Lucid9: Inciting Incident

smacks lips together

Hilarious and nostalgic anime tropes with wholesome characters interlaced with shocking psychological trauma. The mental lapse effects were so impactful, juxtaposed by the fun slice-of-life music for the goofy moments. 

I love how all the little details come together in the end, and I'm curious to who the master behind all the plans really is... what are they up to next?

The conversations within Yama's psyche stood out to me as such a powerful scene, his friendships help him out during his struggles. 

Can't believe all the hostages didn't fight back together... 

Definitely worth a play, unbelievable quality for free!  I liked this game so much that I made a review of it for a school project years back.  I highly recommend the novel and thank the devs!

This story felt extremely realistic, but also very sad. I know there can't be a good ending always, but hey... after all it's fictional and I'm a big friend of happy end - at least for Rui in this case.

So is there any chance of an alternative ending for the main sotry coming in the future? I would really looking forward to it!

This was great. The story kept me guessing right up until the very end, yet still felt coherent. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment!

The visual novel is great because it made me feel emotions. The killer made me angry. 

Very good visual novel! As I was reading, I wished there was more choice for love interest, but I can see why it wasn't the objective with the overall story! And the characters and their interactions were very well written! From what I can see, a sequel is coming, and I'm very much looking forward to it! 

(This review contains no spoilers or very minor spoilers. It is intended to be readable by someone who has not yet played the game.)

Story

There is no happy ending.

Lucid9 is a tale of dealing with trauma, both past and present. A circle of friends are just trying to make it through their current year in high school, but a dark pall is cast over the school as students begin one by one going missing… and worse. While facing the fear, anguish and anxiety arising from these tragedies, the characters — especially the main character — must confront traumatic events from their past and the inner demons that still thrive on those experiences. Along the way, they learn how to overcome the shadows of the past and find new ways to move forward with their lives. And they grow closer together in the process.

But make no mistake. If there is one thing you, the reader, take away from this review, it is this: THERE IS NO HAPPY ENDING.

Lucid9 will unapologetically take you through some of the most psychologically damaging experiences a high school student (or anyone, really) could conceivably endure. It will do so with explicitly descriptive narrative and — lest the reader's vivid imagination is not enough to do a number on their psyche — graphic visual depictions. It does everything in its power to make the characters' trauma become the reader's trauma. And when you, the reader, have weathered this emotional storm, you will not find a fairy tale ending waiting on the other side.

Because this is a story about life. About fate. About the incomprehensible meaningless of tragedy.

And in life, sometimes, there simply… is … no… happy… ending.

Characters

Lucid9 is ambitious in the level of emotional investment it needs to instill, not just for its main character but for many of the supporting characters as well. It does an incredibly good job of this, especially considering that the core of the story takes place in a span of less than 2 weeks. The novel wastes no time as it begins to lay out the pieces for the core mystery around which the story revolves, but it also manages to deftly incorporate myriad side adventures and interactions that steadily and methodically reveal the critical backstory of each character — including past interactions between key characters that shape their present relationships.

Core to the story are 8 high school students (including the main character). All of these characters have unique and diverse personality and sufficient backstory development, with some characters requiring more in-depth treatment than others. In addition to the 8 students, there are a handful of other characters that are also key to the story, and all of them are also well developed. The end result is that no character feels like a cardboard standup, and the reader is properly invested in key characters sufficiently enough for the emotional impact of the story to take a weighty toll.

In one of the more impressive displays of character development, the novel has to introduce two side characters that the main character has never even met before, and build up an emotional investment in those characters in the span of one scene. The writers did a wonderful job of pacing this scene to ensure that the reader could develop requisite sympathy for those characters almost as deep as their sympathy for the core characters.

Graphics

Backdrops in Lucid9 are illustrated, not rendered, and adequately convey the scene. Certain aspects of the backdrops are simplistic enough to be distracting at times, especially in the main character's home. (Why is that dishwasher so tall? Why is that oven rammed all the way into the wall and has no stovetop?) But these are minor distractions. Many scenes feature multiple versions for different times of day, which helps keep the reader grounded in the chronology of events

The characters themselves are beautifully illustrated with many different mood and pose variations. Many characters (among the females especially) include catchy signature facial expressions that really help congeal the essence of their personality type.

Unfortunately, there are numerous places throughout the game where the reader will be confronted with IMAGE NOT FOUND placeholder text instead of a character sprite. I don't know if this was always an issue with the game, or if it came about as a result of upgrading the Ren'Py engine (which, if I understand correctly, happened during the "Heroine Prologues" update). The issue is not a showstopper but definitely breaks immersion briefly in many moments of the game. Some scenes seem to have a particularly high concentration of issues (such as the amusement park).

A handful of custom illustrations with character-in-scene placement are used to deliver added emotional impact at key points in the story. These illustrations have been crafted with extra care and go above and beyond the sometimes simplistic style of the normal backdrops. Once encountered, they can be accessed later from a CG Gallery available from the main menu.

Sound & Music

Lucid9 features what appears to be a full, original soundtrack. The songs are very well done; they definitely capture and reinforce the emotional state of the reader throughout the story. The opening theme for the main menu is instantly riveting for new readers, and also manages to serve as a reflection of the emotional journey for readers who have just completed the story. Once the game has been completed, music tracks can be accessed from a Music Room available from the main menu.

Sound effects are well done, and I'm particularly impressed with the background ambience in many of the scenes. As I was wearing full gaming headphones through much of the story, I repeatedly heard subtle background sounds that I at first thought were filtering through from the room I was sitting in. There's a depth to the sounds that give some scenes a real sense of space, especially in outdoor scenes like the street corner. (Those footsteps moving from left-to-right behind me repeatedly gave me a thrill.) And heartbeat sounds…. Given what this game was doing to my own heart, at times I wasn't sure if I was hearing a heartbeat effect in the game or my own heartbeat.

There is no voice acting, so use your imagination. Frankly, after having completed the story, I'm inclined to believe that the imagination is the best place to give these characters their voices. There is… a raw intensity to some of the scenes that, in my estimation, are brought to life most intensely in the theater of the mind. To apply any kind of voice acting would be to potentially limit what the reader's imagination brings to the scene, and may potentially undermine the immersion that the story's most intense moments have otherwise.

Gameplay

Lucid9 is a "choices matter" visual novel, but through most of the game, you won't really feel those effects, even when presented with some options. There is an overarching effect that your choices have on certain opportunities to interact with specific characters later (in particular, at one point toward the end of the game), but these choices are otherwise essentially inconsequential.

Choices begin to become crucial very close to the "climax" of the story, which interestingly occurs about 75% of the way through. It is at this point that the character's choices have life-or-death consequences, and success at this point depends on walking a razor's edge of appropriate choices. There are many "Bad Endings" at this point, so saving frequently is advised. It will likely take many attempts to find that one combination of choices that will allow your character to successfully navigate the scenario.

This is also where the story also starts to really wring out the reader's emotions. Because the section will likely be played over and over, it also means the reader will be subjected to some of the most psychologically intense portions of the game repeatedly. By the time I successfully navigated the scenario, I was emotionally exhausted from the graphic depictions of the deaths that resulted from my choices.

After this "climax", the remaining 25% of the story is back on the rails, and essentially plays out like an extended epilogue. Although it feels weird at first, upon reflection I think this was carefully designed. You, the reader, are not just there to witness the triumph of the characters; you must also follow them on their subsequent journey of recovery and healing, because in life, no victory comes without scars. By this time the game has likely managed to really do a number on the reader's emotions, and so the reader — like the characters — needs that return to some semblance of normalcy to serve as a balm, soothing the intense effects of what they just went through.

And so the story delivers that balm, while also providing some post-climactic plot exposition that will tee up nicely for any kind of sequel. But just as things seem to be returning to some complacent sense of happy mundane, the story has one more gut punch to deliver; and if anything can be said about this novel, it's that it does not pull its punches.

Because in this story, there are no happy endings.

Conclusion

Lucid9 is a powerfully crafted visual novel, but also one that forces the reader to stare fixedly into the abyss of some of life's ugliest experiences. If you are looking for a happy, relaxing or uplifting visual novel, you may want to steer clear of this one.

Also be sure you are in a healthy emotional state before starting in. I made the mistake of consuming this novel during a night of severe insomnia; by the time I reached the devastating end in the wee hours of the morning, I was exhausted, hungry, and an emotional wreck (thanks to having to navigate the climactic life-or-death scene over and over earlier in the night). The novel does a perfectly adequate job of yanking one's emotions around, and that is only amplified if one goes into it in an already vulnerable state.

It will be a long time before I can pick up this novel again. There is an Achievements section that suggests there are many miscellaneous accomplishments I can go for with my choices, but I cannot bring myself to relive the events of the story again any time soon. The intense psychological impact of the characters' experiences certainly made an impression upon my own psyche.

If anything, that is a testament that Fallen Snow Studios has succeeded spectacularly in their storytelling. Well done.

Worth checking out! I also saw your recruitment post on LSF

Great game! I really loved it. The first time I saw Mr. Ryouta made me remember about an anime called Erased, and in the anime the teacher who helped the protagonist was actually the killer all along, so I always kept on thinking that Mr. Ryouta was the killer. Keep up the good work : ).

This is one of my favorites games to have ever played. Months after playing it, I still can't stop thinking about it. Truly a masterpiece of a game, with a complex main character and some really hard choices. My ONLY complaint with the game is that the ending is very dragged out and I kept thinking I was playing the last scene, only for more scenes to pop up. However, the final scene was... wow. Never saw it coming. I NEED more games in this series expanding on this story. Seriously, everyone should play this. 11/10. 

too much to bear my heart races when i play this game ........i wonder why.......answer its anima

Holy shit! The plot, the character design, the writing, the soundtrack - all so good! A sequel is a must.

Do it. Just do it. Great characters, dialogue, art, music, thrills, etc.

They haven't abandoned the next part, it's just taking a long time because they want to get it right.

libre es cada uno 

hello

This... this is really great. The pacing was good, as the writing and music must have been. Even though we are provided an idea of what the plot is like, it's still unexpected. The psychological aspects are great, too. Are there any updates from the team making this? I'm awe-struck that this is over two years old and yet I've missed it.

Does anyone know how to get this game to start on Mac? It says its Mac compatible but I can't start the game after unzipping the file. I open it but nothing happens. My OS is High Sierra version 10.13.6. If anyone figures it out please let me know. Thanks!

i hope you dont mind! i will be streaming your game on my youtube channel and my site will be writing an article about the game aswell. we have a developer spotlight so people can see new and upcoming games that are under the raider. so far im really digging this game. i want more people to know about it. ill include a link to this page so more people can grab the demo

Interesting :)

I love this, everything about it.

This thing is a rollercoaster of emotions. I loved it. I hope the second part gets released soon!

I've just started the game but man if the music is as good as it is right now i'll play it purely to have my ears experience constant ecstacy.

Is there anyway for me to download this zip in parts rather than all at once?