The House in Fata Morgana |OT| Mirages of humanity, fragile like butterflies, laid waste by misfortune [Now on Switch]

[Palette Swap]

*sports a large, large grin*
Just... let us know your thoughts after this door.

Click to shrink...

Just finished it and uh...

Spoiler: Spoilers for the whole of the Fourth Door

This game loves to fuck with you.

I thought I had it all figured out before the door even started, with the white-haired girl being the common denominator to everything, I already assumed she was the player, sent on some cycle of reincarnation, so I felt pretty smug by the time I reached the end of this door, with the Maid-as-Morgana telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, that perfect tragedy.

Except as the game pointed out, too many things didn't line up, and I was genuinely surprised when the time came to reclaim myself. I have no idea where this is going now, if there's even a white-haired girl named Giselle, but man, am I enjoying this ride.

I love how chapters generally don't overstay their welcome and everything generally strikes the perfect balance between pacing and characterization.

I'm glad I made a separate save right after the fourth door ended, because I assume I've missed some bad endings there.

 

[Ingenious Idiot]

Just finished it and uh...

Spoiler: Spoilers for the whole of the Fourth Door

This game loves to fuck with you.

I thought I had it all figured out before the door even started, with the white-haired girl being the common denominator to everything, I already assumed she was the player, sent on some cycle of reincarnation, so I felt pretty smug by the time I reached the end of this door, with the Maid-as-Morgana telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, that perfect tragedy.

Except as the game pointed out, too many things didn't line up, and I was genuinely surprised when the time came to reclaim myself. I have no idea where this is going now, if there's even a white-haired girl named Giselle, but man, am I enjoying this ride.

I love how chapters generally don't overstay their welcome and everything generally strikes the perfect balance between pacing and characterization.

I'm glad I made a separate save right after the fourth door ended, because I assume I've missed some bad endings there.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Door 4

Did you check the backlog during the chapter?

 

[Out_Of_Ammo]

Just finished it and uh...

Spoiler: Spoilers for the whole of the Fourth Door

This game loves to fuck with you.

I thought I had it all figured out before the door even started, with the white-haired girl being the common denominator to everything, I already assumed she was the player, sent on some cycle of reincarnation, so I felt pretty smug by the time I reached the end of this door, with the Maid-as-Morgana telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, that perfect tragedy.

Except as the game pointed out, too many things didn't line up, and I was genuinely surprised when the time came to reclaim myself. I have no idea where this is going now, if there's even a white-haired girl named Giselle, but man, am I enjoying this ride.

I love how chapters generally don't overstay their welcome and everything generally strikes the perfect balance between pacing and characterization.

I'm glad I made a separate save right after the fourth door ended, because I assume I've missed some bad endings there.

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Door 4

Did you check the backlog during the chapter?

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: door 4

Was just going to ask you too if you checked the backlog during that chapter. I was so confused while reading that chapter once I noticed that and checked the backlog every few sentences :p

 

[Ingenious Idiot]

Spoiler: door 4

Was just going to ask you too if you checked the backlog during that chapter. I was so confused while reading that chapter once I noticed that and checked the backlog every few sentences :p

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Door 4

You were only confused. I was playing in a dark room at night and was scared out of my seat when that red text appeared out of nowhere; just did not expect something like that at all lol

 

[Palette Swap]

Okay, now I need to load an old save and check what you guys mean.

Speaking of loading up old saves

Spoiler: End of Door 4

I went back and got all three of the bad endings I could get. Things got really eerie in one of them where Giselle escapes and wakes up in present day Paris, and I could swear the stock background they use is like one block from where I live.

 

[Arcus Felis]

*grinning intensifies*

Enjoy the ride!

 

[Pasokon Deacon]

Just finished it and uh...

Spoiler: Spoilers for the whole of the Fourth Door

This game loves to fuck with you.

I thought I had it all figured out before the door even started, with the white-haired girl being the common denominator to everything, I already assumed she was the player, sent on some cycle of reincarnation, so I felt pretty smug by the time I reached the end of this door, with the Maid-as-Morgana telling me exactly what I wanted to hear, that perfect tragedy.

Except as the game pointed out, too many things didn't line up, and I was genuinely surprised when the time came to reclaim myself. I have no idea where this is going now, if there's even a white-haired girl named Giselle, but man, am I enjoying this ride.

I love how chapters generally don't overstay their welcome and everything generally strikes the perfect balance between pacing and characterization.

I'm glad I made a separate save right after the fourth door ended, because I assume I've missed some bad endings there.

Click to shrink...

Did you check the backlog/journal in Door 4? Just a suggestion.

The story really goes all-in from this point forward. Happy reading!

 

[OniBaka]

I got so much on my plate, really want to reread this.

 

[Palette Swap]

Just finished the fifth door. That was by far the most intense this game has gotten so far. This was really hard at times, but also rewarding. There's a genuine, authentic emotional depth in there that I've rarely seen in games.

Soldiering on to the sixth door.

(I found a steam page with screengrabs of all the backlog shenanigans)

 

[Arcus Felis]

*continues to grin*

The House in Fata Morgana is one of the best experience I ever had with a videogame. I'm glad you like it.

 

[Astral]

I wasn't aware of the backlog stuff. I think I remember looking at it once and finding something interesting about it but I don't remember what it was.

 

[MilkBeard]

There was a 20MB update for the steam version, but not sure what it was for.

 

[Ingenious Idiot]

There was a 20MB update for the steam version, but not sure what it was for.

Click to shrink...

That's probably for the French translation that's about to be released

 

[MilkBeard]

That's probably for the French translation that's about to be released

Click to shrink...

Ah, I see. makes sense. Thanks

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

I played a few hours on PC, to see if it was for me. I'm intrigued and my god the music....Is there anything im missing out, by not playing the new release?

I managed to find my vita....no clue where my charger is tho c:

 

[Deleted member 8861]

I played a few hours on PC, to see if it was for me. I'm intrigued and my god the music....Is there anything im missing out, by not playing the new release?

I managed to find my vita....no clue where my charger is tho c:

Click to shrink...

the new release has 16:9, redrawn art, and an additional voiced chapter (Reincarnation) that's a few hours long (10-12 hours if you listen to all voices, I'm told), and it also includes A Requiem For Innocence, a non-voiced additional chapter to the game you can buy separately on PC (it's in the same style as the Steam release of the main game on there).

In short,
-A new chapter exclusive to PS4/Vita
-An extra chapter you can get on PC
-Redrawn art

 

[GwyndolinCinder]

the new release has 16:9, redrawn art, and an additional voiced chapter (Reincarnation) that's a few hours long (10-12 hours if you listen to all voices, I'm told), and it also includes A Requiem For Innocence, a non-voiced additional chapter to the game you can buy separately on PC (it's in the same style as the Steam release of the main game on there).

In short,
-A new chapter exclusive to PS4/Vita
-An extra chapter you can get on PC
-Redrawn art

Click to shrink...

Cant find my charger rn, so ill have to order a new one for tomorrow. Will I be able to fast forward over the stuff ive already played in the vita version c:

 

[OniBaka]

You should be able to, enjoy the ride.

Just finished the fifth door. That was by far the most intense this game has gotten so far. This was really hard at times, but also rewarding. There's a genuine, authentic emotional depth in there that I've rarely seen in games.

Soldiering on to the sixth door.

Click to shrink...

Oh boy

 

[Shizuka]

27 copies left for the PS4 standard edition.

 

[Vazra]

27 copies left for the PS4 standard edition.

Click to shrink...

Hope they sell out. This VN deserves more recognition

 

[Shizuka]

In case anyone is interested, here's a trophy guide and walkthrough for the platinum trophy.

 

[OniBaka]

Where the impressions at.

 

[Shizuka]

Where the impressions at.

Click to shrink...

It's still amazing, haven't gotten to the new content yet.

 

[Ingenious Idiot]

FYI there is a certain CG that is censored in the Dreams of the Revenant edition, namely

Spoiler: Requiem for Innocence

the CG with young Morgana chained and naked. The sensitive body parts were covered up

Normally I'm against censorship, but I don't really mind this one. The original went a bit overboard. The only problem is that it creates inconsistency with the in-game text.

 

[MayorSquirtle]

"Despair that comes after a moment of happiness is far more agonizing than despair alone."

I'm being threatened.

 

[Shizuka]

PS4 version is up on NA PSN Store (4.34GB, 40USD, cross-buy).

 

[takoyaki]

PS4 version is up on NA PSN Store (4.34GB, 40USD, cross-buy).

Click to shrink...

Good to see cross-buy confirmed. Really tempting since my CE won't be here for a while …

Looking forward to impressions for the PS4 version and updated art! Any reviews yet?

 

[Shizuka]

Good to see cross-buy confirmed. Really tempting since my CE won't be here for a while …

Looking forward to impressions for the PS4 version and updated art! Any reviews yet?

Click to shrink...

Still playing the Vita version, but I gave the PS4 version a go for the trophies. The art is very, very crisp on the PS4, the higher resolution does great justice to the new art.

 

[takoyaki]

Still playing the Vita version, but I gave the PS4 version a go for the trophies. The art is very, very crisp on the PS4, the higher resolution does great justice to the new art.

Click to shrink...

That's a relief, great to hear that from you. I wasn't 100% sure about the new art yet.

Guess you just sold me on the digital PS4 version, cross-buy makes it a really good deal imo.

 

[InternHertz]

Bought the digital version on PS4 earlier this evening. This is going to be great.

 

[Catvoca]

Still no sign of this on PSN in EU 😢

 

[Deleted member 21255]

Still no sign of this on PSN in EU 😢

Click to shrink...

The game doesn't have an EU release, Limited Run said they'd look into it maybe.

 

[Christian]

So...

Spoiler

I think I'm near the end of the second door. The beast is regaining some of his memories, after the game lets you know that he killed Pauline.

Click to shrink...

Does it get better? Because it is so incredibly dull thus far. I'm really disappointed. I love visual novels, but this has been a drag. I was so excited to finally get a Vita copy from LRG, and I've been slogging through the first parts, anxious for it to improve.

 

[Golnei]

So...


Does it get better? Because it is so incredibly dull thus far. I'm really disappointed. I love visual novels, but this has been a drag. I was so excited to finally get a Vita copy from LRG, and I've been slogging through the first parts, anxious for it to improve.

Click to shrink...

Yes and no - the second door is regarded as the weakest in terms of content and characters, but the style / pace of writing and quality of dialogue don't necessarily have a huge uptick if it's the presentation you're worried about.

 

[Christian]

Yes and no - the second door is regarded as the weakest in terms of content and characters, but the style / pace of writing and quality of dialogue don't necessarily have a huge uptick if it's the presentation you're worried about.

Click to shrink...

I mean, I never, ever like it when the writing involves window after window of "nnnnhh.. grrrrhh... aaarrgghh.." or "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" over and over again. It's one of the things about chaos;child that drove me nuts, too, along with the fact that so many of those scenes in C;C had voice acting along with it. Just painful, although I have a generally favorable impression of that game. This has it, too, but the contained stories behind each door feel so predictable, I'm having a hard time maintaining interest. I don't have a clue what the overall connection is, and I obviously would like to find out, but getting there has been a pain. I'll try to get more into the third door and see, I guess.

 

[Arcus Felis]

I liked the second door, but in retrospect it is indeed the weakest of the three.
You will see. A lot of things will become clear at one point.

 

[Lozange]

The third door is when the music really starts getting going imo. And it introduces Maria who's a lot of fun.
Really, I'd say Fata Morgana is always at least *good*, but I don't recommend it specifically for doors 1 and 2. If you're not super sold on it, that's fine? If you're enjoying the art and the music and don't hate the writing, then that's probably enough for now.

 

[Deleted member 8861]

So...


Does it get better? Because it is so incredibly dull thus far. I'm really disappointed. I love visual novels, but this has been a drag. I was so excited to finally get a Vita copy from LRG, and I've been slogging through the first parts, anxious for it to improve.

Click to shrink...

I personally really enjoyed that chapter. However, what makes people praise this game so earnestly is in later parts of the game. Arguably, the next part of the story is up a few notches in terms of writing, art and music.
tldr: gets MUCH better and I say this as someone who adored the part you're at

 

[Shizuka]

 

[Astral]

I liked Door 2 mainly because of what happens at the end. That shit was really, really well done imo. Door 3 is when it really starts tugging at the heartstrings though. A single screenshot on the game's PSN page of the white haired girl asking Jacopo to spend time with her gave me feels.

 

[Arcus Felis]

Well... Door 3 was the one I enjoyed the least. I wasn't a fan of the time period and context, and at that point in the game I was really wondering what was the point of all of this.

Needless to say, what followed won me over completely.

Spoiler: Spoilers for post-door 3 and post-door 4

I didn't get that door 4 was a fabrication at all. I was getting pumped, angry at The Maid... But still, I subconciously figured there was more. So I questioned it. I realized I got mind-fucked. I entered the real door. And my feelings were thoroughly crushed. Multiple times. Without interruption. And, little by little, all the pieces came together, everything made sense, the game had my full attention, and I wasn't able to stop until the ending credits.

 

[Papercuts]

Been playing this for the first time and enjoying it a lot. Partway through the third door and

Spoiler

OH GOD MARIA

The music in this section has been absolutely incredible, too.

 

[Arcus Felis]

Hehe. Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction as well.

 

[Woodbeam]

Playing this now thanks to OniBaka's very generous giveaway, just past Door 2 now. I have to agree with the criticisms of the first 2 Doors here. They were both included in the demo, but enough time had passed since I'd played that that I'd forgotten some substantial details. Still, I found them pretty disappointing. Door 1 starts out with a sibling relationship that's maybe a little too close and then goes exactly how you'd expect, if not even a bit further

Spoiler

Seriously, full yandere? come on.

and Door 2 defeats its own central character arc with the reveal that

Spoiler

Yukimasa was a crazed torturer/killer the entire time.

The overall intrigue the game sets up still has me interested though, which is why I entered the giveaway. Good to hear that things look up from this point, and if the music gets substantially better I'm in for a real treat because it's already been very nice so far.

 

[Astral]

I feel like a crazy person for being hooked on the first two chapters from the demo alone. However, I think that deep down I knew I was gonna buy the full version regardless.

 

[MayorSquirtle]

Just finished. What a story. The third and fourth doors are definitely a step up over the first two, and then the game picks up pretty dramatically after that though it still had a few issues later on that grated on my nerves a bit as I approached the ending.

Spoiler: Full game spoilers

Although I think the 7th door is the best part of the game by far, it started showing signs of dragging with scenes like Aimee's torture sessions that went on just a bit too long. It felt like the pacing was even worse in the 8th door and beyond to the ending. There was a lot of good stuff in that last segment of the game, but I found myself thinking "Oh my god, just get on with it already!" many times. The inclusion of Georges and Didier right at the end felt especially strange and unnecessary, even though the painting had been introduced so early on.

Overall, still an excellent game. I cried more than a few times. Looking forward to Requiem and Reincarnation once I get around to them.

 

[Static]

Yooo OniBaka Thank you again for your very kind giveaway.

Tonight I wrapped up chapter 1.

Spoiler

I don't know what to say except that I'm glad everybody didn't fucking die, but at the same time, that shit unravelled FAST. The flashes of Nellie leaning over Mell as we experienced the flashback to them happy as children were twisted. Mellie's reaction was twisted.

I am at once pleased and unsettled to see that basically nobody acted very well. Mell was a dick to his sister, Nellie was AWFUL to her brother and to the white haired girl, but her entire world came apart in the space of a day, and that fuckin creep Arthur is the worst of the lot. Good riddance to that dude. Hopefully he doesn't show up again. He doesn't deserve the artwork he hasn't got. White Haired Girl is the only one who hasn't been a crummy piece of shit of the four of them. On the contrary. Funny, that, as she's also the only one who has attempted murder.

It was interesting how the black haired maid showed up to direct Mell home when he failed to convince White Haired Girl to come back. He had been alone, and yet she turns up out of the blue. It's very strange indeed that he doesn't even think to notice the peculiarity of it. Is she some sort of supernatural mechanic then? I'm still not sure when the story is set. Are all of these people supposed to be normal human beings with normal life spans who stay dead? The talk of White Haired Girls hands being so cold, and her paleness, had me wondering if some or all of the cast is on the wrong side of the grave.

Anyways.

Lots to think about. I think I am quite hooked. I look forward to continuing with chapter 2 tomorrow.

Spoiler

EDIT: I just realized that the maid was speaking to us in the present day. Not to Mell in his time. She wasn't present to him. And yet, they stitch her dialogue TO US so cleanly into his monologue to nobody. It seems to me then that we are Mel and she's just responding to our cries to nobody in particular, many years too late. Forgive me my dimwittedness.

FINAL EDIT: The word of the day is frisson. A sensation I do not experience frequently enough.

 

[Aurica]

Is there any expectation of when a date might be given for the Japanese PS4 version?

 

[Static]

Sooo...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 full spoilers I'm so confused

I just cleared chapter 4 and got ending 3. And though I saved my game at the final choice I was confronted with, I genuinely have no idea what's going on anymore. The ambiguities in dialogue compounded with the unreliable narrator, if we can call the Maid that, the alternating perspectives and dialogue hidden inside the log... I'm at a loss. I don't know anymore what I'm supposed to know.

The story of the fourth door was all a fabrication? Is that correct? And the fourth door wasn't a tale about the white haired girl, but one based on Giselle's history? And Giselle is the Maid, as well as the witch? Is that correct? But she ... she doesn't want to remember herself? Or for me to leave? Is the white haired girl ALSO Giselle, or does she have yet to be named?

To anyone annoyed at my inability to follow along, sorry. I promise I'm paying attention and enjoying myself, but this last bit has just thrown me entirely for a loop, and I'd like to get grounded before I press forward any further. I want to be able to fully appreciate the rest, without the risk of spoiling myself on any future details by googling.

EDIT: Read some of the posts from the top of the page. I'm pleased to see that I'm not the only one who was thrown for a bit of a loop, and while I don't mind a story leaving me in a place where I have more questions than answers, I feel rather like I have only questions at this point, and few or no answers at all. If my confusion is appropriate though, then that's great.

 

[Mochino]

Sooo...

Spoiler: Chapter 4 full spoilers I'm so confused

I just cleared chapter 4 and got ending 3. And though I saved my game at the final choice I was confronted with, I genuinely have no idea what's going on anymore. The ambiguities in dialogue compounded with the unreliable narrator, if we can call the Maid that, the alternating perspectives and dialogue hidden inside the log... I'm at a loss. I don't know anymore what I'm supposed to know.

The story of the fourth door was all a fabrication? Is that correct? And the fourth door wasn't a tale about the white haired girl, but one based on Giselle's history? And Giselle is the Maid, as well as the witch? Is that correct? But she ... she doesn't want to remember herself? Or for me to leave? Is the white haired girl ALSO Giselle, or does she have yet to be named?

To anyone annoyed at my inability to follow along, sorry. I promise I'm paying attention and enjoying myself, but this last bit has just thrown me entirely for a loop, and I'd like to get grounded before I press forward any further. I want to be able to fully appreciate the rest, without the risk of spoiling myself on any future details by googling.

EDIT: Read some of the posts from the top of the page. I'm pleased to see that I'm not the only one who was thrown for a bit of a loop, and while I don't mind a story leaving me in a place where I have more questions than answers, I feel rather like I have only questions at this point, and few or no answers at all. If my confusion is appropriate though, then that's great.

Click to shrink...

Lol don't worry, the next few chapters are about unraveling these specific questions you have. 4 was a mindfuck for me but after that was when everything started falling into place.