thinking about Chase, because he thinks it was ONLY his fault that Chase broke up with him. And I hate it! No Chase, you are BOTH responsible for it, it wasnt just Leo and Echo, it was you as well. I think he knows that, even if he doesnt want to acknowledge it. The knife in his chest is the proof of that and every time he will think about Leo, the knife will appear in his chest. Damn, something is falling in my eyes again. Or is someone cutting onions?
Sorry for such a big text, I just needed to get it all out of my system. Overall I loved this route, yes, just like I love other amazing tragedies. Even if you cry in the end, it does have positive influence on your soul. And you will end up thinking about it and going back to play it again and again despite the horrible pain it causes you.
Edited at 2018/10/28 02:41:31
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