Raging Loop

I've had this game on my radar for years but never committed because of the reviews saying the ending is bad. I finally decided to give it a chance myself and I'm glad I did.

The first 3 chapters of this game were truly a blast to read. I had to so much fun that I finished this game in just 3 days. When I did finally get to the ending I didn't feel the ending ruined the work at all. There are many hints throughout the game that nod to the deeper plot. I was able to pick up a few things and even predict a few things that would happen in the ending.

The biggest disappoint to me isn't the ending itself. but the tone of it. I won't go into much detail but it really felt empty to me. I think the story is well thought out and crafted for the most part. I would have liked things to be a bit different but honestly I think it's alright how it was done.

Despite my gripes with the ending, I am truly glad I gave this game a shot and immensely enjoyed most of it.
This has taught me that instead of holding myself back because of reviews, if I am interested in something I should really give it a shot myself. I understand the irony of writing that in a review but this is really just for my personal thoughts on the game, take them as you will. Finally, I recommend this game to people looking for a decent mystery story with an engaging plot and interesting characters. I also enjoy the extras in the game and feel they enhanced the experience for me.

A gripping and intense story that will keep you glued to the screen for hours. I bought this VN years ago and left it languishing in my Steam account, then decided to check it out on a whim a few days ago and finished the whole thing (the main story, at least: I haven't read the side stories) in about three days.

It's a long-ish VN (it took me about 17 hours to read from beginning -> end, I imagine it might take other people up to 30 hours if you want to listen to all of the voice acting), but it's paced well for a VN of this size and it never really drags. Everything you learn about the characters and all of the conversational scenes are relevant, and the VN is tightly written despite its length: it never feels like it's wasting your time.

I loved the first 3 chapters of the VN and was fully engrossed in it: every time I put it down I kept wondering what would happen next. The last chapter, by contrast, fumbles (the story goes from being a tense life or death game into several hours' worth of exposition and info-dumping, including long sections about Japanese kanji and wordplay which was a little dull), and the tone is markedly different from the rest of the VN. I can't say I really care for the overall explanation of the mysteries presented in this story, either: some of the solutions felt outright ludicrous, and they really stretched my suspension of disbelief.

Despite that, the ending wasn't enough to ruin my enjoyment of the story, and I think it's worth experiencing for the first three chapters. They're tense and atmospheric, and they were very engrossing. I enjoyed the VN a lot overall, and even though I didn't like the ending as much, it still kept my attention and I finished it feeling generally positive about the experience.

Also, Rikako is the best girl.

absolutely fantastic

For the first 15 or so hours (The first two full loops) this was the most fun I think I have ever had with any game in a long time, and then somehow, halfway through the third loop, the game had a massive dip in quality, still decently enjoyable, just not as spectacular as the first two loops, only to be followed with the WORST ending in the history of any medium of storytelling ever. Raging Loop will go down in my mind as one of the greatest, and THE WORST video game of all time. The title is very accurate because I'm filled with Rage every time I remember that this game exists, just save yourself the time and quit after the third loop ends.

Rock, paper, shotgun.

An excellent visual novel that went over my head at times, and left me with dozens of thoughts to loop (haha) through as I lay in bed. It's a great find, sale or not, for that mystery/horror itch you may have. It's great value with the extras and 'revelation mode' tacked onto the plentiful main story.

The characters are all beautifully written, and I loved revisiting each one and seeing a new side of them individually. The music is catchy, and had me creepily humming the prayer to Shin'nai. The CGs struck that great balance of disturbing and mesmerising.

The only gripe I may have with the game is that in the last act, where you're gathering the last few major keys to the story tree, it is a huge slog of information-dumping. Less action, cunning plans (aside from the two village's politics, you'll get what I mean if you've finished), or horror, and more kanji education, backstories, and paragraphs of diary reading. The information is majorly cool to the overall world-building, but it's a noticeable change in gear to the last two acts of the game.

Overall, I highly recommend! Please play this just for the great voice acting alone!

lit

I played this game mostly in offline mode, putting ~50 hours into it. I have kept this as spoiler-free as possible.

I am conflicted on this review. There are a few things it does that I genuinely like, but when it comes to VNs it's all about sticking the landing, imo. Raging Loop fails in that regard in almost every way imaginable. The first act is interesting, the second really grabbed my attention, but the third act? Sweet Lord, it's a mess. A disaster, even. The game throws such an intense amount of information and lore in the closing hours of the game making it very difficult to understand what's being said (it doesn't help that there's no small amount of word play with the native Japanese, but the game does its best to keep the reader in the loop). It honestly feels as if the author wanted to create what was presented in the final 1/3 of the game but the producers wanted a "werewolf the VN" and what we got was this poorly sewn together combination of the two. It feels like two different ideas mashed together.

When the game ends it gives several epilogues to see what happens next with some characters, overall immaterial to plot. It also offers a sort of NG+ where you can replay the game to get characters' thoughts and perspectives throughout. This is interesting mechanic but ultimately it shows how much of the MC's thoughts are completely hidden from the reader for the purpose of "what a twist this will be later!" It relies so heavily on the unreliable narrator that it begs the question of why make this a 1st person narrative and not 3rd? The MC is presented as this genius paragon who, whenever he figures something out, says something like "ah, so that's what it means," leaving the reader guessing (he's also clearly a self-projection of the game's author which... is not a good thing here). This is not a bad thing in small amounts, but when it covers 50+ hours of reading, it feels disingenuous and frankly is just bad writing.

I'm frankly amazed at the overwhelming positive reviews for this game. It had its good moments, but if you're going into this thinking it's a werewolf simulator where you can choose who to vote on or that it has dynamic dialogue options (who should I talk to today?), you will be disappointed. This is a very linear story, which isn't bad at all, but I was hoping for more player choice in a social deception story.

暴露模式神中神

The first 80-90% of the game was really strong.
The limp dick ending kinda ruined it for me. It genuinely made me viscerally angry.

I still recommend the game because of the interesting mystery, nonlinear storytelling, the soundtrack, among other things (IT HAS A FLOWCHART). I just hated the resolution.

You know its a good game when you start to get dreams about slaughtering and getting slaughtered in a distant village.
Very nice game, good narratives, plotlines that immediately draws you in. Would recommend even if you are usually not a fan of horror - this game definitely makes its players tense time and again, but mostly through music and story-telling, rarely (if never) with visual depictions or jumpscares.

I could not stop reading till the very end. Now I am depressed. 9/10

This thing is amazing

"Like hell I was gonna stay outta the loop any longer!"

Easy recommendation for fans of Phoenix Wright games, Spike Chunsoft games, or other games with heavy story and character focus.

Expect strong, increasingly ramping immersion, with the characters and story well-integrated into the light yet meaningful game aspects.

bad. just bad

Overall enjoyed it. I thought the ending not quite as bad as other reviews seem to complain it to be, but I felt a lot of the final details about the true nature of the story were confusing and vague or simply dissatisfying, especially for a kind of story/medium that usually overly explains things.

Just finished the game and the sotry itself is very good with intresting plots aswell as twists but the ending fell very flat on it's a*s and puked up all it ate and left itself hungry and hollow, 7/10

Good game so far, I really enjoy the premise and the whole mystery aspect- though im yet to finish so i cant speak about the ending. BUT I absolutely despise Rikako and hate how much time I'm forced to spend with her, no I will not elaborate. I miss Chiemi :(

After finishing this VN I was no longer the same person.

I went through all 5 stages of grief.

From start to finish. You can definitely tell that everyone who worked on this VN put their soul into it making it amazing.

Marvelous localization too!

My only wish is to reincarnate with new sets of memories and reread this masterpiece.

Luckily my memory is pretty bad so I wont have to wait for too long before diving into this story again.

i have somethings to say about Raging Loop, mostly being that it's broadcast as having multiple endings and a non-linear storytelling, but to be honest, it doesn't. There are "endings" sure but there's only one final ending, and actually it's storytelling is linear. Other than that, the story to me, is great, it takes something simple and turns it into a riveting mystery tale which had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, it was so good and was only let down a bit by the 'final ending', but even though I was kinda let down and somewhat even disgusted by the ending. I still enjoyed Raging Loop and don't regret getting it at full price, so I'm still recommending it.

doesnt matter how good the story is, my fucking controller doesnt work half the time, these game devs need to be shot

drags gnosia down by association. good characters and plot beats in there but holistically bad. occasionally feels like the developers are laughing at their own inside jokes, and the player is meant to sit there and watch. starts out strong then fumbles the ball hard. gross writing. music is decent.

Cannot immediately recommend this game because of the ending, though the beginning is very strong and good.

The premise is great. It starts out great, and its logic is both clever and planned exceptionally well. It teases some [SPOILER] and makes you think and curious for more. The tutorial and hints are a bit wordy, but thorough and helpful.

But the ending... The quality of writing is not consistent. The author sells you this psychological horror mystery, but by the time you get to the end, they have forgotten the purpose of the game, and begins info dumping for the sake of covering every detail imaginable about the world, at a blindingly fast pace, at the expense of the experience.

I loved Raging Loop!!
+ Excellent cast of characters
+ Loved the replayability and QoL within which made it soo easy to go back and choose different choices, etc.
+ Loved the 'loop' aspect (unlike Deathloop which sucked) that encouraged getting to know a few characters really well in one loop then focusing on others in a different path until you really got to know all of them and their backstories well.
+ Great V/O all throughout.
+ Amazing extra content that gave me another 5-10+ hours.

Honestly didn't even mind the ending which gets a little meta / silly. RIKAKO SAMA FOREVERRR

Summary:
I've played a lot of VNs, but this is in my top 3 right up there with Stein's Gate. I've played through this 40 hour game twice several years apart (finally supporting the devs properly, yall I'd forgotten just about every plot point)

Pros:
The lore is a fun take on a party game your probably familiar with, with folk songs, and a village's customs/religion/lifestyle and the slightly different rules another world abides by. Characters are all engaging, developed and don't fall into too many tropes, including the MC. Voice acting is peak with some great writing throughout. There aren't many tracks but they are atmospheric and a few stay with you.

Cons:
-The last few hours are a bit 'info dumpy' as some put it which felt rushed, but they added SO much extra content post-game to clarify on a lot of the mysteries. imo It more than makes up for any weaknesses giving you hours of extra content.
-There is a 'hint corner' that carries a lot of extra writing/VA content in it. That and you caaan get lost for a few minutes without it so imo engage with it.

Este juego quiso tomar tantos elementos que terminó siendo un sin sentido, si odiaste el final de Blood C, ni pierdas tu tiempo, es peor que eso. Y para explicarte todo te terminan diciendo que en realidad algunos personajes tienen una especie de stand capaz de alterar la realidad y los sueños.
Y para mí tiene el peor personaje principal que he leído, es incapaz de tener una sola personalidad a cada momento esta cambiando y parece que la razón de todo eso es que es escritor.
El raging loop era el que da este juego leyendo por décima vez la diferencia entre Ookami y el lord Shin'nai.

Imagine making an extremely good visual novel only to ruin it with the "true end", I still think it's worth experiencing because everything that comes before unlocking the true end is amazing. However after you experience the true end there's a very good chance you'll end up irritated and sad with the writer/writers for ruining such a good visual novel with such a true end.

At least that's what happened to me and I'm sure many others feel the same way, all the true end does is ruin what came before it and create plotholes in the story because they seemingly weren't planning to end the visual novel this way initially but for whatever god forsaken they eventually chose to end it the way they did, it just leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.

Let me preface this by saying: I REALLY wanted to like this game. Mystery and Folk Horror are my favorite genres and Werewolf is my favorite party game. And in all fairness, there were things about this game I truly enjoyed. Unfortunately, the things I didn't weighed a lot heavier.

I'd sum it up like this: Can you enjoy an otherwise decent mystery story even if its final act and resolution is absolutely terrible? If yes, I'd recommend this game. If not, you probably shouldn't get it.

Because yes, Raging Loop's resolution is exceptionally stupid, and that is in large part due to it apparently not knowing what its tone is supposed to be, or where to stop with the ~twists~. To put it in VN nerd terms, this game is trying to be an unholy amalgam of Umineko and Higurashi when it would be much better served by being Death Mark. It does not set up most of the themes or plotpoints it ultimately decides it's about and the climactic showdown of the game happens basically offscreen the first time - you have to play NG+ to even see it. The explanation make no sense and then it's all made moot in the Epilogue anyway.

As I said, it's not all bad, though. Act 1, 2, and especially 3, had aspects that made me roll my eyes a little, but I would say that they are worth experiencing for the discussion scenes alone. Those are fantastic, especially in terms of the social dynamics. The horror aspects are also really solid in those Acts. It's just unfortunate that Act 4 (and some parts of Act 3) looms large over all that is good in this game.

A mildly spicy game of Ultimate Werewolf in VN form, but every player is a midwit.

Frankly speaking, this could be considered both a masterpiece or debacle in the meantime, that is, if you can accept the harem developed in a somewhat abrupt way I would say despite on separate timeline. A game consists of supernatural phenomenon, superstition, stereotypical perception and mystery inside the village of Yasumizu ready to be unfolded by the player from scratch. It is captivating in a sense that multiple plot twists entailed compelled me to proceed with thrill and curiosity. The type who just can't help the urge to unravel any mysteries that lie ahead you know :D

so peak man, also good for studying english :3

If I had to list my experience with this “game” It would be like this.

1. Ending is not bad (imo) It’s just taking too damn long to get there.
2. Haruaki (MC) very competent and charismatic.
3. Main heroine is Charlie Kelly’s wild card (literally) and that’s made the ending + extra not enjoyable.
4. This “game” gimmick is about looping basically it’s a save and load with extra steps.
5. Because of that said gimmick they give you a bad choices despite how smart MC is, So he can die and loop back with better choice.
6. With cheat looping power you can investigate everyone that you suspect to be a wolf in just one night! But the “game” only gave you limited choices.
7. When you lose argument just pull out shotgun and start blasting that will win you the case, always.
8. Voices acting are good.
9. CG gallery is pointless because there not many arts just repeating of few red blood paint on bad ending word.
10. Alternate ending 1 and 2 are way better than true ending.

TLDR
6/10 good “game” if you have time to spare (about 36 hours)

The game is good. It had already been well, well, somewhat well, received prior to the release of its English translation and that is that. It's a When They Cry wanna be and that's all you need to know.

I am here mostly to talk about the translation itself, which is not good. There are too many occasions where the translation does not fit the character's tone in their original dialogue and there are misuse of English expressions. If these are more harmless issues there are also mistakes, and spelling errors out of all.

I would recommend that English speakers keep the volume of the voice acting up so that they can at least understand the tone of a line based on the emotions in the performance.

Straight banger, CHIMI GANG RISE UP

I really enjoyed this game. If you read more detailed reviews you'll probably see people say the ending was boring, and it's true, the last few hours were kind of just lore dumps and the ending isn't that satisfying but as a whole the game gave me more than enough enjoyment that I can forgive a subpar ending. The warewolf type trials are super fun and I liked most of the characters well enough.