XEECEE writes with a lucidity and literacy that is shockingly uncommon in video games. I see other reviews compare the game to something called "When They Cry", which I take to be an anime video game that has a good reputation. Okay, fine, but I'd encourage anyone reading this review to come into the game with higher standards; this is a robust and well-told work that draws inspiration from Black Narcissus, The Pillars of the Earth, The Name of the Rose, Wolf Hall, Redwall, Sherlock Holmes, Bound, reality television, two thousand years of Catholic communion, a childhood sense of wonder towards the majesty of the British isles (I suspect emerging from the author's own childhood, but I digress), early 90s trip-hop, chintzy harpsicord ren faire music, and countless other sources. And it can do so while remaining accessible to its audience, many of whom haven't dipped a toe into film or literature or history, which is a triumphant balancing act.

Often when I play video games -- or frankly, read fantasy -- I'm struck with the impression that the author has failed to live a full life, that their imagination is constrained by an unwillingness to engage with the richness of the world. You need to read and to live and to seek out the world: it is the light that the prism of your imagination focuses, and without it, the results of writing are dim. XEECEE, ironically, has written a novel about a woman whose whole life is hidden away from the world in the most total isolation possible, but done so with a human and humane touch. On the most basic level, I've spent the last few years visiting ruined castles and monasteries here in Ireland, and this is perhaps the only video game I've ever played through that captures the feeling of wandering through the annals of time.

Misericorde: Volume One is just the beginning of the story of Linbarrow Abbey, which opens with the murder of resident chronicler Catherine II. I'll warn you that the mystery is not bookended with a tidy reveal of the guilty party or a surprise appearance of the victim, alive and well. Rather, it ends at a logical stopping point: an inflection in time when the members of the Abbey begin to move on with their lives, but find it is not so easy to escape the cursed cloud that hangs over their cloister. A secret ending suggests a much broader universe. And again, as the store page alludes to, this is a novel. There are no choices, no mini-games, no ammo, no health bar: you are reading a story set to images, video, and music. What to think of this genre? It just is. I don't generally "play visual novels" for all the reasons I explained above. I did "play" or "read" or "soak in" this one. It's no deeper than that for me.

The combination of deep cut history and deliberate anachronism makes the novel easy to read. Conversations enjoy a naturalistic and well paced flow that suggests editing uncommon to games. The visual novel style, as compared to paper novels, enjoys less narration and descriptive prose and quite a bit more dialogue, so it's a real credit that the game doesn't create conversational burnout. Characters are drawn in a manner that is at once ostentatiously modern (witness the discussions on reddit, Discord, and in the forums here about which is "best girl"; I suspect a deluge of fan art will follow in the years to come, and I implore the author to consider merchandise if possible) but also reflects a time-tested approach that could well have come from Joseph Conrad's study of mythic archetypes. The in-game text occasionally suggests characters be sorted by their blood humour horoscopes, but I found myself frequently grouping characters and situating them in any number of scales: in particular I think these characters emerged from a brainstorming process that made use of insights of modern (big 5) personality psychology.

I don't think I'm stepping out on a ledge to suggest the author made deliberate strides to incorporate and render neurodiversity throughout the cast of characters, but in a tasteful way that reflects the panoply of human experience rather than just the flatly uninteresting manner that neurodiversity is sometimes used in social media bio text, as though it were a soup can label or a cudgel. I won't ruin the insight I just offered by going ahead and ending with "Flora is ABC... Eustace is XYZ...", but rather leave it by saying that the circumstances through which young women find themselves joining a convent might well reflect a baseline marginality, a sense of not fitting in, a queerness (not just of sexual orientation, though it is that, but of the broader meaning -- what Durkheim called anomie), and I think it's natural to conduct a reading of the text that observes elements of personality disorder and cognitive difference throughout the cast.

I can't sing the praises of the music enough. The credits show the already pseudonymous XEECEE modestly distancing themselves from the music by using an alternate stage name. Sorry, I refuse to be fooled. XEECEE delivers a soundtrack well worth buying on its own, both tone poem and surprisingly catchy. Perhaps the moment I most loved in the game is a particular plot reveal where the track entitled "Scandal!" played. XEECEE hides little meta-commentary and insights in the titles of the tracks that accompany key moments, so be sure to check the game's text history to see a "Now Playing".

Some technical clunkiness emerges from the use of Ren'Py as a core game engine, but my sense is that the single consideration that's useful for a game developer to have when choosing an engine is "will this help me ship my game". XEECEE has accomplished so much here by getting to the finish line with flair, and so Ren'Py may well have been the right choice.

You must, must, must buy this game. If you can afford the game, buy a copy for a friend as well. If you can't, leave a comment and I'd be happy to buy a handful of copies to those who promise to read it to completion. And to XEECEE, wow!, and also, best of luck as you continue the story of Linbarrow Abbey and Misericorde in Volume Two, which I await with bated breath.

XEECEE writes with a lucidity and literacy that is shockingly uncommon in video games. I see other reviews compare the game to something called "When They Cry", which I take to be an anime video game that has a good reputation. Okay, fine, but I'd encourage anyone reading this review to come into the game with higher standards; this is a robust and well-told work that draws inspiration from [i]Black Narcissus[/i], [i]The Pillars of the Earth[/i], [i]The Name of the Rose[/i], [i]Wolf Hall[/i], [i]Redwall[/i], [i]Sherlock Holmes[/i], [i]Bound[/i], reality television, two thousand years of Catholic communion, a childhood sense of wonder towards the majesty of the British isles (I suspect emerging from the author's own childhood, but I digress), early 90s trip-hop, chintzy harpsicord ren faire music, and countless other sources. And it can do so while remaining accessible to its audience, many of whom haven't dipped a toe into film or literature or history, which is a triumphant balancing act. Often when I play video games -- or frankly, read fantasy -- I'm struck with the impression that the author has failed to live a full life, that their imagination is constrained by an unwillingness to engage with the richness of the world. You need to read and to live and to seek out the world: it is the light that the prism of your imagination focuses, and without it, the results of writing are dim. XEECEE, ironically, has written a novel about a woman whose whole life is hidden away from the world in the most total isolation possible, but done so with a human and humane touch. On the most basic level, I've spent the last few years visiting ruined castles and monasteries here in Ireland, and this is perhaps the only video game I've ever played through that captures the feeling of wandering through the annals of time. [b]Misericorde: Volume One[/b] is just the beginning of the story of Linbarrow Abbey, which opens with the murder of resident chronicler Catherine II. I'll warn you that the mystery is not bookended with a tidy reveal of the guilty party or a surprise appearance of the victim, alive and well. Rather, it ends at a logical stopping point: an inflection in time when the members of the Abbey begin to move on with their lives, but find it is not so easy to escape the cursed cloud that hangs over their cloister. A secret ending suggests a much broader universe. And again, as the store page alludes to, this is a novel. There are no choices, no mini-games, no ammo, no health bar: you are reading a story set to images, video, and music. What to think of this genre? It just is. I don't generally "play visual novels" for all the reasons I explained above. I did "play" or "read" or "soak in" this one. It's no deeper than that for me. The combination of deep cut history and deliberate anachronism makes the novel easy to read. Conversations enjoy a naturalistic and well paced flow that suggests editing uncommon to games. The visual novel style, as compared to paper novels, enjoys less narration and descriptive prose and quite a bit more dialogue, so it's a real credit that the game doesn't create conversational burnout. Characters are drawn in a manner that is at once ostentatiously modern (witness the discussions on reddit, Discord, and in the forums here about which is "best girl"; I suspect a deluge of fan art will follow in the years to come, and I implore the author to consider merchandise if possible) but also reflects a time-tested approach that could well have come from Joseph Conrad's study of mythic archetypes. The in-game text occasionally suggests characters be sorted by their blood humour horoscopes, but I found myself frequently grouping characters and situating them in any number of scales: in particular I think these characters emerged from a brainstorming process that made use of insights of modern (big 5) personality psychology. I don't think I'm stepping out on a ledge to suggest the author made deliberate strides to incorporate and render neurodiversity throughout the cast of characters, but in a tasteful way that reflects the panoply of human experience rather than just the flatly uninteresting manner that neurodiversity is sometimes used in social media bio text, as though it were a soup can label or a cudgel. I won't ruin the insight I just offered by going ahead and ending with "Flora is ABC... Eustace is XYZ...", but rather leave it by saying that the circumstances through which young women find themselves joining a convent might well reflect a baseline marginality, a sense of not fitting in, a queerness (not just of sexual orientation, though it is that, but of the broader meaning -- what Durkheim called [i]anomie[/i]), and I think it's natural to conduct a reading of the text that observes elements of personality disorder and cognitive difference throughout the cast. I can't sing the praises of the music enough. The credits show the already pseudonymous XEECEE modestly distancing themselves from the music by using an alternate stage name. Sorry, I refuse to be fooled. XEECEE delivers a soundtrack well worth buying on its own, both tone poem and surprisingly catchy. Perhaps the moment I most loved in the game is a particular plot reveal where the track entitled "Scandal!" played. XEECEE hides little meta-commentary and insights in the titles of the tracks that accompany key moments, so be sure to check the game's text history to see a "Now Playing". Some technical clunkiness emerges from the use of Ren'Py as a core game engine, but my sense is that the single consideration that's useful for a game developer to have when choosing an engine is "will this help me ship my game". XEECEE has accomplished so much here by getting to the finish line with flair, and so Ren'Py may well have been the right choice. [b]You must, must, must buy this game[/b]. If you can afford the game, buy a copy for a friend as well. If you can't, leave a comment and I'd be happy to buy a handful of copies to those who promise to read it to completion. And to XEECEE, wow!, and also, best of luck as you continue the story of Linbarrow Abbey and [b]Misericorde[/b] in Volume Two, which I await with bated breath.