Where Winter Crows Go

I never ever comment on games and just created an account to do so-

normally, there's at least one ending in these yandere games I dislike or at least I know there's one I like the most specially, but this game?? All It's end have their own thing and I truly loved them all to the point I REALLY can't decide for one, I loved this game a ton and Crowe too, his design, the story of the game Itself and how every end is worked in is pure beauty, im glad i decided to play this game :33 Truly, thanks for making this (and for free!!!)

a big smoch to all the people in the elaboration of the game /p

best game ever i just cant explain it. this really got me excited. def putting it in my fav games folder

love this game

Played this game last night and I absolutely love it! I got one ended so far and I plan to get the others as well! ^ ^ Some of the scenes really had me hooked during the more intense parts. The backgrounds and scenery for this game are beautiful, I especially love the winter background when you go outside! And the log cabin makes me as the player feel really cozy during those scenes.  I absolutely adore Aspen's design, they are very cute. I was surprised when the option came up to pick my MC, but I really liked that feature! I can't wait to get the rest of the endings for this game!🩷

Lettuce boi, my beloved.

The story has far exceeded my expectations! It also has sent me into a roller coaster of emotions and if anything, I'd give this another read in the few months or so and recommend this to my friends as well!

Thank you for this refreshing of a visual novel! <3 

This is an amazing game! do you think you'might make a sequel to it? i would literally love to see a sequel! also Crowe is such a silly pookie :33 i absolutely adore this game i played it some months ago for the first time, and i cant get it out of my mind! thank you so much for making it!! <33

(constructive criticism, maybe somewhat harsh. Don't read if you're too sensitive, I understand. But there is praise, too)

What I think this game suffers alot from is undecidedness in the tone and what it wants to commit to. It tries to have a little bit of everything(comedy, romance, realistic characterisation, tension) and in practise doesn't quite hit the mark with any of them ending up a bit of a jumbled mess. The idea itself is applaudably creative and interesting with the potential to properly entice interest and mystery. But in execution, I feel a more focused approach would've done it more justice. It wants to tackled so, so many themes and evidently struggles to juggle them, among these being themes of loneliness, love vs obsession, thirst for knowledge, living in the wilderness, the occult/supernatural, etc etc. Some of these could've done with cutting away entirerly, and some being more elaborated on and actually intergrated with whichever one should've been the main plot point. 

This discombobulation of direction is especially evident in the characters, particularly in the differencess in how Crowe acts across the routes. Sure, the very point of routes in games is to see different sides of characters and the story, but it doesnt feel like the core feel of Crowe as a character remains. My main grievance in this is in what information is revealed and the extent to Crowe's, erm, "psycho"-ness between the yandere ending  and the other two. In the others, more sympathetic, but uncharacteristically by comparison cruel and "psycho" in the yandere route. Perhaps this would've made more sense if the loneliness aspect was expanded on more of as a theme, or perhaps not. The Yandere route, despite being the most realistic one for how the MC would act, robs the play unnecessarily of CORE information needed to understand the story and leaves the entire supernatural plotline feeling unresolved and like a contrived plot device to drive the plot forward/ "add spice". 

Speaking of realism. Not only does the game abnormally punish the experience of a player playing sceptically, it also entirerly appears to make getting other ending so much more difficult. If you act suspicious, as one realistically would, in the first day or so, this makes getting anything other than the yandere route/ sweet route hard to get. There is also a great struggle in the realism of the MC. I can appreciate when an MC is written in a relatable way, but here it is done so too far, to the point it often takes away from moments which should maintain tension, another thing with which this game struggles. Comedy is fine, but it is done excessively here to the point where it is difficult to take the scenario seriously. 

Narrative aside, art, voice work and music somewhat mirror the issue with matching one another and being contradictory much like the narrative. The art, imo, suffers the least from this. Quality wise, both aspects are STUNNING, however it is so clear that the background and object art is not only better in quality but also in a drastically different style that clashes a little with the way the characters are drawn. Music-wise, it's alright and not of much note; except with one track. The track used, about twice from what I can remember, in moments of anger/suspense. There is no easy way to put this, it is comically unmatched to the vibe of the scenarios it plays in and takes away from their weight. The worst offender of these is by far the voice acting. Don't get me wrong there is some GREAT delivery and it progressively gets better towards the end only to dip up and down at the very end. But alot of the time it can be dysproportionatelly emphasised and dramatic, sometimes reaching the point of bad english anime dubs. 

As for finer critiques/praises I have noted:

*I liked the inventive choice of having a character so contrasted to the setting, ie a scientist in a cottage-core esque setting, and having this actually link to the supernatural part of the story somewhat for his thirst of knowledge. The seeds were planted for the character development in the sweet route of Crowe learning to learn things by experiencing them, but I feel there could've been more build-up than just that singular seed. Also noticed the nice little detail of Crowe's necklace being a black feather, I assume, well, a Crow's; matches both his connection to Crow's, his name and his interest in studying them. Overall a nice character design detail

*The, cringey and edgy sequences where MC leaves the room and we get a line or a few from Crowe could've been done away with. They were not only very edgy and cringe imo, the smaller more subtle hints in their interactions such as Crowe patronising and over-protectiveness of MC already did enough foreshadowing. 

*The weird Chibi CG at that one point with the work in progress book felt off and weirdly placed considering it was just one of it's kind; this is related to my issues with this game struggling to decide just how comedic and #silly it wants to be

*Liked how through nearly all endings there was some repetition/call-backs to earlier phrases(partial migration, cross my heart and hope to die, etc); it was both cute and impactfull. The flirty ending lacked a little in this, though. Also liked the bird-ish word play in the sweet and yandere endings, including "a little birdie told me" or "two birds with one stone" very, very clever. 

*Confessions. In the flirty ending, very predictable. But the use of silence in the music along with the voiced delivery of "I love you" was rather impactful, I have to admit. But the Yandere one was extremely undercooked, and though the VA did it some justice, it was poorly written

*2/3 endings(flirty+yandere) seem VERY abrupt and don't elaborate on crucial parts. Already talked about the issue with the yandere one, for the flirty it was the time-skip. Like, really? We couldn't have had that conversation with Rory? I feel robbed. But I did quite like the sweet ending, and feel the final line of "you're not alone" could have had even MORE impact should the themes of loneliness been explored a little more. 

*The plot, just very slightly, reminds me of Coraline. Crowe=other mother Rory=the black cat, MC=Coraline. Not a perfect comparison, but it just gave me that vibe. This is neither positive nor negative, just an observation I had

*I have to give credit where it's due, both the writing and voicing of Crowe's initial breakdown(where he pins MC to the wall) is done extremely well. 

*one scene which I think did absolutely nail tension and a frighful atmosphere was beggining with the quote "Snowflake? Where are you~?". Despite being rather cliche for a yandere, it was hauntingly well voiced. The placement of it, right after lulling the player into a false sense of comfort with eating the granola, actually made my heart do a little clench in fear for a moment. The subsequent twist of Crowe being clever enough to lace the granola was not something I had seen coming either, and Crowe's monologue was so well voiced at this point. Great scene. Sadly cannot say the same for everything that happened after MC woke up. 

*CGs are well utilised for intimate moments/moments that need a visual representation to help the imagination, and the art is absolutely stunning to boot. 

All in all, a lot of potential, which was rather fumbled by jumbled misdirection. 3/5

♥♥The game is fantastic, I am so delighted with the music and the scenarios, I am so in love with the detail of his eyes in one of the endings♥♥

This was one of the best games I've ever played! I'd love to see a continuation of it or something

This is honestly the best game of this genre that I've played, I was hooked and there wasn't a moment where I felt bored, its beautifully written and executed, fantastic job!!

Voice acting was amazing!! I love all the different type of endings too?! They all have their own charm! <3

I love, love, love, this game. First fantastic name.  It was so fun. It’s short but sweet. It’s on my top 10 list. I never played a game that came with a walk through, so I was very pleased that this game had one. I wish others did as well. I liked the music; it went well with the game’s story. The love interest is my kind of guy, so cute, so sweet and thoughtful in a yandere type of way. The partial voice acting of the love interest was memorable, I’d say attractive. I feel he did a great job.

The sprites were good, the food art was yummy. The chibi was sooo with an extra oo cute. The background is grand, the characters’ expressions are great. When it comes to the setting it provides the mood. The setting sets the foundation of the story. I adore the look of the cabin and its rooms. I was delighted with the attention to detail that was put into this game. I enjoyed the fact that depending on what you like is what you eat. 

Overall, the story was interesting, and I enjoyed the twist at the end. I feel that this game concisely reveals, in part, a look into a sort of empathic truth about the human condition. (or am I reading too into it? hypothetical question) All the endings were great. I do have my favorite though. I can’t say more without spoilers, so I’ll end it here.

I have to say, I could absolutely see this as a cool short anime movie if the plot was expanded with some more scenes and plot complications, maybe some backflashes. Also, more of a backstory of the characters. (After playing this game if you enjoyed it picture it, and I’m sure you’ll see it too.)

So good, I started playing with the demo and i loved it, so when the full game came out i was so happy 1000/10 ♥

10/10 really good game! sweet ending is so cute :3

This game is so gooooood !! I love Clowe sm, hes so adorable ><

Android port pretty please

Wow, just wow! This game was such an unexpected delight. Granted I only finished 1 ending but I felt like it was the true ending for me. I  really enjoyed the writing and I related to the main character's personality so the immersion was 10/10! Th plot was so creative as well, it reminded me of this older movie called Misery. It makes me wonder if there's any inspiration from it. Anyway, loved it and hope to see what more the dev creates! :D

No for Android? :(

10/10, amazing. different endings suit with people with different types. really enjoyed the game. thank u so much <33333333 look forward to your next games

Just finished playing through all the endings. Really great story, Aspen is a delightful MC, and Crowe has just the right mix of Tsundere, cabin fever, and eccentricity.

I will say, though, the way the story was going, I felt like the Sweet Ending could've benefitted from a platonic (brother-sibling) love path as well as the love-love path. However, considering the VN's origins as a game jam game, how choices were likely made per that consideration, and that, based on how the story goes, if the Sweet Ending couldn't have two variants, just having that be a romance route, albeit a healthy one not involving deals with demons, I feel, was a good choice. Otherwise, if the Sweet Ending was platonic love only, then the only ending where Aspen actually romances Crowe would the one where they both become blood-bound psychopaths...and I get the distinct feeling from playing that this VN is not that kind of game!

Guys is the artbook worth buying??

Amazing game! Got genuinely attached to both the mc and Crowe. Lovely writing, lovely backgrounds, and lovely story!!

IM GONNA CRY THE SWEET ENDING IS SO CUTE STOP AGH

I LOVE THIS GAME,IDC IF I FINISHED IT IT'S NOW MY FAVOURITE AND I RLLY APPRECIATE THIS HARD WORK OF THIS GAME!EXCELLENT GAME <3

Excellent game. Fabulous

AGH IM BACK AND HAVE FINALLY PLAYDE THE FULL VERSION MAKING ME LOVE THIS MAN SO MUCH MORE THEN BEFORE, ehem... anywho.. in the end we both became the maniac couple I was hoping for<3 he is literally my pookie  wookie

At the time of this comment I only got 1/3 endings so far (The sweet ending) but I do plan on going back in and getting the other two endings. Also I went into this completely blind having only heard of this game since earlier this year. With that out the way Crowe is so adorbs!!! I love how he’s written, and I love how genuinely goofy he is especially when it comes to nature and cooking and when we fluster him for a change! That being said I hate that bird (the actual crow) for soooo many reasons but in a good way. The crows part of the story caught me off guard but I honestly liked it, it was a twist I certainly didn’t expect and it made me wanna play more! Definitely can’t wait to play some more and get the other two endings!

why does he have to be so fucking cute!

How did you even come up with this premise? it's so detailed and unique, i'm in love with the story... and Crowe...

LOVE THE STORY,
its really well made! Has a really relatable MC and though the demons are kinda more chill than it would be expected, gives you the chill endings you need after all the story.
Love the lore and the art is really good. Like the voice acting even if its just a few words or lines, helps to set more the image of the character.
Love the conection of the story with the info you get along the way