I started this game initially because I thought it was funny given my username, and was surprised how quickly I got invested in it. With a varied cast of fourteen characters (with a mix of who's interacting with who at any given time), it makes for some really fascinating group dynamics. The game is unafraid to confront and breakdown various stereotypes, and go in-depth when discussing aspects of identity, which at times is a source of solidarity between characters, and at other times a source of conflict. The game is based around various time loops, and each loop is both a chance to learn more about the bigger picture, but also to see how this particular set of characters get along, and how they might behave differently this time around.

No character is absolutely perfect nor entirely terrible. They all have reasons, if not really justifications for their actions and personalities. Each one divulges different facets of their identity or backstory depending on who they're talking to, and what has come before. It means that every character is really interesting, and all of them feel important.

The mood is well-balanced within each loop. It's filled with humorous moments, but also vulnerable ones, and at times frightening ones. Characters are shown both at their best, middling, and absolute worst, yet their actions never feel unreasonable given their personalities and the situation they've been placed in.

Overall, it's a really interesting story with a fascinating idea of time loops, and definitely worth playing!

Entropic Float: This World Will Decay and Disappear is a visual novel developed by Nico H and published by Starfield Gaming. You take on the role of an unnamed MC and play the story as one of three characters: Amelie, Kanatsun, or Rashmi. As you look into the eyes of one of these characters, you find yourself trapped along with six other people (essentially, strangers). You and the others have no idea how or why you're trapped, but you know that you have to find a way to escape. To do so, you have to go through a series of puzzles. Solve them successfully, and perhaps you'll gain knowledge of events that led to their predicament. Make too many wrong choices, and Entropy will take over the time loop. (I should mention that the events take place in the morning, noon, or evening, initially depending on when you first start up the game.) If Entropy takes over, tragedy happens and everyone except you forgets the events that transpired in that loop. I'll end my story synopsis here to avoid spoilers and all that.

As for the gameplay, Entropic Float has multiple choices that are presented as you play one of the three characters and progress through the designated time loop. There are a total of 9 routes with 18 normal endings. Once you unlock all of the normal endings, then you'll get access to the true ending (and yes, there's even a bad ending that you can get early on in the true ending route). Once you unlock a normal ending, you can access a summary of it on the main menu. Also, there are profiles of all of the characters. Numerous CGs are present although there's no way to view them in a CG gallery. In addition, there's a varied soundtrack and partial English voice acting. Finally, there are lots of Steam achievements although they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game."

Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my critique. Entropic Float caught my interest upon its release since I enjoy a good mystery and I got certain vibes influenced from other prominent VNs. Upon first playing, I liked how we get introduced and the narrator makes it a point to say that even though we can play as Amelie, Kanatsun, or Rashmi, we're not that actual character. (There is a very good reason that this point is made although I'd be going into spoiler territory to reveal that.) I enjoyed getting to meet the other characters and learning tidbits about them. Even though there are a total of 14 characters (but we're introduced as the 15th character), each normal route/loop only has 7 characters present at once (with the exception of one loop). There is a reason for that, which gets revealed way later on. I liked getting to solve the puzzles (which simply require making a choice) and how certain choices can lead either to the Non-Entropy or Entropy ending. Although you want to get all of the normal endings to unlock the true ending, the Non-Entropy ending is the less tragic one (but it might still have some tragedy lol). (I should give a heads up that some of the content may be disturbing in nature. For example, topics like discrimination, drinking, etc., are brought up.) In regards to the characters, there's a wide range of personalities along with ages, sexual preferences, and so forth. It goes without saying that some characters will end up being more likable than others. Also, before I forget, there isn't any romance in this visual novel although the story does allude to a possible romance that never comes to fruition.

As for the writing, I found it pretty well-paced for the usual routes. In regards to the route for the true ending, it can get pretty lengthy although the reason for that has to do with getting to know all of the characters' backstory and whatnot. There were occasional typos in the text but not to the point where the story wasn't enjoyable. As for the gameplay, I didn't find any technical issues. Although you're initially locked into a particular time loop depending on when you first play through the story (according to your computer clock), after unlocking a few normal endings, you then have the freedom to choose the time slot. I liked how this gives off the feeling that time is a factor when it comes to the story, as it becomes the main theme, especially when you play through the true ending route.

In regards to the art, I liked the design of the sprites. They're pretty much in an anime style but they have some uniqueness. Backgrounds are on the simple design style, but this is a free visual novel and they're done pretty well. I liked the use of colors, and there's a lot of guest art shown, especially during the true ending route. Thus, you may notice a few different art styles. Finally, I found the soundtrack to be varied. Each track was placed well in the scene it was in, and the tracks capture various moods from mystery to tragedy. As I mentioned earlier, there is partial voice acting, which I found to be a nice touch. I felt like the voices matched well with the characters and their personalities.

Overall, would I recommend Entropic Float: This World Will Decay and Disappear? If you enjoy a good mystery and don't mind going through lots of tragedy (and keep in mind that even in the true ending route, there might not be a totally happy ending), then you should give this a try. I could tell that this VN is inspired from other well-known VNs like Higurashi, Umineko, and Danganronpa. Also, it is a free VN so it doesn't hurt to give it a try. I'm excited for Entropic Float 2, since the game's ending alludes to it. ^^

Flying free and writing reviews solely for The Introverted Gamer.

Entropic Float is an interesting, if rough around the edges, VN about a group of characters learning about each other's struggles while trapped in a mysterious time loop and an even more mysterious building. The setting is largely modern day, however with a small but powerful amount of magic sprinkled in, the details of which are part of the story and mystery so I will refrain from saying much more than that.

I'll admit that I was a bit nervous at first regarding how almost every member of the cast identifies somewhere under the queer umbrella, but as I learned more about them the nervousness dissolved and it became easier to see them as their own individual characters rather than needing to play representative of their respective flags. The presence of multiple characters in most categories also serves to take the edge off in that regard, and the traumatic pasts the characters carry feel wholly their own.

The game does contain a gimmick of following 3 different characters at 3 different periods of time: Morning, Noon, and Night. The game recommends starting with the routes based on your current system time, but I think it could have benefited from a structure where one particular route was "the first" route, so that it could establish certain basic rules about the time loop from the outset. I was actually lucky enough to start on the route that I think does the best job of that, Amelie's Noon route for those who want a spoiler, and I'm not entirely sure how good my first impression of the story would have been if I happened to start on certain other routes instead.

Overall I found myself quite enthralled with the story, but I do have to acknowledge some concerns. The voice acting, what little there is to emphasize certain character moments, is....inconsistent at best, and just plain bad at worst. The mixing is kind of all over the place, with most of the characters sounding quieter than the background music by default, and one character in particular being much louder than the others. The quality of the audio recordings also isn't consistent. Ultimately this is a free game and one is left to assume that the VAs were recording from their own setups rather than a professional studio, and it's the aspect of the game where it's indie status most clearly shines through. Given that this is available for free, I'd hardly call it a dealbreaker, but it bore mentioning.

Another factor is the art featured in the game. Several different styles are present, most commonly you'll be seeing portraits of the 3D models for each character, but some scenes shift to a 2D image instead. Many of these are...messy to say the least, which wouldn't even be that much of an issue except that there are other times that much higher quality art is featured instead. I assume that many of the CGs were commissioned from different artists and the inconsistency shows. Again: Free game, not a deal-breaker, but worth mentioning.

Overall, I quite enjoyed my time with the game, and at 20 hours according to Steam it's hard to say I didn't get my money's worth from it. There's also a mention at the end that the creator is planning to make a sequel game, I am quite curious and eager to see what happens with it.

This is what it looks like when an author doesn't realize that when you replace the working parts, you get a different machine. By borrowing elements from multiple other VNs, the author has successfully created a trainwreck that goes nowhere for eighteen different endings. Literally nowhere - characters do not make an attempt at independent action, to where solving a puzzle that should be 5 minutes long in total takes an entire hour.

Very little thought was given to how characters might be perceived by their actions. One protagonist immediately introduces themselves in the most aggressive, needlessly belligerent way possible, and we are meant to feel sympathy for them. No one's unpleasant character traits are called out, so you're left with a bunch of characters competing for very little screentime and very little sympathy. I've never wanted characters in a visual novel to die quite so badly as these ones.

The writing is a tangled mess. Eighteen different endings split across nine routes - except there is a critical blunder, as trying to adopt Zero Time Dilemma's multiple different split routes too early means that all nine routes go over the same information nine different times. The same pattern repeats nine times. It is tedious - only at the point of diverting between a "good" and "bad" ending does the pattern almost break. Much like Zero Time Dilemma, you need to gather information from all endings - except that the characters don't know that, and are literally just going through the motions with no aim or actual objective, making every single route utterly pointless. The structure of the story makes it impossible to feel anything for these characters, especially as they ramble on about stuff no human being would say.

Only in the true ending does anything change. Not as much as you'd like though - everyone is still not doing anything, you're back to doing the heavy lifting, and you're now forced to sit through 36 different flashbacks for 14 characters, which I'll wager at least half of which you do not care about in the slightest. This comes far too late to develop these characters. Instead of a proper arc, or organically feeding in these details through the story, you get a more pressing plot screeching to a halt to catch up.

Also, literally everything to do with the character of Loam is the single worst moment in the game. By far one of the worst characters I've ever read about, Loam does not speak like a normal person, and the plot breaks and contrives to have a way for Loam to function in it. Everything about this character is utterly terrible.

You're much better off enjoying the component VNs that were bastardized to make this one. The Zero Time Dilemma series does the branching routes much better, Umineko has your modern fantasy nailed, and Danganronpa does a significantly better job of fleshing out a cast of characters you want to care about. Yes, they cost money, but if you seriously wanted a good read, it's worth it. I suppose it also takes from Ever17 as well, but don't actually read that, the element it steals from there is just as bad as it is here.

Author, if you're reading this, some earnest advice:
-Don't include voice acting if you're not going to try and get your voice actors to take this seriously. The voice acting was impossible to take seriously, and Malcolm's VA completely butchered a delivery of a dramatic line. It's better to leave characters silent and let the audience imagine their voice than use an ill-fitting voice that ends up mentally overlaid when reading that character's lines.
-Fourteen characters is not a realistic goal in terms of fleshing them out equally. Pick your favorites and go from there. It's okay to leave some characters behind. The backstory dump gave nearly everyone equal time even though not everyone honestly mattered at all.
-You get one first impression for each character. Do not waste it like you did with Rashmi and especially Loam. If you can't hook the audience early, you are not going to hook them later.
-Piling everyone's backstories into one spot does nothing except kill the pacing of the game. After awhile I just had to burn through them all with the skip feature. Spread the information out more organically - maybe by not repeating the same steps nine times.
-Don't repeat the same process nine times. Nobody is interested in hearing the same explanation nine times for time dilation or entering the puzzle room. Set the actual point of divergence ahead of that moment instead.
-Do not let your story structure compromise good writing or game design. I can clearly see what you were trying to set up with the multiple routes and the point of divergence being before anything actually happens, but it kills the flow without fail every time. All you did was make yourself write a bunch of redundant words that we then had to read through anyways.
-Characters are more than just their gender and orientation. The best characters were the ones that didn't focus on having to explain either of them all the time.
-Be cognizant of what would be realistic for your characters to say and do. The dialogue came off as unrealistic on multiple occasions, with Loam and True being especially guilty of this, and the sheer implied ineptitude of the characters with regards to the puzzle rooms is staggering. You can't push through this just by not acknowledging it - when you repeat things nine times, patterns start becoming very very obvious, and it makes your characters, the heart of the story, look so much worse for it.
-Inspiration from other sources is okay, but stop and think about why it is you like a certain element. Examine it thoroughly and make note of all the circumstances surrounding it. Danganronpa's characters work because they can and most likely will die. The Zero Time Dilemma series works because characters start off ignorant of other routes. By taking only one specific element divorced of its surrounding parts, you lose what makes them pop - characters that can't permanently die but still remember random parts of other routes creates a general lack of urgency and danger that undermines everything you were trying to set up.
-Take it easy on the designs. Jazz, True, and Loam were aggressively overstylized and looked ridiculous.

For what it's worth, Kanatsun was the best character. There's some good elements in here, but it's dragged down by so much other stuff. I can't recommend this except as what to avoid, especially in regards to characterization and dialogue. I stuck it out for 21 hours specifically to write as detailed a review as possible - I would have dropped it maybe two hours in otherwise.

So for transparency's sake I was a beta tester for this game but TL;DR for this review: regardless of playing this before the release on steam, this game is phenomenal! Go play it and try not to read reviews because they may spoil you to some of the final route, I'll personally keep mind spoiler free.

Okay, the rest of this review will be rambly because I adore this game and purely want to gush!
At first I wasn't sure where the story was going but the more endings I got the more this massive mystery of the clock tower and the anomaly started to piece together and the more I was craving the next part from the creator because the more time I wanted to spend with these characters the more I was just completely sucked into their lives and wanted nothing but the best for them all! Honestly, when I first finished I sat there for a while not entirely sure what to do since I'd explored every nook and cranny of this game, I was that emotionally invested XD

I will say that you should definitely pay attention to those content warnings though before you start playing, they mostly show up in the final route but damn, this game does handle some pretty tough topics even in one of the main character routes.

The game has Higurashi as an inspiration and there are so many endings I can point to where that inspirations flourishes and the more I became attached these characters and the more I knew the more unsettling the 'bad' endings became, there's so many specific endings I've replayed later on after knowing what I know now. Also, the effing observation deck music, it does nothing creep me out constantly when I'm in game and always causes my hair to stand on point because I know what's coming.

I could gush about these character and all their interpersonal relationships; their friendships, their romances, their dislike and their budding relationships~ Everyone does in fact have their own orientation but let me tell you now they are all so much more than just the flag they bear but I do in fact love all the representation that is done so much more respectively than I expected. Evey character has their own idialect and they absolutely own it, every character is so unique in their own speech patterns that there were times I woulldn't even need to read who was talking because I could easily tell "Oh this is Kanatsun and his moe-gap" or "Shinji's snarking again" and I love these characters. There is one central ship and a few other ships surrounding it, I still have the final pic of the central ship as the wallpaper on my computer and one of the side ships I think about on a day to say basis XD

I have only completed about... a fourth of the endings so far, and I can't NOT say this.

Firstly, when it begins you're told about there being a full content warning list in the main menu. I did not expect it to be an entire faq with explanations detailed enough to be warned and prepared, but vague enough to not spoil anything. Absolutely beautiful.

Secondly, the sarcastic banter and just... the dialogue and the story and everything, it's amazing I'm just addicted, I've been constantly telling my friends about this game. I have never in my life found a game where I was like "this is meant for me, I'm part of the target audience for this" BUT THIS??? yes. I'm sorry but one of the characters literally says "brain go brr" at one point these are my people.

TL;DR Amazing game, highly recommended.

Okay to be honest at first I thought this would be a pretty amateur visual novel and a good time killer at best but then the characters started talking to each other. The first route I played involved an older nonbinary character sharing his experiences with gender to the agender protagonist. It may have been because i was playing this game sorta late at night but this conversation made me tear up. I think this game has a lot to say about how we interact with one another. In my opinion it has excellent representation of LGBT+ characters and every single character is queer in some way. I felt like the characters were able to meet me at my level and I enjoyed learning about each of them and having notes added to the profiles. This is an indie game with a lot of polish and effort that seeks to portray each of its characters with empathy and love. I'm really glad I gave it a shot and I hope you will as well.

(Ok so, I haven't played the full game, but I am a fast reader and have seen the spoilers for the major parts of the storyline. Here's a review as of now, subject to change:)

Entropic Float, by all means, is a FREE-TO-PLAY (and no-fees-added) passion project.

The single negative review on this page as of 11/6/2022 by user Lichice does give a few valid points that I'd like to touch upon, said reviewer also does seem to ignore that fact. (This user also has a habit of leaving negative reviews on many FREE indie games with balance issues... as well as AAA games like Elden Ring that have been otherwise well-received.)

While the repetitive nature of the novel is frustrating, it makes sense in context of the story. While some character designs feeling incoherent to the setting and to other characters, they are also some gems of character designs. While the writing is extremely dense and occasionally hard to understand, it could easily be the developers style. I honestly don't know why people would give Entropic Float such a hard time when it's a FREE GAME made by one person.

The review also mentions that "characters are more than just their gender and orientation"... If that's what you think of all the lgbtq+ stuff in current media, just walk away now. This game was not made for you and you will not enjoy it.

All in all, Entropic Float is a solid visual novel that's free and has a lot of love put into it! Passion projects be flawed but fun.

[if you can't tell by my large number of achievements for this game, I played this fully through itch. pay no mind to the playtime here.]

POSITIVE: while obviously the work of an inexperienced developer, this game has so much heart to it that it endeared me early on. at least some of the inspirations are obvious (when they cry, zero escape, and GNOSIA), but entropic float doesn't feel like it's trying to copy any of them or ride their popularity. it's its own thing with a genuine appreciation of other things shining through. (definitely laughed at that "need 4 arms to play billiards" joke.)

at least from my limited perspective as a trans man (with multiple other things this game involves I'd rather not put in a steam review), every character is quite different, and their identities and disorders are portrayed with a great amount of empathy. I feel like I could understand certain things a bit more, not limited to a preference for rotating pronouns. it reads like a lot of research went into it.

it has a great atmosphere sometimes, too. I love horror, and the midnight's cold requiem ending was legitimately spooky to me.

I've played a lot of free games, and I wondered at first why I didn't recognize any of the music they usually get from free use sources. the credits surprised me; all of it was either made by the dev or commissioned just for the game? that's going above and beyond many indie OELVNs, let alone a free one. the cost that did go into this game shocks me.

the mild creativity in the user interface, such as the profile selection screen, is also cute.

NEGATIVE?: the graphics can be jarring to look at at first, and the 3D models of the characters often have some collision problems with their clothes. the art is not exactly the highest production value, falling back on the inexperienced developer fact. but as an indie, free work — the models quickly grew on me, and the emotion in the various 2D CGs is clear. better that than stiff but extremely experienced work in a story that doesn't want to push through any comfort zones.

I must also say that (vague post-18 endings spoilers?) the memories segment is very intense and noticeably slows things down. personally, I think the less ultimate ending-exposing memories could have been slipped into the main loops so it doesn't all happen at once. this section did actually affect me very strongly, in a good way, so I would never suggest it wasn't worth it as it was.

ULTIMATELY: it's a good game. it's a free game. it's got characters that may seem silly at first, but have a sometimes painful depth to them. it makes an effort to include identities that games and stories of all kinds often pretend don't even exist. it's well worth a shot for a whole $0 and more, and I look forward to seeing what this dev can offer in the future.

Beautiful VN