The sad thing is that the story isn’t exactly understandable until the very end, something that not everyone is going to have the stomach to reach. I mean, there are literal monsters, but the real monsters are the children. The narrative feels more hostile than it would if it was merely filled with monsters. Few characters show any sign of warmth, no one is willing to help you, and no one wants to be your friend. Regardless, it uses this to present a hopeless atmosphere. It also explores what drives them to cruelty, whether it’s social pressures or the fear of losing something. What it boils down to at the very most precise is that people, especially children, can be extremely cruel. It’s an odd tale that Rule of Rose has chosen to tell as a horror story. However, it helps that it gets everything else more or less correct. So, from a gameplay perspective, Rule of Rose isn’t a really appetizing proposition. I wound up favouring reach over potential damage, but was that the correct decision? I have no idea. Does the blade of the butcher’s knife make it more viable than the long reach of the pipe? Are weapons found later always better than the ones found previously? Do they have differences at all? The game doesn’t say, and there aren’t many opportunities for testing their efficacy. There’s also no way to tell if one weapon is better than the next. Silent Hill didn’t exactly have the best combat, but Rule of Rose somehow manages to be worse. Bosses also have the frustrating habit of mysteriously hitting you when they swing in front of themselves, even if you’re standing behind them. The hit detection is so questionable that it’s impossible to tell if you’re within range of an enemy. Jennifer swings her weapon like she’s trying to dust a Faberge egg. The old argument is that it’s supposed to make you feel like an everyman that it’s supposed to heighten the sense of fear, but in Rule of Rose, the clumsy combat only heightens the sense of frustration. Not that combat is typically good in survival horror games. Whenever you find yourself locked in mortal combat, that’s when things go from bad to worse. Mostly you can just run past groups of enemies and shake them off if one manages to grab your ankles, but there are occasions that call for battle, as well as some bosses scattered about. You’re luckily not often required to put up your dukes. It’s not helped by some truly atrocious combat. The loading screens between rooms also take a smidge too long, so the whole game feels like you’re wading through tar. You’re trapped on the airship, and that means a lot of moving through samey environments from start to finish. It’s probably a good thing that Rule of Rose includes a mechanic that literally leads you to where you want to go because it contains a lot of backtracking and Jennifer moves at the pace of a one-wheeled bicycle. EVERYONE LIVES HAPPILY TOGETHER, EXCEPT YOU All you have to do is pick up something related to your quarry, and have him go search for the next piece of the puzzle. Having him ensures that you don’t have to wander every single room in search of your quarry, and he can also find healing food and other pickups. With him, you’re able to equip an item and then send him to find an associated item. These range from a butterfly to a mermaid. Jennifer, not being the strongest of protagonists, is too afraid to help herself.Įach chapter is different, but you’re generally tasked with finding an offering for the Aristocrats Club. ![]() She’s then held at the mercy of the Aristocrats Club, a cadre of children who force her to play along with them under threat of death. Having got off the bus in the wrong side of town, she is led to an orphanage, pushed into a box, and carried onboard an abandoned airship. Rule of Rose is about Jennifer, described as “the unlucky girl,” as she finds herself in the clutches of a group of orphans. Nevertheless, I’m always up for an introspective horror game, and I feel I owe Punchline, so… Well, this sucks. They’re almost completely opposite, where one game has people rewarding your kindness by puckering up, and the other game has them rewarding your kindness by rubbing a rat on your face. Chulip is a weird adventure game where you smooch people, whereas Rule of Rose is a weird, introspective horror game about being bullied by children. Unfortunately, in their short time as a developer, they only made two games the aforementioned Chulip and an obscure horror game called Rule of Rose. For bringing me my beloved Chulip, I feel I owe Punchline a debt of gratitude.
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