Rag's Recommended Reading List: Part 1

Hi all!

I felt like I would point out some other VNs on itch that are worth a gander. You may have heard of these, but they're getting the #rag endorsement of interest, which means something... to me :p

Minotaur Hotel

This is a game that treats both elements of the medium (i.e. Visual AND Novel)  with equal dignity. This isn't just a series of pictures for gratification (which isn't to say those can't be enjoyable. I read those. You read those. I'm not pointing to those, though. That's a separate recommendations list.)  This is a serious work of writing, dancing around its source material inspiration with an extensive mythology. There is layers of intrigue. People are not just good or bad. They are complicated. You may even choose to sin severely against one who cannot withstand you (something I'm not faint of heart to do so. I'm only willing to harm my own characters, not quite the same for others.) 

It's a work that takes work, to get through. It's sincere in its tale. You will get whatever you put into it in reading it. Ergo, take the time to read it.



WORST DATING SIM

It's irreverent. It stays true to it's name. It's riddled with bad endings. It's a long treacherous path of rote memorization and luck. It's adorable. It plays with the art styles. It's referential. It's basically that speech by Lady Gaga that stan twitter memes with.

For an extensive shitpost, it's one you'll enjoy from start to end and wish that more content was created. You'll look at the creator and silently beg for a sequel, because the worst is not quite enough.

Shelter

Shelter, like WORST DATING SIM, is not unlike a shitpost, but it is one that takes itself seriously. Even the posts to accelerate to new content are a shitpost, and yet, there's joy in the communal shitpost. Everyone's in the joke.

Shelter has the characters with their endearing charm. they're not quite a beast, not quite a man. Naivety in spades, requiring the hand of a human to be elevated above baser instincts and needs. Their souls, if one could say it like that, are incomplete. Nascent, not quite fully formed. They're developing. Humanity has had thousands of years to become shitty. It's uncertain if these character's have had the same.

Alternate timelines(?), post-apocalypse, magic, snow, reincarnation-- it's got all the speculative fiction elements you wanted in a work. The tension? Visible with the means the 'camera' points and the audio that plays. Romance? Sultry and well earned. Despair? Shrinking with each update as you discover more means to avoid a terrible fate.  And so you'll read, baited by a sense of optimism and a desire to be elevated, not unlike the boys within the work.

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Now you may have heard of all of these, if you're reading my work, but maybe you haven't gotten around to them yet. I guess let this be a sign to change your mind and push them higher on your list.