Where Winter Crows Go

This has been stuck in my head so I'll leave a spoiler-minimal long comment or mini review.

Basically, get it. It's on sale right now but even full price it's what I got it for plus a drink. I want to see this small team funded to do more and longer games.

The writing is good, backgrounds are pleasant, CGs well done, and the story revolves around two really cute characters. Somehow it manages to compress worldbuilding in a short runtime, as well as different moods: it can go from cosy to exciting to adorable in a matter of textboxes without being jarring or needing to pull a "5 hours later I had calmed down" thing.

There are really not many negatives to speak of, I found it quite short, 25,000 words passes really quickly especially if you're a fast reader, the "2-3 hours" is what it took me for 3 endings and a self-insert playthrough  But this is NOT to dissuade you getting it, it's short; ergo it's cheap, so the only real sore point is some emotional pain when I started getting attached then the credits rolled.

(Since some people were curious: self-insert is the same story but no side sprite and you choose name and pronoun.)

Some of the music was also a bit stock with one rock song that's "this famous one but off-brand" which made me chuckle at times I don't think I was meant to, but really no hate, I produce music so I noticed but it really wasn't that jarring. Generally the audio is just ambience, also the VA work is light but high quality. I liked that you can tell the creator's favourite scenes because they had more or full voice acting.

[Minor spoilers in this paragraph] There is also a slight lack of player agency, I guess. There's no 'successfully escape' ending, also I like Crowe but by being naturally hesitant on my first/headcanon go, Aspen took on a hostile attitude and tried to run when I personally wouldn't have. Still I got the yandere ending and I like yanderes so joke's on you. ;)  - I get it though, why would a 2 hour game have impactful choice after impactful choice?

Crowe is well done, there's a few yandere trope scenes but I think he was unique especially in appearance. Aspen was a tastefully done and adorable gender-neutral character and I picked up on some things mentioned in the artbook (which is also worth it due to lore exposition and dev commentary!) like the pale skin and bags under eyes, yet they remain well-presented and sharp conveying their willpower to survive and thrive.

Neither character is too 'triggering' - Crowe isn't a psychopath, just protective for reasons this spoiler-minimal mini review won't get into. The story manages to feel mature without needing gore, sex, or hard drugs.

That's all I have to say. Short summary: Short but sweet, totally get it if you like visual novels. The small scope of the game left me wanting more but that's partially a good thing since it's not a self-contained universe. Potentially tropey but actually well-drawn and lovely protagonists.

So buy it, and consider it a donation towards longer better titles.

Hi, finally got around to play this lol, pretty cool yandere VN! ^^

The game gets pretty immersive from the get-go, really liked Aspen (didn't do the self-insert path, so idk how much of a difference it makes), and the first scene sets the stage in an engaging and fun way, making them a pretty likeable protagonist right away. Aspen is actually my favorite character of the VN honestly, now that I think of it, they have a good amount of depth and funny antics while still being relatable enough to be a good stand-in for the reader.

The rest of the intro gets the "how is it going to go wrong?" idea across pretty well, and while I knew Crowe is a yandere from the start because... idk, I saw the game page and content warnings lol, there's still the feeling that he's pretty nice. His interest in nature is well-developed, and the research put into it to make this interest shape his character up is really well-executed! His relationship with Aspen is also pretty good, the cute moments being consistently well-done, but the tense moments are a bit more hit-or-miss in my opinion. This probably comes from the fact I'm not too much of a yandere guy, but sometimes Crowe just felt a bit too tropey, despite the clear attempt to separate him from the average yandere clichés, but then again, I guess yanderes are a pretty limited trope to play around with, so it's more of a personal preference thing if anything. The exposition near the endings definitely points out a will to make something different, but I feel like at this point, I've just went "oh yeah, Crowe's just a yandere" and it felt a bit like too little was done too late, and the occurences of foreshadowing like the wound in Day 2 just feel a bit out of place and like it's leaning too much in the yandere aspect on first playthrough in my opinion (although I could understand why it may not be the case for some people). One of the endings especially (the bad ending) feels a bit more like yandere fanservice in a way that feels both out of character for Crowe, who is still at the end of the day a nice person towards Aspen, and like it dials back on the idea of making a more fleshed out yandere character, which is a shame because the other two endings are pretty good closers! So overall, I'd say Crowe is still likeable and I completely get his appeal, I'm just not that into yanderes. I can appreciate him still though.

The supernatural elements in around the last third of the story help spice the story out in a way that feels mysterious and interesting, but I honestly wish it was introduced a bit better, as that dream scene with the crow (AKA our first introduction to these elements) felt a bit out of place. It was kinda like I was reading a small creepypasta in the middle of the VN, with all the word spam happening. Again, it does pick up though, making the last days the most interesting ones in my opinion.

Speaking of writing style, the writing was constantly immersive, helped by the great VA work and art, as well as the pacing in Days giving out appreciated little "chapters" to the story and the research in nature themes. Just solid style overall, and a pretty enjoyable experience! ^^

THIS COSTS MONEY NOW?

may i ask how much endings this game has? 'cause when i was playing long ago, i got a different ending. and this time when i played it again it was something new and the options were different too so i dont really know

im genuinely curious. i downloaded the game long before it became paid.. so can i still play the game for free or do i have to pay to play it again? though i dont mind paying 5 dollars this game is so good frfr ong

I'm actively playing rn, and they just finished ranting about work, this is so sweet nothing is going to go wrong.. right

I'm so, so sorry that someone pirated your game to put it on Android! That is so low and shows zero love and respect for what you've done. Whoever it was can't say that they're a fan because a true fan would never do that.

I also hope that more people start to understand why paying for the game is the right thing to do. In the end, it really helps us as players because you feel better and we can (hopefully) get more games to play in the future.

AHHH,, WHY CAN'T IT RUN ON ANDROID? 😭

Should I be worried if Windows warns me about starting the game?

我记得以前的crow好像是另外一个立绘？好久没玩了竟然已经换新的了，还是更喜欢之前版本的crow。。请问作者后面有想法把老版本的crow单独出一个作品吗😢