The Widow's Shadow

A banger of a presentation, with art and design referencing German Expressionist films, but it doesn't stop with the visuals.  Beautiful, engaging music and knockout sound design (which I think is often an afterthought).  I played with a set of stereo headphones on and I heard the wind in the trees, every approaching footstep, and every shuddering creak of an opening door. 

The theme of the story, too is like many Expressionist works--explores sanity and insanity, the subjective perception of reality, and human nature at odds with itself.  Deeper still, we find a character struggling to come to terms with a relationship that has ended, and the exploration here is nuanced, thoughtful, and relatable.

Beautiful game!

You did a great job on this game!  

The aesthetic is so beautiful, and the story depicted was so starkly real it definitely affected me more than I was expecting going in...

But I absolutely love how well you handled the subject matter all in all; the true ending was so wonderfully moving... thank you!

Oooh--I've been looking forward to this entry since it was announced, and it still far exceeded my hopes as a deliciously spooky love-letter to a film genre and era I adore! A phenomenally polished and beautifully designed package, with an absolutely stunning soundtrack (put me vividly in mind of watching old Kino Video editions of G.W. Pabst films!), gorgeous character art and UI, stylish backgrounds, and fantastic, atmospheric sound design. The story is structured with a clear knowledge of its genre and almost surgical artistic precision. One of my favorites so far, for certain!

I enjoyed every second of this game and am still reeling from how beautifully told the story is! Its art style and use of motion was striking from the get-go and the protagonist's plight immediately intrigued me. 

At many points I stopped and thought to myself how well the music and sound effects went with every moment, and I loved the use of camerawork in the hallway--a really smart move in maximising the assets you have for effective storytelling. The rest of the camerawork also accompanied the story well, and I can't wait to see what will happen if you push it further for future projects.

Amazing work, all of you! 🎉

This was such a wild ride. I love every second of it, the vibe kinda reminds of that really old vampire movie and that french film les diabolique , which is one of the movies I really love.  The art, music and everything else just compliments the writing. You should check this game out. 

Gamepad support? Will you put on steam?

The Burton-esque art style and character designs (I found the choice to give a horn-shaped hairstyle to one specific character especially brilliant!) and achromatic aesthetic of this game perfectly suit the story. 

Oh, and what a story it is! Once the spooky portion of the VN began, I was reminded of Coraline initially, but you've managed to utilize the premise to relay a concise, cohesive message that matters and hits hard. I believe this story has the potential to resonate and provide catharsis to many readers who have undergone similar experiences as the widow and who have dealt with people like her late husband. 

I enjoyed getting all the endings! One particular moment in Ending 2 gave me chills. Perfection! Your team should be very proud of yourselves for releasing such a solid visual novel! Congratulations!

(Note: Copy-pasting this comment from the Spooktober VN Jam 2023 page.)

I'm absolutely floored. This game has easily and instantly become one of my favourite VNs! Everything from the writing, music, cinematography and art style come together in a beautifully crafted package and a deeply felt, emotional story.

Everyone on the team deserves a big pat on the back!

Lovely use of silhouettes and Tim Burton-esque eye bags to convey the mood of the whole story. This is such a haunting tale that makes me sad for all the housewives that had to put up with this!

I appreciated how everyone’s names was THE WIDOW, THE NOSY VILLAGER, THE WIDOW’S FRIEND, giving the sense of Brother’s Grimm fairy tale anonymity to everyone.

The music set the tone so well, as did all the creepy CGs! It takes a toll on you to pick the choices that unlocks the final CG, and it’s such a relief to have another path where she

SPOILER ALERT BELOW

stands up for herself!

To say I enjoyed this story is an understatement, it was EXTRAORDINARY!!!!!!!

First, let's appreciate the art, the music and the implementation of the assets: the game really managed to recreate the vibe of German impressionism, but of course, in a VN, more modern format (which shows through the excellency fo the writing). The GUI was also beautiful, and I insist on congratulating everyone who worked on this: the game was a completely polished experience, beautifully represented by the sprites, the CGs, the music, the backgrounds, the animation and camera movements... It was dramatic when it needed to be, and there is real cinematography attached to the game. So congrats on all the team!

Also, story-wise, I loved the main character (the widow). It was easy to connect with her as a protagonist, as she felt very grounded. It's complicated to really go into details without spoilers, but overall, our choices really shape the character and her reactions to both the husband and the shadow who can both get equally-threatening figures, looming over her. My favourite ending, in particular, was the second one, as the third one is more empowering and the first one OH MY GOD SO DRAMATIC (and I loved them both for what they brought to the story), the second one kept the widow's grounded nature, and was the more realistic take on the topic mentioned: not being able to hate your abuser, but still feeling relieved to be free from them.

Overall, what a game it was! It was consistent, well-written (the phrasing was very good), deep, emotional, dramatic, grounded, intense, bittersweet, frightening, nostalgic - long story short, a whirlwind of emotions and vibes!!! Congrats on all the team for this STUNNING entry, it was WONDERFUL!!!!

I'd love to write a cohesive comment but I'm not quite sure if I can. It was a beautiful experience. Going from the supernatural, odd occurrences to the pure catharsis of finally liberating yourself from the grasp of an abusive relationship hits HARD. "And then I'm going to live" literally made me cry. I don't know what else to say. I need to get the two remaining endings. VERY good job, this game will live in my head rent free for a long while.