Author: psyAlera
Availability: Free, Download
Format: Visual Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Teen
My Scores (Out of 5):
Writing: 1
Art: 3.5
Gameplay: 2
Romance: N/A
Summary
In Zayay, you are
insert-name-here. You're in a place you don't recognize, with no
memory of where you were trying to go. A strange bunny-man offers to
help you remember by showing you around the area. What could
possibly go wrong?
Review
The Writing
“What on earth did I just read?!”
is not a good question for a story to leave the audience with. After
several playthroughs, the only information I had gained about the
world and the characters in it is that there was some kind of war,
there are some kind of gods, and there's some kind of demon bunny
named Lord Zayo Byron who sells bones. Also, the woods have a nymph
in them. This wasn't because the story was confusing, exactly, but
because nothing of substance really happens with any of the
characters. Information is so minimal that one gets the impression
that there *is* no story, nor any real sense of character beyond
“here is a creepy rabbit-man”. Who are you, and why did you come
to this place? Unknown. Why does Zayo do what he does? Unknown.
What does he like? Fear? Dream about? Unknown. Unless, of course,
you get all the endings and unlock the out-of-story character
interview in the “extra” section, because heaven forbid something
as important as characterization be anywhere in the actual story, and
personally, I think the revelations given in this “interview”
just make the character even flatter.
Furthermore, the game seems to outright
mock players of romance games. At the risk of spoilers, there is one
ending where Zayo flat-out insults the protagonists for expecting a
romantic outcome, using the phrase “I hate your kind”. It's easy
to see this as the author trying to mock the player for wanting to
play a dating game and get a romantic ending from it. Granted, the
fully-revealed twist makes things a little clearer, but again, the
most information we get is outside of the actual story and so locked
away that I'm a bit upset at having already used the “bewareof the leopard” quote.
The Art
One thing I'll say about Lord Zayo:
poorly-written though he may be, at least he is well-drawn. The eyes
especially were pretty captivating. Everything else, though, was
kind of “meh”. The background of the forest was kind of
interesting in that it had several layers which rocked back and
forth, giving it a nice surreal sense that evoked the wind blowing
through the trees. Over-all, though, the actual shapes and figures
in the backgrounds were very simple to the point of feeling lazy.
The music was nice, but I didn't really feel that it connected with
the story or setting in any meaningful way. Like everything else in
Zayay, it simply was.
The Gameplay
Perhaps the biggest (maybe even only)
draw about Zayay is the randomized dialog which makes it so
that no two play-throughs are exactly the same. In one session, Zayo
first approaches you; in another, you first approach him. He may ask
your name, or nick-name you himself. Responses to questions may be
different, even contradicting answers given in earlier games. Of
course, this actually worsens the problem of getting to know the
characters and the world since information isn't just revealed, but
changed.
Aside from the randomized dialog,
though, the actual game itself is pretty linear and boring. There
are five locations, and you will
visit all of them, once and only once. There are three choices at
the end, leading to four (technically three) possible endings, so
while your choices apparently do have an effect, it's really only
minimal. There is a sharp twist to the game that really doesn't
become fully clear until you've unlocked and seen the extra, and
frankly, it just doesn't seem worth it to me.
TL;DR
Zayay strikes
me as a rather gimmicky waste of time. There is a twist on the
otome-game genre and some interesting, randomized variations in the
dialog, but the game is otherwise on rails, the characters and
setting are never really fleshed out in any meaningful way, and while
the characters are well-drawn, the backgrounds are pretty lazily
done. It's not romance, it's not horror, and without the locked
character-interview, it's not comprehensible.
But
then, maybe you disagree. Do you think Zayay
is cute, or does it just leave you wondering why you came here? Feel
free to discuss in the comments.
