Playthrough Notes - Blog Posts

so hopefully there's not a "flunking out of school" ending bc my girl is dumb as rocks lmao~ 😭

oh my fucking god ...

hopefully dating madoka works out bc. um. she has no chance of making it into college at this rate lmaooooooooooooo

Nicol's route in Hamefura pirates is peak actually send post

Virche Evermore: Error Salvation - Thoughts & Review <3

Super excited to be sharing my thoughts on Virche now that I've finished all the endings! This game had some great moments and I kept detailed notes on all the routes as I played them. I have a spoiler-free review here on backloggd in case you haven't played the game yet. Otherwise, I'll be detailing my thoughts here with spoilers under the cut!

The game as a whole is a 4/5 for me with an interesting storyline, beautiful art, and compelling characters. However, the game's biggest strength is its tragic romances and compelling bad endings. I am a huge fan of tragedy and I adore bad endings, so this is certainly a game that speaks to my interests directly. I really liked this game and I highly recommend it!

Now for my thoughts on the characters and routes...

(Note: Comments in the pictured slides are from my playthrough notes, written as I played the game. Comments underneath in the post are written after completing the whole game and reflecting on it.)

Starting with our lovely princess of Death...

I love Ceres. I think she's a great character. While she doesn't quite make it to the top of my favorite heroines list, she's a pretty strong contender. Her outlook on life and death was unique, and I enjoyed seeing the story through her eyes. Her little sprites in the corner were adorable as well, and I liked that her outfits changed in some routes.

Next up, I've listed the LIs in the order that I played their routes!

Scien Brofiise - The scientist (3/5)

I expected to really like Scien when I started this game. He reminded me of Shiraishi from Collar x Malice, so I thought he'd be a great contender for my favorite in this game. However, his route just doesn't hit the same as the others do. I played it first and enjoyed it a lot, but when I went back to play his good ending I was underwhelmed and disappointed. That's not to say his route is bad, though! I loved his tragic ending, and I found it fun to watch Ceres spend time with him and his weird little attitude. It's always fun to watch the supposedly heartless characters fall in love, and seeing him grow to love Ceres, seeing him change the aims of his scientific mission so he can continue loving her, was a really nice experience. Scien's route is good, and I liked it! But I liked others more…

Mathis Claude - The writer (5/5)

My god, this route surprised me. I didn't expect to like Mathis, but while I was playing his route his interactions with Ceres were just so cute. The twist in his route was unexpected, but fascinating and well-foreshadowed, and I was completely invested in the story. His tragic ending hit hard and his good ending subverted it extremely well. I really grew to adore Mathis in this route, and returning to play his good ending only solidified that feeling. He and Ceres aren't my favorite match in the game, but this route is really, really good. There's not much else I can say without spoilers, but I highly recommend playing it.

Lucas Proust - The teacher (2/5)

This is an unpopular opinion. I know Lucas is very well-liked by other fans, and his route is certainly very interesting! It just wasn't for me. Lucas was the third route I played and it met my expectations pretty well (my expectation being that I wouldn't like it). I think his character is very interesting, and I enjoyed the plot in his route, but I can't say I was all that interested in Lucas and Ceres' romance. His tragic ending is certainly tragic, but his good end wasn't really my favorite. It was more interesting to read than Scien's good end, though.

Yves Noirge - The guardian (5/5)

Yves is my favorite love interest in this game, and the best match for Ceres. I loved seeing them together. This route is locked behind the first three, and it's extremely plot heavy with a lot of big reveals about the lore and the nature of Ceres' title of Death. Yves and Ceres are adorable together, and I loved getting to see more of Yves' character in this route. There's not a ton I can say without spoiling things, but it truly feels like these two were made for each other. The bad end is extremely tragic and the good end is perfectly bittersweet. They're the exact same kind of weirdo, and they deserve to be clingy and in love forever. <3

Le Salut - The finale (3/5) (Ankou: 4/5, Adolphe: 2/5)

My biggest frustration with Le Salut is that it makes you replay so much of the common route before actually adding anything new. Once the plot diverges, things start to get a little more interesting, but it doesn't really pick up until the final third of the route when all the plot pieces begin to slot into place. This is a joint route is for two of the love interests: Ankou, the mysterious Watchman of Death; and Adolphe, Ceres' protective foster brother – a combo which makes a lot more sense once you finish the route. The plot reveals in this route were foreshadowed well, and I was able to figure most of them out ahead of time. The writing in this route was good, and I liked the complexity and intrigue of the plot. The major plot twist really incorporates the game's themes of tragic love and unusual relationships with death really well. My main issues are that it took too long to get going at the beginning, and that I don't really care for Adolphe. The Salvation ending of Le Salut is essentially the game's "true" ending – as close to a happily ever after as you're going to get for most everyone – and after playing it you can return to other routes to play their good endings too.

And finally, the Rankings:

I took the opportunity here to showcase some of my favorite cgs of my top 3 that didn't make it onto their main slides. Yes, of course, Yves is my favorite. As much as I like the other characters, it wasn't much of a competition lol. His romance with Ceres was my absolute favorite plot in the game, and I love their story. Second place is Mathis, as he was this game's big surprise for me. I truly loved his route despite my initial low expectations. It's always a joy to be surprised by a route that's better than you thought it would be! :)

Virche is a great game, and I would definitely recommend it to any fellow bad ending lovers out there. <3 Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know what you thought about Virche! I'd love to talk about this game with y'all! :)

slideshow was adapted from this template <3