CUPID Review (free visual novel)

 

This review was originally published on Fuwanovel Forums on February 23th 2018.

 

In my previous review I was writing about a NaNoRenO OELVN-contest entry that definitely bit slightly more than it could chew – a large scale project that, due to its short development cycle, came out rushed and deeply flawed, not reaching the full potential its premise and characters offered if handled properly. Today, however, I’m dealing with a game that could be seen as a bit of a counter-argument to my thesis on what can and cannot be done within NaNoRenO’s tight timeframe – a visual novel made mostly by a single person, which used the event as a starting point, delivering an extensive demo and expanding on it afterwards in a rather spectacular fashion. 

            CUPID, created by Fervent Studio and released for free in March 2016, was a rather unusual and surprising addition to the OELVN niche. This gothic romance/horror story with a female protagonist is pretty far detached from any established subgenre on the VN market, probably owing the most to the classic Western literature. However, its mature, dark themes and extremely competent execution makes it potentially attractive for many types of readers, as long as they’re not easily discouraged by highly unsettling and potentially depressing content. It also introduces a few spins on the typical visual novel formula and unusual storytelling techniques that make it stand out from most Western and Japanese titles, creating a unique, memorable experience on a market dominated by rather generic, trope-driven products.

CUPID’s artstyle quickly sets it apart from most of generic, anime-style OELVNs, but its originality doesn’t end there

 

CUPID doesn’t wait long with establishing its tone and main themes – the short prologue welcomes the player with a rather agonizing introduction to the protagonist – an abused, mentally broken girl, who is driven by guilt into a horrible act of self-harm, gouging out one of her eyes (thankfully, that scene is only signalized off-screen and not actually shown). From this very moment it’s clear that the themes of mental illness and sexual abuse will be a crucial part of the game and it won't shy away from including drastic events in its plot – I actually find that decision on the part of the developer very appropriate, as everyone uncomfortable with such topics or not prepared for seeing more of the tragedies the game centers around will simply drop it at that point before risking being unsettled even further.

            The prologue also presents one of the most original aspects of the game – the choice system, in which you don’t directly control the protagonists actions or thoughts, but instead act as a voice in her head, which she attributes to her long-dead mother – a symptom of mental instability, that depending on the path you take, will try to sooth the protagonist’s pain and uncertainty, or push her even further towards madness and violence. I’ve found this system very compelling from the storytelling perspective, but also felt that it adds a lot of weight to player agency and makes the dark, abusive choices even more painful than they would normally be. If you push the protagonist towards another tragedy, the game even calls you out in a way, pointing out your cruelty and the fact you’re toying with her for your own fun or out of curiosity.

The game’s “indirect” choice system is one of its most interesting ideas and paradoxically add a lot of weight to the decisions you make

 

When it goes to characters and story, the game concentrates on a very small cast, in a setting of XVIII-century France. This creates a very focused, well-paced and fulfilling experience, despite CUPID's fairly short playtime (completing the game in 100% won’t take you more than 10 hours). The lead characters include the protagonists, Rosa, Catherine, a child-prodigy pianist and Rosa’s best friend, who saved her from life on the streets, and marquis Guilleme, Catherine’s patron and, eventually, lover. The story spans over nearly two decades but is told without strict chronological order, jumping between the tragedy that is the main axis of the plot and its immediate repercussions on the one hand, and various earlier events on the other (those give context to the main plot-points and slowly reveal the meaning behind the overarching intrigue).

            Just like the game’s title suggests, much of it centers around the themes of love and sex, but this mostly concerns the relation between the Marquis and Catherine and above all, serves as the fuel for both drama and horror elements – it’s not a romance VN in classic understanding of the term. This is also reflected in the endings, only one of which can be to some extent described as romantic (and which is very explicitly a non-canon, bonus route). As you can expect from the first moments of playing CUPID, there’s no real “happy” conclusion to its story and the endings vary between bitter-sweet and utterly horrific – it’s definitely not a VN for those overly sensitive and I myself struggled a bit after reaching the worst end.

CUPID’s sexual content can be somewhat graphic, but more often than not it serves the horror, rather than romance and at no point it can be considered porn

 

All this is complemented by very good visual and sound design. The graphical style is far-detached from the typical, anime-inspired aesthetic and rather unique withing the VN niche, but above all it impresses with its consistent quality and variety. With a large number of CGs and interesting visual tricks in horror scenes, it's way beyond what you would normally expect from this kind of free game. The sound effects and music are rather minimalistic, but do a great job of enhancing the climate when it's especially needed and also fit well into the historical, European setting.

            In the end, CUPID proved to be a really excellent experience, one in which I have a hard time finding actual faults. Its literary values, storytelling and production qualities are all top-notch, especially by the standards of the OELVN scene. The fact it’s a free game, made in a relatively short time span is absolutely mind-blowing. If you haven’t played it yet, I highly recommend it – as a fairly short horror VN it has few worthy competitors and for low the price of nothing, it’s simply a sin not to check it out.

 
Final score: 4,5/5
 
Pros:
+ Original and well implemented aesthetic
+ Very effective, unsettling atmosphere
+ Unique and well-executed choice system
 
Cons:
- Very dark, disturbing story – not for everyone

VNDB page
Download CUPID for free on Steam or Itch.io