PHANTASMIAC

This was an awesome game! I love the artwork and aesthetic, and the story was super engaging the whole time! I just wish we had a better idea of what went down between Abel and Crowley. I know we had a few hints, but I was never able to put the picture fully together in my head. My gut feeling says Abel isn’t actually as bad as Crowley claims he is though, and Crowley was just preying on MC’s insecurities about him for his own vengeful purposes.

almost remembered the name wrong, (again), as phantasmaniac, but ofc, who would be crazy about ghosts in the story?

Anyway, onto the review, I can feel inexplicable hatred to Abel as the game went on, sick of seeing that sprite of his with his smile thinking he's up in the world with that lame bag he always bring i wanted to swing it smack into his face. 

The art is neat, and what with blinking animation, subtly changing colour of Abel's eyes, and the effects? that added level into neat-er, cool stuff, spooked into disconnection from reality experience as the MC and I felt just, sad, I guess fearing if I could somehow see myself in the MC's shoes in the future. 

But well at least the good side it won't come down to>>spoiler>>

me getting possessed that I could murder somebody or anything, lol. I admit I don't approve Crowley for the things he did, but the implications of missed opportunities he could have had and the hints scattered and picked up throughout the plot, it was understandable or at most he gained my pity-sympathy points yet still managing to be likeable when separated from his ahem bad actions.

THIS GAME IS AMAZING. THE STORY, PLOT LINE, AND ENDINGS ARE SO INTERESTING LIKE I CANT BELIVE THERES ONLY 3 ENDINGS💔 I think this game is really great and i hope theres gonna be more added in the future😍

Se ve bien el juego, pero por ahora esperaré hasta una versión para Android. Aún así apoyaré como pueda!

Wow! It's really impressive how you managed to pack so much into such a short game. And, of course, this game being short, I feel like there are many things left unsaid and I'm absolutely not obsessing over them!

---Spoiler---

What exactly happened between Crowley and Abel? What exactly is the connection between Crowley and the poltergeist? What exactly made it possible for Crowley to use us? So many interesting questions!

When we decide to tell Abel about the strange occurrences, his reaction clearly indicates that there is a stalker around us - at least in the past - and he suspects that this stalker is back. In another dialogue between the protagonist and Crowley, we mention that the way he mentions not being able to know us when he was alive sounds like he already knew us "back then" - when Crowley denies this is the case, he looks away from us and is clearly lying. (Also, dear Crowley here is obviously a yandere with much stalking potential anyway -)

On the one hand, this seems to imply that Crowley was that stalker, but on the other hand, Abel's wording definitely makes it sound like the stalker is still alive and well - indeed, he mentions that he "never should have left [the stalker] alone." (And, well, we know he certainly did not leave Crowley alone.) This leads to some very interesting scenarios:

a). Crowley was the stalker. Abel just never knew it was him and thought the stalker to be someone else.

b). Crowley wasn't the stalker. There's another guy who really is a stalker, and Abel knows who that person is.

c). Crowley was the stalker, and then there is another guy who is also a stalker. Abel only knows about the latter.

... And these speculations bring us to the identity of the poltergeist! I was 99% certain that Crowley was bs-ing us until Father Lucian came in and specifically mentioned that there were two spirits, one much stronger than the other. Moreover, during the exorcism, two voices have indeed spoken - one is Crowley (green text), and the other ??? (grayish text).

But then this doesn't make any sense, because ??? sounds EXACTLY like Crowley - the way he says "You should have listened ..." Crowley (the explicitly labeled one with green speech texts) first begged for his life for exactly one sentence, then when he realizes that this ain't working, he proceeds to drop all pretense and threaten us: "This won't end well for you. You're making a mistake ..." Like, tell me they aren't the same person!  Besides, if we assume that the ??? during the exorcism is the same ??? who read our journal, during the scene ??? explicitly expressed surprise that we are "with him (Abel)," and that "as expected" we and he are "the same" (something Crowley would later say regarding our relationship with Abel).

So why the hell does Father Lucian say there are two spirits? If we assume that the poltergeist is Crowley and not, say, the unknown stalker who accidentally died somewhere out of Abel's sight, then... I don't even know, maybe this is the true nature of Crowley's power? splitting his "soul" so that the powerful, more "ghostly" half causes supernatural shenanigans while the other appears in his human form and subtly influences us such that he can eventually overtake our body?

Not sure if this is related, but when Crowley finishes his possession of us - as opposed to when he just starts using his powers on us - the CG cutscene shows multiple eyes (which look exactly like the ones in his usual sprite, instead of the ones with circular rings) below his "real" eyes. But hey, maybe that's just to emphasize his eldritch-ness!

Woof, I did not expect to type out an essay. Once again, well done on leaving so many breadcrumbs in such a short game. Thanks for making this - I had great fun!