Frail Hearts: Versicorae Domlion

A very odd but very excellent game!

⠀

I played the game for 9 hours straight, and was up for nearly 24 hours solely to beat the game in one session.
I plan to play through the game again.

I love the aesthetic, the music is stellar, and I enjoyed the story. The puzzle-like combats are cool and engaging, though the game is not particularly difficult (and I was playing on the highest difficulty).

Honestly, I don't really have any complaints or gripes with the game... Well, there was that one fight where my entire party got stunlocked, but it didn't really bother me lol

Little warning for anyone on the fence about buying it, Frail Hearts is pretty much a visual novel with rpg mechanics. Personally I loved that, but it probably isn't for everyone.

I play this game as a visual novel.
Alexis is a protagonist who impresses me deeply; it's rare for me to see a character with his personality take the lead. He is incredibly mysterious; although this year has just begun, he might become my favorite protagonist of the year.

The music and art style are highly appealing; I really want a physical set of collectible cards.


But there are still some aspects that leave me unsatisfied. 😞

① I forgot to submit the "ring" to the Duke during my first playthrough, but upon starting a new game, it showed as already submitted, causing a bug in my second playthrough's save file and preventing me from triggering the story of Alexis' pocket watch. I had to play through again without any save inheritance.

② I completed the good ending, bought all the DLCs, just to find out what really happened here, but unfortunately, I still only understand a little. Also，I completed the hidden route, finished the game four times, defeated the witch, yet I'm still missing one Steam achievement.......


Plot-wise:
The witch calls Alexis "my essence," but beyond that, no information is provided. What exactly is their relationship? It seems he gave his eyes to the witch, and I noticed that in several instances, his eyes lack pupils. What does this signify? Is she seeing the world through him?

The four roles appear to be Alexis's heroes, simultaneously parts of him, but why? How is this achieved? Will Alexis appear in your next work? This is really important to me.

incredibly boring.
I really tried to tough it out for a little bit, but I just can't seem to see the appeal of this game. You basically just walk to areas, listen to a cutscene you barely have any control of, and you switch character story every like 10 minutes. Immersion is nonexistant, and everything is so vague I can't even find the interest to actually know whats going on.