Reviewing Blemish: A visual novel demo

This month I checked out Blemish. A visual novel demo by pavior on itch.io.

pavior.itch.io

Blemish Visual Novel (Demo) by Pavior

Visual Novel

The story follows Tobias Gamble, a family therapist sturggling to recover from the shock of one his patients committing suicide. He's asked to consult another child in similar circumstances; Another young female foster child by the name of Millicent. Their time together is short but we can gather that Millicent has been neglected, one who feels like most things are her fault, and unimportant. She instantly reminded me of my younger self and so I think that if this game continued it could have made for a sweet, healing read. I think Tobias could have been a strong male prescence if given the chance. One she needed. Maybe even end up adopting her, as it seems like her present Foster Mother is also too busy to be there for her, and it wouldn't surprise me if the ending storyline was that Millicent was going to be returned.

Although the demo ends almost as soon as it starts, it leaves players intrigued and eager to keep playing. Unfortunately the game's kickstarter did not do well, so we'll never get a full version, but perhaps someday.

Overall the story sucks you in immediately, and this is all thanks to:

1. The immersive, clean, and polished backgrounds.

2. The simple GUI. The dialogue box's buttons were shrunk and placed on the farthest right side of the bottom screen, allowing readers to focus on the text and story.

3. Millicent, a character that quickly grows on you.

4. The music: Briefly eerie, melancholic, and sentimental.

5. Tobias's Voice. Intelligent, sophisticated, and poetic. In the very beginning, he makes a metaphor. One alluding to the patient. He compares her to a plucked flower arranged into a bouquet. Caring for them requires "delicacy," and Tobias believes he took her issues lightly and mishandled her. Judging from comments throughout the demo, about the late patient's Mother, the board, and an eventual attack on his home. I think it’s safe to say others think he failed her too. 

This visual novel is definitely going to haunt me due to it's lost potential.