Some of gaming's most harrowing tragedies, most stirring moments of romance, and most agonizing moments of dread can be found in this epic gothic visual novel. Its sweeping nonlinear narrative is rich in complex, intimate character study and engrossing plot developments. It pulls very few punches in its bleak, sometimes disturbing subject matter. Altogether it makes for a thematically-rich whirlwind of emotion unlike anything else I've played.
You really need to "go with the flow" to get there, but it's a minor narrative miracle that this century-hopping story wraps up as well as it does, successfully bridging what initially appear to be almost totally separate stories. With major shifts in tone and setting, flashbacks layered within flashbacks, competing unreliable narrators, and more, there is quite a lot going on that they usually juggle very well. Impressively, very little felt fillery, or overly reliant on common character tropes. And even with all the twisted, shocking stuff in the game, nothing felt too edgy just for the sake of it.
There are inevitably some less perfect parts in a game with this much ground to cover. Though they make good on nearly everything by the end, a few reveals and other plot points do feel a bit forced and inelegant. Some important-feeling scenes seem a bit cheaply presented and glossed over, which sometimes ends up making sense and sometimes does not. A couple awkward age gap moments might have been handled even more critically than the game already treats them. Lastly, the choice to use relatively plain, modern colloquial language is usually not too bad but can occasionally clash too much with the setting.
Though very light on meaningful interactivity, Fata Morgana occasionally does make interesting use of the visual novel presentation and interface. With little bits of obfuscation and visual trickery, it's able to further its narrative goals in a pretty effective way without feeling gimmicky. Otherwise, correct decisions do need to be made to make it to the true ending, but you're mostly just here to read and soak in the audiovisual presentation.
That presentation does a whole lot with very little to create a captivating atmosphere. Backdrops have a hazy, impressionist feel that really fit the story's framing through a series of uncertain memories and tales of the past, while remaining recognizable after centuries of change. Character portraits initially struck me as a bit weird, but the game grows into the unique art style as it gets darker in tone. Several of the fullscreen illustrations are really striking. The original soundtrack also contributes a lot to the game's many different feelings and settings, and never feels overplayed.
I have never been so emotionally wrapped up in a game story as I was during the fifth of this game's eight major sections, a peak in quality that they do nearly match later on. That I got that kind of response from even one section already makes this amazing. But the whole game had things to love, and the way each section builds on the last and shows things in different lights makes for a remarkably complete, well-rounded experience.
This is instantly one of my favorite game stories of all time—addictive, constantly surprising, and overall unforgettable.
