Status Reset_Tears Mar 21, 2020
I have three VN-type games I read through the past few months that I still need to share my thoughts on, and I guess I'll start with this one. The House in Fata Morgana is one of those titles where it seems every single person who has played it has only the highest of praise to give it. And indeed, …
I have three VN-type games I read through the past few months that I still need to share my thoughts on, and I guess I'll start with this one. The House in Fata Morgana is one of those titles where it seems every single person who has played it has only the highest of praise to give it. And indeed, seeing--and hearing--is believing. The artwork is gorgeous, and the music is magnificent. But more significantly, it's a top-notch work in terms of tone and atmosphere. This story is bursting at the seams with Gothic gloom and Shakespearean misfortune, telling a series of tragedies that take place over the course of many centuries, all at the titular haunted old mansion. And as for the prose itself, it's well-written. As an aside, I was impressed by how few spelling and grammatical errors there were (something that seems to show up often in niche visual novels).
Now, all that said... hooooo boy, is this story a slow burn--and a dreary one at that. The individual tales that start the VN off each fall into a specific rhythm, and I couldn't help but slowly grow increasingly weary of it all with each passing hour. I'm fine and dandy with darker stories, so I think the main issue I had here is with the story's pacing. Those stretches of despair just drag on too long, and specific aspects of many characters get repeated over and over again, almost ad nauseum.
Now, all that said, I'm still going to say that overall this is a VN well-worth everyone's time. At least, for everyone out there looking for something different from the more typical visual novel fare, and if you're up for reading a dark and (mostly) sorrowful book. Also worth mentioning, Fata Morgana is unique in regard to the more adult topics it tackles, compared to most video games in general--something I felt made the story all the more engaging. It'll give you plenty to think about, and you can easily spend hours just contemplating the decisions each character makes and how much their actions, motivations, upbringing, outside circumstances, and inner thoughts and feelings determine your opinion of each of them.