I hope Digital Poppy sees this! My sister and I have been playing this game (for me this is my... fifth playthrough, maybe?) and I'm very curious about the insight system. SPOILERS AHEAD!
My instinct tells me that delving deeper into the occult raises insight and makes trixie more unreliable. But what about interactions with the other characters? I had a theory that having Trixie advocate her own needs-- standing up for herself, refusing to agree to stuff she doesn't feel right about, etc., would lower insight and make her more stable and grounded. But idk-- maybe it's the opposite, and having Trixie challenge people and cause conflict makes her less reliable. Or possibly it doesn't effect the insight system at all and her social interactions (like choosing to hug Gregg or not) are purely for fun and flavor?
Also, does the insight system effect just the main story, or does it effect the three character paths as well?
Last question-- does reading certain books effect insight?
I really like the story and the art! I'm a huge horror buff-- tough to scare, basically-- but Gregg's storyline has spooked me the hell out every time I read it. Heidi is my favorite-- as a lesbian who can't do math, I relate.
I'm not Digital Poppy, but for what it's worth, I went and replayed after reading this comment! (SPOILERS AHEAD) My gut instinct has always been to help Trixie stand up for herself and her needs, but I also kept getting the ending where she wrote on the walls, no matter which one it was w/r/t the cabin. This time around I took some of the shyer/more anxious choices, and Trixie seemed to take things differently insight wise (scissors instead of knife, 'dark figure' was a bathrobe, unafraid of parsnip, etc). Other than my social actions, it was the same playthrough as before. However, she wrote her report on paper rather than on the walls, so hey, advocating for her needs def impacts her insight somehow!
EDIT: Of course, NOW I can't decide which ending corresponds to high insight and which is low. Maybe she writes on her walls because she saw The Truth and it broke something (very Lovecraft)! Maybe she writes on the walls because she's having a stress related meltdown and none of the spooky shit is real! Who knows!
I enjoyed it (and the other ones) quite a bit. Spent a good two or three days combing over it all. Really liked the characters (although I will refuse to talk to Gregg after [redacted]).
I don't usually do visual novels, so I wasn't expecting to like it so much; happy surprise I guess.
I love this game. I have been playing a ton of visual novels recently (due to the quarantine) and this one has become one of my favorites.
I have been an avid reader of the works of Chambers, and Lovecraft for over a year. The main thing that puts this game on my favorites is just how accurate it is to Chambers' work! Every single description of Carcosa fits exactly with Cassilda's song from the Repairer of Reputations. The way the Yellow sign is introduced and the way Trixie even figures it out is reminiscent of Mr. Scott in The Yellow Sign. I can go on and on about how this game does Chambers' work justice. But I will focus on other things for now.
One of my favorite aspects is the art style of the game. Although it is simple, I feel, fits the world of the game perfectly. I love the designs of the characters and I feel they reflect their personalities pretty well.
The music is interesting. The only real theme I wasn't a fan of was Parsnip's. However, themes such as Heidi's and Bell's for some reason got stuck in my head. The audio is superb with it's timing, especially in dark moments as well.
Also! This game is great. Me and my friend have been obsessively picking it clean for secrets and talking about it like "omg is Parsnip really a servant of the yellow king? game theoryyyyy". Also the soundtrack is brilliant. I love how all the characters have their own themes that sorta intertwine with the main one.
I don't read/play visual novels, but I saw promise in this one.
Despite the occasional erroneous word, it was a very good story, and I'm tempted to play through the other paths, even though I just spent a good 4-5 hours in one session. x.x
If memory serves, you need two of three 'special items' to get the good ending. Those are the yellow sign, the mask of the pale servant and the psyker crystal. The yellow sign and the mask of the pale servant will also only unlock (I think) if you have a somewhat high insight score. So make sure Trixie spends a lot of time with Parsnip! (the best way to gain insight in the game)
there are three main paths, depending on if you hang out with bell, Heidi or gregg. The ending can also change too, but that depends a lot on what you do in the story :) I'd say the three routes should get most of the games content out of the way!
Holy shit, that was a trip. Thank you for the game, and also for the trans representation. There's not many protagonists I can sympathize with when it comes to HRT, and it actually wound up reminding me to go take my own medication.
I love this game, and Trixie's (and company's) anti-cop sentiments are hilarious and timely. I really love the music in this! It's going to be stuck in my head for a while for sure. Overall really great game, the writing was fun and the story was interesting. I liked how playing all the routes contributed to the overall understanding. Thanks for a great game, can't wait to check out lesbians in a wheelbarrow!
Hey, I'm NB and.. think it's the first time I ever got to play as a trans gal in a videogame. Thanks a lot for all the characters and the queerness, thanks a lot for adressing transition issues, it's ... heartwarming, to say the least. I'm a game developer as well and I just wish someday my games might have an impact at least half as strong as the one your games had on me. Keep up the good work o/
Ahhh such a cute game with a hidden dark side, and a perfect addition to the Racial Justice & Equality bundle (dumb cops haha). I could deeply relate to the main character and all the other characters are so charismatic I just had to play through three times to see all the endings-- well I'm probably missing a couple endings, but i am satisfied. Keep up the good work and uhhhhhhhh, thank you!! Will buy the art book :3
You have very interesting way of telling stories. It's funny and dark and you sometimes you never really know what happens. All side characters are very lovable, too. I would love to hang out with Bell or help Heidi or Greg in their stores. Bell and Heidi remind me a bit of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Trixie is really adorable in this game, sometimes I just wanted to hug her because of all the trouble she has with Nikita. You are a person who is able to create characters you care for and who stay in ones head. I hope Bell, Heidi and Greg will be part of another game in the future. Thank you very much for this experience.
The King in Yellow..... is that a reference to one of hp Lovecraft's entity's called Hastur? or the book of the same name by Robert W. Chambers? or the play? or just a coincidence?
i just finished watching a playthrough of parsnip and i just had to buy the sequel to try, it warms my heart so much to see a trans protagonist and so many other queer supporting characters with an amazing story to boot!! thanks for making such amazing queer content, keep it up<3
this was pretty excellent, a great followup to parsnip! trixie is delightful, i can definitely see a lot of myself in her =] still some typos and whatnot in a few places but that's to be expected with such a large amount of text.
the music is fantastic! i really like the way each character has their own variation [parsnip's character remains a blessing on my life, aha]
while i do think i preferred the previous game's artstyle, having to scale down to something easier to make is completely understandable and honestly it's still really good.
one thing i will say though is that bell's route seemed to be a lot more fleshed out compared to heidi's or gregg's [the latter of which had some stuff that quite broke the immersion for me, though i'll not spoil it here] - though perhaps this was just due to me playing bell's route first and using the skip function on the others.
i really appreciate the reveal of how bell and LeRose are queer =] absolutely looking forward to playing the next installment!
Thank you for the feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed Trixe! Strangely I feel Bells route is the weakest : ) But that might just be because it was the last one I wrote! Bell and LeRose were actually hinted at in one or two lines of dialogue in Parsnip, but I think they were fairly hard to find : )
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I hope Digital Poppy sees this! My sister and I have been playing this game (for me this is my... fifth playthrough, maybe?) and I'm very curious about the insight system. SPOILERS AHEAD!
My instinct tells me that delving deeper into the occult raises insight and makes trixie more unreliable. But what about interactions with the other characters? I had a theory that having Trixie advocate her own needs-- standing up for herself, refusing to agree to stuff she doesn't feel right about, etc., would lower insight and make her more stable and grounded. But idk-- maybe it's the opposite, and having Trixie challenge people and cause conflict makes her less reliable. Or possibly it doesn't effect the insight system at all and her social interactions (like choosing to hug Gregg or not) are purely for fun and flavor?
Also, does the insight system effect just the main story, or does it effect the three character paths as well?
Last question-- does reading certain books effect insight?
I really like the story and the art! I'm a huge horror buff-- tough to scare, basically-- but Gregg's storyline has spooked me the hell out every time I read it. Heidi is my favorite-- as a lesbian who can't do math, I relate.
insight is affected by a lot of trixies actions yes! You had it spot on. Other characters and books also change it!
I'm not Digital Poppy, but for what it's worth, I went and replayed after reading this comment! (SPOILERS AHEAD) My gut instinct has always been to help Trixie stand up for herself and her needs, but I also kept getting the ending where she wrote on the walls, no matter which one it was w/r/t the cabin. This time around I took some of the shyer/more anxious choices, and Trixie seemed to take things differently insight wise (scissors instead of knife, 'dark figure' was a bathrobe, unafraid of parsnip, etc). Other than my social actions, it was the same playthrough as before. However, she wrote her report on paper rather than on the walls, so hey, advocating for her needs def impacts her insight somehow!
EDIT: Of course, NOW I can't decide which ending corresponds to high insight and which is low. Maybe she writes on her walls because she saw The Truth and it broke something (very Lovecraft)! Maybe she writes on the walls because she's having a stress related meltdown and none of the spooky shit is real! Who knows!
I picked these games up in the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality and I'd never heard of them before but I love them now.
These stories give me life please keep making them!
Uh, wow. This game is really great. I had a lot of fun and many times I laughed quite a bit.
It feels good when you can reflect (a hell fucking lot) to a character in a videogame in these kind of horror games :3
I'm glad : ) I wanted Trixie to be someone for people who don't often get to see themselves in stories!
Well, is not a spoiler since his image is in the text up there. But when Parsnip frst shows up my mind went "Oh F*CK not him again!!" XD
I enjoyed it (and the other ones) quite a bit. Spent a good two or three days combing over it all. Really liked the characters (although I will refuse to talk to Gregg after [redacted]).
I don't usually do visual novels, so I wasn't expecting to like it so much; happy surprise I guess.
I love this game. I have been playing a ton of visual novels recently (due to the quarantine) and this one has become one of my favorites.
I have been an avid reader of the works of Chambers, and Lovecraft for over a year. The main thing that puts this game on my favorites is just how accurate it is to Chambers' work! Every single description of Carcosa fits exactly with Cassilda's song from the Repairer of Reputations. The way the Yellow sign is introduced and the way Trixie even figures it out is reminiscent of Mr. Scott in The Yellow Sign. I can go on and on about how this game does Chambers' work justice. But I will focus on other things for now.
One of my favorite aspects is the art style of the game. Although it is simple, I feel, fits the world of the game perfectly. I love the designs of the characters and I feel they reflect their personalities pretty well.
The music is interesting. The only real theme I wasn't a fan of was Parsnip's. However, themes such as Heidi's and Bell's for some reason got stuck in my head. The audio is superb with it's timing, especially in dark moments as well.
just based off playing Parsnip before did anyone else not expect this to be THIS fucking good??!
or was that just me
Also! This game is great. Me and my friend have been obsessively picking it clean for secrets and talking about it like "omg is Parsnip really a servant of the yellow king? game theoryyyyy". Also the soundtrack is brilliant. I love how all the characters have their own themes that sorta intertwine with the main one.
Also, first lovecraft mythos game that didn't make me immediately fall asleep. :p
Is it possible to get the throne?! Asking for a friend. >.>
CAUGHT YOU COVETING THE THRONE
I don't read/play visual novels, but I saw promise in this one.
Despite the occasional erroneous word, it was a very good story, and I'm tempted to play through the other paths, even though I just spent a good 4-5 hours in one session. x.x
Well worth the play-through!
~~Endgame spoilers below~~
What determines which ending you get, specifically regarding burning vs. not burning down the cottage?
~~End spoilers~~
(Spoilers continued)
If memory serves, you need two of three 'special items' to get the good ending. Those are the yellow sign, the mask of the pale servant and the psyker crystal. The yellow sign and the mask of the pale servant will also only unlock (I think) if you have a somewhat high insight score. So make sure Trixie spends a lot of time with Parsnip! (the best way to gain insight in the game)
(Spoilers continued)
Theres also a variation on each ending that depends on how high your insight score is
im currently playing through this, its really cool! kinda wanna read the book its inspired (?) by now tbh.
question, how many playthroughs would you recommend to see everything? i want to because im just a completionist. plus the story really interests me!
there are three main paths, depending on if you hang out with bell, Heidi or gregg. The ending can also change too, but that depends a lot on what you do in the story :) I'd say the three routes should get most of the games content out of the way!
Well, from a glance 'The King in Yellow' by comes to mind :_D
Which i honestly can reccomend, good book.
Holy shit, that was a trip. Thank you for the game, and also for the trans representation. There's not many protagonists I can sympathize with when it comes to HRT, and it actually wound up reminding me to go take my own medication.
I'm glad Trixie could help you remember to take your meds!
I love this game, and Trixie's (and company's) anti-cop sentiments are hilarious and timely. I really love the music in this! It's going to be stuck in my head for a while for sure. Overall really great game, the writing was fun and the story was interesting. I liked how playing all the routes contributed to the overall understanding. Thanks for a great game, can't wait to check out lesbians in a wheelbarrow!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! DEastes put the soundtrack on his soundcloud if you want to give it a listen anywhen outside of the game! https://soundcloud.com/d-eastes/sets/testimony-ost
Hey,
I'm NB and.. think it's the first time I ever got to play as a trans gal in a videogame. Thanks a lot for all the characters and the queerness, thanks a lot for adressing transition issues, it's ... heartwarming, to say the least.
I'm a game developer as well and I just wish someday my games might have an impact at least half as strong as the one your games had on me.
Keep up the good work o/
thank you so much! I belive in you!
Super late response, but I think Aerannis is another game that has a trans woman as the main character.
Ahhh such a cute game with a hidden dark side, and a perfect addition to the Racial Justice & Equality bundle (dumb cops haha). I could deeply relate to the main character and all the other characters are so charismatic I just had to play through three times to see all the endings-- well I'm probably missing a couple endings, but i am satisfied. Keep up the good work and uhhhhhhhh, thank you!! Will buy the art book :3
I'm really glad you enjoyed it!!
You have very interesting way of telling stories. It's funny and dark and you sometimes you never really know what happens. All side characters are very lovable, too. I would love to hang out with Bell or help Heidi or Greg in their stores. Bell and Heidi remind me a bit of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Trixie is really adorable in this game, sometimes I just wanted to hug her because of all the trouble she has with Nikita. You are a person who is able to create characters you care for and who stay in ones head. I hope Bell, Heidi and Greg will be part of another game in the future. Thank you very much for this experience.
Thank you so much for your kind words : ) Bell is very applejack!
I really just delayed sleeping for 4 hours just to see the story to the end. This was great. I really, really enjoyed playing through this!
I'm really glad you had fun!
The King in Yellow..... is that a reference to one of hp Lovecraft's entity's called Hastur? or the book of the same name by Robert W. Chambers? or the play? or just a coincidence?
edit: it was the play i got it
anyway good game
A reference to the book : ) its my favourite weird fiction book, far more than any of Lovecrafts work.
cool
i just finished watching a playthrough of parsnip and i just had to buy the sequel to try, it warms my heart so much to see a trans protagonist and so many other queer supporting characters with an amazing story to boot!! thanks for making such amazing queer content, keep it up<3
<3
Is there a place or a way I can add to my purchase to get the artbook? I bought this through the bundle sale. Thank you!
Not that I am aware of, sorry : ( Feel free to DM me on twitter if you are able to and I can send you a copy for free : )
I don't have a Twitter, but what if I e-mail you?
Edit: Eh, nevermind. Just call it a donation!
this was pretty excellent, a great followup to parsnip! trixie is delightful, i can definitely see a lot of myself in her =] still some typos and whatnot in a few places but that's to be expected with such a large amount of text.
the music is fantastic! i really like the way each character has their own variation [parsnip's character remains a blessing on my life, aha]
while i do think i preferred the previous game's artstyle, having to scale down to something easier to make is completely understandable and honestly it's still really good.
one thing i will say though is that bell's route seemed to be a lot more fleshed out compared to heidi's or gregg's [the latter of which had some stuff that quite broke the immersion for me, though i'll not spoil it here] - though perhaps this was just due to me playing bell's route first and using the skip function on the others.
i really appreciate the reveal of how bell and LeRose are queer =] absolutely looking forward to playing the next installment!
Thank you for the feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed Trixe!
Strangely I feel Bells route is the weakest : ) But that might just be because it was the last one I wrote!
Bell and LeRose were actually hinted at in one or two lines of dialogue in Parsnip, but I think they were fairly hard to find : )
Very interesting story. The characters are all fantastic and have some great and clever dialogue.