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“So, before we get to the review, I want to tell you a little story. There's this visual novel enthusiast I happened across, a classic example of the community at large. You know the type, they insist that the most important aspect of this type of game is the story. No matter what else, the story wins out, right? Yes, thought you'd agree. Anyway, it turns out that a big name developer released a new highly priced, thoroughly generic product, which rehashes the same-old same-old, and features a combination of good, average, and disappointing routes in it. At much the same time, this game came out. I wondered – what do you think this enthusiast did? Buy the “safe” high-priced game from the big-name developer? Or did they be brave and go for the lower priced alternative with overwhelmingly positive reviews? Tell you what, let's make a bet on it. I say they went the safe route, kicking their subsequent disappointment down the road.”

Panthea. A city which, on the surface, appears to be a glowing success. A thriving, growing business sector with high employment. A stable leadership with long-term continuity and an apparently high approval rating. A lack of criminal gang wars and comparatively low overall crime. But, strip away that shiny veneer, and underneath you find the exact opposite. Corrupt government, one huge conglomerate dominating the economy, an unchallenged crime syndicate, and a working class populace living too much in fear of reprisals to do or say anything about it.

Into this scenario steps the reader, not playing as a protagonist, but as an outsider keeping up with events as they evolve. This is done via seven different story viewpoints (which, for the purposes of familiarity, we shall henceforth call “routes”). Each of these routes comprises seven chapters, which can be selected in a sequence of choice – limited by the introduction of keys for later chapters (which are handed out freely after completion of earlier chapters, to ensure that the reader doesn't inadvertently hopelessly spoiler themselves along the way).

Upon completion of all 49 separate route chapters, there are a further 3 “final scene” chapters before reaching a conclusion. Dependent upon your reading speed, you should anticipate each chapter occupying your attention for 30-50 minutes. So a skim-reader can reasonably expect 26 hours of narrative, going up to 40 hours plus for those more inclined to thoroughly absorb everything.


Whilst unquestionably a visual novel at its heart, The Divine Deception brings in different mechanics to the usual, in order to provide player interactivity. The story is fixed, no in-narrative choices to branch what will happen. Instead, we are provided with four different types of mini-games, well constructed to be sympathetic and relevant to the nature of the game.

(1) The hacking puzzle. This is arguably the most challenging of the four, and can best be described with a reference to a free desktop game which used to come packaged with older versions of Windows (perhaps it still does?) If you remember Minesweeper, it's like that. Only more complicated and more challenging.
(2) The action sequence. A series of text descriptions of actions will appear on screen (for example, “Dodge left”) long enough to read and try to remember, before disappearing and being replaced. You will then be asked to select which one you did not see in order to successfully progress. As per the hacking puzzle, this becomes less straightforward as the story develops, with additions such as one action being shown twice being akin to it having not appeared at all.
(3) Logic puzzle 1. You will be required to review evidence previously supplied to create an assertion which draws the correct conclusion. This is achieved by selecting, in the correct sequence, a number of mini-statements from one screen, and coupling them with the appropriate conjunctions from the screen following. So that you finish up processing something along the lines of:
If Character did this Or character did that Then this would have happened.
Again, options increase and become more complicated, the further you progress.
(4) Logic puzzle 2. You will need to work out how to progress past a logical challenge by selecting the correct option from a number of statements which repeatedly cycle around until you choose one. This will involve some thinking about how to resolve the puzzle. Bear in mind that of the four mini-games present, this is the only one that the game does not allow you to skip, so if any of the others have you thinking “no thanks”, then do not worry, you do not have to do them!

The usage of chips in context of the game.
In between each chapter selection, and sometimes during one, when there is a gameplay element to be explained, you will undergo conversations with a narrator/”dealer”. Upon starting, she will give you 20 “chips”, which are used for betting upon what you think will happen later on in the story, and you will either win more or lose your stake depending upon how that plays out. Additional chips can be won by correctly resolving each mini-game without many failed attempts: so if you like the idea of the story but not the mini-games, it's not a big deal. Just bet very low so that you don't run out of chips. You are bound to win some every so often. If, on the other hand, this does appeal to you, then go in higher, and at the conclusion of the game, you get the chance to “buy” goodies such as character art with your accrued chips. This is really a very nice, creative concept. There are also the more traditional VN-choices in your exchanges with the dealer, though these are more for entertainment value than anything else; and they do break up the intensity of the narration quite well.

Sprites are respectable. People actually look like people, which is always a plus in my book. By which I mean, they are properly proportioned, realistic face shapes, etc. Backgrounds are not always present, there is a fair amount of black-screen under the text. Normally I would be less thrilled about such a presentation, but here I am happy to make an exception: the story should be holding your attention enough for that to be where your focus really is. And it DOES.
Where backgrounds are present though, I have to admit to being flummoxed. They have a slightly blurred effect, so whereas they might be photographs discreetly disguised, it is also possible that they are brilliantly drawn just to give that effect. Care to bet on which?

There are a number of background tunes. I actually disliked a couple of them, which resulted in me muting the music. It's a personal taste thing, but the bottom line is, doing so did not have any negative impact on my experience.

My only real quibble is with the instructions for the mini-games, and ease of access thereof. Once the dealer has explained exactly what to do for each game, you are on your own. Granted, the hacking one does give you the option of a basic review each time you come across it, but that's the only one. You cannot save game at the point of being informed what to do, as there is only one save slot. (Bear in mind, this is not a branching story, so that should not be a terminal decision maker for you.) What this does mean though, to be certain of not getting stuck and frustrated later on; is that when being told how to deal with these games, if you want to do them, you should take notes manually to have something to refer back to.

Please see my comments below for continuation of this review.

I normally don’t review the games I’ve played, but I had to come and throw my thoughts about this game.

I finished the game few days ago, but I’m still trying to digest what I just read. The game truly lives up to its name: I feel like I experienced a deception that I’m still not over! Immediately saying that it’s a hard recommendation for anyone who likes a good mystery and excellent dialogue.

The mystery itself is very well-crafted and told through 7 protagonists. Each of them show the different sides of the city, which is what makes the game so compelling. The city of Panthea feels like a live being that is being plagued by corruption yet the city is still beloved by many people who can find beauty in it. Not only the city is shown in different angles, but the other characters have more nuance in them thanks to all protagonists seeing different sides of them. A character that might’ve been helpful and pleasant might be in another route the protagonist’s foil.

The story does not hold your hand when it comes to connecting the plot threads together and expects the reader to stay along with the plot. That is always something I appreciate in mystery games. It also helps that the game has a fair share of foreshadowing and doesn’t have twists for the sake of shock value. Things that might seem at first nonsensical get their explanations along the line. It was fun to connect hints together and realize some of the twists by yourself.

What I didn’t expect was to get my own thoughts challenged. Are the morals we wave off as good and bad so black and white? Where goes the line of being morally acceptable? Some of the explored topics hit me really hard. The game definitely doesn’t want the reader to be just a passive entity watching things unravel.

That doesn’t mean that the game lacked in humor though. As much as there are thought provoking things, there is witty and funny bantering. As the developer’s first game (The Zodiac Trial), this game shines in its character interaction and dialogue. Things flow naturally and each character has their own charm. As the game has plenty of characters, it’s inevitable that there are multiple dynamics I would’ve liked to see even more about.

The interface and music are not anything to scoff at either. The GUI is very beautiful and the music is something pleasant to ears and fitting in every moment. The mini games can be either very hard brain teasers or something you can skip. If even the easy modes are too hard, skipping them doesn’t take anything from the experience of the story.

You won’t regret getting the game. 30 hours for 12,50 euros (and at the time of writing this it’s -10% off so 11,20 euros) is a steal and the game has replay value in it.

I really don't know how to write this review. I'd debated between a quick summary and an essay. I'm going to try to find a place in between, but I'm not sure how possible that will be. People who have played the game will likely understand why. To help, I will split the review up into positives, negatives, and things that fall in between.

Positives:
- The story is amazing. I won't say it's completely unpredictable because, frankly, it'd be a worse story if it was. Certain aspects have an feel of inevitability that add more tension than they subtract. Everything makes sense as far as I can tell and I can feel how much Themisian thought everything through. The commentary you can unlock at the end backs this up nicely
- The minigames are a mixed bag, but I personally really liked the hacking mini game. I wish I had more of them to do.
- The best part of the game is the characters. Most of them have way more layers than you'd expect and I've finished the game knowing there are many more layers I'll never see. I can picture nearly every character being someone's favorite and I'd understand why. Even the worst people have something about them that makes you want more from them.
- Ez. Just Ez. I constantly switched between hating everything she stood for, relucantly agreeing, and completely vibing with everything she says. Even if you don't agree with the point she's making, she'll always make you think. That's what really matters in the end.
Negatives:
- The deduction minigame sucks. There are so many of them where you can make sentences that work perfectly and they aren't accepted. Even with the times I skipped the minigame, saw where Laverna was going, and went back, I couldn't figure some of them out. I feel like that either proves the deduction game doesn't work or my brain isn't compatible with it.
- The game allows you to view the scenes, for the most part, in whatever order you want. This creates some great moments sometimes, but other times it completely ruins the impact of a scene. This is most common when it comes to watching Laverna solve a murder you saw play out in a different scene right before this.
- Ummmmm. Yeah, that's it. There are some nit picks like slow pacing in the beginning, but I've never played a VN that didn't have that issue. I think it's an inevitability of the genre at this point.
N/A:
- There's one major twist that I predicted about midway through the game. Not in a "oh, I've solved the puzzle" way, but a "I think the story might head that way and I really wish it wouldn't." Every time I came across another piece of evidence, I prayed I was wrong. Then I was right. I'm not going to lie, I thought it was so stupid I almost stopped playing entirely. Then i kept playing. Then the story explained itself a bit more. Now, I think I kind of love the twist? I don't know how this happened.

So I just finished binging this game yesterday.

I'm still reeling over it tbh - hot DAMN. All the different story-lines from the different protagonists' perspective all felt very unique, it was hard to see how they all tied together at first - you wouldn't exactly expect some of these folks to have anything to do with each other after all. I mean, what would some pretentious investigator, a cocky slimeball gambler, and some shut-in hacker geek all have to do with each other? And that's just three of them - the other protagonists start feeling even more mysterious, unique..

All these different pieces - all with really cool characterizations and story hooks - though the more you progress through their individual stories, the more you'll see how they really inter-connect with each other and the world around them. How a lot of these puzzle pieces fit, and how you see them in different perspectives... It's all really clever - makes for one hell of an overarching narrative imo.

(That overarching narrative is fantastic btw - I finished it up in a state of '♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥' and I promise you it's left me with a LOT of food for thought. Imma be thinking about it for a while.)

The gambling/betting mechanics were a fun mechanic as well, adding minigames was a fun idea (I really liked the hacker minigame in particular, and deduction would be the next face - trying to put all the pieces together was fun. Logic was a neat one, and... action was objectively good though I imagine someone better at memory games would probably enjoy it more then I personally did)

anyways good game, def one of my fave visual novels I've gotten into in recent memory, definitely one I'll be revisting on a search for foreshadowing because of reasons

#BachOrBust

The Divine Deception is one of the most consistently well written, funny, and interesting game I've ever played. While there may be seven stories, each with only very minor overlap for the most part, the entire game feels like one cohesive narrative, which is incredibly hard to pull off when you've got to juggle 7+ different plot lines.

Each character is beautifully well done, what with Laverna's eccentric nature, or Lock being a slimy bastard, or even Vels' nature to generally not do anything unless they deem it necessary, it's all captivating to read through and learn about each and every character the game throws your way. And trust me, some of those twists and turns will completely throw you for a loop.

Before I go, I'll just mention Art and Music. While, being a visual novel, the most important things are the story and characters, the artstyle is consistently fantastic and the music in each scene nigh perfectly flows with the feeling of it. It's like a one-two punch of amazing art and wonderful music back to back, it's great.

Overall, The Divine Deception is an incredible game, which is well worth the time and money investment to experience it. I'd give it a solid 9/10.

Buy the game. You will NOT regret it.

I wish I could give a neutral review - basically, I played The Zodiac Trial first. If you've already played that and came here looking for more awesomeness, you may be disappointed. But, if you start here first, you may enjoy yourself. The reason I struggle to fully recommend this game is even with the pov of multiple characters, the internal dialogue felt the same. And for the people who read it objecting, this was something that was bugging me even before we got close to any twists revealing there may be less than 7 characters. . When the whole story is from the pov of one character, having a specific, consistent internal voice is expected. When writing several, it is not, and it highlighted a weakness in the author's writing that would have been unnoticeable with fewer protagonists. Also, when the majority of your protagonists have above average intelligence and know it, it's harder to be sympathetic and easier to find flaws - which is likely why books like Sherlock Holmes are from the pov of an average intelligence character. It's hard to believably write above ones own intelligence level without something seeming off- I had a similar impression of Snake in the Zodiac Trial, so if you read that and weren't bugged by Snake, ignore me here. This was definitely an ambitious project though - I found no plot holes and there were some pretty major twists that were pulled off well. There was only one minigame type I skipped in frustration, most I found intriguing and fun to figure out. I think, if The Zodiac Trial hadn't been so much better, I would be rating this more favorably. It's still a decent game, just not one of my top games.

Absolute gem of a mystery game. The main selling point of the game is its carefully-crafted story with excellent characters- there were many moments in the game that made me pause and think, and the little self-contained mysteries/puzzles in many of the game's routes were thoroughly enjoyable.

Like Zodiac Trial (the last game made by this creator- but it is not necessary to play this game, even if I thoroughly enjoy that one too!), what I really enjoy about Divine Deception is that its written rationally and expects the player to 'keep up', never holding their hand to understand a particular part of the narrative. The game treats you like an adult and will still break your mind through several moments in the story.

Overall, I highly recommend it. I spent about 31 hours with this game at the time of this review, and that's a lot of time well-spent.

I adored the creator's other game (Zodiac trial) but I just can't seem to enjoy this one. Maybe one day I'll come back to it but I kept trying and couldn't get into it no matter which route I was playing. The coding puzzles also seemed bugged, I would have it all right (even follow guides online) but they wouldn't count as correct on any mode other than easy. If I ever do come back to it I'll give a more detailed review, at only 3 or so hours I don't have a good handle of how deep the game may one day go when all the routes start connecting but even the ones I found most interesting still weren't enough to bring me back to the game.

My playtime is gonna seem quite low but that's purely because I assisted in play-testing the game before its Steam release. As a long term fan of visual novels for more than a decade now, I'm confident that I'm not biased at all in saying that this VN was a wonderful experience. For what's essentially a kinetic novel, the minigames and bets against the narrator help to keep things from getting too stiff. The format of the game is also quite interesting - you're free to make your own path through the narrative which means that no two plays through the game will be exactly the same. My own route through the game was pretty notorious for being absolutely crazy within the development team but honestly, that just made me enjoy it all the more. The mystery is good but more importantly, it's fair. You're drip fed all kinds of information that might or might not seem helpful at the time, but that could be because you just haven't gotten to that path just yet.

It's hard to say much about a game that'll be different for each player, but honestly, that makes it unique enough for me to definitely recommend to any fans of the genre.

So worth noting right off the bat, I was a late-stage playtester who got to play through a version of the game about a month or so before launch. That's why I was able to blast through this final version in three hours with the power of skipping and remembering solutions. My playtime for the pre-release build I finished was around 30 to 40 hours, so I was still able to fully enjoy this game like any other player. Now you may be asking why I bought this game if I already was able to finish it? Simple, it's damn good and I want to reward it for being so.

Without revealing any spoilers or anything, I can say this is an incredibly ambitious and worthwhile game. With seven different storylines you're jumping through, it never feels like the story slows down. And while you may think seven storylines in the same world can get confusing really quickly, it actually is very good at staying cohesive. The mysteries across this game are also fascinating, always encouraging you to go farther and farther. The characters are also solid and memorable, a vital element of any visual novel I feel. And of course, the game holds no punches, which I love. This is one of those games that will just stick with you, for lack a better word, due to the thought provoking sociopolitical themes, engaging mysteries, and superb revelations and twists.

Moving on from the story, where this game also impresses me is in how it incorporates different gameplay mechanics into a visual novel. So even if you're the type of person who may normally struggle to get through a visual novel, the minigames are there often enough to help motivate you through. All of the minigames are enjoyable to get through, though I gotta give special props to the hacking minigames for just being a lot of fun.

The presence of minigames and the overall bigger scope of the narrative make this a surefire step up from Zodiac Trial. If you enjoyed that game at all, you'll enjoy this one. Speaking of Zodiac Trial, I will say the art and music direction are very similar to that game though I think there's quite a few improvements worth noting. Namely, the art being more expressive, more refined, and the addition of new tracks, especially that bop that is the hacking minigame theme. In terms of visuals, though, the thing that has easily improved the most is the overall UI, having a clear distinct style while still being very functional.

So to conclude, this game has an amazing story that'll make you think about it extensively during and after your play-through, interesting and unique minigames that will be sure to spice up the story, and visuals that more than succeed in depicting this lively world. All of this for less than $20USD. If you're at all interested in mysteries, please give this a play. You will not regret it at all. Solid work, and I hope we get to see more in the future.