I finally got around to buying and playing this VN after eyeballing it for so long, and it was 100% worth every penny and every second.
For brevity's sake, I'll simply list every aspect of the game that I loved: the writing; the sprinkling of jokes; the creepy moments; the quirky, painterly art style; the surreal elements; the lovable cast of characters (with my favorite character being a certain bespectacled person); the occasional tonal shifts; the point-and-click gameplay; the puzzles (I was so proud of myself for finishing everything on my own despite being a shameless walkthrough user in general); the catchy music; the voice acting; the interface; the guide book (I just remembered I forgot to check it during my last playthrough so I should go back and see what's changed!); the thoughtful exploration of the concepts of death and regret; and so much more.
Even though I got all the endings (to my knowledge) and the epilogue, I'm still missing some images in the gallery and a few Steam achievements. Even so, I found this VN to be very fulfilling and satisfying and polished. Thank you very much for creating this masterpiece and for sharing it with us!
Thank you so much for buying and playing the game! I'm very happy that you enjoyed it that much. :) If you've completed everything you should have all gallery images, did you do the DLC as well (which you can choose to start when starting a new game)?
I missed the free weekend noooo. I really want to play this game so bad but I don't have the money for it. The art is pretty and I like stories like this. It reminds me of Angel Beats. So far, the reviews are good so I hope I can play this game one day.
Ohhh that's too bad. :( Yeah, it does sound like you'd enjoy it, then, in terms of style etc! I hope you'll be able to play it eventually. It regularly goes on sale and in the future I might run another free weekend, who knows. :)
Thanks for reaching out anyway and have a wonderful day. <3
I'm not even at the end of it yet, but oh my god, I love this game !! I got my hands on it while it was free and wanted to play it before Poetry in Purgatory (for continuation you know), I'm not disappointed in the slightest ! The artistic direction, the visual aspect, the art style...this game is so beautiful. The story is very interesting, and I really like Astrid as the main character ! Thank you for this game, can't wait to play the sequel when I'll be able to :D
Ahh sorry for the late reply!! But thank you so, so much for this lovely comment!! :) I'm very happy that you're enjoying the game, and I hope the rest of it was just as good and that you'll have fun with the sequel as well! Thank you so much for the support!! <3 <3 <3
Got it while it was free weekend and just finished all of it and I LOVED IT!
The story was so nicely written and hit me wayy too hard in the feels that I found myself teary eyed reading it at times lmaO
And I ABSOLUTELY adore the characters! They didn't feel flat and their designs are great! I'm so hyped up for the sequel bc I just wanna read more of the game's world and it's characters so badly
Also Astrid was such an absolute delight of an MC to read!! I love her design and personality sm tht I drew a quick lil fanart of her! <33
I started playing it thanks to the free weekend event, and I am really enjoying it. The art is very pretty, the puzzles fun and the story interesting. Thank you for making this game and sharing it with us :)
I'm not entirely sure, but after googling a bit it seems like games made with the Ren'Py engine (which this one is) is "officially supported by Linux" and should be Linux native.
Feel free to report back on whichever worked for you, would be useful for me to know. :)
Loaded the main menu, the music is a BOP! Basically just run "pitstop_in_purgatory.sh" as a program and it comes right up. it complains in terminal about not being loaded in steam but that's irrelevant since it's the drm-less version
Traduje esto a través de Google Translate, lo siento si no está bien. :)
Gracias por decirme que el juego sigue sin funcionar en Android. Lo quitaré por ahora y espero que vuelva en el futuro cuando se resuelva el problema.
Que tengas un día increíble. :)
(For those not speaking Spanish: I've taken the Android version down for now as it's crashing for some players, it will hopefully return when the issue is solved.)
Hi! I’m very sorry to hear that it doesn’t work for you. I have no idea what the issue could be; I’ve had no other reports of something like that from either players or my testers, but I’ll try looking into it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. :)
Update: I've taken the Android version down for now as it's crashing for some players, it will hopefully return when the issue is solved.
wow, i really am speechless. i played this game to occupy myself thinking it was one of those games where you simply keep reading and pressing the spacebar, but i was blown away by this game. the incredible attention to detail, the depth of characters, the art, the music, the overarching storyline, the tiny 4th wall breaks and the fact that you have this plot unraveling and yet coming together so perfectly over the course of playing all the routes. absolutely incredible. and the ending too, i saw someone in the comments talking about how they felt it wasnt fitting well but i quite liked the feeling of something still ambiguous.
all in all, i simply cannot express in words how much i loved this game. much love to all the devs and creators involved. a beautiful game <3
Oh, boy. Where do I begin? This was... an experience. In the good way.
After playing the O2A2 entry of Purgatoryverse, I knew I have to check the full story out and I was definitely not disappointed. The premise is simple enough – you're in the purgatory. Get out. Simple enough, right? Wrong. Cue figuring out your memories, navigating relationships, finding out secrets, arguing with entities and, in general, feeling, lots and lots of feeling. This game did make me cry a couple of times and I won't deny if ever asked about it. Emotional moments can, and will, pack a punch, so if you tend to cry easily, don't download without a pack of tissues near. I'm being serious here. Also be prepared to get attached to the characters. You don't have to like them, but you'll get attached either way.
I love the meta layer. I love the Purgatory mythos that was created here. I did gasp at the epilogue and the post credit scene. I laughed at the references in flavor texts (if you didn't click on EVERYTHING, did you really play this game? Go back and click everything after every major event, now). I enjoyed the puzzles, though I kept forgetting about having an inventory at the beginning which made progress, well, impossible. Sometimes I got stuck, but after my first playthrough, I started catching the drift of how things work around here and only had to go to see the walkthrough once. The satisfaction after solving every problem/puzzle was truly serotonin inducing.
Everything is beautifully polished (the main screen changing, sprites blinking, burning candles on the text box, Astrid's reflection appearing in the mirror once you hover over it...) and the game is truly delightful to look at as well. It was a beautiful mix to experience.
Would I recommend this game? Absolutely. If you're still on the fence about it, get off the fence now. Get it. Now. Meanwhile, I'll just sit on the Bench of Hopefully Not So Eternal Wait and I'll wait for the next arrival in the series.
I wanted to leave an articulate comment worthy of this game and how completely amazing it is, but I don't even know where to start. I love this. I love the characters (I love how they're kind of updated versions of some classic tropes). I love the story. I love the puzzle aspect. I love the writing in general. The art is adorable. I just love it. I wish I could say more, but my brain is still buzzing. Even though I've completed every route, I'll definitely be coming back to this game in the future. So, so good!
I finally got to finish the entirety of the definitive edition for this game and I'm truly at a loss for words. This game is absolutely so amazing and I'm so glad I was able to experience both old and new routes. The music is so good and each piece really fit well with each scene! All of the characters are so intricate and they have so much depth to them that now, it's difficult for me to be able to choose a favorite. However, I can definitely say that this is truly one of my favorite visual novels ever. I had so much fun playing this game and I look forward to the Steam version and any new games you may make in the future!!
I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the game that much!! And humbled that you'd place it so high among your favorites! <3 Thank you so much for playing and for letting me know how much you liked it, it means a lot! :)
This game was beautiful! To interested players: I can't recommend trying to get all of the endings enough. (For the beautiful art, and the extra story)
**Spoilers below*
Wow. I can't believe how hard the solo route hit me. In the beginning, with the silhouette saying "You don't belong here" I went straight to assuming Astrid's death was going to be abuse related. Of course, those stories can be pulled off very well and emotionally, but I have seen quite a few. Seeing Astrid and Vol's argument felt so real. You could genuinely see they loved each other and wanted things to work out for the best. When Astrid discovered the reason for her death and that Vol's last words were 'I love you'...I can't describe the feeling. Her learning to move on from her guilt was a moving story, and very well written at that. I loved every part of it! Great job.
That being said, I hate to criticize such a lovely game, but I have to remark on the epilogue. I thought the idea of getting a glimpse into Vol's afterlife was great, and the little "date" between him and Astrid was sweet. However, I felt Remmy's character was very unnecessary. It seemed to ruin the tone of the game a bit, and boil it down to a simple "To be continued?" ending.
Overall, a stunning game with a moving story and beautiful art. I hope to see more games from you in the future :)
Hi! Thank you so much for your lovely words, and for playing the game! I'm very happy that you enjoyed it and that it resonated with you. :)
As for the epilogue, I totally get where you're coming from. It's purpose in the narrative is more of a side-story thing that gives you a little glimpse of things to come (as well as some more time spent with Vol), which is why it's not called an Act like the other routes. But playing it in a vacuum, and expecting it to continue Astrid's story even further, I can definitely understand how you'd feel that way (and I suppose it may be evident that the epilogue was added as new content to the game, and wasn't originally part of the story).
Thanks for letting me know, and have a great day! :D <3
I'm an enthusiast and creator of the project "Keeper of Time". Specialize in translating visual novels and comics into Russian. I understand if, due to the current terrible situation, you immediately stop reading after this. I'm writing with a proposal to translate ur game into Russian. I don't sell translations and leave all links on authors, I also do not take money from the owners of the original for my work. If you want, I can show you my project list.
Thank you for your offer to translate. At the moment I'm not looking to translate the game, but if I do I'll get in touch with you. Thank you so much! :)
aaa i completed the full game, and the art is gorgeous!! however, i'm a bit confused with the ending ;;
- major spoilers below !! -
i'm sorry if i'm just dumb, but i got lost during "the guide" route. i gave people items the guide gave me, and everyone starts acting weird/happy? then suddenly we're in a cafe with the guide dude and we dance with him?? (didn't he just mess with our friend's heads?) i have no idea why everyone's acting weird and now there's this god thing eating emotions? also why did our dead boyfriend appear and move in with us? also who is remm and why does she have demon eyes? why did we suddenly join the guide dude in the purgatory? like weren't we supposed to escape it or something? aaa please don't take this as hate, the game is great and the art is beautiful, it's just that i don't really get the story. could someone please explain it in the replies?
i'm sorry if my grammar is weird was hard to understand, i'm not that fluent in english ^^;
Thanks for playing the game, happy that you enjoyed it, and thanks also for your question(s). :) You're definitely not dumb!
Yes, there are a lot of things going on with the plot in those final parts where everything is revealed! Everything you need to know is in the game, but some things are only hinted at so you'll actually have to piece some parts of it together yourself to get the whole picture. I'm the type of player myself who likes to do that which is why parts of the story is a bit open to interpretation, and you can't be 100% sure which character is telling the truth.
So my first recommendation would actually be to play it through again and see if you can figure everything out! But if you don't want to do that (which I totally understand), here come the answers below. And thank you again for playing and reaching out! :) <3
- Major spoiler answers to the above questions below! -
God: The Guide mentions another deity who is similar to what we humans would call God, though this thing isn't exactly the same thing as that. Guide sees it as a problem that this God has all the power and is fearful of what it could potentially do with it (as well as probably quite a bit jealous of him not having that power). "God" gets energy from humans in Purgatory; when people deal with the emotions that originally put them there, energy is produced that gets fed directly to "God", making it more powerful. This is how the system of Purgatory, and the game's afterlife, works, and how power is contained by the deities in question.
Items: The Guide has devised a way to contain the above mentioned energy in items, which he has Astrid use on unsuspecting people in Purgatory, proving that it works. Energy from emotions still has to be extracted manually, so he can't just go around stealing it from people. They have to willingly "open up", which is something that Astrid is really good at making people do. As they open up to her in The Guide route, their emotions of distress are channeled into the items, thus ridding them of their negative emotions, making them happy. This is a "cheat" that The Guide has come up with to be able to steal energy from "God".
Café: This is another place, i.e. it's not Purgatory. When in Purgatory, The Guide is constantly busy since he's simultaneously talking to millions of people at once, as he's hinted at before (him being omnipresent). He moves him and Astrid to the café setting, which is "another place", so he can be alone with his thoughts, and her.
Dance: As Astrid says, she pretty much gives in to all the absurd things that's happening and goes "ah well, might as well dance". In that moment she probably believes The Guide too when he says that he's trying to help in his own way, so she feels for him.
Dead boyfriend/Remm etc: This is part of the "Epilogue" in which you play as Vol, not Astrid. This happens at roughly the same time as Astrid's story, but somewhere else (not Purgatory). It's revealed when you get to the café and meet Remm that this place is actually the same café which The Guide took Astrid to, so this is in other words the domain of "God", and "God" is Remm (which is why she has those white eyes). The symbology is that Vol/Remm has a similar dynamic between them as Astrid/Guide, where one is a dead human and the other a deity which grows to like the human in question. So it's like a mirrored situation in a way.
As for why he's moving in with Astrid, this epilogue takes place in Vol's afterlife, in which he chooses to re-live that day over and over, because that's the day he realized that he loved Astrid. So that scene of them moving in together happened before they died.
Astrid in the end: Astrid decides to join The Guide, feeling like it's the lesser of two evils basically. This way she has a chance to help people get out of Purgatory faster instead of being miserable for hundreds of years (like some people end up doing), and she believes The Guide in that it's not a good thing that "God" has all the power. Time will tell if she's right or not. The reason why this pops up in the end (after the epilogue) is just that I felt it was more dramatic to show it there instead of after The Guide route, so you'd have to wait for a bit for the cliffhanger to resolve.
Phew! I hope that makes things at least a bit more clear. Let me know if there's anything else. :)
ooo i see i see, thank you for clarifying!! i have a question though, doesn't the energy extraction thingie feel a bit forced? like the people in purgatory weren't really ready to leave yet, and forcing them out feels a bit wrong, is astrid ok with that? ;;
You are absolutely right about that (and Astrid also brings that up when they talk about it at the end of Guide Route, that it's an immoral thing to do), so it's definitely a tough choice to make.
I kinda wanted things to be morally gray like that; is it better to have people suffer for years and years until they figure something out for themselves, or is it better to help them along? Also, do we have the right to help people who don't ask for help?
Questions like that are also there because for The Guide the answers are simple, but for Astrid they're hard, so in a way she does lose part of her humanity when she decides to join him, even if she has good intentions. And while she thinks that it's the better out of two bad choices, we'll have to wait and see if it turns out to be the right thing to do in the end. :)
There's also the fact that The Guide offers to restore her memory, which definitely influences her decision. Like ordinary humans, she isn't perfect, and I do believe that if he didn't offer that then maybe she wouldn't have given in to him.
aa i see, thank you so much for clarifying! one more thing though, why couldn't astrid just do the same thing she did in the other timelines/save slots? like why couldn't she talk to the people in purgatory, and make them leave willingly? why did she have to use the items instead of talking them out into leaving purgatory? aa i'm sorry if that didn't make sense, and again, thank you so much for answering my questions!! ^^
The items are what The Guide uses to steal the emotion/energy from people. When Astrid makes them leave willingly, the energy goes to "God" since that's how Purgatory works. So she can't talk to them normally if she's going to help The Guide.
You can view it like this: The Guide notices that throughout the different timelines, Astrid has a talent for helping people deal with their emotions. So he gets the idea to have her be the one to try out the items, and it works.
The items are all tailor-made for each person (the painting symbolizes Locke's longing for his family, the empty book symbolizes Rahel's conflicted mentality etc), and when a powerful/sincere emotion is triggered close to the item then the person is drained and their energy is put into the item instead, so that The Guide gets it instead of "God".
Oh, and you're welcome! I love talking about my games so this has just been fun, I'm happy that you're interested in wanting to know more. :)
The white eyes are the same for Guide, “God” and Epilogue Astrid, they simply mean that you aren’t human and have “Purgatory powers” of some sort. :) What exactly that means will be explored more in future games.
I loved the 1.0 of the game already, and the 1.1 v just made it even better! I loved the Guide route addition, and the epilogue was so satisfying to play through. I'd love to see more of the PiP universe, but even if this is the end of the line for these characters (heh, get it, because... because Purgatory...), it was a lovely ride.
Shout out to the artists, sound design, voice actors, etc., too, all MVPs. :D
Aww!! Happy to hear that you'd love to see more of this setting because I kinda feel like the new content opens up for a lot more of potential events... but we'll see what happens. :)
Thank you so much for playing and for your lovely comment! <3
What a lovely game! Excellent writing (correct spelling, grammar etc always makes me happy!), nicely done art and music. I loved the characters! Story was quirky as well as very touching, gameplay was fun and riddles were easy (not a complaint-- it fits the game well). Romance felt a bit rushed, and really wasn't necessary, but the game was done for an otome jam, so I understand. Looking forward to checking out your other titles! Thanks for your hard work on this wonderful game!
Hi! I recently finished Pitstop in Purgatory and really enjoyed the experience. The art and the characters pulled me in from the start. I'll be looking out for the coming updates! If you're up for it, I would love to work on a French translation for the game. Please reach out if you're interested in discussing it further!
I really enjoyed playing thus game!!! It was so good... The art is great, music is fantastic and the characters are so unique and interesting! I actually cried on solo route in the end of it, when talking with Vol, it was so intense and emotional(( omg thank u so much for this game!
What to say? Well, let me start off by saying I really enjoyed this story and I'm kinda like Astrid and don't like riddles since I'm kinda slow to connect dots, nonetheless, I was able to solve them fairly easily and used my brain for the first time since I was born.
The storyline and the way you wrote the characters had me engaged the entire time. You truly gave life or death to the characters. The solo route had me in tears, I hadn't even realized I was crying when she got reunited with her bf. I kinda expected us to have a preview of all the couples after they make it in the end. Each route had me itching to know what was going to happen next.
I do have some questions if you don't mind.
Is there gonna be a route for the guide? If so, I wonder how it's gonna play out considering he might be old or maybe not even a being who can display the affections Astrid would want.
Will you ever show an after-ending? I kinda wonder if the couples stayed together after or if they run into her bf when she's alive because that'd be awkward.
My last question is about the shadows. I noticed in one of your posts that you will be adding more stuff to this. Are we ever going to see how Smiley or Ezrebeth look? Or will that just stay that way as part of the mystery? Anyways, this was a pretty long post but I really enjoyed the story and how fleshed out the characters were.
Hi there! Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I'm happy you enjoyed the game and that it moved you to tears, I'm truly humbled to hear that. Thank you so much! :)
Great questions! I'll gladly answer them. :D
Guide route: Yes, this will be added in the content update. The things that you bring up here are all important points that I'm currently working with to make the route engaging and somewhat believable. I think it'll turn out pretty cool!
After-ending: I have no plans to add that since I feel like it would ruin the mystery aspects of the game, but I feel like *if* there is something else, the couples definitely stick together based on the route you chose. Astrid doesn't know as much in the non-solo routes but she doesn't really need to as she's found peace elsewhere.
Shadows: An interesting thing about development is that we originally made shadows in order to make it so the game could have more NPCs, the plan was that the shadows wouldn't be specific characters but instead just faceless NPCs like you'd see in RPGs for example. But then their personalities kinda grew out of that and now I can't envision them any other way lol.
Thanks again for playing and letting me know how you felt about the game, I really appreciate it! :)
Thank you so much for making this wonderful game! I enjoyed the puzzles and riddles immensely, and loved the premise of trying to make peace with your past.
The art and aesthetic was really unique and lovely, I adored the GUI. Especially loved the level of interactivity, something you don't often get with otome games, and that element of it really made the game stand out to me.
Great characters, writing and pacing. Especially with the solo route, that ending got me, man.
PS, I would be lying if I said I wasn't desperately hoping for a romance route for the Guide. I love everything about him, and would like to spend the rest of eternity in his contemptous embrace.
I loved this game! Great characters, concept, and art! <3
I also really loved The Guide, despite my better judgement LOL I think he's my favorite character, even with him being... the way he is to the humans in his care. He's so well written, I just want to know more about him! Though I'm not sure how he would feel about having a route, given his whole... "what is an ant to a man" metaphor.
TLDR great game, i love the guide more than i have any right to
---
I was also wondering [though this might be a spoiler], is there a way to get into the off-limits area that the sign blocks off in the waiting hall? :0
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Hello, i would like to know if it is necessary to play the female Li route to get the full story or it can be skipped
Hi and thanks for reaching out!
Yes, you need to play all routes to get the full story. :)
I see. Thank you
Thank you so much for buying and playing my game! I'm so happy you enjoyed it and this was a very fun playthrough to watch! :) <3
This was a good game I enjoyed playing. Easy 10/10. The soundtrack and the characters were on point.
Thank you so much!! I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed it. :) <3
I finally got around to buying and playing this VN after eyeballing it for so long, and it was 100% worth every penny and every second.
For brevity's sake, I'll simply list every aspect of the game that I loved: the writing; the sprinkling of jokes; the creepy moments; the quirky, painterly art style; the surreal elements; the lovable cast of characters (with my favorite character being a certain bespectacled person); the occasional tonal shifts; the point-and-click gameplay; the puzzles (I was so proud of myself for finishing everything on my own despite being a shameless walkthrough user in general); the catchy music; the voice acting; the interface; the guide book (I just remembered I forgot to check it during my last playthrough so I should go back and see what's changed!); the thoughtful exploration of the concepts of death and regret; and so much more.
Even though I got all the endings (to my knowledge) and the epilogue, I'm still missing some images in the gallery and a few Steam achievements. Even so, I found this VN to be very fulfilling and satisfying and polished. Thank you very much for creating this masterpiece and for sharing it with us!
Thank you so much for buying and playing the game! I'm very happy that you enjoyed it that much. :) If you've completed everything you should have all gallery images, did you do the DLC as well (which you can choose to start when starting a new game)?
There's an achievement guide on the wiki (bottom of this page) in case you want to go for full completion: https://purgatoryverse.fandom.com/wiki/Pitstop_in_Purgatory
Thank you again for the support, for playing and for leaving this lovely comment! <3
I missed the free weekend noooo. I really want to play this game so bad
but I don't have the money for it. The art is pretty and I like stories like this. It reminds me of Angel Beats. So far, the reviews are good so I hope I can play this game one day.Ohhh that's too bad. :( Yeah, it does sound like you'd enjoy it, then, in terms of style etc! I hope you'll be able to play it eventually. It regularly goes on sale and in the future I might run another free weekend, who knows. :)
Thanks for reaching out anyway and have a wonderful day. <3
I'm not even at the end of it yet, but oh my god, I love this game !! I got my hands on it while it was free and wanted to play it before Poetry in Purgatory (for continuation you know), I'm not disappointed in the slightest ! The artistic direction, the visual aspect, the art style...this game is so beautiful. The story is very interesting, and I really like Astrid as the main character ! Thank you for this game, can't wait to play the sequel when I'll be able to :D
Ahh sorry for the late reply!! But thank you so, so much for this lovely comment!! :) I'm very happy that you're enjoying the game, and I hope the rest of it was just as good and that you'll have fun with the sequel as well! Thank you so much for the support!! <3 <3 <3
Got it while it was free weekend and just finished all of it and I LOVED IT!
The story was so nicely written and hit me wayy too hard in the feels that I found myself teary eyed reading it at times lmaO
And I ABSOLUTELY adore the characters! They didn't feel flat and their designs are great! I'm so hyped up for the sequel bc I just wanna read more of the game's world and it's characters so badly
Also Astrid was such an absolute delight of an MC to read!! I love her design and personality sm tht I drew a quick lil fanart of her! <33
AHHH!!! This made my day!! :D <3
So happy that you enjoyed the game that much and this artwork is GORGEOUS!! I'm shocked!!! Thank you so much for sharing that! <3 <3 <3
I started playing it thanks to the free weekend event, and I am really enjoying it. The art is very pretty, the puzzles fun and the story interesting. Thank you for making this game and sharing it with us :)
Thank you very much! Super happy that you're enjoying it. :) Have fun! <3
Does this work on linux through proton? or native linux binary?
Hi!
I'm not entirely sure, but after googling a bit it seems like games made with the Ren'Py engine (which this one is) is "officially supported by Linux" and should be Linux native.
Feel free to report back on whichever worked for you, would be useful for me to know. :)
Loaded the main menu, the music is a BOP! Basically just run "pitstop_in_purgatory.sh" as a program and it comes right up. it complains in terminal about not being loaded in steam but that's irrelevant since it's the drm-less version
Alright, great! That's very good to know. Thanks for reporting back, enjoy the game (and the bopping music)! :D
A mí tampoco me funciona el juego. Primera imagen de carga y se cierra..OPPO a53s android 12
Traduje esto a través de Google Translate, lo siento si no está bien. :)
Gracias por decirme que el juego sigue sin funcionar en Android. Lo quitaré por ahora y espero que vuelva en el futuro cuando se resuelva el problema.
Que tengas un día increíble. :)
(For those not speaking Spanish: I've taken the Android version down for now as it's crashing for some players, it will hopefully return when the issue is solved.)
FYI I tried opening the game on Android and it immediately crashes
Hi! I’m very sorry to hear that it doesn’t work for you. I have no idea what the issue could be; I’ve had no other reports of something like that from either players or my testers, but I’ll try looking into it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. :)
Update: I've taken the Android version down for now as it's crashing for some players, it will hopefully return when the issue is solved.
wow, i really am speechless. i played this game to occupy myself thinking it was one of those games where you simply keep reading and pressing the spacebar, but i was blown away by this game. the incredible attention to detail, the depth of characters, the art, the music, the overarching storyline, the tiny 4th wall breaks and the fact that you have this plot unraveling and yet coming together so perfectly over the course of playing all the routes. absolutely incredible. and the ending too, i saw someone in the comments talking about how they felt it wasnt fitting well but i quite liked the feeling of something still ambiguous.
all in all, i simply cannot express in words how much i loved this game. much love to all the devs and creators involved. a beautiful game <3
Thank you so much for this lovely comment and your kind words! I'm super happy that you enjoyed it that much!! I really appreciate it. :) <3
Oh, boy. Where do I begin? This was... an experience. In the good way.
After playing the O2A2 entry of Purgatoryverse, I knew I have to check the full story out and I was definitely not disappointed. The premise is simple enough – you're in the purgatory. Get out. Simple enough, right? Wrong. Cue figuring out your memories, navigating relationships, finding out secrets, arguing with entities and, in general, feeling, lots and lots of feeling. This game did make me cry a couple of times and I won't deny if ever asked about it. Emotional moments can, and will, pack a punch, so if you tend to cry easily, don't download without a pack of tissues near. I'm being serious here. Also be prepared to get attached to the characters. You don't have to like them, but you'll get attached either way.
I love the meta layer. I love the Purgatory mythos that was created here. I did gasp at the epilogue and the post credit scene. I laughed at the references in flavor texts (if you didn't click on EVERYTHING, did you really play this game? Go back and click everything after every major event, now). I enjoyed the puzzles, though I kept forgetting about having an inventory at the beginning which made progress, well, impossible. Sometimes I got stuck, but after my first playthrough, I started catching the drift of how things work around here and only had to go to see the walkthrough once. The satisfaction after solving every problem/puzzle was truly serotonin inducing.
Everything is beautifully polished (the main screen changing, sprites blinking, burning candles on the text box, Astrid's reflection appearing in the mirror once you hover over it...) and the game is truly delightful to look at as well. It was a beautiful mix to experience.
Would I recommend this game? Absolutely. If you're still on the fence about it, get off the fence now. Get it. Now. Meanwhile, I'll just sit on the Bench of Hopefully Not So Eternal Wait and I'll wait for the next arrival in the series.
Thank you so much for this lovely review! :) I’m very happy that you enjoyed the game! <3
I really enjoyed playing this.
Thank you! I’m happy you had a good time with the game. :)
I wanted to leave an articulate comment worthy of this game and how completely amazing it is, but I don't even know where to start. I love this. I love the characters (I love how they're kind of updated versions of some classic tropes). I love the story. I love the puzzle aspect. I love the writing in general. The art is adorable. I just love it. I wish I could say more, but my brain is still buzzing. Even though I've completed every route, I'll definitely be coming back to this game in the future. So, so good!
Thank you so much!! I'm very happy that you enjoyed the game! :) I really appreciate all your lovely words! <3
Thank you so much! I'm happy you enjoyed it. :) <3
I finally got to finish the entirety of the definitive edition for this game and I'm truly at a loss for words. This game is absolutely so amazing and I'm so glad I was able to experience both old and new routes. The music is so good and each piece really fit well with each scene! All of the characters are so intricate and they have so much depth to them that now, it's difficult for me to be able to choose a favorite. However, I can definitely say that this is truly one of my favorite visual novels ever. I had so much fun playing this game and I look forward to the Steam version and any new games you may make in the future!!
I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the game that much!! And humbled that you'd place it so high among your favorites! <3 Thank you so much for playing and for letting me know how much you liked it, it means a lot! :)
And thanks for the lovely artwork, too! :D <3
This game was beautiful! To interested players: I can't recommend trying to get all of the endings enough. (For the beautiful art, and the extra story)
**Spoilers below*
Wow. I can't believe how hard the solo route hit me. In the beginning, with the silhouette saying "You don't belong here" I went straight to assuming Astrid's death was going to be abuse related. Of course, those stories can be pulled off very well and emotionally, but I have seen quite a few. Seeing Astrid and Vol's argument felt so real. You could genuinely see they loved each other and wanted things to work out for the best. When Astrid discovered the reason for her death and that Vol's last words were 'I love you'...I can't describe the feeling. Her learning to move on from her guilt was a moving story, and very well written at that. I loved every part of it! Great job.
That being said, I hate to criticize such a lovely game, but I have to remark on the epilogue. I thought the idea of getting a glimpse into Vol's afterlife was great, and the little "date" between him and Astrid was sweet. However, I felt Remmy's character was very unnecessary. It seemed to ruin the tone of the game a bit, and boil it down to a simple "To be continued?" ending.
Overall, a stunning game with a moving story and beautiful art. I hope to see more games from you in the future :)
Hi! Thank you so much for your lovely words, and for playing the game! I'm very happy that you enjoyed it and that it resonated with you. :)
As for the epilogue, I totally get where you're coming from. It's purpose in the narrative is more of a side-story thing that gives you a little glimpse of things to come (as well as some more time spent with Vol), which is why it's not called an Act like the other routes. But playing it in a vacuum, and expecting it to continue Astrid's story even further, I can definitely understand how you'd feel that way (and I suppose it may be evident that the epilogue was added as new content to the game, and wasn't originally part of the story).
Thanks for letting me know, and have a great day! :D <3
Hello!
I'm an enthusiast and creator of the project "Keeper of Time". Specialize in translating visual novels and comics into Russian. I understand if, due to the current terrible situation, you immediately stop reading after this. I'm writing with a proposal to translate ur game into Russian. I don't sell translations and leave all links on authors, I also do not take money from the owners of the original for my work. If you want, I can show you my project list.
u can contact me: keepersoftimerus@gmail.com
Awaiting your reply, with respect, Deer.
Hi!
Thank you for your offer to translate. At the moment I'm not looking to translate the game, but if I do I'll get in touch with you. Thank you so much! :)
aaa i completed the full game, and the art is gorgeous!! however, i'm a bit confused with the ending ;;
- major spoilers below !! -
i'm sorry if i'm just dumb, but i got lost during "the guide" route. i gave people items the guide gave me, and everyone starts acting weird/happy? then suddenly we're in a cafe with the guide dude and we dance with him?? (didn't he just mess with our friend's heads?) i have no idea why everyone's acting weird and now there's this god thing eating emotions? also why did our dead boyfriend appear and move in with us? also who is remm and why does she have demon eyes? why did we suddenly join the guide dude in the purgatory? like weren't we supposed to escape it or something? aaa please don't take this as hate, the game is great and the art is beautiful, it's just that i don't really get the story. could someone please explain it in the replies?
i'm sorry if my grammar is weird was hard to understand, i'm not that fluent in english ^^;
Hi there!
Thanks for playing the game, happy that you enjoyed it, and thanks also for your question(s). :) You're definitely not dumb!
Yes, there are a lot of things going on with the plot in those final parts where everything is revealed! Everything you need to know is in the game, but some things are only hinted at so you'll actually have to piece some parts of it together yourself to get the whole picture. I'm the type of player myself who likes to do that which is why parts of the story is a bit open to interpretation, and you can't be 100% sure which character is telling the truth.
So my first recommendation would actually be to play it through again and see if you can figure everything out! But if you don't want to do that (which I totally understand), here come the answers below. And thank you again for playing and reaching out! :) <3
- Major spoiler answers to the above questions below! -
God: The Guide mentions another deity who is similar to what we humans would call God, though this thing isn't exactly the same thing as that. Guide sees it as a problem that this God has all the power and is fearful of what it could potentially do with it (as well as probably quite a bit jealous of him not having that power). "God" gets energy from humans in Purgatory; when people deal with the emotions that originally put them there, energy is produced that gets fed directly to "God", making it more powerful. This is how the system of Purgatory, and the game's afterlife, works, and how power is contained by the deities in question.
Items: The Guide has devised a way to contain the above mentioned energy in items, which he has Astrid use on unsuspecting people in Purgatory, proving that it works. Energy from emotions still has to be extracted manually, so he can't just go around stealing it from people. They have to willingly "open up", which is something that Astrid is really good at making people do. As they open up to her in The Guide route, their emotions of distress are channeled into the items, thus ridding them of their negative emotions, making them happy. This is a "cheat" that The Guide has come up with to be able to steal energy from "God".
Café: This is another place, i.e. it's not Purgatory. When in Purgatory, The Guide is constantly busy since he's simultaneously talking to millions of people at once, as he's hinted at before (him being omnipresent). He moves him and Astrid to the café setting, which is "another place", so he can be alone with his thoughts, and her.
Dance: As Astrid says, she pretty much gives in to all the absurd things that's happening and goes "ah well, might as well dance". In that moment she probably believes The Guide too when he says that he's trying to help in his own way, so she feels for him.
Dead boyfriend/Remm etc: This is part of the "Epilogue" in which you play as Vol, not Astrid. This happens at roughly the same time as Astrid's story, but somewhere else (not Purgatory). It's revealed when you get to the café and meet Remm that this place is actually the same café which The Guide took Astrid to, so this is in other words the domain of "God", and "God" is Remm (which is why she has those white eyes). The symbology is that Vol/Remm has a similar dynamic between them as Astrid/Guide, where one is a dead human and the other a deity which grows to like the human in question. So it's like a mirrored situation in a way.
As for why he's moving in with Astrid, this epilogue takes place in Vol's afterlife, in which he chooses to re-live that day over and over, because that's the day he realized that he loved Astrid. So that scene of them moving in together happened before they died.
Astrid in the end: Astrid decides to join The Guide, feeling like it's the lesser of two evils basically. This way she has a chance to help people get out of Purgatory faster instead of being miserable for hundreds of years (like some people end up doing), and she believes The Guide in that it's not a good thing that "God" has all the power. Time will tell if she's right or not. The reason why this pops up in the end (after the epilogue) is just that I felt it was more dramatic to show it there instead of after The Guide route, so you'd have to wait for a bit for the cliffhanger to resolve.
Phew! I hope that makes things at least a bit more clear. Let me know if there's anything else. :)
ooo i see i see, thank you for clarifying!! i have a question though, doesn't the energy extraction thingie feel a bit forced? like the people in purgatory weren't really ready to leave yet, and forcing them out feels a bit wrong, is astrid ok with that? ;;
You are absolutely right about that (and Astrid also brings that up when they talk about it at the end of Guide Route, that it's an immoral thing to do), so it's definitely a tough choice to make.
I kinda wanted things to be morally gray like that; is it better to have people suffer for years and years until they figure something out for themselves, or is it better to help them along? Also, do we have the right to help people who don't ask for help?
Questions like that are also there because for The Guide the answers are simple, but for Astrid they're hard, so in a way she does lose part of her humanity when she decides to join him, even if she has good intentions. And while she thinks that it's the better out of two bad choices, we'll have to wait and see if it turns out to be the right thing to do in the end. :)
There's also the fact that The Guide offers to restore her memory, which definitely influences her decision. Like ordinary humans, she isn't perfect, and I do believe that if he didn't offer that then maybe she wouldn't have given in to him.
aa i see, thank you so much for clarifying! one more thing though, why couldn't astrid just do the same thing she did in the other timelines/save slots? like why couldn't she talk to the people in purgatory, and make them leave willingly? why did she have to use the items instead of talking them out into leaving purgatory? aa i'm sorry if that didn't make sense, and again, thank you so much for answering my questions!! ^^
The items are what The Guide uses to steal the emotion/energy from people. When Astrid makes them leave willingly, the energy goes to "God" since that's how Purgatory works. So she can't talk to them normally if she's going to help The Guide.
You can view it like this: The Guide notices that throughout the different timelines, Astrid has a talent for helping people deal with their emotions. So he gets the idea to have her be the one to try out the items, and it works.
The items are all tailor-made for each person (the painting symbolizes Locke's longing for his family, the empty book symbolizes Rahel's conflicted mentality etc), and when a powerful/sincere emotion is triggered close to the item then the person is drained and their energy is put into the item instead, so that The Guide gets it instead of "God".
Oh, and you're welcome! I love talking about my games so this has just been fun, I'm happy that you're interested in wanting to know more. :)
hmm then can i ask why The Guide and Epilogue Astrid have white eyes? Are they even different from the "God"'s?
The white eyes are the same for Guide, “God” and Epilogue Astrid, they simply mean that you aren’t human and have “Purgatory powers” of some sort. :) What exactly that means will be explored more in future games.
Hello. Can I translate your game into Vietnames?
Hi!
Thank you for the offer! I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future. I really appreciate it. :)
Woooo! Thanks for sharing that, and for playing! :) <3
AAA SO GOOD
I loved the 1.0 of the game already, and the 1.1 v just made it even better! I loved the Guide route addition, and the epilogue was so satisfying to play through. I'd love to see more of the PiP universe, but even if this is the end of the line for these characters (heh, get it, because... because Purgatory...), it was a lovely ride.
Shout out to the artists, sound design, voice actors, etc., too, all MVPs. :D
Aww!! Happy to hear that you'd love to see more of this setting because I kinda feel like the new content opens up for a lot more of potential events... but we'll see what happens. :)
Thank you so much for playing and for your lovely comment! <3
What a lovely game! Excellent writing (correct spelling, grammar etc always makes me happy!), nicely done art and music. I loved the characters! Story was quirky as well as very touching, gameplay was fun and riddles were easy (not a complaint-- it fits the game well). Romance felt a bit rushed, and really wasn't necessary, but the game was done for an otome jam, so I understand. Looking forward to checking out your other titles! Thanks for your hard work on this wonderful game!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review. I really appreciate it! <3
Glad you enjoyed the game. :)
I made a playthrough!! Just part 1 and 2 for now. I love it so far!!
Ill add them here as i do them if its ok?
Aww, that's so cool! I really appreciate that, and happy that you enjoy the game! :) <3
And definitely, go right ahead. :)
Part 4 and 5.
excited for the new updates!!!
Thanks for sharing! Enjoy the new stuff. :)
I need the answer to this riddle 😬
" Look at your items
see them from a name
this is the reason
this is your shame "
Hi! :)
Thank you so much for playing, and for reaching out! <3
You'll be able to solve this by looking in your inventory. The items' names form the answer (in case you want to solve it yourself).
If not, scroll down a bit to find the answer itself:
guilt
Yes thank you i found the answer 👏
Awesome! :)
Enjoy the game! <3
Hi!
I recently finished Pitstop in Purgatory and really enjoyed the experience. The art and the characters pulled me in from the start. I'll be looking out for the coming updates!
If you're up for it, I would love to work on a French translation for the game. Please reach out if you're interested in discussing it further!
Hi there!
Thank you so much, I'm happy you enjoyed the game! :)
Oh, I really appreciate the offer! I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future. Thank you! <3
pain,,, i'm stuck at the intruder part and i don't know where to go next :')
Hi! :)
For that part, use the Strange Bauble on the Intruder and then use it once more on the mirror afterwards.
Feel free to ask for more help if you get stuck again! A walkthrough will be added to the game in the next update.
Thanks so much for playing! <3
No... Walk through...?
It's coming soon as part of the content update. :)
Until then, feel free to tell me where you're stuck and I'll gladly help!
does anyone know what the answer to the riddle is on the solo route by any chance?? i've been trying to figure it out for a while now </3
Hi! Thanks for playing the game. :) Which of the riddles do you need help with?
hii, i've managed to figure out all the clues and i've finally gotten the ending! tysm for replying though :)
Yay! Well done! :) <3 And no worries! :D
I really enjoyed playing thus game!!! It was so good... The art is great, music is fantastic and the characters are so unique and interesting! I actually cried on solo route in the end of it, when talking with Vol, it was so intense and emotional(( omg thank u so much for this game!
Thank you so much for playing, and for this sweet comment! I'm very happy that you enjoyed it. :)
I feel dumb, I got stuck in the riddle part like forever :(
Oh nooo! So sorry!! But you’re not dumb, don’t worry! <3 Maybe I should put up a walkthrough?! And also, did you manage to figure it out? :)
Is not you fault... I still can't solve it maybe really bad at riddles.
Which of the riddles is it? I can help you out. :)
Also, in the content update coming later this year I will add a Walkthrough. <3
Is okay, i can wait for the walkthrough then. thanks alot for the reply
What to say? Well, let me start off by saying I really enjoyed this story and I'm kinda like Astrid and don't like riddles since I'm kinda slow to connect dots, nonetheless, I was able to solve them fairly easily and used my brain for the first time since I was born.
The storyline and the way you wrote the characters had me engaged the entire time. You truly gave life or death to the characters. The solo route had me in tears, I hadn't even realized I was crying when she got reunited with her bf. I kinda expected us to have a preview of all the couples after they make it in the end. Each route had me itching to know what was going to happen next.
I do have some questions if you don't mind.
Is there gonna be a route for the guide? If so, I wonder how it's gonna play out considering he might be old or maybe not even a being who can display the affections Astrid would want.
Will you ever show an after-ending? I kinda wonder if the couples stayed together after or if they run into her bf when she's alive because that'd be awkward.
My last question is about the shadows. I noticed in one of your posts that you will be adding more stuff to this. Are we ever going to see how Smiley or Ezrebeth look? Or will that just stay that way as part of the mystery? Anyways, this was a pretty long post but I really enjoyed the story and how fleshed out the characters were.
Hi there! Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I'm happy you enjoyed the game and that it moved you to tears, I'm truly humbled to hear that. Thank you so much! :)
Great questions! I'll gladly answer them. :D
Guide route: Yes, this will be added in the content update. The things that you bring up here are all important points that I'm currently working with to make the route engaging and somewhat believable. I think it'll turn out pretty cool!
After-ending: I have no plans to add that since I feel like it would ruin the mystery aspects of the game, but I feel like *if* there is something else, the couples definitely stick together based on the route you chose. Astrid doesn't know as much in the non-solo routes but she doesn't really need to as she's found peace elsewhere.
Shadows: An interesting thing about development is that we originally made shadows in order to make it so the game could have more NPCs, the plan was that the shadows wouldn't be specific characters but instead just faceless NPCs like you'd see in RPGs for example. But then their personalities kinda grew out of that and now I can't envision them any other way lol.
Thanks again for playing and letting me know how you felt about the game, I really appreciate it! :)
Thank you so much for making this wonderful game! I enjoyed the puzzles and riddles immensely, and loved the premise of trying to make peace with your past.
The art and aesthetic was really unique and lovely, I adored the GUI. Especially loved the level of interactivity, something you don't often get with otome games, and that element of it really made the game stand out to me.
Great characters, writing and pacing. Especially with the solo route, that ending got me, man.
PS, I would be lying if I said I wasn't desperately hoping for a romance route for the Guide. I love everything about him,
and would like to spend the rest of eternity in his contemptous embrace.So happy that you enjoyed the game! Thank you for this lovely review. :)
You're not alone in hoping for "something more" with The Guide, so be sure to keep an eye out for future content updates...! :D
Thank you so much for playing!! <3
I loved this game! Great characters, concept, and art! <3
I also really loved The Guide, despite my better judgement LOL I think he's my favorite character, even with him being... the way he is to the humans in his care. He's so well written, I just want to know more about him!
Though I'm not sure how he would feel about having a route, given his whole... "what is an ant to a man" metaphor.TLDR great game, i love the guide more than i have any right to
---
I was also wondering [though this might be a spoiler], is there a way to get into the off-limits area that the sign blocks off in the waiting hall? :0
Thank you so much for your kind words. :) Happy that you enjoyed the game, and yes, The Guide sure is something isn't he?! lol ^^
No, there's no way right now to get past that sign, but who knows what future content updates may hold... :)
Thanks for playing! <3
D'awww the solo ending has got me 😭😭😭😭😭😭
Awwww <3 I'm glad the emotions of it landed, but yes... it sure is something. :) Thanks for playing!! <3
I love the game <3
Thank you so much for playing! :) I'm happy that you enjoyed it! <3
Loved it! The characters, the story, the aesthetics, the music 😍😍😍
AND Pasta Man 😭😭😭
So happy that you enjoyed it my dear friend!! Pasta Man loves you too! <3 ;_; <3
it was an honor to be able to work on this! the characters are all so lovely and grew on me so much, and i think the game turned out great!! <3
Aww!! Thank you so much! I never could have done it without your amazing art and constant back-and-forth of ideas <3!
The aesthetic and color scheme alone are out of this world! Definitely need to check this out soon! Congrats on the release!
Thank you so much!! I hope you'll enjoy it. :) Definitely checking out your game too, it looks awesome! :D